Trip Photographs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
           Click on each number to see.

Saturday, Dec. 19, 1998 - Plane flight to Cancun was fine except for a painful landing in which my left ear got clogged. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow. It's hot here 80 degrees Farenheight and I am adjusting to it. It's real nice to see Bob K again my Zimbabwe bicycle buddy. I am letting my body heal from the tail end of a cold.

Sunday, Dec. 20, 1998 - We arrived in Cuba today. What an amazing place. The airport looked very modern and clean. It could have been Koeln, Germany. We had an amazing dinner. Our hosts are wonderful. There is even a sag truck for us. We took a late night walk in Habana till midnight. The group is a really nice bunch of 10 people plus a leader. 80 degrees Farenheit is as cool as it gets in the evening. It is very safe and clean to walk around at night. We looked at a very upscale 5 star tourist hotel, with prostitutes hanging out at the bar looking for tourists. These were very high class and looked like hotel guests. It was not until you saw money being exchanged and them calling you that you realized what they were there for. Our bike group is a neat mix of people and politics. Tomorrow is a big sightseeing day. Off to bed now.

Monday, Dec. 21, 1998 - Today was an amazing day. We saw so much of Habana. First a beautiful old colonial cemetary. Then a nice meal at a Chinese Cuban restaurant followed by a tour of old Habana. We went across the harbor to see a huge statue of Christ overlooking the harbor. Then we rode along the water back to our private mansion where we stayed. The food tonight again was incredible. A wonderful bean soup. There will be a sag truck on our entire trip for us, very nice ! I spoke in the evening with a revolutionary who owns this house. He is a civil engineer who got his degree in 1953 before the revolution. Then he fought in the revolution blowing up bridges and rail lines. He said he never killed anybody. He said in Cuba 85 % of the people own their home and you can see a movie or concert for 1 or 2 pesos. His economic views matched that of Z magazine my favorite left magazine here in Amerika. He basically said the G-7 countries decide the fate of the world and there is not much Cuba can do about it. Earlier today we saw a beautiful military band with Sousaphones playing in front of the historical museum of Habana. There are quite alot of very fancy "dollar shops" here. Sometimes you think you are in Berlin or Prague looking at these shops. Off to bed now for a big day tomorrow.

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1998 - Today was the first proper bike day. We started by being trucked with our bikes to Consulacion del Sur. We biked then over the mountains after a lunch of yucca, rice, beans, and plantain chips to Vinales, where we stayed at a beautiful luxurious campground called Dos Hermanas with a swim- ming pool ! The views in the mountains were spectacular with various vegetables, tobacco, and sugar cane. We saw alot of bicycles, horse drawn carts and land being plowed by oxen. It was hot during our 4 hour 40 km ride 85 - 90 degrees Farenheit but somehow I managed great with my new Camelback water supply (3 liters) on my back and some salty yucca lunch. The group is nice, slow and mellow. I think I am being spoiled by having a sag truck. I still have 2 panniers and a 1/3 to 1/4 of my stuff but I am leaving most of it on the truck. That's alot for me to do. In the evening we had a fabulous meal, where alot of cigars were smoked and I danced some salsa with Nyirka, the wife of short Pedro, the leader. There is a second leader who I am calling tall Pedro. Tomorrow at 5 P.M. we will get a bongo lesson from a local musician who studied at the University. I believe his name is Miguel. I took a picture today of one of the revolutionary signs you see here along the road. It says: "El Futuro es nuestro", and there is also a picture of Che Guevara with "Vive en el Corazon del Pueblo". After our meal we heard a little Cuban music.

