Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Day 20 in Cuba: Into Sancti Spiritus

Oh what a night! Ants ate through my tent! Hot and sticky body...even the earth was hot and made my air pad hot! Insomnia! Finally about 1:30 am I fell asleep. Early this morning I awoke because of ants crawling on me. They may be tiny but I can feel them! One here. One there. Swat. Rub. Add ear plugs because the rooster's crowing and a blindfold to keep out the light. More sleep does not come. The ants aren't too bad this morning. Guess I killed most of them last night. There's also stinging nettle I think unless an ant is causing that burn sensation. The ground is dry and hard and scratchy. There's been a fire through here some time.



Yesterday I went through the worst smoke from a burning field. There were guys out managing the fire but I couldn't tell if they were trying to stop it or feed it. I think stop it. It was a grass fire but there's barely any grass to burn. The smoke was so thick to pedal through. Cough. Cough.


Tried to video some in town. Since I already make a spectacle, how bad can it get? It was hard because all these guys came up and talked to me...then I was trying to buy something to eat...too many things going on at once. No promises on how it turned out. I'll do it more.  (Author's note: video was cute...too bad you can't see it.  I had to delete it because it wouldn't upload.)

Cycled in to Sancti Spiritus and to the old town area. There's a large river bed through the town with a trickle of water. I wonder if it fills up during the rainy season. I passed by a hostel that looked like it had possibilities so I marked the point on my map app. Otherwise I might never find it again:). The streets are very confusing. Then I pedaled on until it looked like that still was the best place. An old colonial house built in 1800. He calls it a Hostel but they're all using that name now for their casa particulare. Easier to say! So there's a main foyer and he lives to the left and my room is to the right. A bedroom, dressing table area, and private bath.






Toilet seats are often absent or broken here. The bowl should be designed with a built in seat making the separate seat unnecessary. Just saying... it's an international problem. Another thing I've run into here are these water heater shower heads. I read about them somewhere but I have no idea how they work so I just take a cold shower. (It's hot here so cold showers feel good:)). Whenever I see this shower head I'm already naked and can't ask how it works. Besides it looks downright frightening: wires here and there all wrapped in a haphazard manner then water dripping...potential for electrocution!! No thanks!



Now I feel human again: all clean and shiny!















This town is adorable! It has a pedestrian mall. The colors are bright. Mostly Cubans. Terrible food. When I've gone to restaurants in other cities the food has been pretty good. (It's been finding food to take on the bike or in the small towns that's been the problem.). Until tonight. Now mind you, my last meal was yesterday morning so I was ready to eat. I picked an "Italian" restaurant right on the main square. Ordered pizza. It was tiny. Like what you'd get on the street for $0.50. And I paid $6. Way too much and it was tasteless. Worst pizza I've had here. I think tomorrow I'll ask for a recommendation. Such a disappointment :(. And I've had some good pizzas here! After the beautiful restaurants in Trinidad where you got a 3 course meal for just a few dollars more, I'm so sad. Guess I'll go finish my can of olives!




Tai Chi class



Classroom windows are right on the streets



Pastry cart.


Live YOUR dream,

BagLady

Day 19 in Cuba: Leaving Trinidad

Author's note: as many of you know, I'm off the trike for a few months and trying to get many things done during this break. I wrote every day while I was in Cuba. I am now trying to add pictures to those journals and slowly get them uploaded onto my blog. Thank you for your patience, hope you're enjoying my journals. It's been quite an enjoyable process to go back months after I finish the country and reminisce about my time there.

Journal continues:
As I think I've mentioned I've been sharing my space "sort of" with two young guys from France. They occupy one area of the second floor and I've got a bed in the other and the bathroom is off of my room. As expected they come in quite early in the morning the other night it was 2:30 AM and I think Adrian said this morning they got in at six or seven. I didn't realize till I walk through their space to take my bags downstairs to leave that "they" was him and a girl!



Saying goodbye to my host in Trinidad and his mama.

I also met a Frenchman last night ...after dinner he came over to my table and asked me for a drink. We wanted the streets of Trinidad found a place to have a drink shared stories and he walked be home. Thank you, Pascal, for a lovely evening. Maybe I'll see you in Bordeaux:)

I met some fellow touring cyclist today on the road that we're headed into Trinidad.


They were also French and we stopped and shared a few stories and contact information. They had cycled from Santiago with the wind at their backs. They got the memo! And later I met a man from Brussels who had rented a bike in Trinidad and bike up the road to a little town where there is a big slave tower.


Supposedly this concrete tower with the staircase up the middle and many places to look out was used to watch the slaves working on the sugar plantations. I've never seen anything like it!

Today a guy with a horse and cart passed me and he handed me a rope to grab so he could tow me a long:))

Everybody hitchhikes around Cuba. I'm not sure if they pay a fee to the driver or not but I just saw mom and her toddler daughter picked up after she waved the car down. It's common practice and most intersections have quite a few people trying to get rides or picked up by a taxi. Most people don't have cars and Cuba is rural. There are buses too. Foreigners cannot ride the local buses only the Viazul, tourist bus. So most tourists don't see the small villages I see. They miss a lot.



What's with the little birds in the cages people carry them around? In town sometimes I see them hanging outside a house but I don't know what that's about.

Cuba is teaching me to make do with what I have. If all I have is warm water, at least I have water. If I feel sticky after I've washed up at the end of the day, at least my skin is clean. And if I have some food to eat,…at least I have some food to eat. And the place I put my tent may not be the prettiest spot but it's almost flat and I'll be able to sleep. I'm realizing now how spoiled I've become even in this simplified life I lead.






Today's ride was through a beautiful valley. It had plantations down at the base of the valley with the mountains behind it and I'm not going to be able to tell you the names without looking them up hold on. Valle de los Ingenios and Sierra del Escambrey. Stunning. There also was a market at the Torres Iznaga with this special pulled thread needlework the woman do that creates a pattern of holes in the design. Tablecloths. Runners. Bedspreads.


They take several months to make. Sometimes I find it challenging no longer consuming but I can appreciate what they do without owning it. There are enough tourists who will buy, I'm sure. But it's a struggle with this sense of possession...to what?...to have to disburse later? Deep thoughts, I know;)

Life is hard here. A lot of animals are starving. I can see the ribs, I can see them trying to find grass where it doesn't look like there is any. The grass is brown and the earth is hard, and the sun is hot! The rainy season hasn't started yet. It's been hard to find a camp spot. Tonight I'm down side road on the edge up against the pasture fence. It's almost flat :-)


and Blaze is locked up to the fence. Everything else I bring inside the tent. It's what people told me I should do camping here. But I've never seen anyone come up to my tent so I think it's OK.

I think daylight savings was last night because it appears my phone has a different time on it today even though it never connected to the Internet. Hmmm? For me I don't know if that's a good thing, it's more hours of hot sun. I look forward to the cool of the evening.




Dinner tonight is a 15 ounce can of artichoke hearts packed in water and cracker from last night's dinner...Yum! I also have some pastries that were left over from breakfast so I should be good. Last night I wasn't very hungry and I found a sweet little restaurant where they had the best vegetable soup. It was just what I wanted.! And a plate of french fries!! Cubans don't seem to eat a lot of potatoes. I did stop today at a little village and get a little ham sandwich and a couple of pastries. That cost $0.40. No tourist markup there.


Live YOUR dream,

BagLady