Day 12: On Towards Cienfuegos

What a day! Longest miles: 52! Longest hours pedaling: (I don't dare go look because the bugs will get in...I'll look tomorrow)

I met Juan Carlos, a young scuba diving instructor from Spain on his first bike tour, and we rode together for several hours.



I was pushing my little heart out and he slow down so it worked out OK. His English was pretty good so we were able to have some good conversations and some laughs! He even tried to help me find food. I'm desperate to find food, it's not easy to find. There are a lot of places set up like restaurants that want to feed you a big meal… That's not what I was looking for. Finally about mid day I got a ham sandwich at a bar. It tasted delicious! I wish I'd bought a second one for dinner. Tonight's meal was a few Pringles, some olives, a couple of crackers, andbreath mints...that's a new food group! Oh, and don't forget the banana that had slipped down in my pannier. The bananas here are sommuch more delicious than ours back home. I just love them! That will sustain me until I find something tomorrow. I've never known finding food could be so challenging. Sure glad I brought some from home. I still have in my pack some noodles, tuna, soup, chocolate, dried mango, and canned peaches and canned pineapple. Since I don't know what future days may bring I feel I should save the food if I can. Nope. I just broke down and ate a small can of pineapple. I couldn't take the rumbling in my time anymore. I don't think I'll ever take for granted being able to walk into a grocery store in any town and have your pick of food on the shelves. That's just not possible here. I know there's a super market in Cienfuegos, but I don't know what they'll have. That's the hard part. It's rarely anything nutritional.

We came through Playa Giron which is where the Cuban refugees attempted to overtake Fidel Castro with our training and assistance… The Bay of Pigs invasion. There were a lot of signs about the invasion and the victory that they had here. They even build a wall in the water so that no future invasion could take place… But they could invade further up the beach:)


















Playa Giron and the wall to prevent further invasions.
The


These are Cuban beach houses.

At the bar where I finally got food I met some French Quebec Canadians and was invited to visit them at their house. How great is that! I would love to cycle to Quebec exclamationat the bar where I finally got food I met some French Quebec Canadians and was invited to visit them at their house. How great is that! I would love to cycle to Quebec exclamation.

Today after Juan Carlos left me to make it to Cienfuegos for dinner I was going to take a route across instead of out to the main road. It was paved where I turned so I was hopeful my map app had a shortcut but a farmer in a cart came up to me and said not to continue to go back the other way. I guess I couldn't get through to the castle this way. I was glad for the help instead of finding out further up the road I couldn't get through. That's happened to me with this app.

And I almost forgot to mention the headwinds today!! How could I forget? It blew in my face all day long! Towards the end of the day it was the worst wind I've ever biked in!! And yet I made the miles, go figure! The good news today is it was overcast most of the day and that was a relief.

The one thing I'm uncomfortable with here is the fact that whenever I go to buy something and don't understand the price they're telling me I know they're going to charge me more or give me the incorrect change. It's not that I don't mind paying more, that's all right, it's that I feel like they're stealing from me and I don't like that feeling. I think I'm just going to give them more money than I expect it to be and tell them to keep the change...that way they get the extra money and I don't feel like they stole it from me...it's a gift to them. That changes the whole nature of the relationship. I've got a pretty good sense now of what I should be charged for water or an orange soda. And they certainly need the extra money.

I'm camped tonight in a young forest and the wind has been flipping through the trees. I love being so alone in the woods where no one knows I am. I feel part of something bigger! One with the universe! A part of all that is! And I could be on any continent anywhere in the world. Like this they all feel the same.





Live YOUR dream,

BagLady