Wednesday, 23 Dec. 1998 - This morning we saw a beautiful botanical garden run by an 80 year old women whose grandfather started it. He was from China. There was chocolate, coconut, cinaminn, seba tree, canadian maple, breadfruit, and guava trees. Then we had lunch in a Paladar (private dollar restauraunt). A lady played guitar who was absolutely fantastic. She sang in the style of Violetta Parra and Victor Jarra, that is "El Movemiento del Nuevo Cancion". She did tremelos like an opera singer and played with incredible rhythm. She is very famous in the little town of Vinales. After her performance, I hugged her and she kissed me and I bought a tape. The percussion player in the tape is the same person who is giving me a drumming bongo lesson later today at 5 P.M. His name I think is Miguel. After the restauraunt we went to the "Cueva de los Indios", where native people lived, hiding out from the Conquistadores. It has some nice formations with a river running through it. The bongo lesson later was fan- tastic. We learned the basics of Afro Cubano music, the "son", the "guayaba", and the "Bolero" rhythms. Our teacher had been playing since he was 4 and studied music at the university. In the evening we had a nice meal at the Paladar. I discussed with tall Pedro, one of the Cuban guides, politics and economics. It was interesting that I felt people should all be paid equally, the socialist position, and that he felt each person should be paid according to their effort, the capitalist position. I am very tired now and going to sleep.

Thursday, 24 Dec. 1998 - (My mothers birthday) This morning I pedaled with Sheri, and tall Pedro out to the health spa where I had a wonderful soak in sulfur water, massage, and a facial. The massage was Thai style, a man did it, and he was excellent. We then pedaled back, had a nice lunch at the camping place (Dos Hermanas), and took the truck back and forth to Pinar del Rio where we saw a cigar and rum factory. Boy those cigar ladies work hard. It looked like a scene that was four hundred years old. A hot room with piles of tobacco leaves being sorted by an African looking lady sitting in a chair surrounded by leaves. The cubans get paid 15 pesetas per cigar that is .15 cuban pesos. One peso = 5 cents US. So figure on about 150 cuban pesos per month for this work. The rum factory was not much, it was more a place that ingredients were mixed than actually brewed. I could have skipped it, but the cigar factory was defi- nitely worth visiting. In the evening we had a nice meal at the Paladar and danced with the local ladies to the music of that guitar player I loved that I mentioned earlier. This was the won- derful lady who played for us yesterday.

Friday, Dec. 25, 1998 - We rode today to Guane. The ride was nice through rolling hills and small mountains. It got hot at 11:30, 90 degrees but thank god for the truck. This is my first sagged bike tour. I got on the lunch at noon, ate lunch of sardines for 20 minutes and then we stopped at a local Paladar, where I had a very nice second lunch. I recuperated 1 more hour in the truck, because I was now too full to ride, for a distance of 15 km. I then rode the last 12 km into town with Bob and Richard my room- mates on most of this trip. We were then in the town of Guana where I bought water and toilet paper. I left a receipt on the counter and this cute 8 year old Cuban girl bought it back to me with the 25 pesetas I forgot. I did not know whether to keep or give it back to her for her honesty. I kept if for the moment but I felt bad because she walked away, and I felt I should really give it to her for her honesty. I was telling Bob this when I saw the girl again. I gave her back 35 pesetas and told the guide (short Pedro) to tell her "that's for being honest". She then ran back to me and kissed me on the cheek. I was in heaven the rest of the day from that kiss. We then all rode (sat) 35 km on the truck to a camping place on the beach (El Cupey) with cabins, a little more primitive than our last place. On the way it rained a nice gentle warm Seattle type rain. We had a nice dinner at the campsite along with some blaring pounding rap/hiphop music with Spanish lyrics. It was amazing to see that the little dollar store kiosk where I bought my toilet paper and water earlier had a bar code scanner for pricing the merchandize. This place we are staying in tonight feels more like Africa. There are no major celebrations here for Christmas day, though we did see a few trees in windows. This is a great way to escape the Christmas "buy/con- sume" campaign.

