Thursday November 13, 2014

We had a mediocre breakfast, loaded the bikes and were on the road by 8:30. One of the good things about staying in casas or hotels, is that we can have a little bit of lie-in and still be on the road by 8:30.

The road again was a nice rural route with rolling hills. The farms seem to be bigger east of Havana and more tractors than oxen plowing the fields. Sugar canes dominate the landscape although there are some bananas and dairy production. We saw a large cattle farm (large at least by Cuban standards).

We cycled through a large town (Quemado de Guines) and stopped for lunch. We were going to sit down at a restaurant/café but as we were locking the bikes on the patio, the waitress came and told us we couldn’t leave the bikes on the patio. We said please as we need to be able to keep our eye on them. She shrugged her shoulders and said we could put them behind a wall, in full view of the street, but we wouldn’t be able to see the bikes from the cafe. That wasn’t going to happen. We told her we had to be able to see the bikes. Again a shrug, so we shrugged as well and left.

We found a hole in the wall pizza place and had street pizza. Mine had too much cheese on it, so was too greasy for me, I only managed half of it. I was hungry by the time we came into Saguay so I stopped next to guy who selling bananas and devoured two bananas. The Cuban bananas are small and really sweet. Good energy food.

As we cycled in to Saguay we spotted this grand entrance, to a primary school. Not sure who owned the building originally, but it looked as though it was a huge mansion 60 years ago. When we come into some of these big Towns we notice the colonial architecture that has often been left to rot. I think the regime can only afford to maintain some of these old buildings and has chosen the cities it wishes to maintain and encourages tourists to go to those areas (Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Santa Claraetc) and unfortunately the rest of these historic areas are left to their own devices.

We cycled along the main street and two streets to either side of the main street to see if we could find a casa, and could not see anything. I stopped at a little restaurant and asked the waitress if she knew of any casas in the neighbourhood. She directed us to two casas. The first one was a room to rent by the hour. The lady was very nice, but we couldn’t have the room until 4:00 as it was occupied from 2:00 to 4:00. It was going to be very cheap, only CUC6.00. We went to the other one and it was available, very clean and we have the whole of the second floor. I knocked him down from 25 to 20 CUC and we have breakfast tomorrow, but decided we would venture out for dinner.

We had a lovely meal at the Cuban restaurant where I had asked the waitress if she knew of any casas. She asked us if we had found the casas, and we told her we had and which one we were staying at.

The meal was incredibly cheap – we had 4 beers, salad, entrée and dessert and coffeeCUC 8.65 with tip CUC 10 – $10.00!!

As we were about to order the meal, the lights went out – power outage. The waitress flipped on a battery operated lamp and lit candles on all the tables (very romantic). The lights came back on after about 15 minutes. Ralf said “Just think, there is someone sitting in the dark in Canada right now, a power outage caused by a snowstorm and it won’t be back on in 15 minutes”

When we got back to the casa, we chatted to the owner about his antique clocks. He loves antique furniture and clocks. Ralf noticed his diploma on the wall – he is a Doctor (general practitioner). Could you imagine a Doctor in Canada or the US renting out rooms to supplement his income?

Ralf and I discussed today the chances of Cuba having a class system. We concluded that it probably already had to a degree. There are the high-ups in the government, they always have more perks than the average Joe. Then there are the people who have worked in the tourist industry for years who have made more money in tips in a week than the Doctor we are staying with makes in wages in a month. There are a growing number of ‘entrepreneurs’ – casa owners being one of them. Then there are the rural farmers, who make the bare minimum but are richer than some of the people on welfare in Canada. I quantify that statement by saying that they own their own house, free medical, free education and food provided for them. As I have said before you really see and feel a country when you are experiencing it from a bicycle.

Wednesday November 12, 2014

We left the casa early to have breakfast at the corner café, but it wasn’t open for breakfast at 7:30. We went back to the casa and loaded the bikes and left at 8:00am. We found a small café and had a lovely vege omelette with guava juice and coffee for 4CUC.

The route today was fairly flat and for the most part the wind was not a full head wind. The weather was good, and with the slight wind, it worked perfectly. We had planned a 60 kms route to Marti. If there was no casa in Marti we would continue another 7 kms to Itabo. Marti was a fair sized town but had no casas that we could see, so we carried on to Itabo.

