Quit our jobs, sold our home and everything in it, gone riding...
- Thread starter Lightcycle
- Start date
Thanks, that's one of my favorite pictures of Cuba.
So much expression in that mans face.
RichinOville
Well-known member
That picture reminds me of my trip to Cuba about 10 years ago. We stayed, roughly, in the area you are about to enter. I had a great time there. After 4 days, I was trying to figure out how I could make a living there, so that I could stay. I spent a day travelling with a man who looked almost like your flower seller. It was a very enlightening trip that day. Have fun. I am Soooooooo jealous!!!
homme de fer
Well-known member
"Our trip in Cuba so far has been positive, but things were not going to stay that way for long."
:happy1:. Please, continue.
:happy1:. Please, continue.
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/93.html
The Jinetero problem came to a head in Baracoa. We were really looking forward to spending a couple of days in the tropical sea-side town, doing some hiking in the area and walking through the city streets. The casa owner in Santiago called ahead and booked us a room with someone she knew in Baracoa, presumably for a commission, we just had to meet them at the main gas station in town.
However, swarms of Jineteros on bicycles crowded around us when we arrived, and when we asked about the casa and showed them the business card, one of them led us to a house in a neighbourhood near the Malecon. We kept asking if this was the right place, as the address didn't match, and the young hustler reassured us it was. The guilty look on the casa owner's face confirmed that we were misled (literally), but rather than search the town again for the right place, we decided to stay because we were just too tired to argue.
Hotel El Castillo is set high atop a hill and offers great views of Baracoa
You can see the casa where we're staying (Casa El Kidnapo) from here. See the orange building in the centre? It's the small white building next to it.
The neighbourhood we're staying in seems quite poor, but the people living there were very friendly and again, very curious about the motorcycles. It was a nice location, one street away from the Malecon, and strolling up and down it offered a nice change from the very touristy centro. Also, very little Jineteros on the boardwalk. We watched as a group of kids played a game of pelota (baseball) with a wooden stick for a bat and a plastic bottle cap for a ball.
Kids hanging out on the Malecon
Watching the waves of the Atlantic Ocean splash on the rocks from the Malecon
Changui originated a hundred years ago in the sugar cane fields, combining Spanish guitar and African rhythms
In the evenings, Changui music, native to Baracoa could be heard streaming from the bars. Entrance was free, but the mojitos were expensive and every three songs a hat was passed around to collect money for the musicians. The locals, not content to just listen, took to the floor and impressed all the turistos with their complex salsa footwork.
These kids were taking part in an art competition at the local arts centre
Mohawks are a popular hairstyle for young Cubans
We watched the local Baracoa baseball team practicing
Rumour has it that Fidel was a pretty good baseball player and national sports was encouraged by the government at all levels that Cuba quickly rose to world prominence at each Olympics after La Revolucion. I don't know anything about baseball, but even I've heard of Jose Canseco.
They let Neda try out for the team. This is her specialty pitch, the CocoNuckleBall
Young komrade at the beach
We decided to do some hiking on the hills south of the city, we were told that there were fabulous views of the city and shoreline at the summit. Normally, you would cross a narrow, rickety bridge across the Rio Miel to gain access, but it had been washed out, so we had to be ferried across for $1 each.
Our ferryman had the bluest eyes ever! Wish I got a picture of it.
From here, we were starting to get hit with unexpected fees, as we were charged $5 each for entrance to the park. The government official told us that it would grant entry to everything. $10 is a bit steep for a hike (not including the $4 for the round-trip ferry), but since we had already come all this way, we decided to pay. We opted not to hire a guide since the trails were well-marked, but one followed us anyway, hoping to guilt us into paying him at the end of the hike. This was getting very annoying as all we wanted to do was spend some time alone and unmolested.
Hike up the trail to get a better view
Upon reaching the summit, we discovered that the mirador (viewpoint) was on private property and that we were required to dish out an additional $5 each to enter. This was unacceptable, since the official at the entrance told us everything was included. Our little day-hike was going to cost us $24! We refused to pay, and started angrily down the hill. The woman that was on the property chased after us and told us that we didn't have to pay, so we relented. The viewpoint was beautiful, but I couldn't shrug off the growing feeling that everywhere we went on the island, we were going to be nickeled and dimed, and that most of the locals just viewed us and all the other tourists as walking wallets.
View from the mirador, Baracoa in the distance and the broken bridge down below. You can see the boat we took.
As we left, the owner, who we had not met before demanded payment for access to the viewpoint. An argument ensued as we told him that the woman (his wife, we found out) had said that we didn't have to pay. Thankfully, the guide that followed us vouched for that, and we left without further incident. There were other things we wanted to see in the park, a beach and an archeological museum inside some caves, but after questioning the guide, we found out that these cost money as well - $3 each for beach access and $3 each for the museum, for a total cost of $36 for the day.
I understand that there are tourists that come to Cuba that don't think twice about dropping $36 for an unguided hike. It's not a lot of money when you have jobs to go back to for the remaining 11.5 months out of the year when you're not on vacation. This is not the case for us, as we are traveling on a budget and to be misled like we had been, added terrible insult to injury. I understand the huge disparity between how much tourists have and make compared to the locals, but I get a sense that most Cubans don't see any gradations between budget travelers and rich vacationers.
We left the park without seeing anything else, feeling more assailed by everyone who approached us demanding money from us.
Close-up of the ferry
This was not the end of it. We had originally been told that the person "guarding" our bikes at our casa wanted $2 per night. When we checked out to leave Baracoa, he demanded an additional $2, because we had left the motorcycles there during the day as well. Another argument ensued over what "$2 a night" meant. To most people, it is assumed that this covers a 24-hour period. But apparently here, you have to draw up a legal document for every transaction stating down to the littlest detail what exactly is covered and what all the hidden costs will be.
For a country that has repressed capitalism and free enterprise for the last 50 years, the rules opening up services to tourists seem to represent a tightly-wound spring finally exploding. Baracoa taught us some frustrating lessons as to how we would be treated in Cuba. It's obvious we have to approach our travels on the island very differently than what we're used to.
Curious kids in the neighbourhood, everyone wanted in on the picture!
I don't like ending things on a negative note, so I wanted to mention how nicely we were treated as we stayed in the barrio as people got to know us as we strolled through the neighbourhood streets every night. Familiar faces would smile and wave to us and say hi - we would talk about where we came from and about our trip, as well as get to know a little bit about their lives. One evening, we hung out on the neighbour's porch listening to his kid practice the violin. His dad seemed very proud of him and glad that the mini-audience spurred his son to give a concerto-level performance. Our standing ovation led to a shy grin on his face.
This feels like the real Cuba, one that we wanted to experience. I think all we have to do is step off the well-trodden tourist path.
The Jinetero problem came to a head in Baracoa. We were really looking forward to spending a couple of days in the tropical sea-side town, doing some hiking in the area and walking through the city streets. The casa owner in Santiago called ahead and booked us a room with someone she knew in Baracoa, presumably for a commission, we just had to meet them at the main gas station in town.
However, swarms of Jineteros on bicycles crowded around us when we arrived, and when we asked about the casa and showed them the business card, one of them led us to a house in a neighbourhood near the Malecon. We kept asking if this was the right place, as the address didn't match, and the young hustler reassured us it was. The guilty look on the casa owner's face confirmed that we were misled (literally), but rather than search the town again for the right place, we decided to stay because we were just too tired to argue.
Hotel El Castillo is set high atop a hill and offers great views of Baracoa
You can see the casa where we're staying (Casa El Kidnapo) from here. See the orange building in the centre? It's the small white building next to it.
The neighbourhood we're staying in seems quite poor, but the people living there were very friendly and again, very curious about the motorcycles. It was a nice location, one street away from the Malecon, and strolling up and down it offered a nice change from the very touristy centro. Also, very little Jineteros on the boardwalk. We watched as a group of kids played a game of pelota (baseball) with a wooden stick for a bat and a plastic bottle cap for a ball.
Kids hanging out on the Malecon
Watching the waves of the Atlantic Ocean splash on the rocks from the Malecon
Changui originated a hundred years ago in the sugar cane fields, combining Spanish guitar and African rhythms
In the evenings, Changui music, native to Baracoa could be heard streaming from the bars. Entrance was free, but the mojitos were expensive and every three songs a hat was passed around to collect money for the musicians. The locals, not content to just listen, took to the floor and impressed all the turistos with their complex salsa footwork.
These kids were taking part in an art competition at the local arts centre
Mohawks are a popular hairstyle for young Cubans
We watched the local Baracoa baseball team practicing
Rumour has it that Fidel was a pretty good baseball player and national sports was encouraged by the government at all levels that Cuba quickly rose to world prominence at each Olympics after La Revolucion. I don't know anything about baseball, but even I've heard of Jose Canseco.
