3/16 - day 7 (day 5 of BR)
3/16 - day 7 (day 5 of BR)
This was the last day or riding. We left Hotel Moka and rode out of the protected area toward Havana. As before, the roads in the protected area were among the best during our entire trip. It was also fun riding with the Masters again. On a couple of occasions, they would ride with us and we would draft them for a while and then they would take off and leave us behind huffing and puffing.
Most of the time, dogs weren't a problem. No one had a dog on a leash and most of them were not fixed. They were often too lazy to pay any attention to us, or they were walking with purpose, probably trying to find food. A lot of them had ribs showing.
These dogs might have chased us if they weren't on the roof.
When we weren’t together, I was much more likely to stop and take pictures. Here’s one of three guys spinning something. It turns out they were making a braided rope. The guy in the first picture would turn a hand crank and the other guys would hold the raw ends.
When we passed this building for criminal investigation, I figured a picture of the sign would prove I was doing research for the criminology program.
Like most of our rides, our mid-ride stops were at someone’s home. Here you can see we just pulled up to a driveway and parked out bikes. In this case, we were able to go inside a see her house where she had cut fruit and juices for us. More coconut water.
The last 10 miles were a grim slog toward the coast. The headwind was easily between 10-20 mph and while James tried to organize a group of us to ride together, the group left without a couple of us and it was impossible to catch them. I ended up riding most of this stretch with Julia and we had a nice chat. It was a fitting ending to the biking, since no one was wishing we could ride some more. I was never so happy to be off my bike.
After the ride, we went to a restaurant on the coast that was advertised to us by our guides as the best seafood restaurant in Cuba. Adria very kindly asked about what I would eat and I said I’d eat anything.
Literally a hole in the wall.
I sat next to Yanny and she had never had sushi before, so it was nice to introduce her to something new in Cuba. The meal started with ceviche and sashimi made with swordfish and since I don’t normally eat fish, but especially raw fish, this was new to me too and a little out of my comfort zone. Everyone raved about the lobster tail and the swordfish steaks. They were ok, but I was happier with the rice and beans and pasta. It was a good reminder that any eating regimen should not be a deprivation diet or else it will fail and/or you’ll be miserable. In this case, eating what is on the table is the most socially-comfortable thing to do.
We said goodbye to the Masters, our mechanic, the second bus driver, and our bikes. They removed our components and took the bikes away for a good cleaning.
We walked a block or two to see a neighborhood that had become an art exhibit called Fusterland (named after the artist’s last name). We had a short explanation of this history of the neighborhood and took at 15-minute walk-around the property. The artwork was mosaic. I had another rum and coke.
Here is what it looked like.
I asked about this car parked on the property. The car runs on electricity collected by the solar panels on the roof. It is not a hybrid. It is a Chinese car but I don’t have much more information on it to do a follow-up. For example, I don’t know how far it an go on a charge.
We walked back to the bus and the bus started, then stalled a couple of times. The driver and the guides went outside ostensibly to check it out and then came back and announced that they were going to have to find another way to get us back to Havana. They said it would take another 2.5 hours to get another bus and a quicker alternative would be to take a city bus. The pretended to negotiate with a half dozen drivers of classic car taxes that we had previously admired on the way to Fustertland.
We walked a couple of blocks to a main street where we could catch the city bus and then a parade of classic cars pulled up behind us. The guides had faked the bus break-down and they had arranged the classic cars all along. Our bus even drove by, apparently “fixed”. The gambit was exceedingly well-played.
Here we are sadly lining up to take a city bus. (It actually might have been an interesting experience to see how the locals live.)
But, surprise! We're getting a ride in the classic cars. There goes our bus, miraculously "fixed".
Taking a ride in classic cars during the Cultural Cuba part of our trip was not high on our list of priorities, but once in the cars, especially a parade of cars, was a lot of fun. It was a little unnerving to be in a car without seat belts or a roll bar. In fact, I had never been in a full convertible before. I just had to get over the fact that we were rich Americans riding in cars that existed because of a US embargo and doing something that ordinary Cubans would never be able to afford to do.
The Parque Central is in the same area as our first hotel. It is as good as any international hotel, but this was made all the more dramatic by the fact that we had come from conditions in the rural areas that were much less developed. We could once again assume things that we normally take for granted such as running water and functional internet. Besides the cultural exposure, it is a good reminder not to be an ugly first-worlder.
Dinner was on our own, so Adria made reservations for a few of us at one of the rest stops and four groups ended up going to the same place. The restaurant was a good 15 minute walk from the hotel. The walls were covered with pictures and clocks, but the defining characteristic of the place was the fact that the Obamas had eaten there. The food wasn’t particularly good and service was awful. We ended up in the restaurant for 2.5 hours and the waiter brought up complementary cigars and rum. I got tired of sitting and visited the other tables of BRers at least a couple of times during the evening.
Here are my data for the day: https://www.strava.com/activities/8726293630
Fusterlandia - Colorful art/community project in Jaimanitas neighborhood
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