When we got to Itabo we asked if there was any casa or rooms to rent in a private home. We were told there was nothing and were given directions to the hotel near Corillillo – that was another 28 kms. We looked at each other and decided we would carry on, there were a couple of smaller towns to go through maybe there would be a casa in those smaller towns. We were out of luck. Not only was it another 28 kms but the road deteriorated for about 15 kms. It was rough and very hard on the hands and the shoulders.

We passed the turn to the Hotel Elguea and headed into Corallilo. It was a bigger town and we thought that there was bound to be a casa there or at the very least a private home who would rent us a room. No such luck they directed us back to the hotel – another 10 kms. Ralf concluded that because there was an army base on the outskirts of Town and a police control post there was no unofficial casas to be had. We had already cycled 94 kms – matching our previous long distance record of 94kms in Australia.

We were both tired, but turned around and headed for the hotel ready to accept the cost, as we would be over 100 kms by the time we got there. As soon as we made the right turn the road kicked up and we were going into a head wind. Not a really strong wind, but something we didn’t need to battle with going into 100kms. The wind didn’t persist very long and we arrived at the hotel at 3:15 pm. The cost for the room is CUC 28 and includes breakfast – what a bargain and what a relief.

The hotel is quite large, but is almost empty. There are definitely more staff than guests.

I chatted to the security staff and they told me, we have the choice of casas and hotels for the next three nights. I was beginning to wonder if we had made a mistake cycling the northern carrerata. The road is not very spectacular, very rural, but fortunately we don’t have a strong headwind.

Tuesday November 11, 2014

We had a nice ride out to the end of the Peninsular, (20 ks one way). Last time we were here there were two hotels past the Dupont building. The Dupont building was the home of the Dupont family (tires) before the revolution. It is now part of the Varadero Golf Course and hotel. A night in the hotel costs CUC 160 which includes the room and breakfast, a round of golf, and internet.

As we cycled to the end of the peninsular they have built four very fancy resorts and marinas almost to the end of the peninsular. They are currently building a 17 storey hotel, which will have 1200 rooms. I wonder how many beds there are available in Varadero and what the occupancy rate is.

We met a really nice couple from Quebec on our ride today. They bought their bikes from Quebec and were planning on having a week in Varadero cycling around the peninsular. The second week they were planning on riding along the north coastal route for a while and then heading to Havana. I said I would give them a couple of addresses for Casas in Matanzas and Havana. Unfortunately, their hotel is 10 kms away from our casa – so I will email them the addresses. They have invited us to stay with them when we cycle through Quebec City. They were going to spend the afternoon on a beach.

As we cycled back to our casa we stopped to take photos of one of the new hotels being built. I chatted to one of the security guards about our trip around Cuba, she called me loco.

Monday November 10, 2014

A storm blew through last night and we had lots of rain. I woke up several times to the noise of the garden furniture being blown around and the sound of the surf pounding on to the beach.

It was nice to be able to have a bit of a lie-in, although we were both awake by 7:00 am. Had a snooze until 7:45, but we were both hungry. We went around the corner for breakfast and had two really good cappuccino coffees. After breakfast, I prepared the summary of the week, but decided that if I got goodinternet connection I would post it as I have been doing. There is so much missing if I only post a summary.

I waited outside the internet office for about 30 minutes before being allowed in. This office had an orderly queue outside, so there was no pushing ahead of the line. Ralf went to line up at the bank. As it happened the internet was good and I was able to check email and post a full week’s blog in an hour.

On returning to the casa, I got my bikini on and relaxed in the sun, trying to even out my tan!!!. I even went for a swim. Ralf got on his bike and went for a little spin, as he likes to do on his day ‘off’ the bike. We are going to spend another day here to cycle the peninsular and then head out on the northern coastal road on Wednesday.

Tonight we are going to a Cuban take-away, we have a bottle of wine in the fridge and some rum – perfect.

The meal was really good from the take-away. We had a pork steak, rice and salad for 2CUC each, incredible price for a really good meal.

