Cycling Central Cuba - 2014

This is an account of our three weeks around central Cuba by bike in 2014. I hope it will be of interest to friends who want a peek at our journey – and also helpful to people who are considering cycling there.

We chose this route because of it offered fairly easy rides, interesting cities, a few good beaches, lots of Cuban history, and the Zapata Peninsula which is a big park known for its unique birds. The route skirts around the edge of the Sierra del Escambray, a mountain range that sits between Santa Clara and Trinidad. As we got to the southern part of the route we rode along with these mountains to our right and the ocean to our left – very pleasant!

I will give a brief day-to-day description first, and then follow that up with some information that may be of use to those planning a cycling trip. Topics you will find at the end include:

     - General tips on cycling in Cuba

     - Our gear list

     -  Accommodation in Cuba – contacts and resources

We stayed in Casa Particulares throughout the trip (Cuban B&Bs) and highly recommend them – more details on that at the end too…

This is a map of Cuba, with the area we visited outlined

And this is a map of our route – with the parts done by bike indicated with a blue dotted line and those with other transport in a red dotted line.

Santa Clara – starting o point - Jan 25, 2014

We chose to fly in to Santa Clara, which was our chosen starting point for the route. Because of the excellent bus service in Cuba, one could fly in wherever you get the best connections by air, and then bus to your cycling start point. You can book your bus in advance (see references at end).

Santa Clara is an attractive and vibrant city – a university town with lots of cultural things happening. The big theme here is Che Guevera – the Museo Memorial al Che commemorates his part in the revolution, and across town the Monumento a la Toma del Tren Blindado (the monument honours the derailment of an armoured train – a significant event in the revolutionary war). There is also a cultural museum and Parque Vidal, at the centre of town, is very attractive.

We found the vening surprisingly cool – were glad of the light fleece jacket we had packed. There had been an “arctic vortex” event that had eastern Canada and the US in a deep freeze and it may have influenced the temp. in Cuba too. Locals complained that it was cooler than ususal.

 “Hasta La Victoria Siempre”  (Ever Onwards to Victory)

Tren Blindado

The courtyard in our Casa

Parque Vidal

Santa Clara to Remedios – 47 km

The ride out to Remedios is a very gentle warm-up for the trip – only about 47 km on flat terrain. We stopped at a roadside fruitstand for a wonderful pineapple. The countryside is mosly open farms,k but just before we arrived at Remedios it changed to a more broken, rocky geology that appeared to be karst limestone. All along the route we enjoyed views of the beautiful royal palms – such stately tall trees.

Remedios itself is an attractive small city. The central Plaza Marti has two churches fronting on it – one in a sad state of disrepair, and the other is quite splendid. If you can get a tour of the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, it is worth the commentary. Don’t be daunted by a closed door (enter at the back of the church) – you may have to knock.

There are a couple of other museums in town, but we were content to wander the side streets and watch  life going on…

Fruitstand stop

Tobacco drying shed

Royal palms and limestone

Church in Remedios

Remedios to Caibarién – 11 km

An easy 12 km ride took us out to this coastal town. We stopped part way at the very interesting Museo de la Agroindustria Azucarera – an old sugar cane refinery that gives you a glimpse of both the process of sugar production. There is an impressive collection of steam locomotives as well.

Caibarién was once a booming sugar export centre and the mouldering old sugar warehouses still line the street near the shore. Much of the once fine architecture is now very dilapidates, but it was fun to ride the streets and imagine how they looked when the place was at its peak. The Malecón is a pleasant ride out to the smaller village of Pesquera.

Our detour to Caibarién was inspired by our curiosity about a long causeway that takes off from here and stretches out for 48 km to a series of cays. These cays are rapidly being developed with all-inclusive style resorts. We were interested by the potential for good bird viewing. Cycling out this narrow line of road into the expanse of ocean was a rather surreal experience. It was intriguing at first – but quickly grew rather monotonous. We did spot some good birds, though – anhinga, black turnstones…. We went as far as the first few cays and had a brief swim at a bit of beach. By then it was getting very hot and we decided it would be prudent to head back – a good thing because I was really feeling the effect of the heat by the time I wobbled back to our casa. So – we learned our lesson, and got up early for breakfast and were on the bikes at first light for the rides that followed!

Steam locomotives

Malecon in Caibarién

Sugar warehouses

Heading out on the causeway

Caibarién to Remedios – (again)

This was just a short hop back to give us a good jumping off point for the 71 km ride on to Sancti Spiritus.

Remedios to Sancti Spiritus – 71 km

This ride takes you through ranching country, through a couple of little towns, and gradually gives more views of the Sierra del Escambray to the west. Lots of ox carts, horse carts, but very little car traffic for the first part. Cane fields, tobacco and a little industry along the way. We found Sancti Spiritus had less to hold our attention that other cities on our route – there is a church, a museum, and a very old humped bridge over the river. We spent quite a bit of our day off doing bike repairs (see notes below).