Saturday, Dec. 26, 1998 - Saturday (Boxing Day) Today was a really nice day. I think my cold is finally gone. We pedaled 25 km to a beautiful beach and lighthouse. I went snor- kelling and saw a few fish among them a baracudda, a blue fish, and nice coral trees, the "brain" and the normal kind. We then returned back to camp , Bob and I, at 4:15 pm. It was nice to ride with Bob again like the old times 5 months earlier where we met on the Bicycle Zimbabwe trip. I changed my front brakes today and gave the old ones to the group leader short Pedro. He said in Cuba, these are very good brakes, we can get at least 3 - 6 months out of these.

Sunday, Dec. 27, 1998 - Sunday Today we went on a 70 km bike ride through the mountains that was very beautiful. Short Pedro ran out of water so we stopped off at a farming collective house and asked for water. The lady acted like she was an old friend or sister, who gave us water. We had a nice conversation for 10 minutes and then left. People here are so warm and friendly and hospitable. You have a sense that the whole country really is your family. I don't know if this experience could happen in the USA at some strangers house. I think socialism has given the people in Cuba a greater sense of family. It is nice to be with Bob again my cycling buddy from the Zimbabwe trip. The food here is so incredibly good. I think I might actually gain weight, even with all the cycling. However I did get extremely hungry the day I flew back from Cuba, so I have no "fat" to show for this trip, just a tan. We are trying to see a show at the Tropican night club on Dec. 30. I hope we can do it. I changed my back brakes today and gave the old one to Pedro. Now its time to say goodnight.

Monday, Dec. 28, 1998 - This morning I bought some stamps and postcards. The proper stamp for Cuba is an orchid flower. Apparently Cuban stamps, are being put on letters, that is stamps bought with Cuban pesos. You need a stamp bought with Dollars to send mail abroad if you are not Cuban. The post office sorts the mail into 2 piles, one stays and the other gets mailed. I saw this with my very own eyes. The tourists who bought peso stamps never get their letters mailed. On the way through town I met Miguel for the last time, a wonderful warm musician drummer who gave us a class. He shook both of my hands and wished me good luck. I felt like he was my brother. We then rode most of today on a beautiful dirt road through the moun- tains. We saw some wonderful school children of rainbow coloured complexions. Cuba is truly a melting pot of people. We found some incredible "Helado" ice pops made with fresh guava and coconut that the farmers grew right on their little garden. Each pop cost a cuban peso, so the whole group was treated twice for about 2 dollars. The campsite we stayed at tonight is at the "Cueva de los Portales" where Che Guevara had his military headquarters during the cuban missle crisis. We saw his writing table, where he slept( nice and cool and dark), and where he ate. The cave was a nice cool tempera- ture. The place we are staying in is incredibly beautiful. Tomorrow is a big day. Wonderful birds and bird sounds here.

Tuesday, Dec. 29, 1998 - This morning we had a nice climb out of the Cueva de los Portales campsite where we climbed a little mountain to "El Cabano de Pinos". This was a beautiful pine forest which also had a nice cave. The owner showed us around. My Spanish was not good, but seeing as how it was the best of all six of us there, I was the one to communicate with the owner and do a little translation. He also showed us the disco that was being renovated. It was being renovated for the last 3 years and someday when it is all done, it will be a nice resort for tourists and Cubans with dollars. I would have been happy to just tent there with a mosquito net. It reminded me of the black forest. We then went 25 km to San Diego de los Banos where I had a nice cheese tomato pizza, the best of the trip. Later we found a place where I bought ice cream in a glass for 1.70 Cuban pesos each for the entire group. After a few hours we reached Sorora Waterfall, a pretty tourist spot. I guess it was kind of the "Victoria falls" of Cuba. I met a dutch cyclist couple Bert and Nicole who were touring Cuba for 5 weeks. It rained really hard on the way to the falls and I got cold! One can get cold here in the rain. I asked a nice family if I could stay under there porch till the rain subsided. They said yes, and 5 minutes later the rest of the group came, and I said "y las otras tambien" 11 people more and they still said fine. They even let me use there bathroom. Inside there house was very well equipped, even a color TV. That evening we had a nice dinner at the Paladar. I was talking to a lady taxi driver at Sorora falls and she said in Cuba we do not discuss poli- tics in public. I was talking about how I wanted the American em- bargo to end. Tomorrow is a big day back into Havana. One nice last thing. On the way to Sorora we met a dwarf, who was riding a 20 inch bike and keeping up with us on our mountain bikes. His name was Adel and he was going home to visit family. He had an immaculate- ly maintained bike.

Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1998 - Yesterday we saw a Cuban boy about 13 riding with his sister or girl- friend on the back of the bike rack. She had to be at least 100 pounds and was perfectly balanced with a toe on each side of the back axle and one hand on the boys back. This boy girl combination actually passed us several times on our mountain bikes. Today we rode 25 km to las Terezas, a resort in the mountains famous for its birds. Un- fortunately it rained really hard. We got good and drenched and did not see any birds. We then got on the truck and drove to the Tropicana Night Club where we made reservations for this evening.

Thursday, Dec. 31, 1998 - The Tropicana club was fabulous! It took all my energy to stay awake. I dozed off a little but caught most of it. It started with women dancing with Chandeliers on their heads just like the picture on the Tropicans orange juice containers. The music alternated between Rumba/Salsa type numbers and very African sounding Yoruba type chants. The dancing was fantastic and the band too. At one point one of the ladies dived from a high platform and was caught by some male dancers flying 15 meters through the air. Tall Pedro said this was his favorite part of the show. There was also a circus type act with a man on a can that rolled on top of a plank. He stood on his hands on this while a female dancer balanced on him in various positions. At what point she was totally inverted. It was Cirque de Soleil type stuff. At the end of the show at 12:30 am we all danced. I danced alot with Pedros wife Nyirka who loves to dance. I got home at 1:30 am. This morning I disassembled my bike with the help of Pedro to get the pedals off and a young boy here also helped me. Boy where those pedals ever tight. I dontated a tire, tube,pedal wrench, seat , and gear cables to the Cuban cycling club. The lady we are staying with is a computer programmer here and gets 300 Cuban Pesos a month (15 dollars). But health care, education, and social security are free. She also gets ration cards for beans and rice. All Cubans are thus insured of a minimum of food staples. She said she gets by ok, but she has to watch her budget. I am sure it helps her alot that she takes in us tourists. The streets here are very clean and safe. The people look very healthy and happy. I had lunch with Nyirka, Pedro's wife, the neurologist, at a Chinese Cuban Restaurant. In the afternoon, I took a walk to the Malecon, the walkway along the north coast, that is the Gulf of Mexico, and finished off my roll of film. At 5 pm we had a super dance class with 2 Cuban male and female teachers who studied at the university. They were strict about us getting the rhythm right. They taught us the basic "son" step for Salsa. After dinner I was so tired from last night I went to bed at 9 pm for a nap and I said to Bob wake me up at 10 pm to go out for new years celebations. However, when they woke me up at 10, I was just too exhausted and they went on without me. So I slept through the 40th anniversary beginning of the Cuban Revolution. I asked Richard when he came back at 2 am, if I missed much, he said I was better off sleeping. I really needed that sleep.

Friday, Jan. 1, 1999 - Up at 5:30 am. As usual I was the first up in the group and got everybody else up an hour later. We had our bikes packed and on the truck by 8 am. All went smoothly at the airport except I lost my exit visa for Cuba. After 5 minutes of waiting,probably only 2 actually, while I was a nervous wreck, they let me through anyway. A higher official just had to come by and ok me through. I'm sure they could see how harmless I was.

So that's it, that was Cuba and it was great! I hugged Pedro, Nyirka and Alfredo the chaufer/driver for the truck. I bought a nice tshirt in the airport and left with 2 dollars to my name, plus 400 dollars in travelers check that were useless in cuba because they were issued in the US. Vive El Corazon del Gente! Vive el Socialismo ! Feliz 40 Anos Cuba !

For more information concerning cycling in Cuba check out Cuba Hosted Study Tour.

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