Cycle Cuba Day 3

Day 3: San Diego de Los Baños - Guabina

We had been warned by the crew: Day 3 would be tough! To add to the challenge, it was also very, very hot.

We passed many banana plantations like this one:

And fields of sugar cane:

We had about an hour of gentle cycling before reaching the starting point of the 'offroad through the mountains bit', of which we have no photo whatsoever :( We did not really know how long the track would be, so we concentrated all our energy on the cycling and forgot to take photos. Also, we could not really stop, because the terrain was so uneven and covered with gravels. You really had to keep your distances with the guys before and behind you or there would have been a high risk of collision!

Arrival to the water refill point before the hills:

See the fluffy dice? ;)

Final stretches before the big hills!

This was the grandiose looking starting point of the offroad section. The road was tarmacked (spelling?) for a few miles, and then mostly gravel-covered path with many pot-holes. It was lucky there was virtually no traffic because it felt a bit dangerous whenever there was a vehicle passing by!

Uphill!

Top of the world!

And before we knew it, it was over... I had just finished the most terrifying cycle ride of my life, but I expected it to be so much more hard work that I almost felt disappointed when we reached the end of the track: I wanted some more!!!

It was really hot and the shade was scarse as it was close to midday. The landscape was as always very impressive, with rocky mountains in the background, and fields of tobacco around us. There was a house where a little was sitting and staring at us. There was a hen and her chicks chasing a motorcycle which kept passing by us.

Which way to Che's cave???

The five of us arrived first at the crossing, and had loads of time to recover and to take photos ;)


Here comes Abelito, our local guide:

More people arriving to the regrouping point:

Then we cycled another 5 miles or so and arrived at the cave where Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and dozens of guerilleros hid during the 'Missile Crisis' in 1962.

Che's bed:

Che's office:

We had lunch near the cave's site, our usual "ham & cheese" or veggie "cheese" sandwiches in sweet bread, a can of "Tú Cola" (Cuban alternative to Coca-Cola), occasionally a piece of cake and usually one or two pieces of fruit.

Funny that, searching Google for photos of a can of "Tú Cola" I have learned that in Spanish slang, it seams to have the meaning of "your bottom"... Don't ask me why they called the drink "Your Bottom"!

We cycled further in the direction of Guabina, and saw many more of these incredible landscapes, whilst enjoying going downhill for a bit! That afternoon was particularly striking with beautiful views. Truly amazing.

This is Charlotte, from Skyline Events. What a dream job she has!

We finally arrive to the campsite, which was gorgeous, bording a lake, where we had a nice evening and a wonderful sunset. Don't we all look a bit tired during the evening meal??? If I recall well, we all had an early night that day!

Sunset as seen from our tent. Now my PC's desktop background!

In the morning, photos of ourselves wearing our chartiy T-shirt were taken. This is also the day I saw a humming bird in a bush, but did not manage to take a photo.

Here were the three Amnesty International fundraisers:

And off to another fun day of cycling!