They let Neda try out for the team. This is her specialty pitch, the CocoNuckleBall
Young komrade at the beach
We decided to do some hiking on the hills south of the city, we were told that there were fabulous views of the city and shoreline at the summit. Normally, you would cross a narrow, rickety bridge across the Rio Miel to gain access, but it had been washed out, so we had to be ferried across for $1 each.
Our ferryman had the bluest eyes ever! Wish I got a picture of it.
From here, we were starting to get hit with unexpected fees, as we were charged $5 each for entrance to the park. The government official told us that it would grant entry to everything. $10 is a bit steep for a hike (not including the $4 for the round-trip ferry), but since we had already come all this way, we decided to pay. We opted not to hire a guide since the trails were well-marked, but one followed us anyway, hoping to guilt us into paying him at the end of the hike. This was getting very annoying as all we wanted to do was spend some time alone and unmolested.
Hike up the trail to get a better view
Upon reaching the summit, we discovered that the mirador (viewpoint) was on private property and that we were required to dish out an additional $5 each to enter. This was unacceptable, since the official at the entrance told us everything was included. Our little day-hike was going to cost us $24! We refused to pay, and started angrily down the hill. The woman that was on the property chased after us and told us that we didn't have to pay, so we relented. The viewpoint was beautiful, but I couldn't shrug off the growing feeling that everywhere we went on the island, we were going to be nickeled and dimed, and that most of the locals just viewed us and all the other tourists as walking wallets.
View from the mirador, Baracoa in the distance and the broken bridge down below. You can see the boat we took.
As we left, the owner, who we had not met before demanded payment for access to the viewpoint. An argument ensued as we told him that the woman (his wife, we found out) had said that we didn't have to pay. Thankfully, the guide that followed us vouched for that, and we left without further incident. There were other things we wanted to see in the park, a beach and an archeological museum inside some caves, but after questioning the guide, we found out that these cost money as well - $3 each for beach access and $3 each for the museum, for a total cost of $36 for the day.
I understand that there are tourists that come to Cuba that don't think twice about dropping $36 for an unguided hike. It's not a lot of money when you have jobs to go back to for the remaining 11.5 months out of the year when you're not on vacation. This is not the case for us, as we are traveling on a budget and to be misled like we had been, added terrible insult to injury. I understand the huge disparity between how much tourists have and make compared to the locals, but I get a sense that most Cubans don't see any gradations between budget travelers and rich vacationers.
We left the park without seeing anything else, feeling more assailed by everyone who approached us demanding money from us.
Close-up of the ferry
This was not the end of it. We had originally been told that the person "guarding" our bikes at our casa wanted $2 per night. When we checked out to leave Baracoa, he demanded an additional $2, because we had left the motorcycles there during the day as well. Another argument ensued over what "$2 a night" meant. To most people, it is assumed that this covers a 24-hour period. But apparently here, you have to draw up a legal document for every transaction stating down to the littlest detail what exactly is covered and what all the hidden costs will be.
For a country that has repressed capitalism and free enterprise for the last 50 years, the rules opening up services to tourists seem to represent a tightly-wound spring finally exploding. Baracoa taught us some frustrating lessons as to how we would be treated in Cuba. It's obvious we have to approach our travels on the island very differently than what we're used to.
Curious kids in the neighbourhood, everyone wanted in on the picture!
I don't like ending things on a negative note, so I wanted to mention how nicely we were treated as we stayed in the barrio as people got to know us as we strolled through the neighbourhood streets every night. Familiar faces would smile and wave to us and say hi - we would talk about where we came from and about our trip, as well as get to know a little bit about their lives. One evening, we hung out on the neighbour's porch listening to his kid practice the violin. His dad seemed very proud of him and glad that the mini-audience spurred his son to give a concerto-level performance. Our standing ovation led to a shy grin on his face.
This feels like the real Cuba, one that we wanted to experience. I think all we have to do is step off the well-trodden tourist path.
homme de fer
Well-known member
You hit on something, how much of what a person sees when they are on vacation is the "true" Cuba (or D.R., or Jamaica, etc) and how much of it is fake? It's a funny thing, the farther you are from the tourist areas, the closer you are to experiencing the "real" part of the country, which happens to be the people.
Do they still have the whole cuban convertible peso thing going on? When I've been there in the past (three different places) there's one fee schedule for locals in cuban pesos and another fee schedule for tourists in the convertible pesos thing (which costs more). Short story, tourists are not supposed to have access to the local fee schedule. What this means is that you hardly ever end up paying what a local would and therefore you are always seen as being on a different level. The only time this changed was when I wandered into a local market where there was no dual fee schedule and I was buying fruit at local prices which were insanely cheap, apart from this I always felt nickeled and dimed everywhere I went.
Also, I have no idea if this would work in Cuba but I got extremely frustrated in Turkey once by hustlers crowding around me, there were several thousand turkish lira to the pound (I'm a Brit) at the time. I found a neat way to get rid of the hustlers was to hold up a one lira note shouting "one lira, one lira" at everyone as they then left me alone, this included the shoeshine boy trying to polish my sandals.
Also, I have no idea if this would work in Cuba but I got extremely frustrated in Turkey once by hustlers crowding around me, there were several thousand turkish lira to the pound (I'm a Brit) at the time. I found a neat way to get rid of the hustlers was to hold up a one lira note shouting "one lira, one lira" at everyone as they then left me alone, this included the shoeshine boy trying to polish my sandals.
^^^ It's about 25:1 Cuban local peso to CUC (the Cuban Convertible peso).
This reminds me a bit about your travels to India when one of the bikes got stuck and they pushed you out but wanted money after.
Hate that nickel and dime stuff. Hope the rest of the island is a bit better. I've found when you get into the smaller towns, away from the touristy crap, people are just people and don't hassle you as much. I had a great time around Pilon and stayed with some friends who had Cuban relatives there.
Safe travels.
This reminds me a bit about your travels to India when one of the bikes got stuck and they pushed you out but wanted money after.
Hate that nickel and dime stuff. Hope the rest of the island is a bit better. I've found when you get into the smaller towns, away from the touristy crap, people are just people and don't hassle you as much. I had a great time around Pilon and stayed with some friends who had Cuban relatives there.
Safe travels.
Exactly right. The prettiest parts of the country are invariably the ones that have gotten re-upholstered for tourist consumption. We saw this at the pyramids in Chichen Itza in Mexico - they rebuilt one of the pyramids and realized they had added an extra step where one was not before. Most of the cobblestone roads in the old historic centres of the towns we visited in Central America have had their stones upgraded over time at considerable cost than if they were to just have laid asphalt down to replace the cobblestones. In Havana, everyone wants to see old ladies smoking huge cigars, so a bunch of old ladies now hang out in the centre square, unlit cigars hanging out of their mouths, charging tourists to take a picture of them.
It's a vicious circle of expectations and window dressing all driven by the tourist dollar.
Yep, the official conversion rate is 24 local MN (Moneda Nationale) to 1 tourist CUC (which is equal to one US dollar). The hilarious part is that if you do try to change US dollars at the bank or any establishment (hotel, restaurant, etc), they ding you a further 12-17% because the USA is considered enemy #1. Most tourists bring either Euros or Canadian dollars to get a fairer exchange rate.
We had been travelling for so long that we didn't have any CDN on us. Before leaving for Cuba, we were in Colombia, so we withdrew funds in US dollars at their ATMs, converting them to Euros there and then in Cuba, converting that to Cuban CUCs. We didn't know at the time that the Cuban banks would convert Colombian pesos directly, so we lost a fair bit of money on two unnecessary currency exchanges...
Both tourists and locals have access to CUCs and the local currency MN (Moneda Nationale). The government pays their citizens in MN and there are special restaurants and grocery stores that only price their food in MN, but there's nothing stopping a tourist from exchanging CUCs to MNs and shopping there, just that the lineups are very long. In some tourist centres, if you do not have MNs, some restaurants will double-charge you, so a $10MN (~50 cents CUC) will cost you $1 CUC. Better to always have a stack of MN in your wallet as food is really really cheap if you shop with the local currency.
I don't think this double currency system will stand the test of time. Too many places accept both currencies from both locals and tourists, so I think CUCs will be the standard in a few years.
There were quite a few parallels to India, the primary one was all the unwanted attention. In India, we were the curiousity, crowds of people would gather around us wherever we stopped. In Cuba, our motorcycles were the centre of attention. In both places, there is no etiquette around hiding curiousity, whereas in the western world, you'd "play it cool" and just glance at whatever you're curious about from the corner of your eye at a distance...
I find cultural differences like this so fascinating to experience first-hand, and it's one of the main reasons why I love travelling.
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Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/94.html
We left Baracoa feeling a bit disillusioned. Everywhere we went, we felt like we were being hustled. We are also feeling a bit isolated, as Internet access is expensive ($0.10 per minute) and is relegated to a few terminals in special telecom buildings, so no Skype. Add to this, we're suffering from multiple equipment failures: our waterproof point-and-shoot camera turned out to be not so waterproof, and we can't find a suitable replacement on the island, so no riding shots. Also, the keyboards on both of our laptops don't function anymore. No typing, no blogging...