Sunday November 9, 2014

Last night at the Casa we spent an evening chatting to two Belgian touring cyclists. They have cycled in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. It was interesting to talk to them about their experiences, although each of their trips were limited to 3 weeks vacation time. They did enjoy Asia and highly recommend cycling there sooner rather than later, as things are changing. However, he tried to explain that Asians looked at them as having a ‘backpack’ full of money! We told him that the Cuban version was ‘walking dollars’. He had considered doing something like we are doing, but he said he thinks that 3 weeks cycling at any one time is enough for him.

They also explained that they could not give up everything because in Belgium if an older parent gets sick and needs to go into a nursing home, they have to use their savings first and then the government will go to the children for the money to pay for the nursing home. They need their house and retirement savings, just in case. Also they have children and a grandchild and could not consider leaving them behind for two years.

They are cycling 100 kms a day and did the Pinar Del Rio region in one week, whereas we did it in two weeks. He said that he doesn’t see Cuba as a poor country. We told him things have changed a lot in the last three years, but the people are no longer as poor as they would like you to think.

They had left by the time we got up this morning. We had a great breakfast, the best one yet. Good eggs, bread, fruit, cheese and ham and really good coffee.

We set of at 8:30 and headed towards the carrerta and Matanzas.

On the way to Matanzas we passed three young boys on fixed gear bikes, feet off the pedals, tucked over their handlebars, flying down a hill. As we passed them I shouted to the lead boy the speed we were going (31.4 kms) and tapped my Garmin. After that the race was on, he passed us going up a hill and we caught up to him taking a break in a bus stop, waiting for his friends. He was a very strong cyclist. Ralf stopped to take a photo and they passed us. We passed the three of them again. Again I shouted the speed we were going to the last boy (28.8 kms). He tried to keep up with us and managed to pass us going down another hill. He constantly checked his shoulder to see where we were and then we passed him again. When we came down the final hill into Matanzas the lead boy was waiting for his friends, who were not far behind us, and I shouted to him that it was a good ride, he smiled back and waved to us. As I was talking to Ralf later on, he had no idea there had been a “race”.

We had a recommendation from the InfoTur office in Pinar Del Rio for a casa in Matanzas. We made really good time and were in Matanzas for about 10:45. A young guy showed us where the casa was unfortunately it was full. The casa owner offered us a coffee and was going to call another casa for us. Ralf and I were feeling good, the legs were strong so we decided to push on to Varadero – another 35 kms.

After Matanzas the road was fairly flat. It followed the coast for a while and then cut inland a little bit. We had a great tail wind and I was spinning quite comfortably at 32 kph.

After we had passed the airport for Varadero/Matanzas, I asked Ralf to take a photo of the scenery. If you are a tourist arriving from Canada on the tour bus, all you see is this scenery instead of some of the beautiful hills and valleys that we have been experiencing in the past two weeks.

We arrived in Varadero just after 1:00pm.   Varadero is a peninsula for beaches and hotels. We knew that there were casas available in Varadero and thought they might be a bit more expensive as it is a major tourist area. The first one I looked at was very nice but it cost CUC 35 per night – 10 CUCs more than Havana. We carried on towards the hotel we stayed at when we were last in Varadero about 8 years ago and I noticed a sign for Casas. We cycled down the short street towards the beach and there were about 5 casas. Mario stepped out of his car and asked if we were looking for a casa. His is on the beach and he charges 25CUC. He doesn’t provide food, because there is a little cafeteria on the corner where you can get good breakfasts. We are staying on the same street as the Canadian Consular!

We settled in to the casa and had a good hot shower, with mixer taps, no electrical wire running into the showerhead! We went for a short walk up the main street of Varadero. Very touristy, with markets that sell a lot of tat.

We are in an area of Varadero that caters for the Cuban tourist on holiday. Another change, eight years ago Cubans were not allowed to have a vacation in Varadero, it was strictly for foreigners – a “Special Area”. We had a nice meal at a Cuban restaurant up the street from the Casa. We had assumed we would get the same portions as in the casas in the rural area. We asked for one half-roast chicken and then rice and salad for two. We could have eaten a full portion each. We will know better for tomorrow.

We spent the rest of the evening watching TV – the weather channel – Wanda’s favorite channel.