Typical rural home

Church in Sancti Spiritus

  

Sancti Spiritus to Trinidad – 76 km

A lovely ride – mixed fields and bits of forest. We crossed over several rivers where we stopped and looked at birds in the area. Fields of onions and garlic scented the air. About 2/3 of the way through the day you enter the Vallee de los Ingenios – where there had been many big sugar plantations. A few remain, and one refinery still operates here. About 15 km before Trinidad we stopped to visit Manca-Iznaga, an old sugar estate that is now a tourist spot. We had a good lunch in the old plantation house, and then climbed the nearby tower for a view of the surrounding area. The story about the tower is that two brothers inherited the plantation and out of a sense of rivalry one promised to build a tower if the other dug a well of the equivalent depth. The well has apparently never been located…

There is one moderate hill to climb out of the valley just before arriving in Trinidad – it has a fairly moderate grade. And then it is an easy coast down and into town.

Trinidad is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and thus very touristy. But so worth it! The city has been restored and it is a great pleasure just to wander the streets. The central Plaza Major is beautiful, surrounded by the church and huge old colonial homes. Most are now museums, most well worth a visit. At the Museo de la Lucha Contra Banditos (Museum of the Struggle against Counter-Revolutionaries) we were able to climb the bell tower for a view over the city and out to the ocean – not to be missed.

Growing garlic

Sierra del Escambray

Plaza Major, Trinidad

Trinidad street

  

Trinidad to Cienfuegos – 83 km

This was our favourite ride – lovely views out to the sea, nice villages, and the mountains rising to our right all the way.The route is gently rolling terrain, so that the fairly easy climbs up the gentle rises were rewarded with a coast down the other side.

Just before Cienfuegos we stopped at the Jardin Botanico. We had a very good lunch at their café, then strolled around the grounds. The plants are not labeled, though guides are available for about 10 CUC. We spotted a few interesting birds, including a barn owl peeking out of the top of a palm.

Cienfuegos is a fairly large city and the traffic got much more hectic as we rode into town. Trucks belching black smoke –yuk. We chose to stay in the Punta Gorda area – a suburb to the south of the main part of town. It reminded us of what Miami must have looked like in the 50s – large lots with art deco houses. The place we stayed was wonderful – our host, Jorge really made our visit in Cienfuegos memorable. He has a home-built wood fired oven in which he produces amazing meals.

Cienfuegos has a sense of prosperity and some of the grand hotels along the water have been restored. Before dinner at the casa, we went over to the restored Palacio de Valle (a short walk from Jorge’s casa) to watch the sunset from their rooftop, sipping a mojito and enjoying the ambiance – lovely.

From Punta Gorda, it is an easy cycle up the Prado (the main drag to town) to get to the city centre. IF you ask around you will find a “Parkeo para Bicicletas” (bike parking) for a couple of CUCs. Downtown Cieinfuegos has the usual central Parque José Marti, with a couple of museums and the wonderful old Teatro Tomás Terry. There is a naval museum and an interesting cemetery. We spent quite a while looking for the ferry terminal to go out to the Castillo de Jagua – only to learn that it no longer runs. If you want ot go there, it is by bus or by bike. We decided that we preferred to move on to the Bay of Pigs instead…

En route to Cienfuegos

Sierra del Escambray

Palacio de Valle, Punta Gorda

Dinner at Jorge’s

Cienfuegos to Playa Giron – 90 km (bus)

We had met with friends in Cienfuegos to travel together for the second laf of the trip. Since this would be their first day, and it was a long, hot ride to the coast, we elected to hop on a bus for this stretch. But it would be a worthwhile ride, I think. It takes a while to get out of the urban development of Cienfuegos, but then it is through flat farming country. There is a very attractive town half way. Along the road are a series of monuments (161 in total) to the Cubans who were killed in the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Playa Giron is at the start of the Bay of Pigs and there is a good museum on this theme in the town. Based here, we went out to the public beach nearby, which was very nice. We also rode out toward Caleta Buena, to the east, which offered glimpses into the swamps inland, and another beach at the resort. This area was once mainly populated by charcoal burners, who cleared the scrubby growth in the forests to produce charcoal for cooking. There are still a few of these operations to be seen along the roads.

Beach at Playa Giron

Bay of Pigs museum

Playa Giron to Playa Larga – 45 km

This is a short and delightful ride. Part way along is the Cueva de los Peces – a cenote where you can swim or scuba dive. Just across the road is a beach where we had the best snorkeling of the trip – the underwater life is amazing!! We did find that there were little stinging critters in the water, which turned out to be a mere annoyance – they were mild and went away when we came out of the water. The café by the cenote offers food, but only full meals (they seem oriented to bus tours) – a good idea to bring a picnic for this section.