Nickel is one of Cuba's most profitable and environmentally damaging exports
Our first half of our route for the day took us through a very rough gravel road towards Moa. Having to focus on the broken road was a nice distraction from everything else happening and we enjoyed the simple pleasure of riding in beautiful sunny weather. As we approached Moa, the soil turned a beautiful shade of red, as if we were traveling along the surface of Mars. Unfortunately, all of this was marred (pun intended) by the sight of nickel factories, belching thick acrid smoke into the air, and the ground water turned oily-coloured from the all the polluted runoff.
What could have been such a beautiful landscape is spoiled by pollution
On our march westwards, we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant just outside of a tiny village. There seemed to be quite a lot of people there, loud Spanish music playing and we quickly learned that this was a prelude to the Primero de Mayo (International Worker's Day) celebrations that the whole country is ramping up for. Although it seemed to be a private party for the villagers, we were graciously invited in. At first, the crowd viewed us as a bit of an oddity and they kept their distance, eyeing us from afar - I don't think a lot of tourists make it out here. But by the time we polished off a delicious lunch of fried chicken and rice, the folks around us got a bit more comfortable having us around and starting offering us beer and engaging us in conversation.
Party-time!
This is where we ran into a bit of trouble with the law. I asked permission to take some pictures, and there was something about the camera that loosened people up almost immediately. Suddenly everybody wanted to be in front of and behind the camera. With every picture taken, the crowd seemed to get louder and rowdier (not dangerous mob rowdy, just party rowdy). One of the two policemen who were there keeping a watch pulled me aside and said something in Spanish, which to my ears sounded like, "You're under arrest".
But that was just me inferring what most policemen say to me, because Neda the Espanolophone told me he said, "You don't have to leave, but we have to ask you to stop taking pictures, the people are getting a bit too excited". It was a bit of a damper, but we got a taste of how disciplined the society is and what the boundaries were to cutting loose in a party - which was not very loose at all.
These kids wanted a picture on our bikes, so we obliged. So cute!!!
We actually left the party feeling like we got to know the real Cuba, meeting real people and not hustlers and partying (briefly) with them. They wanted nothing but to talk and be merry with us, and to be in our pictures, it felt pretty good. However, we knew this feeling wouldn't last as we neared our destination - the city of Holguin.
A local Holguin brewery that produced Cuba's most popular beer, Cristal, put on a fashion show at the hotel.
We made a decision leaving Baracoa to bypass all the Jineteros and their casas, and stay in a hotel instead. Through our research, we found the Islazul chain of hotels, which were funded mostly in part by Soviet money in the 70s (and styled that way as well). They were moderately priced accommodations, about $30/night, merely $6 more than a casa+parking and none of the negotiating hassle. It was a no-brainer considering there was a free swimming pool and breakfast was included!
Definitely not a Chevy big block engine under the hood
We saw plenty of vintage American cars from the 50s rumbling through the streets of Cuba, a remnant of the last time the US had any economic contact with the island. Although their bodies may be well-preserved, their guts have long since rotted and with a dearth of parts from Detroit, most of these cars have had heart transplants instead, running on diesel engines lifted from Eastern Bloc cars like Ladas.
Cuban national colours at dinner
Holguin is known as the city of parks, the fourth-largest city, and not really a stop for most tourists, which is what we liked. We took a stroll through one of the parks with a children's playground and all the mechanical rides, like the merry-go-round and ferris wheel were all non-operational - victim of budget cuts since Soviet funding dried up in the 90s. Kids still clambered along the swings and the slides, and I laughed a bit at the decorations - space ships, rockets and... missiles. Cuban Missiles. Not sure if they were built before or after October 1963...
Most of the old American automobiles were earning their expensive keep as taxis for tourists
We heard music coming from an abandoned building, and when we peered inside, we saw these dancers and musicians rehearsing for a show later on in the week. They gave us a personal invitation to their concert!
465 steps up La Loma de la Cruz
Just outside the city in the north is a large hill where you can experience a panoramic view of Holguin. There's a road that winds up the La Loma de la Cruz in the back, but they also built a large stairway for pedestrians. The first week of every May, there's a huge religious ceremony which involved devotees climbing up the 465 steps to the top.
Neda surveys the city below
A shrine at the summit of the hill
Back in town, more old autos and sunflowers
The beaches of Guardalavaca, which are about 45 minutes away from Holguin, are where most of the tourists end up going. We made a day-trip out of it, visiting some ancient burial grounds just outside the town (not very interesting) and then heading to the beach for some fun in the sun. Expensive resorts line the shore, and as we parked the bikes, we met a custodian who told us that most of the newer resorts were constructed by Canadian companies. After building a property, a foreign investor had 5 years to turn a profit, after that time the property would be handed over to the Cuban government. Interesting!
Family-time at the beach
This was a big advertisement for parasailing. This guy would do amazing tricks up and down the shore and then park his board near tourists and tell them that he could teach them how to do it if they rented the equipment from him!
On the way back from the beach, Neda picks up some fruits from a road-side vendor
A demonstration of Santerian relgious ceremony
One evening, we headed to the town square to see the concert that the musicians and dancers had invited us to. They were actually 1 of 3 acts, the first was a demonstration of Santeria, which is a Cuban religion, mixing African, Haitian voodoo, Catholic and Native American influences. Devotees dress all in white, not all swallow fire though... Throughout Cuba, we have seen many people dressed all in white, like the Santerians, but we found out that some do so just for the fashion, not because they are religious.
Our friends from the warehouse, all decked out in their traditional costumes!
Flamenco dancers, the last act of the night
We left Baracoa feeling a bit disillusioned. Everywhere we went, we felt like we were being hustled. We are also feeling a bit isolated, as Internet access is expensive ($0.10 per minute) and is relegated to a few terminals in special telecom buildings, so no Skype. Add to this, we're suffering from multiple equipment failures: our waterproof point-and-shoot camera turned out to be not so waterproof, and we can't find a suitable replacement on the island, so no riding shots. Also, the keyboards on both of our laptops don't function anymore. No typing, no blogging...
Nickel is one of Cuba's most profitable and environmentally damaging exports
Our first half of our route for the day took us through a very rough gravel road towards Moa. Having to focus on the broken road was a nice distraction from everything else happening and we enjoyed the simple pleasure of riding in beautiful sunny weather. As we approached Moa, the soil turned a beautiful shade of red, as if we were traveling along the surface of Mars. Unfortunately, all of this was marred (pun intended) by the sight of nickel factories, belching thick acrid smoke into the air, and the ground water turned oily-coloured from the all the polluted runoff.
What could have been such a beautiful landscape is spoiled by pollution
On our march westwards, we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant just outside of a tiny village. There seemed to be quite a lot of people there, loud Spanish music playing and we quickly learned that this was a prelude to the Primero de Mayo (International Worker's Day) celebrations that the whole country is ramping up for. Although it seemed to be a private party for the villagers, we were graciously invited in. At first, the crowd viewed us as a bit of an oddity and they kept their distance, eyeing us from afar - I don't think a lot of tourists make it out here. But by the time we polished off a delicious lunch of fried chicken and rice, the folks around us got a bit more comfortable having us around and starting offering us beer and engaging us in conversation.
Party-time!
This is where we ran into a bit of trouble with the law. I asked permission to take some pictures, and there was something about the camera that loosened people up almost immediately. Suddenly everybody wanted to be in front of and behind the camera. With every picture taken, the crowd seemed to get louder and rowdier (not dangerous mob rowdy, just party rowdy). One of the two policemen who were there keeping a watch pulled me aside and said something in Spanish, which to my ears sounded like, "You're under arrest".
But that was just me inferring what most policemen say to me, because Neda the Espanolophone told me he said, "You don't have to leave, but we have to ask you to stop taking pictures, the people are getting a bit too excited". It was a bit of a damper, but we got a taste of how disciplined the society is and what the boundaries were to cutting loose in a party - which was not very loose at all.
These kids wanted a picture on our bikes, so we obliged. So cute!!!
We actually left the party feeling like we got to know the real Cuba, meeting real people and not hustlers and partying (briefly) with them. They wanted nothing but to talk and be merry with us, and to be in our pictures, it felt pretty good. However, we knew this feeling wouldn't last as we neared our destination - the city of Holguin.
A local Holguin brewery that produced Cuba's most popular beer, Cristal, put on a fashion show at the hotel.
We made a decision leaving Baracoa to bypass all the Jineteros and their casas, and stay in a hotel instead. Through our research, we found the Islazul chain of hotels, which were funded mostly in part by Soviet money in the 70s (and styled that way as well). They were moderately priced accommodations, about $30/night, merely $6 more than a casa+parking and none of the negotiating hassle. It was a no-brainer considering there was a free swimming pool and breakfast was included!
