Animal Photography: cows and horses of Vinales, Cuba

Hi there my Steemit friends and followers!

I haven´t submitted anything in my favorite #animalphotography contest hosted by @juliank for some time so let make up for this "animal deficiency" with my today´s post that is dedicated to cows and horses living in the Vinales National Park in Cuba and the nearby town of Vinales.

Before we get to the photos, however, let me tell you something more about the national park and the town.

Found in the Pinar del Rio Province in the eastern part of the country, the Vinales National Park is one of the most beautiful and visited national parks in Cuba.

Located some 200 km (125 mi) outside the hustle and bustle of the capital city of Havana, the Vinales National Park boasts an incredibly picturesque and diverse landscape ranging from vast green tobacco plantations to majestic limestone cliffs sticking out of red soil, mysterious caves and unique mountain formations known as "mogotes".

The town of Vinales is a beautiful colonial town with a population of some 27,000 people. Agriculture is this charming town´s main industry with tobacco and coffee being the most common crops here but the picturesque colonial architecture, laid-back atmosphere and beautiful natural surroundings have turned Vinales into one of Cuba´s most popular tourist destinations.

And now the promised animals :) Let´s start with this huge white bull. I failed to find out what species it is but they seem to be quite common in this region. Local farmers use them for plowing their fields and they sometimes even ride them.

Btw did you notice the little blue Che Guevara portrait peeping out from behind the bull´s horns? You will find portraits of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro literally everywhere in Cuba.

This cow was staring at me so intensely that I did not dare to come closer than this. The barn on the left is where the locals dry their harvested tobacco.

These guys seemed to be guarding the path. The majestic green hills in the background are "mogotes" - isolated steep-sided hills made from limestone, covered with tropical greenery.

Horses still serve as a very popular means of transport in Vinales.

To me, however, most of them looked somewhat small and malnourished :( This one even had to wait for his owner under the direct scorching sun... I felt really sorry for him.

A bay horse grazing on grass. The strange graffiti on the left is Vinales Mural de la Prehistoria - a gigantic, 120 m (almost 400 ft) long mural painted by the Cuban artist Leovigildo Gonzalez Morillo on a rock. Depicting human history from the dinosaur era, this massive artwork took him four years to complete.

So that´s all for the animals of Vinales but if you want to know more about this stunning national park, you better stay tuned as I will surely publish another post about this breathtaking piece of Cuban land soon ;)

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