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maltatoday SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017 39 Travel Best areas to wind down and enjoy nature Staying a couple of days in Havana does not mean you have to stick to the city the whole time. If you want to see something different, you can take the T3 bus from the Parque Central (right by the capitol) that takes you to the beaches east of Ha- vana. Get off at Santa María and you are at a long beach with clear water and white sand. Yes, the full holiday feeling. You can also take a day trip to Viñales to discover the to- bacco fields and some unique scenery to unwind. Another beautiful, not that popular place is the botanical garden in Havana. It is huge and even has a vegetarian restaurant inside that offers organic Cuban dishes without any meat. Best place for a night out Over the last couple of years some great bars have opened in Havana. Make sure not to miss places like the Chanchullero, Bar Madrigal or Café Mamainé for some spectacular cocktails and nice conversations. Visiting the Fabrica de Arte Cubano is a must. It is an art project, night- club, bar and space to hang out and meet interesting people. The art factory opens its doors from Thurs- day to Sunday at 20.00 and there is always something going on. You can wander around and have a look at the contemporary Cuban art; you can watch a movie or documentary or dance like there is no tomorrow to one of the live bands or DJs. Of course there are more great spots in Havana and if you're look- ing for a salsa or reggaeton club, you can go to the Casa de la Música, el Café Cantante or 1830, a restored colonial palace. Best place to stay CASAS PARTICULARES For the best experience in Havana and Cuba in general, it is best to stay at a "Casa Particular" that means Private House or B&Bs rent- ed by locals. The Casa Particulares require a special license and some of them have really high standards. My tip is to book your first one and let them recommend you others if you go travelling through the island. You will find some B&Bs as restored colonial houses, mansions and restored wood houses, like the Casa de Palo in Havana's best neighbourhood to stay in – Vedado. A lot of the places can be found on AirBnB. The Casa Particulares give you a great chance to get in touch with Cubans and receive a five-star family treatment, like in Villa Lola, also in the Vedado neighbourhood in Havana. You will be able to swap stories with the hosts over a deli- cious Cuban coffee. Snipe are plump, long-billed birds. Four species occur in Europe and they're all recorded in Malta as migratory birds, but never in large numbers as we lack the marshes, wet meadows and woodlands these birds love. The most frequent of them is the Common Snipe (M: Bekkaċċ) but it is still not an easy bird to see as it doesn't exactly announce itself: it generally leads a solitary life, keeps a low profile, and its fantastic black-brown-white plumage helps it merge perfectly with the surrounding vegetation. A very sensible habit, as this beautiful wader is one of those unfortunate species listed as legal quarry, in other words it can be hunted. There are precious few places in over-developed, overpopulated and hyper-noisy Malta where a snipe can feel safe and at home. Its best bet are protected and round-the-clock guarded wetlands like Għadira and Is-Simar nature reserves. These are also excellent spots for birdwatching and nature photography, and will be open again for the public in a couple of weeks. Text Victor Falzon Photo Denis Cachia 579. COMMON SNIPE Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 482: Find out more – www.foemalta.org/bee Bee Aware Gozo