Trip Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
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Sunday January 21 - Everything went very smoothly this time. We were all at the airport at 8:45 AM, the first ones on the plane. No flights missed this time. We arrived in Habana, at 1:30 PM to a cool overcast 70 degree day. A great way to break a Seattlelite into the tropics. I know it will be hotter later but I am enjoying this now. Our trip will begin on Tuesday with a 16 hour overnight bus to Santiago de Cuba. Our meal tonight in Habana was splendid especially the “boniato” white sweet potato.

Monday January 22 - Still in Habana. The Cubans call this winter. We pedaled to Chinatown where I had a fresh grilled lobster for just 6 dollars. It was so yummy. To a Cuban this is at least a weeks salary. Only tourists can afford to eat like this. We then saw the capitol building where “Bolisa” stands the beautiful Indian woman representing the republic of Cuba. She is a statue 12 meters high. We then took a ferry across the narrow Habana harbor to the “Christ of the Harbor” statue overlooking the water. On the way back the group decided to not pedal on the “Malecon” bikeway by the water because there were big waves hitting the harbor wall along side this bikeway. I went it alone trying to time it so I did not get wet. By the end of the ride I was covered head to toe in salt water, but it was a lot of fun and cooled me off! I wiped the salt off my bike when I got back to the house we stayed at (The Morales’ where I stayed twice before). In the evening we had another splendid meal.

Tuesday January 23 - A note on the boycott. Yesterday in Chinatown in Habana, Gina, one of our riders got a real Coca Cola. It was exported from Mexico, but definitely the “real” thing. So Cubans can get all the American products they want but they must come via a third country. Last time (last years trip) I remember seeing Hewlett Packard Computers and printers. It is just that all the stuff coming into the country this way is a heck of a lot more expensive. This morning I saw the statue of John Lennon and he looked great! He is sitting on the corner of a bronze bench fully clad as in the Beatles White Album. There is a 24 hour guard to protect the statue, because a few days ago his spectacles were stolen. The Cuban sculpturer already made him new ones. It says on the ground from the ‘Imagine’ song: You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. “Dijares que yo soy un Soñado perro no soy el unico.” A bunch of Germans from Berlin also had their picture taken with John Lennon. At 3 PM the long overnight bus ride to Santiago de Cuba (900 kilometers) begins. The bus ride turned out to be a van from the government taxi service. It was very nice. The driver had to stop several times to get gas coupons. We filled up 3 times. Normally the gas costs 45 cents/liter at the highway stations. NOTE, the gas is all diesel. There is not gas in Cuba. We went through lovely little towns that were well kept up and had good lighting on the road. The lights were brighter than Seattle. I kid you not, the electricity situation here is better than the current one in California at the time of this writing in March 2001. Each little town had its dollar store filled with refrigerators, gas ranges, and CD/stereos. A dollar store is a place where you can buy things but only in dollars. The stores are owned by the state. In one of the little towns, a local lady befriended us, and took us to a friend’s house where we all got nice hot chocolate for 1 peso each. A peso is four cents. It was very soothing. At one point the driver of the van almost hit a cyclist, but thanx to John (a member of our group who spoke fluent Spanish) who was riding in the front yelled out “Bicicleta!!” we swerved and just missed him. That would have ruined my whole trip if that happened. I don’t think any of us would have been able to continue. John speaks the best Spanish in the group so he was appointed to ride in the front seat. We got safely to our destination Santiago de Cuba, at 4 AM. We slept for five hours and then got up at 9:30 AM. The noise of traffic and people outside our door is louder than 2nd Ave. in New York City where I grew up. The people we are being hosted by are a lovely 7 day Adventist family. They do not drink alcohol, so we did not have to worry about any drunk people.

Wednesday January 24 - Santiago de Cuba : First after a nice breakfast we went to the Bacardi Museum founded by the “ron” (rum) family. We saw some nice paintings, a little archeological stuff, and the weapons of the Spanish conquistadors. We then pedaled to the “San Juan Fortress” on a hill overlooking the city with mountains in the background. We finished off at the “ron” Museum. I asked why they could not use the ethanol that was a byproduct of the first distillation of rum to run their cars. I just got the answer that the government decided long ago not to do this, that is not to follow the example of Brazil. My only complaint about Cuba is the air pollution. I am still dreaming one day of an ethanol Cuba (Go Ethyl!). I then showered a second time today because it was so hot. I found a little barber shop with one chair and got a Cuban haircut for a dollar plus a dollar tip. They are the best barbers around! In the evening, we had a very elegant meal in a beautiful old colonial house where the prices are in pesos! It even had a bass, bongo, and piano trio. They played very well. Santiago de Cuba is a very noisy fast paced polluted air city of one million people. I much preferred Habana. Habana actually seems laid back and easy going by comparison. I am looking forward to pedaling through the countryside, and smaller towns. Tomorrow we will take a ride in the country outside the city.