Definitely not a Chevy big block engine under the hood
We saw plenty of vintage American cars from the 50s rumbling through the streets of Cuba, a remnant of the last time the US had any economic contact with the island. Although their bodies may be well-preserved, their guts have long since rotted and with a dearth of parts from Detroit, most of these cars have had heart transplants instead, running on diesel engines lifted from Eastern Bloc cars like Ladas.
Cuban national colours at dinner
Holguin is known as the city of parks, the fourth-largest city, and not really a stop for most tourists, which is what we liked. We took a stroll through one of the parks with a children's playground and all the mechanical rides, like the merry-go-round and ferris wheel were all non-operational - victim of budget cuts since Soviet funding dried up in the 90s. Kids still clambered along the swings and the slides, and I laughed a bit at the decorations - space ships, rockets and... missiles. Cuban Missiles. Not sure if they were built before or after October 1963...
Most of the old American automobiles were earning their expensive keep as taxis for tourists
We heard music coming from an abandoned building, and when we peered inside, we saw these dancers and musicians rehearsing for a show later on in the week. They gave us a personal invitation to their concert!
465 steps up La Loma de la Cruz
Just outside the city in the north is a large hill where you can experience a panoramic view of Holguin. There's a road that winds up the La Loma de la Cruz in the back, but they also built a large stairway for pedestrians. The first week of every May, there's a huge religious ceremony which involved devotees climbing up the 465 steps to the top.
Neda surveys the city below
A shrine at the summit of the hill
Back in town, more old autos and sunflowers
The beaches of Guardalavaca, which are about 45 minutes away from Holguin, are where most of the tourists end up going. We made a day-trip out of it, visiting some ancient burial grounds just outside the town (not very interesting) and then heading to the beach for some fun in the sun. Expensive resorts line the shore, and as we parked the bikes, we met a custodian who told us that most of the newer resorts were constructed by Canadian companies. After building a property, a foreign investor had 5 years to turn a profit, after that time the property would be handed over to the Cuban government. Interesting!
Family-time at the beach
This was a big advertisement for parasailing. This guy would do amazing tricks up and down the shore and then park his board near tourists and tell them that he could teach them how to do it if they rented the equipment from him!
On the way back from the beach, Neda picks up some fruits from a road-side vendor
A demonstration of Santerian relgious ceremony
One evening, we headed to the town square to see the concert that the musicians and dancers had invited us to. They were actually 1 of 3 acts, the first was a demonstration of Santeria, which is a Cuban religion, mixing African, Haitian voodoo, Catholic and Native American influences. Devotees dress all in white, not all swallow fire though... Throughout Cuba, we have seen many people dressed all in white, like the Santerians, but we found out that some do so just for the fashion, not because they are religious.
Our friends from the warehouse, all decked out in their traditional costumes!
Flamenco dancers, the last act of the night
Last edited:
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/95.html
We spent a few days travelling inland through Central Cuba, thankful that we were shying away from the popular tourist destinations and the hustlers that swim in those waters. We were pretty happy with being anonymous in the fairly priced Islazul hotels, so we ended up searching for them in the interior of the island. Our journey through the interior revealed a lot about the history of La Revolucion, the players and the events that have happened since.
More state-sponsored propaganda on the Carretera Centrale (main road)
Very cute lizards watch us eat dinner
The town of Moron, our stopover for a couple of nights
We chose to stay awhile in the town of Moron, which is not that touristy, but is used as a base for budget travellers who don't want to pay the exorbitant resort rates on the beaches of Cayo Coco, less than an hour to the north. Yep, that sounds like us!
Fidel the freedom fighter, in the jungles of Cuba
The Cuban 5
Everywhere in our travels we saw these 5 names, with slogans like "Free the Five!" and "They will return!". It's only later that we found out these five were Cuban spies that were sent to the US. In the 90s, they were discovered and convicted of spying against America, although Cuba maintains that they were only there to spy on anti-Cuban organizations launching terrorists attacks on Cuban soil from their base in Miami. Here they're hailed as heroes who gave up their liberty to defend their country.
Seamstresses in Moron
Pastel colours
Singing competition. Neda said that these girls were dressed in the same outfits that she wore when she was a kid in Croatia.
These students were all taking part in a music competition
Most of the buildings in Moron had these Roman columns
Local shoe repair guy - open air shop!
"Here we have to throw rocks without looking forward"
In 1983, construction began on a 27km causeway between Cuba to the island of Cayo Coco, opening up land access to some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. From the mainland, you could not even see the island. Fidel stood on the spot where the causeway was to be constructed and motivated the workers: "Here is where we have to throw stones without looking forward".
Riding to our beach day in Cayo CoCo
We didn't really do any research as to where to go once we hit Cayo Coco, and when we ran into a couple from France driving the same direction, they told us that they were heading to one of the best beaches on the island: Playa Pilar. That sounded good to us. Little did we know that Playa Pilar was on the western-most tip of Cayo Guillermo, the adjoining island to Cayo Coco and a one-way trip from Moron was 100 kms! We had left on half a tank and there were no gas stations along the way - Thankfully we had our spare tanks...
Playa Pilar: White sand as fine as baking powder, and clear turquoise waters as far as the eye can see
The next day we rode only for a couple of hours westwards to Santa Clara. It's an important city in Cuban history because this is basically where La Revolucion against the Batista dictatorship was won in 1958. Fidel sent his most-trusted Lieutenant, Ernesto "Che" Guevara to capture the city, and after his death a few years later, a mausoleum was built just outside of Santa Clara to house his remains and celebrate his life. This was the main reason we stopped in the city.
Taking in some music in Santa Clara
22-foot high bronze Che on top of the mausoleum
I didn't know much about Che Guevara before coming to Cuba, and it was very interesting seeing how the government portrayed this hero of Cuban history. In the museum next to the mausoleum, we learned about the young Argentine doctor, who came from a privileged family, gave up everything and fought in the jungles of Cuba to free the oppressed workers of the country and the corruption of the Batista dictatorship.
Neda reads the epitaph and translates for me
It was only later when we were able to read non-Cuban propaganda, that we learned of the war atrocities that Che had committed. The trip to Santa Clara was a fascinating lesson in one-sided history and education. It made me think that although in the western world, we have access to all sorts of viewpoints and editorials on history and world events, we most often accept a singular reporting that the mainstream media feeds us without bothering to dig deeper. Despite Cuba's stance on silencing all opposing viewpoints (they have one of the world's worst records for jailing journalists), there seems to be a hunger for freedom of press. We heard that blogs and ezines on USB sticks are passed around from people to people on buses, in cafes and wherever Cubans mingle.
We take for granted what we have until we do not have it anymore.
Comrade patrols the mausoleum
Leaving Santa Clara: "Where did everyone go?!?"
We kept our bikes overnight in a garage that only stored 2 wheeled vehicles. Since our bikes were as big as cars, we took up the space of 5 or 6 of their motorcycles! The garage was entirely full the evening before, but they were all gone by the time we left in the late morning!
Next stop: Havana! Very excited!
We spent a few days travelling inland through Central Cuba, thankful that we were shying away from the popular tourist destinations and the hustlers that swim in those waters. We were pretty happy with being anonymous in the fairly priced Islazul hotels, so we ended up searching for them in the interior of the island. Our journey through the interior revealed a lot about the history of La Revolucion, the players and the events that have happened since.
More state-sponsored propaganda on the Carretera Centrale (main road)
Very cute lizards watch us eat dinner
The town of Moron, our stopover for a couple of nights
We chose to stay awhile in the town of Moron, which is not that touristy, but is used as a base for budget travellers who don't want to pay the exorbitant resort rates on the beaches of Cayo Coco, less than an hour to the north. Yep, that sounds like us!
Fidel the freedom fighter, in the jungles of Cuba
The Cuban 5
Everywhere in our travels we saw these 5 names, with slogans like "Free the Five!" and "They will return!". It's only later that we found out these five were Cuban spies that were sent to the US. In the 90s, they were discovered and convicted of spying against America, although Cuba maintains that they were only there to spy on anti-Cuban organizations launching terrorists attacks on Cuban soil from their base in Miami. Here they're hailed as heroes who gave up their liberty to defend their country.
Seamstresses in Moron
Pastel colours
Singing competition. Neda said that these girls were dressed in the same outfits that she wore when she was a kid in Croatia.
These students were all taking part in a music competition
Most of the buildings in Moron had these Roman columns
Local shoe repair guy - open air shop!
"Here we have to throw rocks without looking forward"
In 1983, construction began on a 27km causeway between Cuba to the island of Cayo Coco, opening up land access to some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. From the mainland, you could not even see the island. Fidel stood on the spot where the causeway was to be constructed and motivated the workers: "Here is where we have to throw stones without looking forward".
