Cycling Through Cuba

In Havana we joined a cycling tour group. Our first ride was in pouring rain and we didn't have rain jackets, but we were fine.

The bus had been modified to remove half the seats so there was room for the bikes. It felt good to get out of our wet and muddy cycling clothes!

This was the “view spot” of the day, but the rain put a damper on it.



Here Kristina is enjoying her first piña colada in Cuba. Made with fresh pineapple and coconut, it was delightful!

In Matanzas the cycling group stayed in a beautiful colonial hotel named Hotel Velasco.

The Velasco is run by the Cuban government, and it has been restored to its original glory. This is the lobby and bar.

Here we are dining with the six other cyclists on the trip: two couples are from Vermont and one couple are Canadian and live near Ottawa, a great group!

This was the view from our room at the hotel: the main plaza of Matanzas.

The next morning we walked around the plaza and saw the statue of Jose Martí with flowers in front to celebrate his birthday. Most of the plazas in Cuba are named Jose Martí, in honor of this National Martyr who died fighting the Spanish in 1895 during the founding of the Cuban republic.



The square was especially pretty with all the blooming trees.

We felt happy to be with such a nice group of cyclists exploring Cuba by bike. On the left is our guide Carlos.

We rode along the Bay of Matanzas. Matanzas means the killings. In the 18th century there was a mutiny against the Spanish slave owners and the slaves overturned their canoes in the middle of the bay and the Spanish drowned.

Here Dave, who is a serious cyclist and outdoor sportsman from Rutland, Vermont, is riding along the Bay of Matanzas.

In front are Martin and his wife Sue, who are English-Canadian and live on a farm with horses near Ottawa. They are followed by Clare and Dave who share our political views. Earlier this year Clare and Dave bought their neighbor's house, and after Dave finishes remodeling it, they will rent it to a Syrian refugee family - so great!

Carlos told us about Cuban farming. Behind him are raised beds of lettuce. After 30 years of Soviet pesticides and fertilizers, the soil was ruined and is now being restored. Carlos did a wonderful job explaining and showing us so much about Cuba. 

In Cuba there aren't enough farmers and there are food shortages. We saw this billboard "with feet and hands on the earth" encouraging people to stay on the farms and grow food.

Here are Sue and Martin. There wasn't much traffic once we got out of Matanzas.

Kristina is followed by Susan and the rest of the group.

The roads were in pretty good shape.

We often shared them with horses pulling carts.

This road went through a few small villages. 

There are still plenty of revolutionary slogans painted on walls, like this one celebrating 56 years of socialism.

In this photo Carlos is holding his family's ration booklet, which allows them to buy groceries at greatly subsidized prices.

We went into the government-run rations store to see how food is distributed. Below the display shelves are large barrels of flour, sugar, beans and more. In these rations stores every person in Cuba is guaranteed enough food to eat, although the food is quite limited. For example each person gets five eggs per month.

For contrast we also visited some private stores, which were comparatively much better stocked. Here the groceries aren't subsidized so many Cubans can’t afford them on a regular basis.

This is a typical Cuban bike. It doesn't have gears, the seat is taped together and there's a shelf for carrying stuff or perhaps a child.

We saw Cubans on bikes transporting produce. This man has onions and garlic with stalks still attached and braided together to make transport easier.

We stopped at Triumvirato, a monument to a slave uprising. 

Carlos told us that in 1886 when Cuba abolished slavery, it was one of the last countries to do so.



We saw many picturesque churches.

And plenty of colorful houses.



It was warm and humid while we rode, a pleasant change from the previous day's rain.

We celebrated the end of the ride with cool, refreshing piña coladas and a dry change of clothes.

This friendly puppy was too cute not to pick up and cuddle.

We were in an area called Ciénaga de Zapata, Zapata Swamp, where there's a Cuban crocodile sanctuary. Pete is by the pretty lagoon.

And then hamming it up with the crocodile statue.

Kristina is in front of the crocodile sanctuary entrance, watching a mother hen and her chicks.

As soon as we arrived at the beach of Playa Larga we put on bathing suits and cooled off with a swim in the Bay of Pigs.

We stayed at a casa paticular, private Cuban style bed-and-breakfast hostel. This was their sign.

Run by a family with two sons, they brought us drinks and made us feel welcome in this beautiful place.

The next day we rode along the eastern side of the Bay of Pigs, stopping to admire the turquoise sea.

A dog followed us as we rode from Playa Larga. We nicknamed her Speedy, as she kept us with us for 25 kilometers. 

Here Kristina is giving her some water and pets.

We went snorkeling in Cueva de Peces, Fish Cave. Similar to a Mexican cenote, it had limestone sides and was 70 meters deep. 

Then we jumped into the Caribbean and checked out the fish and corral in the shallow waters.

Dave showed us that he’s part fish!

We rode through the area where the US Bay of Pigs Invasion occurred in 1961. There were a number of billboards about the Cuban victory. 

This billboard in Spanish says, "The first defeat of Yankee imperialism in Latin America!" 

We saw memorial markers for the Cubans who were killed during the invasion. 

We toured the Girón Museum to learn more about Cuban history around the time of the US invasion.

The Cuban forces were able to defeat the Bay of Pigs Invasion in less than 72 hours, and their victory was a huge boost to Cuban morale. Here Carlos is next to a photo of Fidel Castro. We feel so fortunate that Carlos was our guide, as he is the most knowledgeable tour guide we have ever had - and we've been on six other tours!

We were very impressed to hear that literacy was a key goal of the Cuban socialist revolution.