Saturday November 8, 2014

We had a good breakfast this morning, although Iliana thought it was a bit strange when we asked for avocado for breakfast. Our bill for this casa was 28 CUC that included the casa, dinner and breakfast. I gave her 30 CUC and she was very happy with the extra money.

We left at 8:45 a little later than normal, because the distance was going to be relatively short.

We cycled through Jaruco and a fella on a motor bike shouted to us about being Canadian. I waved and carried on cycling. I checked my mirror and Ralf was nowhere to be seen. I stopped, figuring that he was taking photos. He eventually caught up with me and said the guy on the motorbike was from Innisfil. Innisfil is the municipality south of Barrie. He joined us and we chatted about Innisfil and Cuba. He spends 5 months in Cuba and then goes back to Canada. He is Cuban and has lived in Canada for about 25 years. He said he and his wife had worked as a gravel truck drivers for about 7 years, they were owner operators, but worked all the time. Now it is time to enjoy life.

“Life in Cuba is easy, yes Cubans cry life is too hard”. He said “I pay 2CUC per month for electricity. That is my only bill. I have to buy food, but it is so cheap. I grow some vegetables and then we barter with our neighbours for other foods”.

The route today turned out to be a little longer than expected due to the fact that the Campismo was full, the other campismos along the beach area were only for Cubans. We asked at a hotel how much it would be for the night – 70CUC, that wasn’t in the budget. The fella at the entrance told us about a casa up the road. We passed a registered casa, and arrived at Mario’s place. He was going to charge us the going rate of 25CUC and when I looked at the room I wasn’t too impressed. However, we were both hot and tired and Ralf’s back was hurting him from a bad night’s sleep. After Ralf saw the room and we then checked out the bed – it was so lumpy we knew he couldn’t sleep in the bed. We changed our mind and decided to go back down the hill to see the registered casa. It is a nice clean casa and she is charging 25 CUC. Dinner will be 6CUC each and breakfast 4CUC, a bargain.

Tomorrow we are going to Matanzas, a short ride, and it is time for a rest day.

The people we have met this week has made it a very interesting week.

Friday November 7, 2014

Not a good nights sleep, woken up by the disco in the next street and the bed had to have had the worst mattress we have slept on.

A nice ride today, but a little longer than expected. We arrived in San Antonio los Banos at around lunch time and had churros for lunch from a street vendor. They were hot and freshly cooked. He recognized the Canadian flag and told us his brother and mother now live in Windsor, Ontario. His brother moved there 25 years ago and his mother 18 years ago. His English wasn’t really good so he couldn’t explain why he didn’t go. He gave us good directions to get to San Jose and away we went up the hill. The morning’s ride was flat and along a rural road with sugar canes and bigger farms, than we have seen previously.

San Jose is a municipal area and quite a large Town, we had assumed there would be a casa particular in the Town. We spotted an office for campismos (campsites). I asked if there was any in the area – she directed me to the one we are going to stay at tomorrow night (Los Cocos) in the Matanzas area – 48 kms away. I asked if there was a casa particular in the Town, in typical Cuban style she went outside and shouted up the street to see if the local guy knew of any casas. He arrived and he seemed like a slimy dude to me. He asked how long we wanted the room for. I indicated for the night. He explained that the room was occupied at the moment but we could have it in about 30 minutes for the rest of the night. He gave me the heebyjeebies. We cycled through the Town again and asked at the cultural centre. She indicated there was a hotel somewhere near Tapaste or near the motorway. As we were leaving the Town I spotted what may have been a casa. We stopped and the neighbour said it wasn’t but there was a room for rent just down the street. We went to the house and another slimy guy came out – this room was also occupied but we could have it later.

We cycled out of town to find the hotel. When we arrived in Tapaste a small town, we doubted the hotel was here, so we asked about a casa in the pharmacy. A young woman said she knew of rooms for rent, oh not again. Yep again. However, Liana was a very nice woman and encouraged us to come in and wait, she spoke a little English. Time was getting on and we had cycled 75.5 kms already. What to do? She showed us pictures of her daughter who was a dancer and singer in Russia, then we got to see the videos, her daughter is with a band from Cuba who are in Russia singing and teaching salsa.

