Day 6: Getting Out of Havana

OK. Can't stay on Habana forever. Got to hit the road. Have no idea how this is going to go. My plan is to cycle south of the Bay then up to the coastline. Cycling Cuba suggests using the Via Blanca. Maps.me routed me. off of the Via Blanca. Yea, I was super-excited yesterday when I found out the Maps.me actually will rate routes offline and navigate! Wahoo! Them today I found out it isn't always so knowledgeable about the roads in Cuba. The first time it routed me down stairs to get across a small stream. Then the people on the street pointed another way. There was a bridge. A guy sitting there shook his finger and gave me a blocked sign. I thought maybe bikes weren't allowed. But after crossing I found out he meant it sad blocked on the other side. As I pondered how I would get it through he showed up to help me lift Blaze over the barricade.

I haven't mentioned the crazy roads and terrible fumes and wild card and buses I encountered getting out of Habana. I wanted to video it but I had my hands full. Just picture buses, trucks, cars, all honking, and spewing black smoke...and me. You got it!! I was sure glad for the navigate feature giving me directions.
When I got to a quieter area I did capture this video. Just imagine more vehicles and people on the street!

Oh but first there were big goodbyes at SuCasa365.


This is Georgina and her ex who works there.



This is Andy and Damaris from London and Brazil, who were guests there for several nights while I was there. I hope to see them in London someday!

What a wonderful place to stay: lovely room, great hosts, beautiful house, delicious breakfasts, and any questions answered. There was nothing I'd change about my accommodations...not one thing!


OK. Back to today's ride. One thing on my agenda was hitting a supermarket and I used Maps.me to locate some ahead of time. I was headed there. We'll, following my map I ended up in the hi rise slum-ish area. Alcohol is sold everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. At the gas station. In little shops. Not much food, but alcohol!! I was trying to find some snacks: crackers or cookies. I stopped in little shops, shops for hotels, anywhere I could leave my bike for a minute. One place had canned fruit, little boxes of Fruit Loops and Frosted Flakes, juices, and alcohol. Imagine these shelves filled for 2-3 feet with all the same product.

I did find cookies at the hotel shop:). And lots of suntan lotion.

I came across a farmer with a herd of goats. He motioned for me to come over and showed me two baby goats, each in their own sack.







My route took me down to the beach. But it was so dirty didn't go any further.





I saw so much filth today. Piles of trash. So sad. Because they aren't dirty...just the trash seems to pile up.

I had headwinds which are a mixed blessing. They keep me cool but prevent me from using my umbrella. (which broke another stay today...it's going to be on pieces by the end of the month) and the sun did a job on me! That and the wind.

I kept pushing along hoping that later today I'd be out in farm land where I could camp. By 4 o'clock I was losing steam and wanting to figure out where I could stop. I'm in a Cuban beachy community called Playa Estes. Finding a Casa Particulares is not easy. Once you find a house with the emblem, there's no one around. I'm finding out that shyness is something I struggle with when learning new things. I almost cycled away tonight but finally saw someone outside and asked "Casa particulares?" He sent me to Johnny who spoke great English and helped me meet Barbara and her son, Alfredo. I think they've rented me their two room studio. There's a room with 2 beds and a kitchen and a bath. But there's more to the unit in front as we're in the back. For $20 (down from $25 they were asking...I'm getting better at negotiations), I have a bed, a cold shower, and some dinner of pasta and potato and chicken salad. Yum! And Blaze is locked inside a locked courtyard.



My room for the night.



Blaze locked up to a pillar in a locked courtyard.



Barbara and Alfredo, my hosts.

I can see finding accommodations each night is going to get to me! I also know this is probably not a legal Casa particulares because there was no sign and she didn't record anything. I'm sure she's just very glad to make the money.

I'm fried, exhausted, in questionable accommodations. What a first day on the road!!