Thursday January 25 - Outskirts of Santiago de Cuba: Today we went to the Cathedral de Cobre (Copper Cathedral). It is a beautiful religious shrine which people make pilgrimages too. It was 20 km up hill to get there and 20 km downhill for the return. It’s about 15 degrees Fahrenheit hotter here than in Habana. I prayed to the Virgin del Cobre. I never miss an opportunity to be thankful, and ask for the compassion of the universe. Tonight we eat at the “1900 Restaurant” that we did last night.

Friday January 26 - Riding to La Mula 100 Km. Today was quite a long day. We got some help riding in the truck for about 40 km. We stayed at a nice camping hotel on the beach at “La Mula”, a tiny town. The dinner was excellent! I had 5 portions of delicious beets which others did not eat. I also ate chicken, which is not normal for me, but I need something extra to tide me over with all this heavy exercise. During my 60 km pedal we went along the water through rolling somewhat steep hills. We could see the Sierra Maestra Mountains in the background. At one point I saw cows grazing up a 45 degree hill. I am so glad to get out of the big city of Santiago de Cuba. Here the air is much better. While riding in the truck, I saw the most incredible red sunset. I saw a group of boys who picked a red fruit about 4 cm in diameter. They then turned this into a game by pitching the fruit and then the other boy hitting it with a stick, like a baseball bat. It was so creative. The chickens also loved this fruit so they had to be shoed away. Tonight after our long day I retired at 9 PM. There is a loud disco booming outside. I don’t think the noise will prevent us from sleeping. I can also hear the crickets, which are so nice, and ocean waves too!

Saturday January 27 - Pedaling from La Mula to Marea del Portillo 60 km: Today it was 90 degrees Fahrenheit. We started pedaling at 10 AM towards Marea del Portillo where we stayed in the Farallon del Caribe Hotel. It is very luxurious with a pool and I took my own room. There is also a nice beach. They have free snack sandwiches and yes my favorite “Manzanilla” (Chamomile) tea. This placed catered to the Germans and that is why they had my favorite tea! It was 25 dollars a day including all the food you can eat, and sandwiches, and even alcoholic drinks, but I only did the Manzanilla tea and the fruit juices. The ride up was along the coast with rolling hills. You go up for a km or two and then down. This repeats itself for about a dozen times till you are there. At the beginning of the trip today, we walked by the ocean on a trail filled with rock slides. It was incredibly beautiful, but very hot! The coast was very rocky and reminded me a lot of “La Push” on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. After a swim at the hotel and a walk on the hotel’s beach I wrote postcards, ate dinner and went to bed.

Sunday January 28 - Riding 120 km to Manzanillo with help from the truck: It was mostly flat after the truck took us over a big hill (which Gina, Walter, Michael, and Willow rode!). We saw mostly sugar cane, some sugar refineries, bananas, and a lot of little pig farms. It was much cooler today then yesterday 80 – 85 degrees Fahrenheit verses 90 degrees yesterday. We had a headwind the last 10 km, but I found it very cooling. We saw a baseball game in progress with a bunch of young boys. Michael and Patty joined in for a bit. Michael got a base hit and 2 pop flys. He said the 12 year old kids were incredibly good throwers. The bat was hand carved out of a branch and very heavy. We found nice potato fritters and pizza to eat in Meda de Luna, a little town along the way. I watched Cuban TV for an hour. It’s quite good. I forgot to mention in Media de Luna we found some home made root beer in a bottle and great gingerbread which we bought 8 pieces of. That root beer was incredible! I will never forget the taste of it!

Monday January 29 - Rest day in Manzanillo: Today was a rest day for me and most of the others from our bikes (except for Walter). Unfortunately I came down with a cold last night. This morning we walked into town. We saw a monument to “Celia” one of the original revolutionaries of Fidel’s group in the Sierra Meastra Mountains. We then walked to the beautiful main square. It has a beautiful Gazebo surrounded by nice architecture from the late 1800’s. I saw an aquarium shop, a watch repair stand, and a place that sold typical one speed bikes for Cubans costing 200 pesos which represents two to three weeks wages. It’s the equivalent of 10 US Dollars. I also got 12 postcards stamped and written. It’s now .65 Pesos to write a postcard or 75 US Cents if you go to the big hotels, which I only did in Habana. We met a bunch of 10 year old school girls who wanted their picture taken. We obliged and got ourselves in the picture too.They were so cute! One in particular stared so sweetly at me. I felt like I could adopt her on the spot if it were possible. Patty gave one of the girls some “body glitter” paint and this made that girl real happy! In the afternoon, I rested in the hotel taking care of my cold. One more boycott note. Today at the hotel store they were selling Marlboro cigarettes manufactured in the USA!

