In 1958 Cuba was in the throes of La Revolutian. Fidel Castro was on a roll and President Battista was struggling to maintain power. In the meantime the FIA, formula 1’s governing body had it’s eyes on Havana as a new site for race expansion. Juan Manuel Fangio was considered by many to be the greatest F1 driver ever. Many still hold the opinion more than 50 years later. The issue in the FIA’s mind was security. Could Fidel Castro effect the success of the event. President Battista publicly assured the FIA the Castro had not the ability to disrupt and F1 event in Havana. So the race was on!

Drivers and cars arrived and the city was alive in anticipation. All seemed to be as it should be. But soon everything would change. As Fangio exited the hotel elevator he was approached by an armed gentleman who politely told Fangio that he must come with him. World Champion Fangio had just been kidnapped by Castro’s agents under the nose of Battista’s security.

All were, of course, concerned for the safety of Fangio. As it turned out Castro’s move was merely a statement to say to Battista and the world that he was here to stay and he could do whatever he wished. Fangio was released prior to the race and stated he was very well treated in captivity.

In case you are wondering Brit Stirling Moss won the race. It is hard to say what affect the kidnapping had on Mr. Fangio.

Now, you have to be at least slightly curious about the photographs of what appears to be a dismantled race car. Well while in Cuba we had the opportunity to dine one evening at one of the City’s few privately owned restaurants. While there we met the owner, told him we were I Cuba to learn more about the car culture there. He then began telling us this fantastic story about finding this old, dilapidated race car in an overgrown field of grass. The restaurant owner stated that after some research he came to the conclusion that this was the abandoned race car of Juan Manuel Fangio. As for me, I am not so sure. It does though make for a great ending to an extraordinary story in the collective history of Cuba and Formula 1. I hope you have enjoyed this story! Please stay awhile, view my Galleries and subscribe to receive photography

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These pictures were taken on the Hemingway Estate near Havana! These are grave markers for some of Hemingway’s many cats. They are all descendants of Snow White… a cat given to Ernie by a sea captain. Snow White was unique in that she was polydactyl! She and all her offspring had six toes on each foot. Polydactyl descendants of Snow White flourish in Cuba and in Key West (another Hemingway Estate) to this day!

The Bugs:

It was a long haul from the US to Tanzania for my best photographer buddy Paul and me. Six hours across the North Pole to our waypoint in Amsterdam. Next, an arduous 17 hour flight to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania on KLM. It was pitch dark when we landed save for the runway lights and the small lights in the small open-air terminal. If there had been a bit of sun we would have noticed we had landed in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Upon entering the terminal we were reminded, in no uncertain terms, that flying insects are attracted to light. These were no ordinary insects of course. They were enormous, from a different age and more resembling Pterodactyls than mosquitos. Airport security it seems were there to keep the prehistoric insects from stealing passenger’s bags. We patiently waited for one of the more gentile bugs to ask if he could help us with our bags in exchange for a sip of O negative. Soon our real hosts arrived and whisked us away to our starting point. We were awakened next morning by a gang of raucous primates having a great time bounding across the roof of our accommodation. A fitting introduction to Africa. The adventure had begun!

We Have Arrived

Next morning, after our primate alarm clocks sounded, we had breakfast, loaded our camera equipment and luggage into a Range Rover Defender….a spacious all-terrain workhorse built for 10 passengers but carrying only us and our wonderful guide Hugo. We headed out to the Serengeti. About six hours into our journey we reached the entry point to the Serengeti Preserve where we had to present our passports to a group of apparently conflict hardened soldiers. Not at all resembling park rangers you would encounter in America. A few tense moments later we were in and visually searching for our first wild beast. After a brief encounter with a female lion and with our pulses up a bit, we arrived at our camp. Each of us had our own walk-in tent complete with a large cot and bedding, a small table with a water pitcher and a flashlight. Nearby our hosts had constructed an outhouse and a shower for us. We were fed a Michelin Guide quality meal featuring a salad, lasagna and a dessert which I cannot remember. Amazingly the lasagna had been made on an open fire and was not the last culinary delight we enjoyed cooked by the same chef in this unconventional way..

This time of year was migration season on the Serengeti. Millions of animals followed the rains and the growing vegetation. Our camp was situated between two migration trails. It was now we were instructed as to the true value of a flashlight, “if you leave your tent for any reason in the middle of the night, make sure your flashlight is in hand” Hugo instructed. He went on to say we should turn on the flashlight and point it into the bush and rotate 360 degrees. The million or so silver reflections looking back at you were okay. Red reflections on the other hand should prompt you to return to your tent or tempt a predator to enjoy you as a midnight snack.

The Serengeti is incredible at night. If the skies are cloudless, it is never completely dark. There is always an ample moon and extraordinarily the stars are magnificent and cascade from their highest point all the way to the horizon in all directions. The noise is a din that rivals time square but a cacophony of barking, growling, roaring and whimpering by thousands of unseen animals.