Riding to our beach day in Cayo CoCo
We didn't really do any research as to where to go once we hit Cayo Coco, and when we ran into a couple from France driving the same direction, they told us that they were heading to one of the best beaches on the island: Playa Pilar. That sounded good to us. Little did we know that Playa Pilar was on the western-most tip of Cayo Guillermo, the adjoining island to Cayo Coco and a one-way trip from Moron was 100 kms! We had left on half a tank and there were no gas stations along the way - Thankfully we had our spare tanks...
Playa Pilar: White sand as fine as baking powder, and clear turquoise waters as far as the eye can see
The next day we rode only for a couple of hours westwards to Santa Clara. It's an important city in Cuban history because this is basically where La Revolucion against the Batista dictatorship was won in 1958. Fidel sent his most-trusted Lieutenant, Ernesto "Che" Guevara to capture the city, and after his death a few years later, a mausoleum was built just outside of Santa Clara to house his remains and celebrate his life. This was the main reason we stopped in the city.
Taking in some music in Santa Clara
22-foot high bronze Che on top of the mausoleum
I didn't know much about Che Guevara before coming to Cuba, and it was very interesting seeing how the government portrayed this hero of Cuban history. In the museum next to the mausoleum, we learned about the young Argentine doctor, who came from a privileged family, gave up everything and fought in the jungles of Cuba to free the oppressed workers of the country and the corruption of the Batista dictatorship.
Neda reads the epitaph and translates for me
It was only later when we were able to read non-Cuban propaganda, that we learned of the war atrocities that Che had committed. The trip to Santa Clara was a fascinating lesson in one-sided history and education. It made me think that although in the western world, we have access to all sorts of viewpoints and editorials on history and world events, we most often accept a singular reporting that the mainstream media feeds us without bothering to dig deeper. Despite Cuba's stance on silencing all opposing viewpoints (they have one of the world's worst records for jailing journalists), there seems to be a hunger for freedom of press. We heard that blogs and ezines on USB sticks are passed around from people to people on buses, in cafes and wherever Cubans mingle.
We take for granted what we have until we do not have it anymore.
Comrade patrols the mausoleum
Leaving Santa Clara: "Where did everyone go?!?"
We kept our bikes overnight in a garage that only stored 2 wheeled vehicles. Since our bikes were as big as cars, we took up the space of 5 or 6 of their motorcycles! The garage was entirely full the evening before, but they were all gone by the time we left in the late morning!
Next stop: Havana! Very excited!
I loved Cuba as well - one comment tho
Cuba was a US sponsored gangster state and the US has spent the last 50 years blocking trade - an act of war.
ANY nation under wartime conditions - which they still are - restricts the rights of citizens and uses propaganda and the worst of the propaganda comes out of the exiles in Miami.
Until the US releases their grip on Cuban trade the environment is one of the US making, not Cuban choice.
Canada has a different relationship and if you talk to Cuban Canadians you get a much more balanced story than anything out of the US propaganda tanks.
Cuba has done a great job under extremely adverse circumstances not of their own making. They turned to the Soviets ONLY because of the US.
They could easily be one of the most prosperous and fair Caribbean states and in many respects have the education, life span, low natal death rate and healthcare of a first world nation - better in some cases than the US and while the US still is counting the cost of Katrina - Cubans had 4 stronger hurricanes the same year and only 6 people died. They even offered doctors to help with Katrina.
The Cubans I talked to are proud of the revolution ( and yes we were out of the tourist areas for half our stay) and no desire to go back to the gangster ridden oppressive state that existed pre-revolution.
But the fault today lies not with Cuban government but with the US oppression.
Direct democracy is alive and well for all but the foreign policy aspect and if Cuban trumpets its message which you are calling propaganda.....so does Harper with the tax payers dollars.
Canada has kept good and fair relations with Cuba and I'm proud of that and in some resort areas about 1/3 of the guests are Canadian.
It sounds as if the bad drought that existed for several years is over which is good.
I never felt threatened in Cuba, found the police fair and helpful and strict on no parking
Your pictures are great - fortunate you have dual sports as some of the roads are hilarious.-- rattle your teeth out and I adored the crazy variety of vehicles that were in use, ox carts, donkeys pulling bicycles and every dump truck a travelling congregation of hitch hikers.
What you are seeing with the hustling is the emergence of a nascent market economy - it was like that in China in 1982 - just ready to bust out.
One of your internet issues is not because of Cuban gov but rather the US blocks Cuba from the undersea cable to access he world.
So take the anti-Cuba agitprop with an equal grain of salt and enjoy the people which are warm and wonderful and those few extra dollars some might extract go a long way for them. We left useful things there ( like swim fins ) as in many cases it made a huge difference.
We'll reimburse you when you get back for all the wonderful tales....be generous with the Cubans....the US has not been
That sat phone offer is still available BTW.
Don't know if you are still there but if you get a chance - Cuba has preserved it's reef system better than any other Caribbean Island and has the only extant natural Caribbean reef of any size left in the whole area.
http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/Trave....php?id=The-Queen's-Gardens-the-last-paradise
Cuba was a US sponsored gangster state and the US has spent the last 50 years blocking trade - an act of war.
ANY nation under wartime conditions - which they still are - restricts the rights of citizens and uses propaganda and the worst of the propaganda comes out of the exiles in Miami.
Until the US releases their grip on Cuban trade the environment is one of the US making, not Cuban choice.
Canada has a different relationship and if you talk to Cuban Canadians you get a much more balanced story than anything out of the US propaganda tanks.
Cuba has done a great job under extremely adverse circumstances not of their own making. They turned to the Soviets ONLY because of the US.
They could easily be one of the most prosperous and fair Caribbean states and in many respects have the education, life span, low natal death rate and healthcare of a first world nation - better in some cases than the US and while the US still is counting the cost of Katrina - Cubans had 4 stronger hurricanes the same year and only 6 people died. They even offered doctors to help with Katrina.
The Cubans I talked to are proud of the revolution ( and yes we were out of the tourist areas for half our stay) and no desire to go back to the gangster ridden oppressive state that existed pre-revolution.
But the fault today lies not with Cuban government but with the US oppression.
Direct democracy is alive and well for all but the foreign policy aspect and if Cuban trumpets its message which you are calling propaganda.....so does Harper with the tax payers dollars.
Canada has kept good and fair relations with Cuba and I'm proud of that and in some resort areas about 1/3 of the guests are Canadian.
It sounds as if the bad drought that existed for several years is over which is good.
I never felt threatened in Cuba, found the police fair and helpful and strict on no parking
Your pictures are great - fortunate you have dual sports as some of the roads are hilarious.-- rattle your teeth out and I adored the crazy variety of vehicles that were in use, ox carts, donkeys pulling bicycles and every dump truck a travelling congregation of hitch hikers.
What you are seeing with the hustling is the emergence of a nascent market economy - it was like that in China in 1982 - just ready to bust out.
One of your internet issues is not because of Cuban gov but rather the US blocks Cuba from the undersea cable to access he world.
So take the anti-Cuba agitprop with an equal grain of salt and enjoy the people which are warm and wonderful and those few extra dollars some might extract go a long way for them. We left useful things there ( like swim fins ) as in many cases it made a huge difference.
We'll reimburse you when you get back for all the wonderful tales....be generous with the Cubans....the US has not been
That sat phone offer is still available BTW.
Don't know if you are still there but if you get a chance - Cuba has preserved it's reef system better than any other Caribbean Island and has the only extant natural Caribbean reef of any size left in the whole area.
http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/Trave....php?id=The-Queen's-Gardens-the-last-paradise
Last edited:
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/96.html
From Santa Clara, we make amazing time on the only highway in the country. Originally conceived to stretch the entire length of the island, the Autopista is symbolic of the half-realized dream that Cuba has become. After Soviet funding dried up in the 90s, the completed parts of the highway only connect the central part of Cuba to just west of Havana. Traffic is sparse on the road, and we share the ride with a spattering of classic cars, buses and lots of horse-drawn buggies.
Looking at a map, we are just a scant 150 kms away from Key West - our meandering path has taken us to the closest we've been to Toronto in months! Ha!
Beautifully maintained classic cars harken back to a time when Havana was at the peak of its affluence and influence
Reaching the historic centre of old Havana requires riding through kms of urban sprawl, and we peel through the outer layers of dirty factories and railroad tracks, through to the shambles of the outlying neighbourhoods and finally to a seemingly incongruous opulent capital city. From the 1930s up until the Revolution in 1958, Havana was THE centre of tourism in the Caribbean, with casinos, nightclubs and hotels supporting a nightlife that drew celebrities and socialites to the city, out-rivaling Las Vegas. All the revenue and activity attracted gangsters and government corruption. During La Revolucion, Fidel chased out these elements, nationalizing all the businesses, and made enemies of the United States which had their interests and assets in the country seized. The embargo ensued, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the money stopped coming in.