While we were waiting she got clean sheets and towels ready for us. That was a bit of a relief. When the room was ready, she cleaned it and then we were allowed to see it. It is cleaner than the place we stayed at last night and we are being charged CUC 10 for the room. Again we are having dinner in the Casa and I hope breakfast.

Dinner was lovely and we chatted to Iliana who would like to have more guests but it is illegal for her to have tourists staying in her house. She asked if we knew of anyone who would want to stay here. I took her phone number and said I would pass it on as we cycled through Cuba, but this Town is off the beaten track. Most people get on the A1 and head from Habana to Jibacoa.

She is willing to take the risk of a big fine to take tourists, for the additional money. It doesn’t appear as if she needs the money for everyday items. For Iliana it is all about the money.Iliana was a consumer, her daughter had sent her a big screen TV, a computer, a cell phone. She has enough food, a house but she wants more, but it costs money – welcome to consumerism.

She is a lovely person, I hope she doesn’t get into trouble.

Thursday November 6, 2014

Another good start at 8:20 after a nice breakfast of boiled eggs. Trying to explain how we wanted our eggs cooked this morning took all Ralf’s prowess with charades. We weren’t sure we were going to get boiled eggs until they arrived, they weren’t soft boiled but hey one thing at a time. Both Ralf and our host were very pleased that we got what we had asked for.

Our route should have taken us south to Guira de Melena, but two things changed that route. The first one was a stop at a “National monument”. We had seen a sign on the road and spotted some arches along a dirt road. It was an old coffee plantation with what would have been a very beautiful plantation house.

An older fella was sitting near one of the outbuildings who encouraged us to park our bikes. At first we just wanted to take a few photos and carry on. However, the guide, who spoke quite good English started to explain the history of the house and the lands. Apparently a German plantation had a love affair with a black slave, of course she was not allowed in the principal house, but he built a very nice house for her and allowed her to have a business selling food and commodities to other slaves.

The German was a very compassionate slave owner, he provided a kindergarten, a hospital and a church. The married slaves had their own houses and on the first of the year every year he gave them a day off and gave them new clothes – 2 shirts and 2 pairs of trousers! He always had two explanations available for the government to explain all the “Benefits” he was giving to his slaves and especially to his lover – the black slave Ursula. He treated them as people not as animals, unheard of back in the day.

He also told us about the fact that only 2 kilometres from the plantation was a Russian missile emplacement during the Bay of Pigs, and one of the old water cisterns had been used for Raul´s bunker.

After he had given us the tour of the property, we chatted briefly about Cuba. He was pleased to hear that we had visited Cuba often, but when we commented on the changes that we had seen especially in the last few years, he gave us his opinion of Cuba. He said that people should not complain about Fidel, he has given them free education, free health care, housing, etc. They don’t have all their wants but on the whole their needs are covered. He did admit that the food shortages are still an issue. Which still makes me feel bad, because tourists are always fed well. He had travelled and worked in Venezuela and Brazil and been encouraged to stay there. He was a geologist engineer and worked in gold mines, he could have stayed but he always wanted to come home. He tells his son “In other countries people are a slave to their work. To buy all the things that are offered, you have to work many hours and no time for family or fishing”. A very intelligent man and very interesting to talk to.

He said Cuba has its problems, but it has free education, free medical, and free housing. I might not have a car but I have time for family and fishing. A wise man that knows that “family and fishing” are more important than cars, big screen tv etc.

The rest of our ride was quite uneventful and through sugar cane fields.

We arrived in Artemesia and needed to find a bank, we are not sure when we will be near a big Town over the next few days, so needed to top up the wallet. We stopped and had a sandwich at a hole in the wall café and asked for directions. We found the bank and Ralf was told he had to use the bank machine. The dam thing paid him out in CUC 5.00 bills!!

We then thought we would stay in Artemesia for the night, it was fairly early but figured that it was a big town (the Provincial capital) and should be able to find a casa. But, no we could not find a casa and were directed to the next town.No casa there either, we eventually headed north to Guanajay and found a room for rent, not an official casa but that is fine. I felt as if we were being over-charged for the room. We were charged the standard rate for an official casa, I should have haggled, but I don’t think he would have come down at all.