There are several resorts along the water as you approach Playa Larga. We stayed in the adjoining village of Calenta, near the lagoon. The beach at the edge of town is not very appealing for swimming (it is worth a stroll to view the defensive structures installed after the Bay of Pigs – now in ruins after Hurricane Mitch). Here it is easy to arrange a car and guide (required) to take you into the nature reserve. We were joined by Mario, who turned out to be a very personable, knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide and we had 2 days with him. On the first we walked into a forested area and saw many interesting birds, including 3 species of owls, Cuban trogon , Cuban tody, and the smallest bird in the world, the bee hummingbird. The next day we drove out into the wetlands to see flamingo, roseate spoonbills, storks, egrets, etc,etc. Two wonderful days…

Cenote at Cueva de los Peces

Great snorkeling

The lagoon from our casa in Playa Larga

Flamingos

Playa Larga to Trinidad (bus)and then La Boca (8 km)

We elected to retrace our steps back to Trinidad by bus (which we picked up by the side of the road mid-afternoon). At Trinidad we hopped back on our bikes for the short ride to La Boca, at the top of the Ançon Peninsula. La Boca is a delightlful little fishing village – a great place to hang out for a bit. We rode down to the southern tip of the peninsula, which is mostly a strip of all-inclusive resorts. You can walk along the beach from the last resort toward the southern tip of the peninsula – after about 40 minutes of walking we decided to retreat to the hotel for a cold drink. We then cycled back toward La Boca for a swim at one of the many little beaches along the road (they have an attendant who appreciates a few CUCs for keeping the place clean and will rent snorkeling gear. There are a couple of cafes (the northen one is smaller and cheaper).

Ançon Peninsula

It says it all…

Trinidad to Santa Clara  (taxi)

We had planned to take the bus back to Santa Clara for our flight out the next day… but found the bus was full!!! Yikes!!! After some inquiry we learned that taxis were not much more costly than the bus. With bikes, the fare for us both would have been about 30 CUC. The taxi turned out to be only 45 CUC – and we were able to take the route we wanted through the mountains instead of retracing our route around them. So that worked out well, we made our plane and flew home with thoughts of our next cycling trip in Cuba…

Packing List

First aid kit

-       Sunburn gel

-       Insect bite cream

-       Blister pads

-       Stomach stuff (immodium)

-       Wound repair stuff

-       Advil or equivalent

-       Benadril

-       Cipro for emergencies

Bike Repair kit

-       Puncture repair kit

-       Wrenches / multi-tool

-       Free wheel remover

-       Spare tire

-       2 spare tubes

-       Rim liner

-       Pump

-       Tire lever

-       Spare spokes

General Repair Kit

-       Sm roll duct tape

-       A few metres of cord

-       Sewing kit

Water bottles for bikes

Collapsible water bottles for extra H2O

Water purification kit

Photos of Canada etc

Maps, guidebooks, etc

K’s “yoga paws”

Clothing (K’s list):

-       2 pr cycling quick-dry pants

-       1 pr light cotton pants

-       2 cycling T shirts

-       1 light long-sleeve cotton shirt

-       1 “dress” shirt

-       Undies

-       Swim suit

-       Sarong (aka skirt, beach change room,  towel, blanket…)

-       sunhat

-       Bandana

-       Shoes – for cycling, walking (watersport for walking on beach)

-       Light sandals

-       Very light fleece jacket

-       Cycling gloves

-       Light cycling jacket

Personal items:

-       Shampoo, toothbrush etc

-       Earplugs (Cuba is full of enthusiastic roosters – even in the city centres!)

Travel towel (very small)

Laundry kit (sink stopper, packets soap, laundry line

Swiss army knife

Sunscreen

Bug spray

Sunglasses

Binos and bird book

Notebook / journal / sketchbook & pens

Toilet paper (small)

Business cards for addresses

Camera and charger

Surge protector & current / plug converter (see note below)

Ipad and charger

Ebook and charger

Ipod for translator

Small LED flashlight

Small light daypack

Bike locks

Snacks – about 12 cliff bars

·      Most places have the same plug configuration as we use in Canada… just be sure it is a 110v plug (220v ones look the same but should be labeled)

·      In some places there are the 2 round pin style plugs, so a conversion unit is helpful

 Bikes in Cuba –

We ended up spending a day creating new, more robust rim liners for Mark’s bike out of pieces cut from Cuban inner tubes. After a series of flat tires, this seemed like a prudent step. I recommend starting off with a robust pair in your tires. We had a lot of flat tires – the effect of the rough roads, loaded bikes, and heat.

You can get some bike parts in Cuba, but don’t count on it, and they are pretty rough. Take a complete repair kit. Go prepared…

Maps

We chose not to use electronic devices for navigation (cell coverage is really expensive there).

