Cuba Part 2

In Cuba, my family and I went on an excursion to the Bellamar Caves and to the city of Matanzas. This post will focus on the Bellamar Caves, while the following one will focus on the city of Matanzas. The Bellamar Caves are a set of underground caves in Cuba near the city of Matanzas. They are a group of caves that had no opening in them until people found them in the 18th century. The only way to access the cave is by going on a guided tour as this is a national monument and the government wants to protect it. For this tour, you descend a set of stairs until you reach the bottom of the cave from there you walk 800 or so metres until you have to turn around due to the size of the tunnel becoming too small. The caves are all lit up with motion sensor lights that show off the amazing crystals inside the caves. There is also a couple of pool of water inside the caves such as the fountain of youth and the fountain of love. This was a genuinely great experience as I would love to go back. This is also great for photos if you have the right camera as there is very few people on these tours. Part 3 will be coming soon.

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Six Days Alone in Algonquin: Canoe Lake to White Trout and Back

Six Days Alone in Algonquin: Canoe Lake to White Trout and Back My first back country canoe trip of 2025 was to what is normally the busiest part of Algonquin. I left on May 4th from Canoe Lake and returned on May 9th to Canoe Lake. In between, I stayed on Rainbow, McIntosh, Misty, White Trout, and Sunbeam Lakes, each for one night. The total distance for the trip was 99.07 km, as recorded on Strava. The way I recorded my days on Strava didn’t differentiate between paddling and portaging, but I did roughly 36.03 km of portaging. I double-carried each portage, so I did each portage length three times. Waterfall between Timberwolf and Misty Lake Day One – Canoe Lake to Rainbow Lake: 12.18 km, 4 hours 17 minutes I recently got a new car this winter -a Chevy Equinox EV. Since this was my first time traveling with a canoe on the EV, I was interested to see how much it would affect my range. I left Ottawa at 98% and got to Bancroft with around 30%. From there, I charged ...

Godda and Booth Lake Trip Report: Algonquin Provincial Park Solo Trip

My longest back country camping trip this year was into Algonquin Provincial Park. I went from September 16-19, 4 days and 3 nights. Originally my plan was to stay until the 20th but circumstances forced me to change my original route. Originally, I had planned on going from the Shall Lake Access Point(17) to Godda Lake for one night, then head down to Boot Lake for two nights, up to Booth Lake for one night, then home. However, during my first day, I realized that I had overestimated my capability to portage with a 75 pound canoe, and I had planned too long of a route. I altered my plans and instead spent two nights on Godda Lake and one night on Booth Lake. Day 1: I got to the access point at 11:10am and had everything unpacked and loaded into the canoe by 11:25am. I made my way through Farm Lake (which has super clear water) to the first portage into Kitty Lake. The portage was only 100M and was the first of the trip. It took 10 minutes to double carry. I was able to do t...

Four Days, Ten Lakes, and a Thunderstorm: My Fall Canoe Trip in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park

My last backcountry canoe trip of the year was to Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. This was my first time in the park. I started the trip on October 4–7. The trip comprised 43.51 km total, of which 13.6 km was portaging. I double-carried each portage, which meant I ended up walking each one three times. Day 1. I left Ottawa around 7 a.m. and drove to Madoc, where I charged my car for about 20 minutes. I got to the access point around 10:45 a.m. After unpacking the car and parking, I got on the water around 11 a.m. Long Lake is a very pretty lake and sure lives up to its name. You essentially go straight for a long time until you hit Loucks Lake. It would be impossible for anyone to get lost on Long Lake as it’s super narrow. Loucks Lake has a bunch more cottages than Long Lake did, which made finding the first portage a bit of a challenge. It ended up being right beside someone’s cottage which, as someone used to Algonquin, I found a bit odd. However, before I got to my first ...

Oram Lake-Algonquin Park

My most recent trip to Algonquin Provincial Park was a short one-night stay on Oram Lake. This was my third back country trip of the year, but what made this trip important was that it was my wife’s first time going back country camping. We left Ottawa around 6:45 and, after a quick stop at A&W, hit the road to the park. We got to the Shall Lake access point just before 11 a.m., including a quick stop in Bancroft to charge our EV. The parking lot at the access point was full, so full that there weren’t any spots, and I had to make the trek up to the overflow parking lot. We got on the water around 11:20 a.m. and made it to the portage around 11:45 a.m. The landing for the 480 m portage into Oram Lake is nothing but mud. My wife sank up to her knees, and I managed to sink up to my mid-calf. The thing with this landing is that the ground looks very solid, but it’s far from it. After a lot of work freeing ourselves, we scrambled onto some rocks and made quick work of unloading the c...

Driftwood Provincial Park 2023

The first and most likely only camping trip this year was just taken on the July 1st long weekend. It is probably going to be the only trip because we just got a puppy and aren't quite at the stage yet of taking her camping. In some other news I got a new camera. Henrys was having an trade in event and for once was offering a fair deal. I traded in my Nikon D7200 and got a Sony Alpha a6600 instead. I got a 70-350mm lens and have an 16-50mm lens on order that should hopefully be in mid August. That is currently why all my photos are zoomed in and there is no landscape ones. Sunset from the beach before the storm. Taken on my Pixel 6 My new camera with zoom lens. Slug basking in sunlight on a rock. Dragon fly resting. Black and White Warbler Red Eyed Vireo Female American Redstart Ovenbird Mushrooms and Moss. Female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker.

Iain Leitch Photography

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