Stone sculptures line the main tourist walkway in Havana
Restoration work being done on the Capitol Building
As the rest of the country fell into decay, there were only funds enough eft to restore 10% of the city, leaving a stark contrast between the magnificence of the historic centre and the crumbling ruins of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Just a few steps from the main tourist areas revealed the impoverished state of the people and their living conditions.
Backstreets of the old city
Impromptu game of football in the streets of Havana
There is no shortage of vintage automobiles in the old city
These old American cars are just one of the examples of the contradictions that we saw in Cuban culture. While the imperialist United States has been demonized by the Cuban government, these classic Fords and Chevies have been declared a National Heritage and are a much heralded symbol of the communist island nation. Same goes for the national sport of the country: Baseball. You can't get any more apple pie than that.
The US is not immune to this contradiction as well - ever since the trade and travel embargo, Americans have been trying to sneak onto Cuban beaches and resorts for years now and the Cuban cigar has obtained mythical status in the States.
Our casa overlooks the shores of Havana
We had heard that Jinetero problem was the worst in Havana, and we were prepared once again to check into a hotel, but we quickly found the prices way out of our reach. Thankfully we ran into a fellow Canadian on the streets who showed us a nice casa particular that he had stayed at before, right on the very scenic Malecon. His local Cuban friends taught us how to negotiate discounts: if you find a casa or restaurant without the help of a Jinetero, you don't have to pay the $5 commission. Useful information!
We get a scenic view of the Malecon from our balcony window
We stayed in Havana for four days, taking plenty of time just to relax and hang out in our casa. Everytime we stepped out to find food or shop for groceries, we mentally put on our armor and steeled ourselves for the onslaught of the hustlers' spiel: "Where are you from?" and "Don't you like Cuban people?!?". I was a bit dismayed to see how adept we were at ignoring people on the street. It went against our nature of being open and friendly with everyone we meet on the road.
Cuba is wearing us thin. I can tell that I've lost my humour and we're spending more time sequestered away in our room than out exploring. I don't think we're normally this sensitive to being hustled, but we've been on the road for almost a year now and travel fatigue is setting in. We really need to hunker down somewhere for a month or two, take a break from the constant motion and regroup.
Tall waves crash over the wall of the Malecon, leaving slick patches of seaweed on the road
Every night, city crews clean the seaweed from the streets
Skyscrapers of modern Havana lurk in the background of the old city
There's a lot of competition for tourist dollars in Havana, old Cuban ladies sit in the town square with cigars hanging out of their mouths, charging tourists to snap their pictures. They're capitalizing on the now-famous picture of the Cuban lady smoking a stogie that adorns many travel brochures and tourist guides. And these ladies' cigars remain unlit the entire day!
I don't shell out for this staged photo-op.
Beautiful architecture in the old city
Old historical centre
With a shortage of parts from the outside world, Cubans have developed some creative fabrication skills
We take a ride in one of the vintage automobiles through the street (not streets) of Chinatown
Chinese food was a welcome change from Latin American fare
Asian tourists are pretty rare in Cuba and like our motorcycles, I was the source of a lot of curiousity about my background. For most Cubans, Asians fall into the category of either Chinese, Japanese or Korean - no other races exist. A typical conversation would go something like this:
Them: Chino?
Me: Soy de Canada.
Them: Chino?
Me: Mi familia es de Malasia.
Them: Chino?
Me: *sigh* Si. Chino.
Them: AH! CHINO!
LOL...
Sunset on the skyline of Havana
From Santa Clara, we make amazing time on the only highway in the country. Originally conceived to stretch the entire length of the island, the Autopista is symbolic of the half-realized dream that Cuba has become. After Soviet funding dried up in the 90s, the completed parts of the highway only connect the central part of Cuba to just west of Havana. Traffic is sparse on the road, and we share the ride with a spattering of classic cars, buses and lots of horse-drawn buggies.
Looking at a map, we are just a scant 150 kms away from Key West - our meandering path has taken us to the closest we've been to Toronto in months! Ha!
Beautifully maintained classic cars harken back to a time when Havana was at the peak of its affluence and influence
Reaching the historic centre of old Havana requires riding through kms of urban sprawl, and we peel through the outer layers of dirty factories and railroad tracks, through to the shambles of the outlying neighbourhoods and finally to a seemingly incongruous opulent capital city. From the 1930s up until the Revolution in 1958, Havana was THE centre of tourism in the Caribbean, with casinos, nightclubs and hotels supporting a nightlife that drew celebrities and socialites to the city, out-rivaling Las Vegas. All the revenue and activity attracted gangsters and government corruption. During La Revolucion, Fidel chased out these elements, nationalizing all the businesses, and made enemies of the United States which had their interests and assets in the country seized. The embargo ensued, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the money stopped coming in.
Stone sculptures line the main tourist walkway in Havana
Restoration work being done on the Capitol Building
As the rest of the country fell into decay, there were only funds enough eft to restore 10% of the city, leaving a stark contrast between the magnificence of the historic centre and the crumbling ruins of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Just a few steps from the main tourist areas revealed the impoverished state of the people and their living conditions.
Backstreets of the old city
Impromptu game of football in the streets of Havana
There is no shortage of vintage automobiles in the old city
These old American cars are just one of the examples of the contradictions that we saw in Cuban culture. While the imperialist United States has been demonized by the Cuban government, these classic Fords and Chevies have been declared a National Heritage and are a much heralded symbol of the communist island nation. Same goes for the national sport of the country: Baseball. You can't get any more apple pie than that.
The US is not immune to this contradiction as well - ever since the trade and travel embargo, Americans have been trying to sneak onto Cuban beaches and resorts for years now and the Cuban cigar has obtained mythical status in the States.
Our casa overlooks the shores of Havana
We had heard that Jinetero problem was the worst in Havana, and we were prepared once again to check into a hotel, but we quickly found the prices way out of our reach. Thankfully we ran into a fellow Canadian on the streets who showed us a nice casa particular that he had stayed at before, right on the very scenic Malecon. His local Cuban friends taught us how to negotiate discounts: if you find a casa or restaurant without the help of a Jinetero, you don't have to pay the $5 commission. Useful information!
We get a scenic view of the Malecon from our balcony window
We stayed in Havana for four days, taking plenty of time just to relax and hang out in our casa. Everytime we stepped out to find food or shop for groceries, we mentally put on our armor and steeled ourselves for the onslaught of the hustlers' spiel: "Where are you from?" and "Don't you like Cuban people?!?". I was a bit dismayed to see how adept we were at ignoring people on the street. It went against our nature of being open and friendly with everyone we meet on the road.
Cuba is wearing us thin. I can tell that I've lost my humour and we're spending more time sequestered away in our room than out exploring. I don't think we're normally this sensitive to being hustled, but we've been on the road for almost a year now and travel fatigue is setting in. We really need to hunker down somewhere for a month or two, take a break from the constant motion and regroup.
Tall waves crash over the wall of the Malecon, leaving slick patches of seaweed on the road
Every night, city crews clean the seaweed from the streets
Skyscrapers of modern Havana lurk in the background of the old city
There's a lot of competition for tourist dollars in Havana, old Cuban ladies sit in the town square with cigars hanging out of their mouths, charging tourists to snap their pictures. They're capitalizing on the now-famous picture of the Cuban lady smoking a stogie that adorns many travel brochures and tourist guides. And these ladies' cigars remain unlit the entire day!
I don't shell out for this staged photo-op.
Beautiful architecture in the old city
Old historical centre
With a shortage of parts from the outside world, Cubans have developed some creative fabrication skills
We take a ride in one of the vintage automobiles through the street (not streets) of Chinatown
Chinese food was a welcome change from Latin American fare
Asian tourists are pretty rare in Cuba and like our motorcycles, I was the source of a lot of curiousity about my background. For most Cubans, Asians fall into the category of either Chinese, Japanese or Korean - no other races exist. A typical conversation would go something like this:
Them: Chino?
Me: Soy de Canada.
Them: Chino?
Me: Mi familia es de Malasia.
Them: Chino?
Me: *sigh* Si. Chino.
Them: AH! CHINO!
LOL...
Sunset on the skyline of Havana
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/97.html
Where are there no Jineteros? Let's go there.
Vinales is in small farming community in the eastern province of Pinar Del Rio and we're told that there's very little hustling there. So we jump on our bikes, head to the Autopista and make a beeline to the heart of tobacco country.
Along the way we run into our good buddy, Che
Parking at our casa is a tight fit even with the bags off
This wasn't a tight fit - the helmet could have done an exorcist swivel on his head!
Vinales is quite a sleepy community, in contrast to the busy city of Pinar Del Rio to the south. Lots of people hang out on their porches here in the evening, we felt very comfortable in this bucolic setting, taking strolls up and down the main street every night, unmolested by hustlers.
