We left Cuba three days ago and are posting this from Italy. We could not log into to the blog in Cuba, and even if it wouldn’t have been blocked, the poor internet connection would have made it hard to post anything. It was a real adventure bike touring 40 days and over 1000km. As nothing interesting happens in Italy at the moment, recovering from stomach bug (Arthur) and a cold (Irene), we will reflect on our time in Cuban here on the blog, starting with the first impressions (which of course, to the boys great joy, included old time cars everywhere): We had the first two nights in Cuba booked in a casa particulare (accommodation in peoples home) in Santiago de las Vegas, 5 km from the airport. The accommodation was nice enough, with two air-conditioned bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bath. The kids were excited taking in the street life with all the new sights and sounds. It was quite different than what they are used to. Horse drawn carriages, bicycle taxis, men and women loudly announcing their goods for sale as they walked down the street. We took a few walks trying to find food, which wasn’t all that easy. We just found two small restaurants and no stores. We did not expect to have to eat our emergency jerky and bars so soon. The streets and houses were a bit worn, but colourful. Andreas put the bikes together and we took a test ride around the neighbourhood. Off we went on the third day. Wiggly, excited, and aiming to go west. We had a poor offline map to aid us, and an enthusiastic local, doing his best to guide us in the right direction. Our poor, basic Spanish did not make it easier. The traffic felt chaotic. The risk of being crushed between a truck and a bus felt very real. One of us (guess who) needed to detour to a quiet street and breathe after a kilometer. Taffic eased closer to the airport but one of us (guess who) hesitated to enter the highway. We took a break again. No worries needed. You know you bike tour in Cuba when racing a horse drawn carriage on the high way. We thought there would be casa particulares "everywhere". But in the totally non-touristy Guanajay there were non. As we stood there in the centre of the town around 6 pm, looking lost, a young man came up and pulled up his shorts and showed a distinct tan line on his thigh. Cyclist, he said, pointing to the line. He showed us the way up a hill to a large house. The retired theatre professors who lived there rented out two rooms. They welcomed us "home" and asked us to wait on the patio. Soon after that, a couple strolled out and down the street. The friendly English speaking Señor showed us the rooms. They had mirrors both on walls and ceiling and romantic music playing. That was our first encounter with a “romantic room”. The Señor the way to a higher end restaurant, Las Ruinas, helped us order food and left. We had tasty beef, as it turned out for the first and last time in Cuba. We waited nervously for the bill, aware that we might be duped. Not to worry, the total was around 300 in national currency (MN), which equals 12 convertible pesos (CUC), about 17 Canadian dollars or 100 Svenska kronor. More about the dual currency system in the next post. We finished our first touring day (40km) in our romantic rooms, adults knocked out, kids exited and giggling over the ceiling mirrors.
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AuthorWelcome to our family's 2017 bike touring blog! Who's going? Archives
October 2017
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