Day 2: Guardalavaca to Banes

The Rich lives of Cubans, Big Hills, Restaurants with No Food

That is what characterized our day. It was a fairly short cycling day, just 36km, 480m of climbing. But the heat just made it tougher than one would think.

There was just so much to look at along the way. Tropical trees in bloom, lush landscapes, and trying to guess what fruits were growing on the trees. It left a lot of time for conversation and we are both in agreement–Cubans lead rich lives. Not materially of course, but everywhere we look there are happy people making the most of what they have. Imagine the richness of community when there is no internet. It appears that what people do creates happiness, not what people have.

We stopped to admire a home with beautiful gardens and a spotted a very young girl looking at us curiously. We reached into our bag and gave her a Barbie doll. She ran like lightning toward her family, waving it high in the air back and forth. She was thrilled and so was her whole family who waved to us from afar.

How did we find our Casa today? Well, we rolled into town, cruised up and down a few streets looking for a Casa symbol (blue ones are meant for Tourists, red ones for Cubans only). A kind young man showed up on an old Cannondale bicycle and said we could stay at his aunt’s Casa. So here we are!

Speaking of Cuban cyclists, we have made friends with Alex who is a bike mechanic in Holguin and is training a racing team. We met up with him on the road again today. He’s training for a competition in June and was putting in 160km today.

Food talk again (cuz it’s fascinating!): population 80,000 here. One would expect to find a variety of food opportunities. We wander about looking for food but everything is different here in Cuba. There are, believe it or not, establishments that are open, have tables & chairs and menus but no food. Not quite sure why there are even any workers on duty, but we just accept it and move on. There is an endless supply however, of places to drink rum and beer.