The Buzzard and the Hyena

So, I don’t know what everyone out in the world thinks about hyenas but in my humble opinion they are disgusting. On the nobility chart of all carbon based life forms they lie somewhere near the bottom. There are bacteria that occupy a higher position on that scale. A lion will kill it’s prey and then eat it. A hyena, on the other hand, will eat its prey to death. Other creatures on the Serengeti feel much the same. Lions famously despise hyenas…..one need only watch “The Lion King” to see that ….right?

We would often find a pride of lions finishing their kill from the night before and evolving into their lazy part of the day…. cleaning themselves and relaxing under a tree. In one particular encounter we watched lions being lions but in this case there was a sizeable contingent of hyenas who had set up a perimeter around the pride and were anxiously eyeing what remained of dinner. Hunger got the best of one of the hyenas from time to time and it would begin inching closer to what might be his next meal. Each time a lion would make sure the hyena knew he was unwelcome. I had to laugh at the hyenas at one point as the pride allowed two small jackels to  feast on leftovers while keeping the hyenas at starvation distance. Now I don’t know if lions know about “the bird” but they were certainly giving it to the hyenas.

In another instance and one which we were completely unaware of, our guide Hugo pointed to a gaggle of buzzards circling in the distance. He explained that buzzards often find dead or dying food sources and rather than circle above said meal they will circle over a barren spot a few miles away. This is a conscious and brilliant tactic designed to deceive the hyena. You see the hyena will find the spot below the circling buzzard thinking they will find food. As the hyenas arrive at destination nada the buzzards will swoop down, have a good meal and leave before the hyenas figure out they’ve been had.

Do not, I repeat do not get out of the Range Rover!!!!!

We outposted on the Serengeti during migration season. Animals who lived there followed the rain and vegetation growth for their survival. Serengeti means “sea of grass” and, in large part that is what it is. Our guide Hugo was born and raised there and what he said was always taken as gospel. He was always pretty adamant about us not leaving the vehicle! The logic was simple to understand when you were stopped 20 feet away from 20 lions. Even if they were already full a post wildebeest snack might intrigue them. On the other hand there were times when the grass was so eaten through you couldn’t help but think you were safe as visibility was good and you could easily see danger. Our attitudes changed one afternoon while we were observing a pride grooming and rolling around like a bunch of house cats. As we were observing Paul and I heard this loud pop. If you have ever wrenched the leg off of a turkey at Thanksgiving you know the sound. This sound was louder but it was the same. We were standing and watching out of the roof of the vehicle. We turned and looked down and loe what did our wondering eyes see but a lioness pulling the rear leg off of a wildebeest. Five feet from us and absolutely invisible. No longer did a painful bladder hold any status for me.

Be afraid, very afraid!

It is strange that while in our vehicle animals seemed to have no interest in us at all and so we became very comfortable in our belief that we were safe. We were a probably just a wee bit overconfident. Afterall Hugo had told us there had been only one human death by animal there in 25 years. Apparently a hunter illegally shot a male lion, walked around the side of a ridge to collect his trophy and the lion’s girlfriend was there waiting for him. I digress. When people think of Africa a vision of a jungle enters your mind. Though the Serengeti is a sea of grass there are portions that may aptly be described as jungle. Upon entering a section of jungle on what could be described as a very wide footpath we were confronted by a gigantic and agitated bull elephant, How did we know he was a bull? Well his gigantic bullness was on full display spraying down his territory. This was the largest animal I had ever seen. It was much larger than our vehicle and we had no quick way to egress. For a few moments we considered our own demise….the first in 25 years. Hugo though was up to the challenge. Very slowly and skillfully Hugo put the vehicle in reverse and backed us out of harm’s way.

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On our last full day in Africa we spent a good part of our day in the Ngorangora crater. At first glance you’d suspect this great depression in the ground was the result of a meteor impact some billion years past. It is not. Apparently it is an enormous sinkhole from some billion years ago. It’s depth, or distance to the rim is around 300 feet. The ingress and egress is accomplished via a small dirt road carved into the walls of the crater. The crater is home to, among other things, a number of endangered black rhinos. At the end of our Black Rhino watching our day and our adventure were nearing an end. I put the big lens away and selected a camera with a smaller lens for our ascent to the rim and our accommodations for the evening. During the climb out I had positioned myself in the back seat next to the crater wall. My window was down and I was completely relaxed leaning against the door. My serenity ended as Hugo rounded a bend and I came face to face with a lioness relaxing on the elevated side of the road.

I nearly peed myself. The lioness simply hopped down onto the path and sauntered away. I could have sworn I heard her say sarcasticly…..tourists!

We thought we would enjoy a hot shower and a real bed in the lodge arranged for us that evening and we did. However, we had gotten so acclimated to the loud and incessant noise from the prior nights, sleep was a difficult thing to do.

Seen here is 7 time World Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher