You can travel to Santiago de Cuba from
the west via a coastal road of about 200 kms. It's a remote part of
the country, the road is a thin line between the Sierra Maestra and
the Caribean sea. This region is called Granma, after the name of the
boat in which Fidel and his companions landed on this coast and these
are the mountains in which he stayed for nearly 2 years and formed
his rebel army.
Road is an eufemism here. The rocks
often fall steep into the sea, leaving just a narrow space for the
road, the surf beating it on the other side. As there live very few
people here, road maintainance apparently has no high priority (as in
many other parts of the country). Then the hurricanes that every now
and then hit this coast make roadbuilding here a hopeless case. After
each hurricane some parts appear to have completely gone.
That is what we found when we traveled
here. We had the loveliest weather, no wind and not too hot. There
were parts where cycling was hardly possible and sometimes we felt
the spray from the surf. We enjoyed every bit of it, just us, the
mountain sides and the sea. It made a memorable day.
We cycled three days along this coast
line before we reached Santiago de Cuba. Again the typical Caribean
city, one-storey houses in square blocks and narrow one-way streets.
But in the centre, where we are staying with a lovely elderly couple,
there are enormous colonial buildings. Obviously it's the second
largest city of Cuba. We'll stay a couple of days to see the sites,
to extend our visa and to pay a visit to the international clinic, as
Eveline has had a problem with a very painful eye for a the last
week.
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