Hidden Videos from Pripyat and Chernobyl

I recorded a lot of footage during my time in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Here are just some highlights from my YouTube channel, Joshjames1234.

Which video was your favorite? What did I miss? Please let me know in the comments! 

Viñales Valley, Cuba

I imagine not much has changed here since 1492. It is natural to relate to how the East India Company pioneers must have felt when first laying eyes on this unclaimed land. Hundreds of years have passed, their thoughts gone with the wind, but the fresh spring breeze and green grassy hills remain unsoiled from the passing of time. There are still no cell phone towers, still no internet hot-spots, and still no restaurant chains. Since that era, the land has held hands with kings of the Spanish Empire, with two presidents of our Union, and more recently, with the communist revolutionaries that rocked the 1950s. Government propaganda can be found tucked along the tight two-way roads that lead to this valley, but they are outnumbered by the farmers that tend this land by hand. Countless American films have been set here, with much less filmed on site, as if the congressional boundaries were established to only protect this untouched vista of earth and sky. This is Vinales. This is Cuba.

When I was first told that I would be living in Cuba, I quickly began researching. Historical sites, tourist attractions, and cultural activities wait to entertain anyone who is able to visit. First-time explorers to unfamiliar lands have an easy place to reference for must-see cultural, historic, and natural wonders: the United Nationals Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. This area has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, and rightfully so. Words like “striking,” “original,” and “rich” flood their justification summary for admittance, which can be found on their website. Like other World Heritage Sites I have visited – the Lost City of the Incas in Peru, the temples of Cambodia, and the sacred grounds of Auschwitz – I nearly cried upon arrival. But here, I fell to my knees.

It’s true, I collapsed, but not exclusively for the reasons I’m leading you to believe. Over one year ago, before I set foot on the island, or even packed my bags in Singapore, I stumbled upon a picture. A specific picture, taken from a unique vantage point in jaw-dropping clarity. This is what it was:

From that moment on, I declared it my life goal to stand in the same spot with the same view, to admire it with the resolution of my own eyes. Nearly one year later, when the expiration date in my visa appearing closer and closer on my calendar, I became desperate at the thought that my dream might not be realized. I had my excuses; those in my position are subject to specific regulations that control travel outside the capital city. But at the end of the day, I still wouldn’t have my pictures, or my experience. With no sleep and my untimely departure approaching, I set off for the province of Pinar del Rio. I had worked the graveyard shift the night before, and had to fight a light headache and heavy eyelids that no longer responded to caffeine.

Consistent with my experiences on other areas of the island, the transit adventure was not as smooth as I would have liked it to be. The occasional pothole would make me thankful for my seatbelt, and the unstable hum of the tires gripping the gravel ensured that I wouldn’t fall asleep and miss the beautiful – and slightly blurry – scenery beyond the windows. When we turned off the highway and joined the chain of winding off-roads that could inspire Magic Mountain’s next roller coaster, I became relieved that I would never have to come here again. The exhaust from the slow 1950s yank tanks that we got stuck behind spewed pollution into our air conditioning, almost making me lose my lunch. My headache gained strength, and my will diminished. We got lost, back-tracked, and tried again on the same bends and hills and drops that I prayed would soon lead to our destination. As the clock approached 5 pm, and the fear that I might not be able to actually sleep before starting another eight-hour shift, frustration and sadness and apathy joined my already-spinning cranium. I wouldn’t get to sleep, and it wouldn’t be worth it.

Then, by the love God, we arrived.