Cuba - Viñales cemetary

I made an interesting discovery this afternoon when I walked up to the false Valle de Silencio with the intention of watching the sunset from there.  For reasons I no longer remember, I abandoned that plan and continued on the main road.  On a whim, I followed a tree lined, well groomed road that ran off the main highway that I was walking along.  The road ended at a wall with a gate and and looking through the gate, I saw that it was a cemetery.  There was no lock on the gate and not a soul around so I gingerly opened it and went inside and there were the words, “Panteon de Los Caidos Por la Defensia”, cemetery for those fallen in the defense. The fallen soldiers. 

No one was in the cemetery, no one alive, that is, and I wandered around the graves in amazement at this deserted, tranquil place in the mountains. 

 The martyrs of the homeland

I wandered through the rows of mausoleums and graves for a long time. 

I assume this is where they prepared bodies for burial.

A mother's letter to her fallen son

 En paz descanza - rest in peace

Afterwards, I sat on a bench in the shade at the entrance and enjoyed the cool breeze. 

A passer by

This was without a doubt the most tranquil place I've come across so far in Cuba.  

Leaving the cemetery, I continued along the main road, encountering a bunker-like building containing pesticides.  

That was surprising in light of what I'd heard about the non-chemical farming.  

Further along was a school and that was surprising too as I was a long way from town.  

I think there might have been a military component.  

It was very secluded and quiet up there which was a nice change from practically everywhere else I'd been.  That was driven home to me as I returned to town and into the hubbub.