He also asked Ralf what was happening in Canada with the shooting in Ottawa. He took Ralf a bit off-guard, he hadn’t expected the news of the shooting in Ottawa to reach Cuba. The casa owner said – Canada is such a quiet country what is happening?

We had a nice wander around the town and the square and sat with our ice-creams and watched people. There is a real mix of ethnicities here, Spanish descendants, black, a few Chinese and the mix of all these races. It was very interesting. The other interesting thing was to see the high school kids leave school – the percentage of girls to boys is very high. Far more girls are going to high school than boys. I will have to ask someone what the percentage of male/female are and what the percentage of male/female are staying at school through high school.

We also met two Austrian touring cyclists from Vienna, who were looking for something to eat, and were staying Las Terrasaz tonight, we met them around 3:00 and they still had a fair distance to go. Nice couple who were going to donate their bikes when they left.

Again we had a good meal in the casa, this was the first time we had the perfect amount of food.

After dinner Ralf and I had a very interesting discussion about “home”. On my homesick days when I am feeling tired and need a day of the bike. Or if things aren’t going quite right and I want to go home – where do I consider home? This is going to sound morbid but I always consider where would I want to live if something happened to Ralf, basically where is my home? Home for me is Barrie, Ontario. That is where I consider home. I have not lived in England for almost 20 years and although most of my family are there and there are occasions when I miss them, I feel at home in Canada.

Ralf still hasn’t found his home. He said that last time he felt “at home” is 25 years ago when we lived in Germany.

Wednesday November 5, 2014

Today we had the worst breakfast we have had in a casa. Awful coffee, very salty omelette and no fruit – we did have a nice fruit juice.

We left the Casa early at 8:15 and very shortly after leaving San Diego we were joined by a Cuban cyclist (Enrique) on a very nice bike, it was given to him by a Canadian who left it in Cuba after their tour of Cuba. Enrique spoke very good English, he asked if we were going to Soroa, we said yes and he joined us and talked to us all the way —- all the way. He learnt English when he was in the army and served in Angola. He is a foot doctor, in the summer and in the winter he helps his family working on the farm producing tomatoes, rice, guava, avocados.

He has a huge issue with the government, they will not give him more land so that he can plant more rice and employ more people. “People need work and I can provide it if they give me the land that I ask for”. The land that he wants is not being farmed at the moment and he could cultivate it again. The people need work and food.

Raul is waiting for Fidel to die and then he will sell of the island bit by bit. It is already happening, he has allowed people to sell their houses and foreign ownership. The Cuban people cannot afford to buy houses so the houses for sale are being bought by foreigners. This is not what the revolution was about, it was to allow for equality.

However, we all know that isn’t true, there are people in the government that have things and the average Cuban does not. His concern was that Cuba was becoming capitalistic. Again it is down to needs versus wants. Cubans should be more concerned about their needs – food, housing, work and not their wants, cell phones, internet, etc.

This is not the first time that we have heard that Raul is ready to sell-off the island to the highest bidder. China, Canada and Germany.

We are staying at his family’s Casa in Soroa – he had told us it would be CUC20, when I asked the owner she said CUC 25 – it is the going rate – so I told her the rate we were quoted by Enrique. She discussed it with her family yes, 20 CUC, but we know we will be charged extra for dinner and breakfast or the beer! Ralf went up to Soroa to buy our water, even that was expensive as there are no shops other than at the hotel.

As Enrique said we are walking dollars. We tried to explain that we don’t have a lot of money, that we are unemployed and homeless. All he sees is that we are cycling around the world we must have money. Yes we have more than he does, but he has enough to buy food everyday and owns a house.

Enrique, was very much for the revolution and what it has bought the average Cuban. However, he complained that the administration is losing touch.

We are seeing the real Cuba warts and all. That means we are seeing the real Cubans who will take you for the last dollar with a smile, of course.

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Our morning started off with greasy fried eggs, blugh. We were on the road at 8:30 into the smoky streets of Pinar del Rio. The spew of fumes coming from the trucks and buses was awful. We found our way out on to the Carrerata very easily and followed it almost all the way to San Diego los Banos.

