Cuba - Road Trip!

Cuba road trip. Oh yeah! Claro que si!

Our Geely car, there's nothing like a Geely. Like a Merc, only better.

Having missed out on anything of Cuba beyond La Habana last time 'round we were determined to see the whole island this time. Karl, in particular was convinced of the necessity to get to both the most eastern and most western points (due to a combination of engineeringness, pilotness and German-(name)-ness) so the gauntlet was thrown!

Had planned to hire a car so went to rental desk at a hotel (that's how it's done here) and asked the girl if there was a car available for the next day. She sighed, made sad gesture and said slowly “may....be”. And that was all. Further prompting enouraged her to tell us it was high season and there were few cars. Then she told us, slightly incredulously and apologetically, how incredibly expensive it would be. Not the world's greatest salesperson.

While queueing at another rental office the hotel security man fixed us up with a friend on the street who could get us a car. We decided that would be plan B.

We did finally find someone (in an office) willing to hire us a car. It only took three hours between turning up at the office as arranged and driving away in the car. Not bad. Managed to negotiate an exit from La Habana without too much drama. Did get flagged down by a trickster trying to pretend the motorway was closed. Everytime someone spins a con story Karl gets a little more cynical – it's beautiful to watch.

La Habana traffic.

Driving in Cuba. Interesting. Even on the autopista Karl has had to learn to evade horse-drawn carts, people on horses, people on bikes, pedestrians, goats and cows (Karl reminds me also - and of course potholes, sinkholes, ledges, cliffs and lakes). Coming from both directions. I've gotten used to the constant gentle swaying of the car from one side to the other as he dodges obstacles.

Cars that are not Geelys.

Bikes can come on either side of the road in either direction.

Horse-drawn cart vs truck.

Oxen-drawn cart.

Taxi.

Alternative to a bus.

Sidecars!!!!!!They are genius, why have they disappeared???

 

Maps do bear some passing resemblance to the situation on the ground. As do roadsigns. But there are still stretches of road that, no matter how hard I study the map in restrospect, I have no idea where we were or how we got through. And that's not just my girly lack of spatial awareness.

The green road is the autopista. See how it just stops? That is a completely accurate representation of what happens on the ground. It just stops.

 

The interesting mix of road traffic is due to a real lack of transport options here. In the 50s Cuba had one of the highest car-to-person ratios in the world. Since the revolution they've had to make do with all the 50s American cars supplemented by 80s Soviet Ladas. This is heavily supplemented by horses and trucks. Cubans are excellent at making do with what's available.

 

The countryside varies hugely around the island. There's pastureland, sugarcane plantations, banana plantations, tropical forest, tobacco plantations, Caribbean sea and coral quays...it's got it all! Small villages serving the plantations, rural towns from the colonial era, little cottages in the middle of nowhere.

Cactus fence. Why has no-one thought of this before?

Karl in intense concentration mode.

Hills, pasture, bananas, general beauty.

Sea, land, road, car. Brilliant.

I think the hat wave means it's fine to pass. Men on horses waving red flags means beware animals crossing the road (or autopista).

 

Town-by-town details of the trip follow on the next entry.