There are lots of horses and wagons around here taking everyone for rides...Kids and families. The horse's are terribly skinny but the truth right out. I've seen a lot...a lot of horses and carts. In the city, in the country. I'll try to get more pics.

I did finally walk out to the beach today. It was disgustingly filthy. Have I mentioned how much I hate litter?!? Pick up your trash!!

It's been interesting in that there is little conversation. Barbara asks me short questions. She offered me more dinner, but I was quite happy. Later she showed me not to use the sink in my bathroom as there's no drain attached. Good to know. I wish I could talk with her more. But I really have everything I need for tonight.
Buenos noches!!


Live YOUR dream,

BagLady

Day 5: Cycling Vedado Area of Havana

Mornings begin for me about 7 but breakfast isn't until 8:30 here at the Casa so I have some quiet time to write my blog, read a book (Pat Conroy's Beach Music), read about Cuba, or play games on my phone. Checking Facebook isn't an option and I must say I rather like the forced disconnection. I don't know what's happening in the States...and I don't really care. I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about my route when I leave Havana tomorrow. The most beautiful areas are to the west the guidebooks say...Guess it pays to do your research BEFORE you book your flights. My departure city is east of here and I can't make any sense going west. It just doesn't flow. And I'm not fond of buses or trains so I think I'll stick to my plan of cycling east. But I have decided to stay on the north shore to Mantanzas and then drop directly south to Playa Larga.

Today I wanted to try and get some Internet connection. I bought my card for $7.50 for 5 hours. Now I just need to find a place that has the signal. Sandra, the daughter here (a microbiologist professor) suggested outside the Hotel Habana Libra, the hotel Castro took up residence in when he took over the country.



I managed to get there then in looking for some shade to sit for a bit I went into a park. I was immediately approached by the police and signaled to move. I had read bikes aren't allowed on sidewalks or in parks. And since this area has no streetside parking there's no place to stop and sit on my bike. I did find a driveway with shade and the man in the chair didn't shoo me away. Ahhh. So I did manage to make a quick Facebook post and text with a friend. That's enough.

Then I cycled up to the Malecon, the breakfast all along the north of the city that keeps out the sea. Waves break high along there.









Hard to capture the classic convertibles flying by.






There are monuments to just about everything here. This one as the sign says is to the USS Maine that sunk here in 1898.
Then I just wandered through the neighborhoods. I like doing that best.



A plate of sautéed veggies I managed to explain to the chef I wanted, since I couldn't understand anything on the menu but pizza. Blaze is parked out in front. I was so worried about someone stealing her.












Horses pulling carts, lots of old crumbling buildings, and statues abound! Lady selling veggies.






A lovely Park with children playing outside!



A pastry handed to me in paper not a napkin.



Sitting in the foyer of my Casa enjoying the breezes through the doorway.

Another delightful day in Habana.


Live YOUR dream,

BagLady

Biking Around Havana

Today was the big day...the first big day. I took Blaze out on the town. And what a scene she created. People stopped us to take photos. People beeped at us. People yelled at us. Cars and buses honked at us. I felt right at home:). But oh, the exhaust fumes! I could only last a couple of hours out there. Too many tourists. Too much smog. Cough cough. And hot if not in the shade. And I only captured a few shots because my camera is my map and there was so much traffic in all directions. I ran a few red lights...went down one way streets the wrong way...pictures were the last thing I needed to try to do...too.









This double currency is ripping me off and I know the difference in the currency just not the displayed prices. And they will give you the wrong change any chance they get. Today I paid $5 for a sandwich that cost $0.20. Hope it was a charity. From now on I'm giving pesos (the smaller, the National currency) unless they complain.

I did figure out my route to get the ferry on Monday. And I found the Monument to the Revolution
And before I left today, Georgina my host took a spin on Blaze. Yup, she liked her.



