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Published: January 24th 2019
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Cuba Day 3. Wednesday
A great day again with a following breeze and a sunny 27 degrees becoming 30 as the sun rose higher. 51 miles today with 660 metres of ascent and the first and last thirds interesting and middle bit on boring busier roads. As we were leaving Havana we stopped at a fishing area community who had tile mosaics around their houses with a nautical theme and they were selling various bits to tourists. I bought 7 fridge magnets for 5 CUC (£4.50). We now need a bigger fridge at home, just for the trinkets. We are keeping in a group on this tour since the route seems to be variable at a bit of input from me and the whim of our guide and we run with a mechanic and coach behind us. We stopped a couple of times for a snack of peanut butter slices and bananas plus a miniature coffee on one stop. One sip and it was gone, I am having withdrawal symptoms and palpitations just thinking about it. out in the sticks I noticed several lorries with bodies on the back with a ladder up to a cabin full of people. Apparently
they are local buses since they can not afford proper ones. My great uncle started his bus service with these in 1926 before he went on to have 5 buses running in 1945, one of which my dad drove. There were several observations yesterday that I did not mention and one is that we see loads of Turkey Vultures hovering overhead looking for easy pickings. I hope they are not lining us up, or after my new grey sideburns on my helmet. They may think I am a hamster or some such succulent morsel and dive bomb me. As I write this they are hovering around my veranda at the hotel with me waiting for one to alight onto a nearby branch for a photo shoot. We passed a cement works this morning, which should be a good business to be in as everything is concrete. Most of the lorries were articulated tankers and a good variety of makes, including a DAF, which are made in Leyland near home. I saw a VW artic unit, a Scania lookalike and a Renault or two plus several Chinese makes. Am I boring you yet? The most embarrassing thing of course is to
overtaken by a Lada that didn’t even have extra air vents in the bonnet or Big Bore exhaust. We will have to buck up, although our local guide says we are the best cycle group he has ever had - flatterer. I am still waiting for that dratted vulture to land. It was there when I was in the shower, knowing I was not able to get my camera out and as soon as I get out off it goes. I will have to make a hide and put on camouflage makeup. At the end of our ride we entered the Las Terrazas Biosphere, which I think is another word for Rainforest with a small stream running through it. After a lot of up and down and pothole dodging we arrived at the restaurant alongside some thatched accommodation huts on stilts for back to nature tourists. The lunch was at 3pm and was excellent with tomato and cucumber, vegetable crisps, rice with beans, pork and what think was roasted Turkey Vulture - the legs were too big to be chicken. We concluded with another sniff of coffee before the coach took us a couple of miles back along the road
to the Moka Hotel. As we were surrendering our passports at reception we met two ladies from Nantwich who were on a month long cycle tour of Cuba with no fixed plans. This hotel was charging them £100 room only so they were panicking. Our guide told them of some houses 7km away who woukd put them up, so off they went. My shock was when I prepared for my shower and laundry duty only to find I had left my sponge bag at the last hotel - donkey. I hope I can collect it when we return there in 10 days time, meanwhile I will grow a 2 foot beard and tangled hair like Wurzel Gummage. No Buzzards have appeared so off for dinner in Moka Hotel restaurant.
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