Ninety-nine percent literacy was achieved by the middle of 1960 and within 18 months of the revolution, because brigades of young teachers were sent all over Cuba to teach everyone to read and write.

This photo shows how they make charcoal, carbones vegetales. The marabú wood is piled up, then a fire is lit in the middle and it takes several days to slowly burn. Carlos told us that Cuban charcoal is now being imported into the US, thanks to Obama easing trade relations with Cuba.

That evening in beautiful Cienfuegos we toured the historical center with Carlos to learn more about its history as a Spanish colony (although its first inhabitants were French immigrants). This is Teatro Tomas Terry, which was built in 1869.

Also on the main square was this impressive building. Originally built by the wealthiest man in Cienfuegos, Señor Ferrer, today it is a Cuban cultural center that gives music and art lessons for free.

Kristina is next to a statue of Benny Moré, a self-taught genius of Cuban music and bandleader who was popular in Cuba during the ‘50s.

We spent the night next door to this amazing Moorish-style building named Palacio de Valle. 

Here's a closer look at the front door.

It reminded us of the Alhambra in Spain, with its lovely arches.

As we rode out of Cienfuegos we saw two enormous houses next to each other. Both were built about 1910, and apparently the owners were competing to see who could build the most impressive home. Today this one is a yacht club, as there is a large harbor in Cienfuegos.

And this one is a hotel.

We rode our longest day on the tour, 92 kilometers. The first part of the ride was on a stretch of road called the roller coaster. Here's Kristina at the top of one of the hills.

We refueled with fresh guava fruits after riding the rollers.

Traffic was generally light with careful drivers and even a few classic cars.



This part of Cuba seemed uninhabited and dry this time of year. 

These men are harvesting coconuts and transporting them in a cart pulled by oxen.



We rode by a herd of goats.



Along the way Carlos would have us stop and then tell us something interesting about the trees or other sights.



At lunch we watched these adorable chameleons. We loved their curled tails.



Pete gave a thumbs up to Bill, who was taking photos as we rode.

As we got close to Trinidad the road took us near the Caribbean with its cooling breeze. Here are Susan and Clare. Susan is retired and rides almost every day. Clare, who is a pharmacist, rides most days before work. In Vermont they try to ride together on weekends.



It was hot as we rode, so we were grateful for the ocean breezes. This is Bill who is married to Susan. In spite of injuring his arm on the first day of the tour, Bill still was able to ride some. He joked that he was glad to learn first hand how good the Cuban medical system is, with abundant clinics and hospitals where his arm was treated for free!



We rode past a shrimp farm. Carlos told us that the shrimp are raised for export only.



There was a last little kicker of a hill into Trinidad.



We saw lots of signs commemorating July 26th 1953, as the start of the revolution and the name of the group of revolutionary guerrillas.



In Trinidad there are plenty of horses for transportation.

Here's a traffic sign alerting people about the horses pulling carts.

We slowly cruised into Trinidad, looking at all the interesting sights.

The next day was a rest day in Trinidad. We took a salsa dancing lesson in the courtyard of our casa paticular. It was really fun!



Clare also loves to dance, so she took the lesson too. Our teacher Iore commented on our dancing in her thick Cuban accent, "that was a deesaster!"



Sue and Martin opted to go horseback riding.



That afternoon we rode out to Playa Ancón for a refreshing swim.



It was relaxing to hang out on the lounge chairs. From left are Pete, Sue and Clare.



Carlos and Susan are toasting with cancháncharas, which are drinks of rum, lemon and honey.



Carlos arranged for a picnic on the beach.



It was a beautiful beach and we enjoyed the sunset. The only downside was that once the sun went down the sand fleas starting biting, and Kristina got lots of bites that itched for over a week!

This is Mario, our fantastic bus driver. We practiced speaking Spanish with him, but even after three weeks we still have trouble understanding the Cuban accent. 

The next day we rode out of Trinidad.





We visited an area called Banao that has the oldest remaining sugar mill and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. La Hacienda de Manaca Iznaga was the old house of the sugar plantation owner. In front is an old vat used for boiling the cane juice.



As was customary, Señor Manaca Iznaga bought the biggest bell he could afford, to show his wealth.



The house is now a restaurant.





We liked this painting that appears to be looking out a window at the house and tower.



In 1816 Señor Manaca Iznaga also built this 145 meter tall tower called a mirador. It was used to keep watch 24/7, to ensure competitors didn't try to burn his cane fields and that his slaves didn't try to escape.



The Manaca Iznaga Tower is the tallest in Cuba and it's a national landmark. Too bad we didn't get to climb up it.



From Trinidad we rode part of the Vuelta de Cuba route which took us into the hills with some steep climbs.



Towards the end of the day's ride, it started to rain. It seemed a fitting end to our cycling tour since we had started in the rain.



We went into Santa Clara and walked around the Plaza Mayor. This is the old Hilton hotel. We learned that in 1958 there was a shoot out with the last of Bautista's army. Bullet holes in the exterior are still visible.

We visited nearby Armored Train Monument, where Che Guevara masterminded a successful plan to derail a train with munitions and Bautista's soldiers. This lead to Bautista fleeing Cuba and the socialist victory in 1959.



We visited the Che Guevara mausoleum, with its impressive sculptures by José Delarra. Guevara was killed in 1967 after he left Cuba to continue fighting imperialism in Angola and then Bolivia.



On our cycling trip we rode six days and almost 300 Kms. It was an excellent way to see and learn about Cuba!  

Hasta la victoria siempre, ever onward to victory! Next we return to Mexico.