A friend who came here on a tour in January told me it was the poorest country she'd seen. I don't see that. Nepal, especially Kathmandu, was so much poorer. Here is like a 2nd world country...not 3rd. No, there aren't many choices on the shelves, but everyone gets food. There's obviously different classes levels of income...especially now that they can be entrepreneurs. That's all recent under Raul. Some neighborhoods are quite lovely while others are more crumbling. I'm curious as to how I'll find the rural areas.

Oh and I did see this Fort but couldn't go inside because there was no place to secure Blaze.




And I love that the stoplights have countdowns. How handy is that?!?




It certainly is different being in a country where you just can't go down to the store and get what you need. I can't replace the bungee cord. Right now the humid conditions gave chuffed my underarms quite badly and I sure could use some powder. Don't know as I'll find any of that around here. My neighborhood doesn't really have any stores as far as I can tell. There's produce stands and that's about it.


Live your dream,

BagLady

Day 3: Touring Havana With Marilyn

A guy from Spain who I'm Facebook friends with arranged for Marilyn, a 45 year old Cuban woman, to meet up with me and give me a tour of Havana. He said she spoke English and her emails to me showed good mastery of the language. Nice to have a local connection! She showed up at 10 this morning with a taxi. The greatest expense here in Havana is transportation via taxis. $10 to get to the city. $10 to get to Marilyn's house in Playa, then $10 for me to get back home. The hosts at my AirBnb always help the guests to take the bus to the city then catch a cab home later. But the advantage of our taxi which was a friend of hers was a tour of the city. Each ride showed me a different area which was really great. The area I'm in now is Colonial and quite crumbling. And yet at the same time quite clean. Well swept.

Havana Vieja (Old Havana) was quite typical of any old European city with cathedrals and palaces and castles and narrow streets. The Malecon is the break wall along great the Florida Strait where massive waves were breaking.

Quite ornate architecture but I don't remember what building this was.

Castillo del Morro across the mouth of the Bay of Havana.

"Che" Guevara art

Eating corn on the contrary!

"Che" Guevara was a hunk!!

A compounding pharmacy.

A perfumery.

A wooden street.

Beautiful tile floor

Christopher Columbus

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales

And the streets are just full of these colorful classics!! One of my favorite things to see here!!!!!

After wander the old town we grabbed a cab and headed back to Marilyn's part of town, Playa. This took us near Raul's palace but I didn't see it. The neighborhoods were quite different from where I'm staying. More modern, less colonial. More restoration.

And many people are entrepreneurs. They often ooen a restaurant right in their home or garage. We had pizza at The Garage:). Delicious and made in a cute small space.

Also interesting was going to a "mall". It's a fenced in area of shops. First we had to check your bags and purses. Then we went into the grocery store with lots of one kind of things. One brand of coffee. One type of crackers or cookies. No choices. No variety. Not many things to choose among. Easy decisions. Then we went into some other shops. Dingy. Few selections. Mostly cheap dollar store stuff. I tried to find a new bungee cord at the ferreteria but when I saw how little they had I knew it was a lost cause. I'll have to improvise with rope.

Then off to Marilyn's place where she lives with her mother. Cute little house. Here are some pics.

Back yard

Kitchen

Marilyn and Momma in the dining area.

They were so sweet and kind to me. Thanks Marilyn for a fabulous day of laughs and learning. I'm exhausted and I'm sure your brain is tired of speaking English :))

Day 2: Rest Day in Havana

I was beat last might and went to bed around 8:30...slept until 7:30 this morning. Even though there was no time change, I guess all the stress of traveling got to me. I didn't mention going out to dinner with Matt last night. It was good to have someone fluent on Spanish with me I must say. First was understanding pricing. CUCs or CUPs. Important to know. The former is worth 24 times the latter. Don't want to mix them up. The price for my pizza (without cheese) and fresh mango juice was 65 CUPs or $2.80. And the pizza was delicious by the way. I may subsist on pizza here :).

