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Touring with Byercycles

Cuba 93

During October 1993, The cyclists travel company Bike Tours organised a tour of Fidel Castro’s

island of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea. For some reason that I have always found difficult to

understand, Richard had a strange attraction to the old communist bloc countries. Something about

the recent history that he had watched and listened to on the television intrigued him. So in the

middle of October, I found myself sitting on an old Russian built airliner, bound for Havana.

(Christine Byers)

Our first two nights were spent in the Hotel Ingleterre, a lovely old Spanish colonial

style of building in the centre of the city. Havana was developed by the Spanish when Cuba was

part of their Empire. Unfortunately many of these once grand and proud buildings, have now fallen

into decay and dereliction, due to the problems that have been experienced by the present political

regime. Since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 the country has been the target of a trade embargo,

that is still enforced vigorously by the USA. It is only after visiting a country and seeing the

consequences of these sanctions, does one understand how much deprivation and poverty is

brought upon citizens lives. It does make you wonder whether our western governments are

always right in fully supporting such action

Havana's old buildings.

After two days sight seeing in the Capital, we were transported by bus with our bikes

following in a truck along a nearly empty motorway, that had been built by the Russians in the

seventies, destination Santa Clara 100 miles to the east. Under each bridge on the road, small

groups of people would congregate waiting to hitch a lift on the trucks, which were the only other

vehicles to use the road. The drivers of the trucks were obliged by law to stop and pick up people.

The law was passed, to help overcome a chronic shortage of diesel and petrol caused by the

sanctions; many buses were unable to run due to a lack of fuel and spare parts. We started our

cycle tour from Santa Clara, which was in the sugar cane growing region to a place called

Hanabilla, where there was no other building apart from the hotel we stayed in. The following day

started with a boat trip across a lake. Then we had a strenuous climb over the mountains before

dropping to the delightful coastal city of Trinidad, another Spanish Colonial Gem, Trinidad is in a

better state of repair than Havana, thanks to the World Heritage Organisation, which has funded

restoration work.

Trinidad

Another day was spent sightseeing and sunbathing by the Caribbean Sea, then our cycle

ride continued to Cienfuegos 52 miles west of Trinidad, along the coast. Each morning before we

left the comfortable resort style hotels, we were each given a lunch pack to sustain us through the

day. Along our route there were very few shops, none where it was possible to by food, and there

were no cafes or restaurants at all. The Cubans were issued with ration books like our parents and

grandparents in wartime Britain, to exchange for food. By midday the temperatures had sometimes

risen to the high eighties and a continuous supply of fluid, was more important to us than the food

that we had been given in the mornings. The local people were only to pleased to fill our water

bottles for us, in return we would give them the pieces of chicken and the fruit and cake that made

up our lunch packs. There was always ample food for us in the hotels; we had a good dinner in the

evenings and a big breakfast with plenty of choice in the mornings. Power cuts were a frequent

event in Cuba but the holiday hotels had their own generators, which were soon started up each

time there was a cut, so the problem was not so noticeable to us.

Further along the south coast we stayed for one night at another holiday resort

called Playa Giron which is very close to the stretch of beach known as the Bay of Pigs. Here a

badly planned and disastrous invasion of Cuban Exiles, organised and trained by the CIA took

place in 1961. The military operation was a complete failure and the exiles were either killed or

taken prisoner by the government forces. Our cycle tour had been planned in two parts, so after

our night at Playa Giron we boarded the bus once more and were transported along the empty

motorways, to the tobacco growing region west of Havana. We cycled for four days through this

area where we visited a cigar factory, and the towns of Pinar del Rio and Vinales. Occasionally we

would be escorted by young Cuban boys, who were keen to talk to us and practice their English.

They would ride alongside, on there Chinese single geared bikes that were called Flying Pigeons.

These old fashioned sit up and beg style bikes were used by the Cubans for transporting everything

imaginable. We once passed a man with a live pig tied to the rear carrier of his bike.

The lady who provided water

The Cuban boy cyclist

The Cubans love their music and quite a few evenings we were entertained in the hotels

by local bands playing Latin American, and Afro Caribbean music. There were not many motor

cars on the roads, the majority of cars that we did see were vintage American fifties models. It was

not possible to buy very much at all and what we did manage to purchase came from the hotels and

government owned tourist shops. Everything was paid for with American dollars. Cuba is the only

country that I have ever visited, where it has not been possible to buy and spend the countries true

currency, which is the Peso. Many Europeans and Westerners who visit the island only ever get to

see the purpose made holiday resort of Varadero, where they go purely for the sun, sea and

beaches. We reached the parts that other people fail to visit.

The entertainers

Long live the revolution

It is now seven years since we travelled to Cuba. The trade embargo is still in force, as

it has been for the last forty years. Cuba received economic help and assistance from the Soviet

block countries until the late eighties, since then they have survived alone with very little help from

other countries. All the time that we were in Cuba we were always treated very well and

courteously by the Cuban people. They were always very friendly and were great musical

entertainers. If we set aside and ignore all the problems that arose daily, due to the countries

impossible economic plight. We still had a very enjoyable tour, which was not only fascinating but

also a very enlightening experience

The vintage American cars.

A tobacco drying rack.