Walking around the neighbourhood in Vinales
Whenever we travel, I find myself becoming enamoured with the local vehicles. When we were in Baja California, I dreamed of driving around in an old rust-red VW Beetle w/ a dune-buggy kit: exposed chrome engine in the back, big knobby tires, jacked up suspension and loud fog-lights. In Cuba, I think it would the coolest to drive around in a mean black and chrome '56 Chevy Belair!
The triangular-roofed house is a drying shed for tobacco leaves
We booked a tour of one of the tobacco farms one morning and the owner, Juan took us around his fields, showing us how tobacco is farmed and harvested. Due to the soil and the microclimate here, the Vinales Valley is one of the best places to grow tobacco and makes the finest cigars in Cuba. The area is surrounded by limestone mountains which have eroded over time, giving them their steep slopes with flat tops. We've seen much artwork depicting these mountains, which are synonymous with the valley.
Thousands of tobacco leaves hanging in the drying house like bats in a cave
Neda learns everything there is to know about tobacco farming from Juan, then translates it (and dumbs it down) for me
Cuba has a low-input agricultural industry, choosing to use manual labour and ox-driven ploughs instead of costlier gasoline-powered farming equipment - necessary because of their isolation from the outside world. We've seen examples of this all over the country, and we've also seen some artwork that is critical of Fidel's policies for energy-efficiency while ignoring more important issues. We saw a painting of a huge pressure-cooker with a small starving child leaning up against it and later found out that in the 90s, Fidel had given every household these energy-efficient appliances to reduce the usage of inefficient stoves. However, the population had no rice to cook with!
And then Juan Valdez shows up and asks if we want to try the richest coffee in the world?
Soil here is a rich red colour and is perfect for growing the finest tobacco for cigars
Tobacco leaves ready to be made into cigars
Juan passed us over to another farmer (his name was Juan as well!) who had a drying house set up with leaves soaked in a rum, lime, honey and mint - the exact same ingredients that you use to make a mojito. This Juan explained to us the process in how to select leaves for the different types of cigars - the darker leaves are more stronger and are used to make the Montecristos, while the lighter leaves are used to make the milder Romeo y Juliet cigars. Also the tobacco is concentrated in the spines of the leaves.
Rolling a fresh cigar for us
We watched Juan roll a fresh cigar from different types of leaves, sealed it with some honey and offered it to us. We've never smoked a cigar in our lives, so Juan found it quite funny when I coughed up a lung after deeply inhaling some of the thick cigar smoke. So apparently you have to make like Clinton and not inhale, just puff.
Juan is busting a gut laughing at my attempts to puff on a cigar
Neda and just shared one cigar but after a few minutes of trying to perfect my Schwartzenneger Puff, I felt a bit lightheaded and had to take a break. Juan laughed at me a bit more. Meanwhile, Neda was going gangbusters on the rest of the cigar and was already making plans to buy a whole box back in town. Jeez...
Neda has mastered the art of the puff
Where are there no Jineteros? Let's go there.
Vinales is in small farming community in the eastern province of Pinar Del Rio and we're told that there's very little hustling there. So we jump on our bikes, head to the Autopista and make a beeline to the heart of tobacco country.
Along the way we run into our good buddy, Che
Parking at our casa is a tight fit even with the bags off
This wasn't a tight fit - the helmet could have done an exorcist swivel on his head!
Vinales is quite a sleepy community, in contrast to the busy city of Pinar Del Rio to the south. Lots of people hang out on their porches here in the evening, we felt very comfortable in this bucolic setting, taking strolls up and down the main street every night, unmolested by hustlers.
Walking around the neighbourhood in Vinales
Whenever we travel, I find myself becoming enamoured with the local vehicles. When we were in Baja California, I dreamed of driving around in an old rust-red VW Beetle w/ a dune-buggy kit: exposed chrome engine in the back, big knobby tires, jacked up suspension and loud fog-lights. In Cuba, I think it would the coolest to drive around in a mean black and chrome '56 Chevy Belair!
The triangular-roofed house is a drying shed for tobacco leaves
We booked a tour of one of the tobacco farms one morning and the owner, Juan took us around his fields, showing us how tobacco is farmed and harvested. Due to the soil and the microclimate here, the Vinales Valley is one of the best places to grow tobacco and makes the finest cigars in Cuba. The area is surrounded by limestone mountains which have eroded over time, giving them their steep slopes with flat tops. We've seen much artwork depicting these mountains, which are synonymous with the valley.
Thousands of tobacco leaves hanging in the drying house like bats in a cave
Neda learns everything there is to know about tobacco farming from Juan, then translates it (and dumbs it down) for me
Cuba has a low-input agricultural industry, choosing to use manual labour and ox-driven ploughs instead of costlier gasoline-powered farming equipment - necessary because of their isolation from the outside world. We've seen examples of this all over the country, and we've also seen some artwork that is critical of Fidel's policies for energy-efficiency while ignoring more important issues. We saw a painting of a huge pressure-cooker with a small starving child leaning up against it and later found out that in the 90s, Fidel had given every household these energy-efficient appliances to reduce the usage of inefficient stoves. However, the population had no rice to cook with!
And then Juan Valdez shows up and asks if we want to try the richest coffee in the world?
Soil here is a rich red colour and is perfect for growing the finest tobacco for cigars
Tobacco leaves ready to be made into cigars
Juan passed us over to another farmer (his name was Juan as well!) who had a drying house set up with leaves soaked in a rum, lime, honey and mint - the exact same ingredients that you use to make a mojito. This Juan explained to us the process in how to select leaves for the different types of cigars - the darker leaves are more stronger and are used to make the Montecristos, while the lighter leaves are used to make the milder Romeo y Juliet cigars. Also the tobacco is concentrated in the spines of the leaves.
Rolling a fresh cigar for us
We watched Juan roll a fresh cigar from different types of leaves, sealed it with some honey and offered it to us. We've never smoked a cigar in our lives, so Juan found it quite funny when I coughed up a lung after deeply inhaling some of the thick cigar smoke. So apparently you have to make like Clinton and not inhale, just puff.
Juan is busting a gut laughing at my attempts to puff on a cigar
Neda and just shared one cigar but after a few minutes of trying to perfect my Schwartzenneger Puff, I felt a bit lightheaded and had to take a break. Juan laughed at me a bit more. Meanwhile, Neda was going gangbusters on the rest of the cigar and was already making plans to buy a whole box back in town. Jeez...
Neda has mastered the art of the puff
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/98.html
After almost a month on the island, our time in Cuba was coming to an end. From Vinales, we doubled back on the main Autopista past Havana towards Playa Giron on the south coast. There were some nice beaches that were a lot cheaper than the resorts at Varadero and Cayo Coco, but we were really here to see the Bahia de Cochinos - The Bay of Pigs.
Bikes take a break
We rode through the swamplands of Zapata, the largest wetlands in the world and home to crocodiles, lilypads and marshes. There, we found an all-inclusive resort (first one of this trip) right on the beaches of Playa Giron, and immediately gorged ourselves sick on several rounds of complimentary cocktails that were more sugar than alcohol.
The resorts was filled with locals and backpackers, and after we left the bikes parked outside our cabin, we were relatively unmolested and enjoyed sunsets and mojitos at the rustic, 2-star budget resort.
Poolside at Playa Giron
The infamous Bay of Pigs, a lot more peaceful than it was in 1961!
Just outside the resort is the Bay of Pigs museum, which housed military vehicles from the period of the invasion as well as a photographic history of the ill-fated attempt of US-backed Cuban exiles to wrest control away from Fidel Castro after La Revolucion.
Outside the Bay of Pigs museum
The failed Bay of Pigs invasion was important for a number of reasons. Successfully resisting the US-backed attack made Castro a folk hero to communist nations all over the world. It's also rumoured amongst conspiracy theorists that Kennedy's assassination was linked to his wavering support of the military operation, pulling critical air-support at the last minute and dooming the invasion to failure while costing lives on the ground. Fingers point to angry high-level US military officials orchestrating the enigmatic assassination.
It was very interesting walking through the exhibits of the museum and seeing the invasion from Cuba's point of view: the deification of Castro's military expertise and the bumbling incompetence of the "insolent Yankee invaders". To see history retold from two different sides really gave perspective into how our beliefs and attitudes are so easily influenced and shaped by textbooks, museums and propaganda. At the end of the tour, even I wanted to shout out to world, "Viva La Revolucion!"
Musicians practice in Cienfuegos
After a couple of days at Playa Giron, we took a short two hour ride to Cienfuegos, the port town where we would meet up with the Stahlratte again to take us back to the mainland. A month in Cuba was more time than we needed, and the lack of Internet access made us feel very isolated from our friends and family that we normally kept in touch with via Skype and social networking.
