2010.03.11 – [CU] Home ==> Montreal (0 kms | Total: 0 kms)

We arrived well into the evening at our hotel in Montreal after leaving home around 6:00 pm. Many people were checking-in the Econo Lodge. It was considered a great deal if you wished to leave your car for the duration of your holidays.

2010.03.12 – [CU] Montreal ==> Santa Clara (8 kms | Total: 8 kms)

Although the night was quite short as we had to get up at 3am to catch our flight by 6:45 am. When we got to the airport we learned that our flight was delayed to 8:30 am. Lesson learned – check flight time when booking long time ahead. The waiting was long but restful. The flight was good. But felt more crowded that usual.

The Cuban custom in Santa Clara was pretty efficient – although our bags and bicycles got quite an inspection. We assembled the bicycles and left the airport. On the road, Jenny got a flat tire. We quickly fixed it and we got back on the road. The public transportation here relies partly on horses and buggy – that leaves a lot of horse manure on the road. Upon arriving in Santa Clara, we went directly to the Cadeca (casa de cambio). We then headed to our target casa (Hostal Florida). Unfortunately the place was full, but the owner was quick to refer us to another casa nearby. We appreciated the comfrot of our new casa. We were all pretty tired. We went to Hostal Florida for supper. We enjoyed some fish and shrimps in a beautiful garden setting. The owner made reservations for a casa particular in Remedios and gave us other recommendations for other towns we’ll be stopping at. Before returning to our casa, we walked around the plaza. We bought several bottles of water today. The rest of the evening was spent reading in our room. Jenny was able to get our washing done in our host’s washing machine.

2010.03.13 – [CU] Santa Clara ==> Remedios (47 kms | Total: 55 kms)

The sleep was very good. We got up just in time for our 8am breakfast. After packing we left our casa while thanking our host lady Carmita. We made tentative reservation for a bus to Havana upon our return to Santa Clara. The road to Remedios was fairly easy with rolling hills. We arrived in Remedios at 12pm. We exchanged some Convertible peso into local moneda national. We ate some ice cream while relaxing. We waited a long, very long time for Cuban pizza. Victoria enjoyed it but not Jenny as she was upset with my long absence. We stayed at Villa Colonial Hostal – a very friendly couple’s casa. We rested in the garden while eating pine nuts. We had a great supper of lobster tails for Jenny & Victoria and fish for me. A great first day of biking.

2010.03.14 – [CU] Remedios ==> Sancti Spiritus (71 kms | Total: 126 kms)

As daylight saving time was scheduled to occur in the past night, we set our alarm clock to make sure we would be up in time for our 7:30 am breakfast. Jenny and Victoria had a good night, but I felt I turned a lot and heard noises late into the night. Breakfast was superb – just like the previous night’s supper. Jenny wrote a message in Chinese in our host’s casa guestbook and I translated it. Frank and Arelys saw us bike away from their home. It reminded us of Gibara. The sun was out in full force. But the heat was very acceptable. The rolling hills provided a good workout but nothing too hard. We stopped for sunscreen early in the morning. Just before arriving in Placetas, we filled up with water. The scenery beyond Placetas was limited to plowed fields. We stopped in the town of Placetas for a few pork sandwiches. The atmosphere in this small town was very festive because it was Sunday. We pushed on for another 15 kms to our target casa – Hostal Paradiso. Our host was expecting us. We were all tired after this 5 1/2 hours of biking. A shower made us forget all the effort. We welcomed the big meal prepared by our host, like yesterday, we did a bit of laundry. In the evening we walked around the Parque. Everyone did very well today.

2010.03.15 – [CU] Sancti Spiritus ==> Trinidad (76 kms | Total: 202 kms)

Good night for all of us. After another great breakfast, we packed up the bicycles. We again took pictures of our host in front of the casa. Although our biking book suggested the road was easy between Sancti Spiritus and Trinidad, we felt it much harder with continuous rolling hills – some long ones. We stopped in Banos for water refill. We also stopped at Manaca Iznaga to have a glimpse of the Valley del Ingenios. We were getting pretty tired after KM 60. We managed the last big climb before Trinidad. We found our target casa (Odalis Valdivia Gonzales) fairly quickly. We were very glad to arrive. The rocking chairs in the garden made for a good rest. After a great supper, we went for a brief stroll in the old center.

2010.03.16 – [CU] Trinidad ==> La Boca (6 kms | Total: 208 kms)

It was nice this morning to have a late breakfast at 9:00 am. We went to the Cadeca around 10 am and then walked the streets of Trinidad. It was getting busy with tourists. We did a bit of souvenir shopping. We saw some very ingenious gifts. Back at the casa we took a few pictures and packed the bicycles. We easily covered the distance to La Boca.

We were very impressed by our new casa that we reviewed our travel plan in order to stay an extra night here. We went to the local beach – although it was not a sandy beach. It was still very nice to be in the water and enjoy the beautiful views. While relaxing earlier at the casa, a German – lady staying at our casa injured herself on the roof top – on both legs.

