The birds we have seen and heard along the Bay of Pigs has been outstanding. Up until yesterday we were lucky enough to see most of Cuba’s endemic birds, with the exception of the Cuban parrot. Gord continues to add that we also haven’t seen an iguana, but I don’t...
Difficult Times
When we were travelling in Cuba twenty years ago all of the hosts at our various accommodations voiced support for the government. The Special Period, a time of economic hardship after the USSR dissolved and Cuba lost its sponsor, had ended and there was...
Traffic
Cuba has the most diverse traffic of any place that I have travelled. There are cars, of course, more than there were 20 years ago, but still far fewer than in most countries. The ‘50s classic cars, a stereotype of the country, still do in fact constitute a large...
Santa Clara – City of Che
The final major battle of the Cuban Revolution was fought in the city of Santa Clara. Under the command of Che Guevara, 340 guerrillas engaged government forces about ten times as large. In an incident that is well remembered in Cuba, a small band of the rebels...
Empty
Yesterday I gave some ibuprofen capsules to a woman working at the art gallery next to our casa particular in Remedios. Her knees were swollen with arthritis, and she was telling us that she can’t get anything for them. I had read before I arrived in Cuba that...
Remedios
Without a headwind we had a pleasant 83 km ride over rolling hills to Remedios yesterday. The heat (30 to 32 degrees every day) is always an issue, but as long as we are off the road by early afternoon we aren’t too dehydrated when we arrive.Remedios is a pretty...
Topes de Collantes to Sancti Spíritus
I feel that Ruth’s blog about looking for lunch in Topes glossed over some aspects of that area, like long walks in the jungle. We spent four nights in Topes, the longest we have been in any one place. This was due in part...
Topes Collantes
We have climbed up to Topes de Collantes, at 750 metres in the Escambray Mountains. The road up was as much as a 22% grade, but we were both able to stay on our bikes for the whole climb. This was partly thanks to our lovely adopted son Albert, who offered to carry my...
Trinidad
We finally found the Cuban music and the other foreign tourists: they’re both in Trinidad. We were a little concerned about Trinidad, as it has a reputation for aggressive touts. (The slang expression for them is jineteros or “riders”. Our...
Money
As in so many other respects, Cuba is an unusual destination in regards to money. When we were last here, 20 years ago, there were two currencies. The convertible peso, or CUC, equivalent to a U.S. dollar, was the currency used by foreigners for most...
Cienfuegos
We are staying in Cienfuegos, the “Paris of Cuba” or “the Jewel of the South.” Like all things Cuban this jewel could use a little polishing, but it’s a lovely place to explore. Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by Don Louis D’Clouet, a French emigré from Louisiana....
It’s all about the birds: Playa Girón to Cienfuegos
Albert’s photo of a pygmy owl. It’s all about the birds. Our ride to Cienfuegos from Playa Girón was a bit longer than I like, at 83kms. The problem is the midday heat rather than the distance. We were expecting a fairly boring ride but the first thirty kms from Playa...