So after a great night's sleep, breakfast at the Casa was at 8:30. For 5 CUCs ($5), I got a fruit plate, eggs and potatoes and rice dish, yummy bread, grilled cheese sandwich and ice cream. Needless to say a couple of things I didn't eat. But I'm tempted to just say "screw it" and eat the dairy and resume my vegan lifestyle back home. I'm going to starve here otherwise. I've already had plenty of meat. My body won't be happy though.

So today I deemed a rest day. Permission to do nothing. But that never happens. I got Blaze reassembled and tires inflated. She seems to survive the trip no worse for wear. Then I've been doing a lot of reading about the history of Cuba. I need to be in a country to want to know about it. Immersion. It's got a fascinating history that many sources would be able to tell you better than I can. What I see are rough, broken streets and crumbling buildings and old, dilapidated cars with their hoods up and several men tinkering. But what I also see are lush bushes and trees, vibrant colors, swept sidewalks and porches, and people...everywhere people. People talking to their neighbors. People walking home with produce in a bag. Kids playing kickball in the streets. People riding their bicycles or old motorcycles. Life! Everything should old and patched. Everything has value. But the cleanliness amazes me. Pride. I've always believed it doesn't take money to clean up your world. Just pride. And that's what I see here. And it feels good.

I went for a long walk trying to get lost. The streets don't have signs on most of them so it's important to have a sense of where you came from. It can get quite confusing. Funny story over breakfast with an American guest here, a mid twenties black girl from NYC. She took a bus into Old Havana yesterday and it was after 10 pm when she tried to find a taxi to come back. None to be found. Long story short she ended up with a bicycle cab. The streets are not lit. She wasn't sure of the address. He had to keep stopping to get directions to the street. Around and around they went before she found something saved on her phone that had the directions I'm Spanish. She doesn't read Spanish but the guy did. It took an hour to get back. Very confusing. Addresses are often given with the names of the side streets...what it's between.

The AirBnb is owned by a woman who works in some bio medical field. Both daughters are professionals, one a professor here at the University and the other a doctor in Albania. The ex-wife husband does much of the work around the Casa.

The place is a building from the Colonial period, as are most of the buildings in Havana. Built with such grandeur: columns in the front, tile floors, very high ceilings. And lots of patching as everything is very old. There's even a dial telephone that I used to call a woman I'm meeting tomorrow. That brought back memories! I'm old enough to remember party lines and operators that said "number please":).

And life here is from that earlier time. Slower pace. A simplicity. No Internet. Disconnected. I wish I were writing this by hand. I think I'd enjoy the process more. But then it would have to be transcribed and I'm back to typing.

I'm also fascinated with the people pedaling their wares door to door crying out. Brooms. Baked goods. Sometimes I didn't know what was in their bags. Old, young, man, woman. There's no homeless in Cuba. Everyone gets a house, food rations, health care. The basic needs are met by the government. But for extras they must find a way. I heard waitresses make $20/month. So tips are critical. And yet my taxi to here was $40 (bigger cab for bike).

A produce shop

Guys working on their car

Or working on another vehicle.

Lots of different means of transportation!

Off to finish resting;))

Oh, I needed that nap. Now I've gone down the street to eat. They hand me a menu and I pull out Google Translate. It works offline thank goodness. Many things do not translate. But "Ropa Vieja" was the best..."Old Clothes ":))). Finally the waitress has pity on me and comes to translate a bit. So I ordered "Pascado Grille". I think I'm getting grilled fish with a salad. Oh why, oh why didn't I study Spanish when I was younger. Everyone should learn Spanish!!

I'm having a hard time transitioning to tourist mode. I'm feeling uncomfortable sticking out like a sore thumb and taking pictures. I've got to get over it. Tourism has become a major industry for this country. And I know me. I need adjustment time to get in the groove. Wait til I take Blaze out for a spin. What a spectacle.