Now we were on the opposite side of the dreaded "schedule" - trying to find ways to pass the time and dodging the hustlers at every street corner, while waiting for the ship to take us off this prison island! Honestly, we did feel a bit trapped, not able to leave when we wanted to, and I understood now the plight of many on the island, not having the resources to leave the country. Never did we look so forward to throwing up our lunches overboard!
"In every neighbourhood: Revolution!"
Over 50 years have passed since La Revolucion, and the politics of the country is still defined by it, using the resistance as both a solidarity cry and a means to control the population.
Canadians are the primary visitors to Cuba, and our flag is ceremoniously decorated all over the place
Most of the Canadian tourists are from Quebec, as French and Spanish are close enough to get by. Many of them spend much of their time and social security cheques in Cuba. We saw lots of older Canadian men in the company of young Cuban JineterAs (female hustlers), exchanging their companionship for gifts, meals in tourist restaurants and accommodations in resorts and hotels. In Cuba, Canadians have a bad reputation for being sex predators, targeting child prostitutes. Very sad.
"What kind of bikes? How many ccs? How much? How fast?"
Cienfuegos means "100 Questions" en espanol...
The buildings and culture in Cienfuegos are supposed to have a very French flavour to it - residents from Louisiana and Haiti immigrated to this part of the island at the turn of the century to become rich sugar barons. Not knowing anything about French architecture, I just took a few pictures and said, "Oui, oui!" to the French Canadian tourists milling around the area. And tried to keep small children away from them as well...
Main plaza in Cienfuegos
YuTong tour bus bought from fellow comrades in China
Who let these dogs out?!?
Cobblestone streets of Trinidad
We arrived a few days before the Stahlratte was scheduled to leave, so we had some time to explore the area. The main attraction in this region is the town of Trinidad, about an hour away. We rode along the road hugging the south shore, not doing a very good job dodging the tiny crabs that were sunning themselves on the hot asphalt. The air was pungent with smushed crab from all the vehicles going back and forth, which made me a bit hungry.
Trindad was just meh. This is my meh face.
Trinidad is a tourist trap. It's supposed to be a well-preserved slice of Spanish colonial architecture and cobblestone streets. In reality, it's a bunch of restaurants and souvenir shops with tons of foreign tourists that invade the town in long Chinese luxury tour buses from Cienfuegos. The buildings were nice-looking though...
I dunno. I think we're just getting Cuba'd out at this point.
Riding through the cobblestone streets of Trinidad
Neda picks up some fresh fruit on the ride back from Trinidad
We got our hair cut at the local hairdresser. Our final souvenir of our time in Cuba
In retrospect Cuba was both fascinating and frustrating. It was definitely the most different place, politically, that I've visited, and the whole communist brain-washing, police-state, inform-on-your-neighbour, control-the-news-and-Internet thing was something I loved to see in person. Neda lived through it, so I don't think it was that interesting to her. We learned a lot more about the pivotal role Cuba played in the history of world and its status as a pawn between the superpowers, and got to experience this education from their point of view. We visited Miami years ago, and Cuba gave us new insight into the Cuban-American community there - something we were embarrassingly ignorant of.
Having spent almost a month on the island (more time than we needed), I'm not sure if we'd ever go back again. I don't feel like we travelled through the country as complete outsiders and I do find myself deeply interested in anything Cuban that pops up in the news, now that we can actually read the news again.
Next up: Escape from Cuba!
After almost a month on the island, our time in Cuba was coming to an end. From Vinales, we doubled back on the main Autopista past Havana towards Playa Giron on the south coast. There were some nice beaches that were a lot cheaper than the resorts at Varadero and Cayo Coco, but we were really here to see the Bahia de Cochinos - The Bay of Pigs.
Bikes take a break
We rode through the swamplands of Zapata, the largest wetlands in the world and home to crocodiles, lilypads and marshes. There, we found an all-inclusive resort (first one of this trip) right on the beaches of Playa Giron, and immediately gorged ourselves sick on several rounds of complimentary cocktails that were more sugar than alcohol.
The resorts was filled with locals and backpackers, and after we left the bikes parked outside our cabin, we were relatively unmolested and enjoyed sunsets and mojitos at the rustic, 2-star budget resort.
Poolside at Playa Giron
The infamous Bay of Pigs, a lot more peaceful than it was in 1961!
Just outside the resort is the Bay of Pigs museum, which housed military vehicles from the period of the invasion as well as a photographic history of the ill-fated attempt of US-backed Cuban exiles to wrest control away from Fidel Castro after La Revolucion.
Outside the Bay of Pigs museum
The failed Bay of Pigs invasion was important for a number of reasons. Successfully resisting the US-backed attack made Castro a folk hero to communist nations all over the world. It's also rumoured amongst conspiracy theorists that Kennedy's assassination was linked to his wavering support of the military operation, pulling critical air-support at the last minute and dooming the invasion to failure while costing lives on the ground. Fingers point to angry high-level US military officials orchestrating the enigmatic assassination.
It was very interesting walking through the exhibits of the museum and seeing the invasion from Cuba's point of view: the deification of Castro's military expertise and the bumbling incompetence of the "insolent Yankee invaders". To see history retold from two different sides really gave perspective into how our beliefs and attitudes are so easily influenced and shaped by textbooks, museums and propaganda. At the end of the tour, even I wanted to shout out to world, "Viva La Revolucion!"
Musicians practice in Cienfuegos
After a couple of days at Playa Giron, we took a short two hour ride to Cienfuegos, the port town where we would meet up with the Stahlratte again to take us back to the mainland. A month in Cuba was more time than we needed, and the lack of Internet access made us feel very isolated from our friends and family that we normally kept in touch with via Skype and social networking.
Now we were on the opposite side of the dreaded "schedule" - trying to find ways to pass the time and dodging the hustlers at every street corner, while waiting for the ship to take us off this prison island! Honestly, we did feel a bit trapped, not able to leave when we wanted to, and I understood now the plight of many on the island, not having the resources to leave the country. Never did we look so forward to throwing up our lunches overboard!
"In every neighbourhood: Revolution!"
Over 50 years have passed since La Revolucion, and the politics of the country is still defined by it, using the resistance as both a solidarity cry and a means to control the population.
Canadians are the primary visitors to Cuba, and our flag is ceremoniously decorated all over the place
Most of the Canadian tourists are from Quebec, as French and Spanish are close enough to get by. Many of them spend much of their time and social security cheques in Cuba. We saw lots of older Canadian men in the company of young Cuban JineterAs (female hustlers), exchanging their companionship for gifts, meals in tourist restaurants and accommodations in resorts and hotels. In Cuba, Canadians have a bad reputation for being sex predators, targeting child prostitutes. Very sad.
"What kind of bikes? How many ccs? How much? How fast?"
Cienfuegos means "100 Questions" en espanol...
The buildings and culture in Cienfuegos are supposed to have a very French flavour to it - residents from Louisiana and Haiti immigrated to this part of the island at the turn of the century to become rich sugar barons. Not knowing anything about French architecture, I just took a few pictures and said, "Oui, oui!" to the French Canadian tourists milling around the area. And tried to keep small children away from them as well...
Main plaza in Cienfuegos
YuTong tour bus bought from fellow comrades in China
Who let these dogs out?!?
Cobblestone streets of Trinidad
We arrived a few days before the Stahlratte was scheduled to leave, so we had some time to explore the area. The main attraction in this region is the town of Trinidad, about an hour away. We rode along the road hugging the south shore, not doing a very good job dodging the tiny crabs that were sunning themselves on the hot asphalt. The air was pungent with smushed crab from all the vehicles going back and forth, which made me a bit hungry.
Trindad was just meh. This is my meh face.
Trinidad is a tourist trap. It's supposed to be a well-preserved slice of Spanish colonial architecture and cobblestone streets. In reality, it's a bunch of restaurants and souvenir shops with tons of foreign tourists that invade the town in long Chinese luxury tour buses from Cienfuegos. The buildings were nice-looking though...
I dunno. I think we're just getting Cuba'd out at this point.
Riding through the cobblestone streets of Trinidad
Neda picks up some fresh fruit on the ride back from Trinidad
We got our hair cut at the local hairdresser. Our final souvenir of our time in Cuba
In retrospect Cuba was both fascinating and frustrating. It was definitely the most different place, politically, that I've visited, and the whole communist brain-washing, police-state, inform-on-your-neighbour, control-the-news-and-Internet thing was something I loved to see in person. Neda lived through it, so I don't think it was that interesting to her. We learned a lot more about the pivotal role Cuba played in the history of world and its status as a pawn between the superpowers, and got to experience this education from their point of view. We visited Miami years ago, and Cuba gave us new insight into the Cuban-American community there - something we were embarrassingly ignorant of.
Having spent almost a month on the island (more time than we needed), I'm not sure if we'd ever go back again. I don't feel like we travelled through the country as complete outsiders and I do find myself deeply interested in anything Cuban that pops up in the news, now that we can actually read the news again.
Next up: Escape from Cuba!
