Yesterday I gave some ibuprofen capsules to a woman working at the art gallery next to our casa particular in Remedios. Her knees were swollen with arthritis, and she was telling us that she can’t get anything for them. I had read before I arrived in Cuba that the pharmacies were empty, but that didn’t prepare me for the sight of the completely bare shelves. ...
We have climbed up to Topes de Collantes, at 750 metres in the Escambray Mountains. The road up was as much as a 22% grade, but we were both able to stay on our bikes for the whole climb. This was partly thanks to our lovely adopted son Albert, who offered to carry my heavy stuff in his taxi. Albert convinced us that we should ...
We are staying in Cienfuegos, the “Paris of Cuba” or “the Jewel of the South.” Like all things Cuban this jewel could use a little polishing, but it’s a lovely place to explore. Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by Don Louis D’Clouet, a French emigré from Louisiana. He invited 40 French families from Louisiana, Bordeaux and Philadelphia to join him with a mission to increase the ...
Albert’s photo of a pygmy owl. It’s all about the birds. Our ride to Cienfuegos from Playa Girón was a bit longer than I like, at 83kms. The problem is the midday heat rather than the distance. We were expecting a fairly boring ride but the first thirty kms from Playa Girón were on a beautiful road through the forest. We saw or heard many ...
The sun comes up at 7:15 and the temperature is about 18 degrees, cool and perfect. I sit in a rocking chair in front of our casa particular in Playa Girón and watch the day begin. People are already gathering at the intersection waiting for a ride to wherever they need to go. Filipe, our host, is standing at the front gate, smoking and talking ...
February 3-Carbonera to Jovellanos - 61kms - Finca Luna We have become increasingly dependent on technology, but Cuba is breaking us from this. It’s a two part intervention. First, even though we now technically have a SIM card and access to wifi at our accommodation, it seems that more often than not we have no connection at all. Second, even if we had good wifi ...
Ruth: The last time we travelled to Cuba, about 20 years ago, we had our bikes, a guidebook and a paper map. With no other options we lived in the moment, rolling into towns where we would be guided by locals to accommodation. There were no smart phones, translation apps or satellite gps. The tracks we made were the prints made by our tires or ...
Map of Cuba January 28, 2023: Off to Cuba Ruth: On Monday we head to Cuba for 5 weeks of cycling. Cuba is longer than Vancouver Island at 1250 kms and covers 109,884 km2 . In five weeks we will concentrate on the central region of the country. Travelling these days carries no guarantees. We are hopeful that our bikes and luggage will arrive with us ...
We walked into Santiago on June 15th, for the second time in one year. The square was full of pilgrims like ourselves feeling a mixture of elation, relief and sadness. I’ve told a few pilgrims that I’m on the Camino to get over my shyness. This is usually followed by laughter, because I really do not present as shy. In a way, however, the statement is ...
Entering Arzua the numbers of pilgrims suddenly increase as their average age drops. We are now on the Camino Francés for the last two days into Santiago. This section of the Camino has a summer camp vibe, with lots of groups of young Spanish pilgrims making their way from the 100 km mark at Sarria. Gord and I were either ahead or behind one group ...