ay dios mio....

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well...since time is of the essence this will be scatterbrained and short.... I am posting a second commentary of our trip so far..I have no idea what drew wrote, so forgive me if there are any repeated adventure stories!

let me first begin with the absolute joy of traveling on a bicycle. It is a completely different experience altogether, aside from the fact that everything you own is strapped to the bike and when you hit a hill it feels more like a brick wall.

This is SSOO cheesy to say but traveling by bike is experiencing the journey. The greatest moments in cuba so far have been in some small town either snacking or changing a flat (the only two being drews...) not necessarily in our destinations...

So, we enter this adorable SMALL town off of the autopista en route to Las Terrazas (for those of you ambitious enough to check out a map) and we are navigating "the main road" (which does not always look like a main road) when a lovely cuban man tells us we are going down a dead end and I hear a pssssing noise from drew´s wheel...we find some shade and the cubans come to assess the situation, see if we need help and check us out (they do alot of that...especially in some of the towns we travel through). During the changing of this flat we taste pepino from three darling little school girls... and it is bitter and tart....they giggle as I spit it out on the streetside...they are not offended, thank goodness. A few other cubans ask if we want a ponchero (guy who fixes tires, every town has one) and just for giggles I will tell you about the older man that passes us with a live pig strapped to the rear rack of his bicycle....we only notice it because it is squealing very loudly.

The cubans are wonderful people. Drew and I chat daily about them...has the government and their social situation made them such compassionate and friendly people or are they just eternal optimists down here in the carribean?

Time is running out so this must be short....but all is well in cuba....we are safe, enjoying every mile and kilometer of our journey and yes, wearing the sunscreen!

we tried to attach photos...doesnt work....es lo que pasa aqui en cuba....

For those of you interested in tracking our adventure thus far....since we left Havana (westward) on the 5th we have traveled a little over 150 miles. From Havana we hopped on our bikes through Playa Baracoa and ended the day on a REserve called Las Terrazas...One day two we rode from Las Terrazas..through a beautiful morning of rain (much like the PacNW) through Saroa and eventurally to San Diego los banos (where i experienced my first sulfur bath...it stunk!) and on day 3 to vinales through Parque Nacional la Guira (where there are caves where the revolutionaries hid during the scare of a nuclear attack int he 60´s, including che himselft) and finally to vinales, where we are now...

i hope you all are having a happy and healthy new year....we´l l keep you posted when we can!
abrazos
kg

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Comments

[mindy]

hi guys, i am having trouble reading the comments, so I hope by writing again, i might get access to your fun friends and the scoop as you travel along. hope all is well.....