Cuba

Adventurer and journalist Simon Reeve heads to Cuba to find a communist country in the middle of a capitalist revolution. Two years ago Cuba announced the most sweeping and radical economic reforms the country has seen in decades. From ending state rationing to cutting one million public-sector jobs, one of the last communist bastions in the world has begun rolling back the state on an unprecedented scale. Simon Reeve meets ordinary Cubans whose lives are being transformed, from the owners of fledgling businesses to the newly rich estate agents selling properties worth up to $750,000.

Cuba is at a crossroad. On one side: 50 years of isolation from the modern world has preserved an ecological paradise. The other: Profits. The two-part series plunges us right into a race against time. Leading the pack is Cuban scientist dedicated to creating nature reserves before the sweeping changes on the horizon make it too late. Marveling at the unspoiled beauty of this long-isolated Nature Isle we learn the urgent need to protect the future of an ecological jewel. Will the almighty dollar destroy this eco wonderland?

Cuba is an island teeming with exotic biodiversity: from the world's tiniest hummingbird, to thousands of migrating crabs, to the jumping crocodiles of the Zapata swamp. Decades of a socialist, conservation-minded government, American embargoes and minimal development have left the island virtually unchanged for 50 years. As international relations ease, what will become of this wildlife paradise?

Colin Stafford-Johnson journeys through one of the most bewitching islands in the world, featuring the wildlife and wild places that make it so special. In the first part of this two-part mini-series, Colin explores corners of Cuba that few outsiders have seen. Amongst the wonders he encounters is the bee hummingbird, the world’s tiniest bird, found nowhere else on the planet, and the spectacle of thousands of crabs migrating en masse.

Cuba is one of the world's most intriguing islands. Host Don Wildman travels to the island on a mission to investigate a historic hotel used as Fidel Castro's headquarters during the Cuban Revolution. Located in Havana, this hotel reveals a captivating tale of an attempted assassination of the communist leader.

In the second of this two-part series, Colin Stafford-Johnson continues his journey in Cuba, one of the most captivating islands in the world. Here, he encounters bats emerging from a labyrinth of limestone caves to feed on nectar from giant hibiscus flowers, and tiny frogs, smaller than a fingernail, living in patches of hidden emerald forest. And on the white sand beaches, baby green turtles emerge from their nests to make their way to the sparkling Caribbean Sea.

Cuba is an island teeming with exotic biodiversity: from the world's tiniest hummingbird, to thousands of migrating crabs, to the jumping crocodiles of the Zapata swamp. Decades of a socialist, conservation-minded government,American embargoes and minimal development have left the island virtually unchanged for 50 years. As international relations ease, what will become of this wildlife paradise?

En 1958, l'île de Cuba est loin d'être un paradis. Le dictateur Batista oppresse le pays et asphyxie son peuple. Dans les champs de canne à sucre et les jungles perdues des montagnes de l'est du pays, les forces révolutionnaires M26 de Fidel Castro et d'Ernesto "Che" Guevara se préparent à marcher sur La Havane. Alors que les troubles agitent l'île, Fico Fellove dirige son club, El Tropico. Dans la tourmente, il se bat pour garder l'unité de son clan, et pour l'amour d'une femme. Fico ne voulait pas s'impliquer dans tout ce qui bouleverse son pays, mais le destin ne va pas lui laisser le choix. El Tropico va devenir un monde déchiré de passions, d'idéaux politiques, où les rêves doivent apprendre à se battre pour survivre…