Tuesday January 30 - Manzanillo to Bayamo 60 km: In spite of my cold the pedaling was fine today. First off we left at 8 am when it was a cool 75 degrees Fahrenheit. We rode 1 and a half hours to Yara where we saw a statue of Hatuey who rebelled against the conquistadors in 1512. He was burned at the stake in the place where this statue stood. There was also a statue of Cespedes the first president in 1868 of the Cuban Republic. He freed his 12 slaves and started the first Cuban revolution. He was the president for 10 years before the Spanish killed him. This town had a video theatre and a movie theatre too. It was then another 2 and a half hours of riding 42 kilometers to Bayamo which is another big city. I rode the whole time with a Swiss Italian Tony who was touring self contained (carrying all his own stuff). We had nice conversations. I took a walk to the central square in Bayamo where there is another statue of Cespedes. I saw a nice church where the national anthem of Cuba was composed. There is a real nice 4 block pedestrian zone shopping street here. A man named Demeuris who is studying English befriended me. We saw a store: “Tienda de Estimulacion” in this street. This was for workers who were rewarded by fellow workers, who voted them the best worker. They then got coupons to buy nice things at this store consisting of shirts, shoes, and nice bicycles, a cut above the 200 peso variety. After dinner we searched in vain for ice cream. All the shops that sell it were closed by 8 pm. I retired early then back to my Casa Particular (Private house).

Wednesday January 31 - Hangout in Bayamo. Today was a nice day. First off, we saw the museum of the Cespedes House. He was the first president of Cuba in 1868, who started a revolution by freeing 12 of his slaves. To prevent the Spanish from taking Bayamo he burnt it to the ground except for his house and the church (where the national anthem was composed). He had two wives and children by several affairs. As the guide said: “We Cubans are hot blooded”. There also was a newspaper written at this time called “Cuba Libre” (not a brand of rum) to spread word about the Cuban revolution. Cespedes came from a very wealthy family and studied law in Habana. We then headed towards Guisa, where there is a nice restaurant in the low foothills of the Sierra Maestra. Unfortunately these 300 meters are as high as we got the whole trip. It was a bit of a climb and somewhat hot but not bad. We passed the organic and botanical gardens but because of the heat did not stop. I was fine with the heat because I drank 4 liters of water on the way up. I always carry at least 5 liters of water on my bike at all times. Some of the others got a little overheated. The restaurant El Mirador (lookout) had a beautiful view of Bayamo in the distance and the foothills of the Sierra Maestra. We watched kids flying home made kites. The meal was excellent. I had 2 helpings of Milango, a great root vegetable, a plain omlette, rice, cucumbers, and water. On the way back we took a nice 20 km, not too bumpy ride on a dirt road. Almost no smelly trucks passed us. There were lots of little farms and people walking and biking along the road. The others left me behind, but the way was clear, and they told the locals to point me in the right direction, which they did! I found a young secondary school boy student who was going to Bayamo too and he brought me right to my door! He also knew the man studying English that I mentioned earlier. That is the one who befriended me yesterday. Just before we reached the center of Bayamo I bought my young guide an ice cream and one for myself too. I then showered at my Casa Particular and treated myself to a mini meal at the Chinese Restaurant “Ching Jui” 20 m from my place. For four Cuban Pesos I got soup with spaghetti and vegetables, a plate of cabbage, and real ice cream! I left them a 100 percent tip totaling 9 Pesos in all (45 cents). After looking all over for ice cream yesterday and there it was 20 meters away from my door. I met again the Swiss Italian Tony who rode with me yesterday. He stopped by to chat. I gave him my German bread I was carrying for 12 days which he was happy to take. This was real German bread from Germany, the kind you can hammer nails with. Now it’s time for dinner and bed. Tony went to dinner with us and we surprised him with some cookies with a candle on them, and sung happy birthday to him. He was really touched by this. He had told us 2 days before that his birthday was coming so we had to do something, and I know he wanted us too. Nobody wants to be alone on their birthday, even if they are a solo cycle tourist. On the walk home, I saw people singing nice hymns in a church. It felt like a gospel sing along Cuban style. Anybody could walk in from the street and join in. I almost did.