We encountered the Cuban transportation system in all of its glory today. Cubans use a variety of transportation methods to get around. In the city they have city buses, bicycle taxis, bicycles, horse and cart and of course on foot.

Between towns they use a couple of methods: the bus or the Cuban bus which is an open back truck where they stand shoulder to shoulder and hang on as the truck zooms along at break neck speeds spewing diesel fumes out of its badly tuned exhaust.

We arrived at a cross-roads and proceeded to go straight through. A local told us we couldn’t go that way. Ralf stopped and asked why – he gathered that there was something to do with water – either the bridge was out or something else. They directed us along another road, which turned out to be a very nice road and shortened our ride by about 5kms. We found out later that the central carrerata goes through a lake! Through a lake actually it is a dam/reservoir and the road is unpassable.

We arrived in San Diego Los Banos from the opposite direction than we thought we were going to. We back-tracked and found the Banos (Spa). A gentleman approached us and asked if we needed the hotel, which was behind the Spa. We said we were o.k. as we have a casa. His name was Pilo and was a teacher at the local school. He proceeded to give us a bit of a history lesson of the town and told us about the tobacco drying factory and an old guy who makes cigars – artisan.He showed us to the casa and we chatted with him for a while.

Pilo told us about the road going through the lake,he didn’t seem phased by the idea that a main road would go through a lake. Well you can always use the Autopista or come through this way he said, no problem. Pilo asked if we would like to go to the hot pools later. “It is good for the skin, muscles etc.” We decided we would and he said he would pick us up at 4:45, that is when non-Cubans can go.

The Town was named after the thermal waters and the spa. The spa is a run-down facility that needs a lot of money to build it up to its former glory. When we went in, we discovered a very run-down facility, we went down about 5 storeys to get to the hot pools. We had it to ourselves, our own private baths. It reminded us of New Zealand where we walked to the natural hot springs and sat in old concrete baths on the edge of a mountain.

They have repainted the outside and say it will be open to tourists in a few months. There is no way that this facility will be ready for tourists in the next few months. The hot pools were clean but due to the sulphur build-up the tiles were falling away from the walls. None of the showers or toilets worked and when I turned a light on, it sparked and the changing rooms needed a complete rebuild.

It is such a shame – other Towns in this area survive on tourism, this one has been left to die. If only they could put some real money into the spa, and redevelop the spa, it is in a beautiful area. We both felt sad that this facility has been left to ruin, and the Town’s people have lost a great source of employment.

The only other visible employment we saw was the cigar factory. They separate the tobacco leaves from the stalks, bundle the leaves up to dry for about two years before they will be used to make cigars.

We were introduced to Papa Pedro who apparently is famous for the artisan cigars he makes. Margaret Atwood and her hubby and other notable people have come to this town to meet Papa Pedroand buy his cigars. A lovely old fella who was more than ready to show us his craft, but we had to meet Pilo and go to the baths.

Pilo was a very enthusiastic school teacher, he showed us the school library. The library looked as if it was in a garage. Ralf asked why it wasn’t in the school, but he said there wasn’t enough room in the school to house the library. There was one section of the library that had been donated by the Russian government in 1961. He had one section that was for the school that he taught at in San Diego, all in Spanish. Another section the books he had were in English, he used those for his University students (final year teachers). He had books that had been sent to him from Canada, England, the US he also collected books from the hotel that had been left by tourists. However, when he received the books from abroad, the Cuban government used to allow them in without import duty. Now if he gets a package that is heavier than 3 kilos he gets charged 10 CUC for every additional kilo. This is to stop goods being received by Cubans who sell things on the black market, but it does not take into account educational items.

Pilo had the opportunity to work in the tourist industry, but wanted to teach. He could have earned more money in the tourist industry, but chose his love of teaching and learning. He was a fascinating man who tried to explain to us his problems with the Cuban system, but quantified the problems with the fact that all education is free for everyone in Cuba.

I had wanted to stop here to see the Banos and maybe partake in the spa, but this afternoon turned out to be so much more than a quick dip in a hot pool.

So much is changing but so much is staying the same. Fidel and Raul are still in control.