 I did go on Google Earth and print out maps of the cities we would go through, at various scales. These were really helpful!

There is a good general road map of Cuba put out by Internation Travel Maps.

Food

Cuba is not known for its fine cuisine – but we found that the food was generally good, and sometimes excellent. As a rule, meals in the Casa Particulares are better than what you get in restaurants. Servings were always way more than we could possibly eat. Breakfast (fruit, fruit juice, eggs, bread and preserves, pancakes, cookies and cakes – yes all of that!) was usually enough that we did not feel much need of lunch! On the road, we often stopped at little vendors for a pizza (more like a fried bread with tomato sauce and cheese, but tasty and filling) for about 10 – 15 NP – that’s about 80 cents CAN.

 Pizza

Accommodation

We stayed in Casa Particulares throughout – it is worth going to Cuba just for these! We reserved the first and last night online (see references) and then arranged the others as we went. Casa owners will phone ahead for you, so you can hop-skip through your itinerary that way. They often have contacts they send you to – or you can give them the number of a specific one you want. If one is full, they will often still arrange for you to stay at another nearby…

We found casa through the online listing, through a mobile app called Cuba Junky, and in our guidebooks. (see more specifics at bottom)

Buses

We found taking bikes on buses to be quite easy. If the baggage area was crowded we pulled a wheel off. Do book tickets a day or so ahead, especially with bikes, if you really need to travel on a particular day. Ticket offices are not open all day (often only near the time when a bus comes through), so this may take a bit of persistence. (see references)

Prices

Cuba has 2 currencies – the CUC (or tourist dollar and often indicated by $) and the National Peso (NP - used by Cuban nationals). You can get by without getting any pesos, but a few are handy for buying street food. We probably used about $20 CAN equivalent in pesos (which worked out to about 500 NP).

Casa Particulares were almost all $25 (that’s CUC – tourist pesos). A couple were $30. Breakfast was generally $3 or 4 and dinner $8 – 10, up to $12 if you had lobster.

References...

Viazul bus – www.viazul.com

-       You can book routes online

-       If you plan to book in Cuba, it is best to do so a day or so in advance – especially with bikes

Casa Particulares

-       www.casaparticularcuba.org

o   There are several internet sites where you can book. I used this one and found their service very good

-       www.cuba-junky.com

o   this is an excellent website (good maps) and also an app you can take with you

Casas we recommend:

This is a list of the ones we stayed at and enjoyed, with a few comments…

Santa Clara – Hostal la Pergola ($30) Luis Estevez #61, entre Indepencia y Marti

                        Ph (0142) 20-8686

            - we booked this through www.casaparticularcuba.org

            - a delightful place with 4 spacious rooms, a lovely garden courtyard and a rooftop restaurant. Food was excellent (try the lamb).

Remedios – La Casona Cueto ($25)  Alejandro del Rio # 72

                        Ph 42/39-53-50        amarelys@copiro.vcl.sid.cu

Caibarién – Villa Virginia ($25) Ciudad Pesquera #73

                        Ph 42/36-33-03

-       not too many casa to choose from in this area – this was recommended as one of the better. Rooms are comfortable, food was good but not as outstanding as some places

Sancti Spiritus – Casa de Alquiler ($25) Adolfo del Castillo #33 (altos) entre Avenida de los Martires y Isabel M. Valdiva

                        Ph (53)(41) 32-4733

-       a nice young couple – simple accommodation, but very welcoming and comfortable

-    

Trinidad – Casa Victor Y Helena ($30) Colon #256 entre Jose Marti y Francisco Coddania

                        Ph 419/42-42

-       a lovely old colonial home with rooms off a garden in the  back

-       Victor and Helena are very welcoming – we enjoyed staying with them so much, and Victor is an excellent cook

Cienfuegos – Casa Piñero ($30) Calle 41 # 1402 entre 14 y 15, Punta Gorda

                        Ph 53 (43) 513808

-       A great place to stay – Jorge is a real character and he thrives on hospitality, cooks marvelous meals and takes care of whatever your needs.

-   

Playa Giron – Casa Aida y Miguel – ($25)

                        Ph 0145-98-4251                 AidaMiguel.2013@yahoo.es

-       A very comfortable and welcoming house – great meals!

-     

Playa Larga – Casa Rio Mar ($25) Caleton

                        Ph 53-45 987471                 moticacuba@gmail.com

                        Mobile:  (0053) 53112599

-       We really enjoyed our night at this casa – mostly because of the warm welcome

-       The upper room has a lovely terrace that looks out over the village and water, and catches the breeze

-       Meals were very good

-       

La Boca – Elsa Hernandez Monteagudo y  Juan ($25) Avenida del mar #5

                        Ph (041) 993236

-       Great rooms, a rooftop terrace for sunset viewing, and good food

-       Very welcoming family

-