After a great supper, we had a good walk along the road and enjoyed seeing the sun go down. In summary, a very enjoyable and relaxing “beach” day.

2010.03.17 – [CU] La Boca ==> La Boca (20 kms | Total: 228 kms)

After a good night sleep and great breakfast, we did the laundry before heading to Playa Ancon. It was an easy 9km to the beach along the sea coast. The ocean was very calm, the beach was almost deserted. Victoria and I enjoyed the water – even Jenny joined us in later in the afternoon. We left the beach around 3:00 pm. We cycled to the end of the Ancon peninsula – up to the marina Trinidad. Back at the casa, we had time to shower, and do more laundry before supper. Jenny was able to have more lobster. A stroll in the quiet village’s streets made us ready for a good night sleep. The evening started to show clouds, but all day the sun shone – enough to give me a sunburn. I look like a cooked lobster.

2010.03.18 – [CU] La Boca ==> La Boca (18 kms | Total: 246 kms)

Another peaceful night of sleep. Sun was out – but it was windy today. After breakfast, we headed out again to Playa Ancon. It was clearly less fun today with the continuous winds. Although there were more people on the beach, it was still almost a private beach.

By 1:30 pm, we cycled back to our casa. We had some local pizza for lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon on our veranda. Jenny did more laundry. The wind continued to blow. After another great supper, we walked the streets one last night and tried to capture the relaxing feeling of La Boca in a few pictures. Elsa, the casa owner, had completed our reservation for Cienfuegos.

2010.03.19 – [CU] La Boca ==> Villa Guajimico (48 kms | Total: 294 kms)

We took our breakfast one hour earlier today – to get an earlier cycling day. We took some pictures with Elsa and her husband. We really enjoyed our stay in La Boca. It was hard to leave this place. On the way back to Trinidad, Jenny got her second flat tire. A local helped me fix the flat. We also improved the wheel’s hub friction. Back on the road, we covered a few rolling hills out of Trinidad and then the road was fairly flat. We saw a lot of dead crabs along the road. We learned that these crabs come from the mountains and are not good to eat (except the white ones). We encountered a cycling tour group (escorted by a bus) along the road. We arrived at Villa Guajimico by the back door. We were really surprised by the luxury of the place. There were a number of Europeans here for scuba diving. The campesino was pretty pricey at $65 cuc but since we stopped early we could take advantage of the pool and other amenities such as the scenic trail. We were surprised to realize that the restaurant only opened at 7:30 pm. We patiently waited for our supper. The buffet-style supper was clearly a step down from our usual supper at our casa. Back in our room we rested for the rest of the evening.

2010.03.20 – [CU] Villa Guajimico ==> Cienfuegos (49 kms | Total: 343 kms)

The restaurant of this upscale campismo was almost full by 7:30 am. Breakfast was included with the price of our accommodation. Again the meal was clearly disappointing compared to the breakfast from any casas. We managed to deal with the stairs again and re-assembled the bicycles. Another sunny day awaited us. We cycled the distance to Cienfuegos fairly easily. We stopped at a gas station for ice cream along the way. Arriving in Cienfuegos we stopped at Plaza Marti before heading to our target casa Isabel y Pepe. Our room was a bit cramped but they have a sofa bed for Victoria. The owner was somewhat disturbed by Jenny’s fear of dogs. Supper of lobster and fish was very good. In the evening, Jenny and me went for a walk to buy water. Earlier in the afternoon, we had gone to the Cadeca to change a bit more money. We stopped at a local sandwich place – it was great and really cheap ~3 CUC. We did our laundry at the casa.

2010.03.21 – [CU] Cienfuegos ==> Santa Clara (79 kms | Total: 422 kms)

The bed’s mattress was terrible for Jenny and I. We barely slept because of the slanting mattress. Breakfast was a bit late this morning – nonetheless the food was great. Unfortunately, when the owner presented us with the bill, I was surprised by the higher prices. I paid the amount but it seemed like the owner was disappointed as he did not escort us outside his casa. We packed up our bicycles while expecting the owner to show up. He did not. We remained shocked for a few hours of cycling. Given this experience, we were glad we only stayed for one night. The road appeared to slowly climb all day. The light wind kept us a bit cooler than the sun offered. En route, we ate ice cream (in Rancheulo) and later ate our breakfast sandwiches at a gas station on the Autopista. The last 15 kms along the highway were hot. We took a quick picture of Che’s monument. We stopped at the Viazul bus station to confirm our reservations. We realized that we only had a waiting position on the bus. Although the locals were confident that we would make it tomorrow. We made our way to Señora Carmita’s casa. As agreed, she had to bring us to another casa – in occurrence her brother. A simpler home but with a really warm family atmosphere. We were all very tired by our day’s journey. After a good shower, we did some laundry. But after an hour, it started to rain, the first time we saw and heard any rain since our arrival in Cuba. After a nice meal of pork chop, we rested in our room for the remainder of the evening. The room was very comfortable.