Thursday February 1 - Bayamo to Holguim 75 km: 8 am we hit the road. This is our last full biking day 75 km to Holguim. Today was a little warm but not hot. I think I am finally totally acclimated. We started at 8:20 am from Bayamo. Once on the main road it was a straight shot to Holguim. It was very flat with occasional mild crosswinds and slight headwinds. There were lots of cows, goats and sugar cane of course. The cows made it look like Netherlands. There was even an occasional little attempt at a canal. At the last big town, I had one of those nice fruit sherbet smoothies for 2 Pesos. I ate some rye cracker sandwiches and headed on. Half the group got really hot and fed up with riding. The last 14 km they wanted me to get in the truck, but I asked Pedro the leader to go ahead and just give me the name of the hotel, which is Hotel Pernik. The truck went ahead and I continued leisurely on. I usually had Cubans riding next to me I could talk to. At one point, an orange seller on his bike was next to me. I asked if I could buy some mandarins. He stopped and I bought 8, four for the group that was still riding at this time, and four for me for later. When I was about 4 km from the hotel, I met the group of 3 people that were in front (Gina, Walter, John). I asked them to wait a minute, while I ate my mandarins, and offered them fruit and water too. They were too dehydrated to reason with and left immediately. I asked four different people directions and eventually found the hotel located near the baseball stadium. I arrived at 2:30 PM refreshed, and well hydrated at the hotel. I could have gone many more kilometers. What works best for me riding is to pack 5 liters of water, 3 pounds of food, and a spare tire. I take it slow averaging about 15 km per hour. Everybody has their own method of managing long distances. The hotel is very nice and extremely posh. I am looking forward to seeing a baseball game tonight.

The baseball game was great! It cost only a Peso to get in and the best seats behind home plate cost one US dollar. We started off behind first base and then moved behind home plate. The team Villa Clara beat the home team from Holguim 7 to 1! Most of the players had averages starting at 250 that went to 376! There were only two errors the whole game! All of these guys, would be swept up by an American major league team in a heartbeat. There were some homeruns and quite a few double plays. Villa Clara team stole a couple of bases. They also had nice hot peanuts there for a Peso each wrapped in a long thin paper cone. The field was real green grass! This must have been what baseball was like 60 years ago in USA before it became so commercial! Holguim brought out a real fast pitcher the last inning, but Villa Clara was still able to get some hits. The ball must have been going 160 km per hour! The stadium was extremely bright. No shortage of electricity here. They even had nice neon poles to mark the end of first and third base lines in the outfield. I and Pedro later helped Gina to pack up her bike and put it on the plane from Holguim to Habana, that she would take tomorrow morning.

Friday February 2 - End of the biking part: The trip is now over. Tonight at 6 PM we take a 900 km bus ride to Habana. I wrote my last 2 postcards today. This afternoon we walk around downtown before boarding the bus. Saturday we will hang out in Habana for the day and pack up the bikes. Sunday morning at 10 am we return to Cancun, Mexico. This trip was hotter than the last two I did in Cuba. However with 5 liters of water a day, it is quite manageable. My most favorite parts were going through the countryside and small towns, where I befriended Cubans cycling next to me. I will also always remember the baseball game we saw in Holguim. The one thing, I wished we had done, was to actually go into the Sierra Maestra Mountains.

With the last one and a quarter hours in Holguim before we boarded the bus, I took a Bici-Taxi (Bicycle Taxi) up to “La Lloma de Cruz”, a big hill overlooking the entire city on one side, and the countryside on the other. My driver’s name was Roberto and he has incredibly strong legs. He goes with his wife in the Bici-Taxi in 3 hours to the beach 55 km away. We climbed the 300 stairs to the top of “La Lloma de Cruz” and I saw the most incredible views. We then walked back down the stairs and Roberto drove me back to the hotel through the town. We stopped at a Dollar Store and I bought a Helado (ice cream) for each of us. The cars and trucks miraculously at the last moment always yielded to us, but they were quite aggressive on the busier streets. Roberto took it all in stride, not batting an eye. At the end of the ride, I had my picture taken with Roberto in the Bici-Taxi. As I write this we are boarding the bus for Habana. I look forward to returning home. I had a great meal at the end in Habana, at the same Chinese restaurant. It was lobster tail again, and just as yummy! I then went on to the Museum of the Revolution and took a Bici-Taxi again home. He worked hard, but I gave him a big tip, and at least I was not polluting. I look forward to returning to Cuba again, possibly with some friends next year on a self contained bicycle tour with Veradero beach.

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

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