Contramaestre To Santiago

For our fifth day we were heading to Cuba's second largest city, Santiago. Cycling from Hotel El Salton, we passed more fantastic scenery as we made our way to the town of Contramaestre. Here we regrouped and took a brief look around the first really bustling town we had experienced since arriving in Cuba. Even though it was quite different from the village life we had become accustomed to, there was still the consistent underlining feeling that no one was in a rush, taking life in their stride. No doubt an attitude passed down through their Spanish roots.

Continuing on our way, we headed back to the countryside, where after about an hour or so we stopped for fruit. I thought at this point I would mention that throughout each day of cycling we had several fruit stops. This is where we would pull up alongside the coach by the side of the road, and Jesus would produce a tray of fresh assorted fruit. These would range from oranges and papayas to small bananas that strangely enough tasted like kiwi. An interesting fact I discovered was that there are actually several different types of banana. Amongst them you have the standard ones we get imported to the UK, smaller ones that taste of kiwi, as well as cooking bananas that taste much like potatoes.

Later that afternoon the roads started to get pretty steep, with one final long stretch up a very steep climb indeed. Tough going on the legs, but eventually we all made it. Greeting us at the top was an old American tank set up as a memorial. One of the many things the American military left behind following their failed attempts to oust Fidel Castro. After a quick photo opportunity we loaded our bikes into the coach and relaxed while we travelled to our next destination, the Basilica Del Cobre.

This is the church where the Virgen del Cobre lies. A statue that was apparently proclaimed to be the protectress of Cuba and blessed by the pope. While looking quite nice, I personally didn’t see what all the fuss was about. This was however where the first of our group was struck by the “Deli Belly”, becoming ill with the runs. Little did we know, he was the first of many to be affected.

Back on the coach our next stop was the city of Santiago itself. Dropping us off at one of the plazas, we were grouped and taken in turn to the house we would be staying at. It is quite common around Cuba for the locals to open their houses for tourists to stay, as the government give them subsidies, making it quite profitable to do so. The house was pretty basic, but nicely laid out, and catered to our needs. The woman who owned it was a great cook and gave us the first meal we’d had in the country that we didn’t manage to finish. It even included homemade cake!

Later that evening we met at the plaza we had been dropped off by the coach with the plan on seeing some of the night life. My mate along with a few others did not join us due to feeling ill. It seemed the “Deli Belly” was spreading. We made our way to a Casa de la Trova (Music house), where one of the members of the famous Cuban band ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ was playing that night. The place was absolutely packed and the atmosphere had a great vibe with people getting up and dancing. Unfortunately I was starting to feel ill as the others had done, and so decided to get a breath of fresh air on the balcony. While looking at the goings on in the street below I met a Canadian woman, who had also been touring the country with a group (Although not by bike). It turned out she had taken some Salsa classes prior to coming just as I had, and so we ended up dancing on the very crowded balcony to the sounds of classic Cuban salsa. Rather ironic that I should travel all the way to Cuba, the home of salsa, and end up dancing with a woman from Canada, but I wasn’t complaining.

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