Visiting the Zoo

Hello, friends. Today I come to tell you about the first time we took my little one to the Sancti Spíritus Zoo.

My wife and I had already tried to go several times, but we always ran into the same problem: it is only open from Thursday to Sunday, and we could only go on Tuesdays, for work reasons. It was not very easy for us to visit this place, since it is about 25 km away from home, so we cannot come very often.

We had the opportunity to go this Thursday with the little girl. And it would be impossible to describe the feeling on her face. The value of the entrance fee was irrelevant, because although it costs more than 3 or 4 years ago, with the existing inflation in Cuba it is equivalent to about 0.03 USD. Since we are going through the worst food crisis in the last 60 years, my expectations of finding varieties of animals were low. I didn't want to be pessimistic, but I was worried about the conditions in which we would find the animals.

The first thing we came across was a small playground and some animal figures made of mud. We spent a long time taking pictures of the little girl in one of those figures. And there were practically more figures than animals in this zoo.

Of the animals, the first ones we could see were the little monkeys, which were in a quite small space. Then we saw the lions, as imposing as ever, taking a nap on this hot day. Very close to them, the leopards, my favorites. Not only were they beautiful, but their enclosure, of all, was the cleanest.

We saw everything from hyenas to ducks and turkeys. But what caught my little girl's attention the most was the ostrich. Unfortunately, it was the only one, sharing space with a few wildebeest and chickens. This poor little animal followed us all over the enclosure. I imagine it is because of the custom of throwing popcorn at it.

We also saw some donkeys grazing peacefully, something quite common where we live. Then we came across an area that was supposed to be for deer, but we only saw goats and piglets. Impossible not to wonder: What happened to the deer?

But the worst thing for me was to meet a new species of crocodile, the desert crocodile. And I say it that way, because the situation is sad: these little animals share space with some tortoises, where you could not find a drop of water. Poor things, with that scorching heat, they try to take refuge where there is some shade.

My daughter really enjoyed this experience, and her innocence made her overlook all those things that I would not have liked to witness. To tell the truth, I don't like to see animals in cages, facing the consequences of our actions as human beings. But even less so in such lousy conditions. But hey, at least it was a family day and a lot of new experiences. Because the good thing about life is that even from the bad things you learn.