 Our second day in Cuba was our first real feel of the Cuban culture and way of life. As we were preparing for the day’s cycle we were gathering quite a bit of interest from the locals. This is not surprising considering most Cuban bikes were actually bought off the Chinese army, and don’t even have gears. And here we are with full suspension, brightly coloured and modern designed bikes. It kind of made you feel like minor celebrities.
 After loading our luggage onto the coach, we followed behind till we were out of town, many of the locals waving as we went. Once we got to the outskirts the coach went on ahead, and we were left to taking in the countryside. It took a while to get away from the busy roads of the town (Still nothing compared to what we would normally call busy), but as we got further into the country the traffic seemed to all but disappear, with only a handful passing by. This was when the real magic of Cuba hit us. Clear roads and breathtaking scenery, a cycler's paradise.
 At certain points on the journey we would meet up with the coach (Usually at junctions, to prevent confusion on the route), make sure we hadn’t lost anyone, and recoup our energy with some fruit provided by Jesus (No, our Guide). At one of these stops Jesus took us to a small clearing in the forest just off the road where the locals had a small chapel. The Cuban people are quite religious, and there are alot of these dotted about the countryside. This was a simple wooden structure with a collection of plain crosses and miss match of religious pictures, oh and of course the Cuban flag. As well as being quite religious, the Cuban people are very patriotic. Every house we passed as we travelled through the town had either one or more Cuban flags hung somewhere or was painted in the colours of the flag, although at this point we were not sure whether this patriotism was genuine or imposed.
 We got back on our bikes and continued our ride. One thing that really does become apparent is just how unspoilt the landscape is. We passed farmers on carts pulled by oxen, fields of sugar cane and road repairs done using sand with hand-made rakes. The only thing that kind of spoilt this was the odd truck passing by. Unfortunately due to the American trade embargo, Cuba cannot get petrol or diesel. This has forced Cuba to use vegetable based fuels to power what little transport they do have. One of the by-products of using this type of fuel is the clouds of black smoke that billow from the exhausts of passing trucks. After a while you learn to hold your breath when one passes you by. Luckily these are very few and far between.
As evening was drawing close we all loaded our bikes on the coach and travelled the final distance in style to our next stop - a mountain lodge in Santo Domingo. After getting our rooms we settled down to a much awaited meal and a few drinks to see us through the evening.
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Back to day 1 - Bayamo |
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Forward to day 3 - Santo Domingo |
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