Mount Portal Lookout

Mount Portal Lookout is part of the Blue Mountains National Park near Glenbrook.

The lookout is perched above the junction between Glenbrook Gorge and the Nepean River.

The 2-3 km drive into the park is through magnificent tree-lined roads.

It's wheelchair friendly and easy to access via a regular small car.

This post is part of Saturday Snapshot.

Mirador de La Loma del Puerto, Cuba

On the road between Sancti Spiritus and Trinidad is a fabulous lookout over the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills).

It's a 192m above sea level and includes a sweeping panorama of the whole valley.

There's a cafe/bar at the top but you don't need to eat or drink there to enjoy the view (but you do have to pay the parking attendant to 'look after' your car).

You can also partake of a zip line experience across one of the closer and smaller valleys - the latest craze that Cubans seemed to have embraced wholeheartedly!

Panorama shot - click to view in larger format

On the other side of the mirador was the car park and this rather bizarre desert like area.

There was no explanation for this unusual environment and no one (friendly) to ask (the car park attendant didn't invite conversation!)

It was one of the many things that puzzled me in Cuba.

This post is part of Saturday Snapshot.