After my dinner arrived, which was delicious, but I was surprised because it was in a take away box, a young girl at another table invited me to come sit with her. She spoke done English so that helped. Julianna was born in Cuba but met a Greek man on vacation and married him. She now lives on the island of Cyprus and is back to visit family. Soon some more friends joined us and for most of the conversation I was lost. Then Julianna left for 20 minutes leaving me alone with Harold I think his name was. He didn't speak much English so we chatted through Google Translate. It was a funny way to have a conversation but I learned he was 55 and would have to work until 75 before he could retire. He works for the money exchange. He didn't smoke but the young ladies did and after an hour plus of smoke, I just had to excuse myself. It just makes my throat so sore. Was fun with them though but made me realize how hard it's going to be to communicate.

Buenos noches.

Day 1: Havana

What a day! Started with my insomnia at 3 am and not having to get up until 6 AM. so needless to say, I a bit tired. And so glad I opted not to ride to the airport so I could start a bit later. Got my bike ready to fly: lashed flags and umbrella to the beam and bungeed the seat down on the beam too. Next was packing. No cardboard allowed so I was packing my panniers, winding them with a couple of web lashing straps and then plastic wrapping them at the airport. Uber worked out well when my first request was a Honda Fit that I already knew Blaze would fit into. And we were off! Got my bags wrapped, my visa picked up, and Blaze checked in. A bit of suspense there and I wasn't sure why...but turns out there's not always room in cargo for bikes because people going to Cuba have so much luggage! But I lucked out and she made it on. Mind you I still had 3 hours to wait for my flight because for Cuba they ask you to check-in 4 hours ahead.

As it's nearing time to board we are told that there's so much turbulence between Florida and Cuba that we probably won't get able to get out of our seats. Go to the bathroom now. So I'm thinking: nausea. I have terrible motion sickness. Got my handy Natural Dramamine Ginger. And let me say the flight was so rough the passengers clapped when we landed, but I was fine!! Miracle drug without the sleepies.

Cuba from the air.

The airport in Havana reminded me a bit of Kathmandu. That basic. And they have a security check coming into the country. Interesting. Guess they don't trust out TSA. Then the wait....and wait...and wait. Took nearly an hour to get my wrapped bag. But no Blaze. If someone hadn't said they saw her loaded in Fort Lauderdale, I'd have worried that she didn't make the flight. No one to talk to. Finally I keep saying "bicyclette" to enough people that someone goes and finds her. Not in too bad a condition. Lost a bungee cord though. Wonder if I can replace that in Havana? That took an hour and a half. Make it out of the airport to a throng of people waiting to meet loved ones. Where's the money changer. Lots of pointing. Down at departures. Luckily my setup allows me to out my heavy luggage on Blaze and wheel her around like a trolley. Works great! Down there is quite a line but I net some interesting people. I'd already met 3 folks from San Diego. Now I net a gut who lives on Bermuda...don't want to bike there he said. And some people from Seoul, South Korea. I now have a place to stay when I tour there!!

Money acquired, I head out to negotiate a taxi. The Koreans and I were going to share a taxi but the driver said we were a long distance apart. Too bad. One I needed a big car so I was quoted 40 CUCs ($40). I got it down to $35. It was a 1959 Hundai. Engine had been replaced once. Oh, my the cars are old. And still running. It's amazing! There were old motorcycles and horses pulling carts. Trying to take pictures from car window not easy.

Luckily I had a picture of Google Maps with my Casa on it to show the taxi driver. He got his $40. It's got to be expensive keeping these old cars going.

My Casa is sweet. The dad and daughter met me. Her English is better than his. But they are both ever so sweet. Welcomed with a glass of juice.

An American young man is here tonight. Matt. We went down the street to dinner together.

I love all the people on the street. Everybody's outside. People are hawking tubes of cookies. Old buildings with a flair of the good life in days gone by. It feels amazing here! So glad I came!!

There's going to be lots to share but I'm running out of steam.

Zzzzzzz