It doesn´t rain in the desert!

After a few days of on and off rain along the Atlantic coast of Cuba, I was excited to ride over Cuba´s highest mountain pass and into the semi-arid region that follows the Carribean coast along the southeast shores of the country.

It poured rain most of the day before we left for the pass, and we were awaken early by the sound of hammering rain at 5 in the morning. We had an early breakfast anyway and were happy to see some blue sky open up as we packed our bags and hooked up our bobs. It was dry just long enough to tempt us out of our casa and onto the road.

Within an hour, it was pouring again. We rode against a constant stream of water on the way up the pass. All the way up, I reminded myself and the girls that we were in the wettest region of Cuba, but about to cross over to the driest. With any luck, we might even get a good view from the top!

From the top of the pass on a good day, you can see both the Atlantic and Carribean waters. All we could see was the inside of the cloud that shrouded the mountain we´d just climbed. We took shelter in a small tent at the top just long enough to get some food into us and to bundle up (the first time we felt cold in Cuba!) for the descent.

This time we were racing downhill with the current, dodging fresh rockfall from the open faces and splashing through deep puddles where the water was accumulating on the road. Though we still didn´t have much of a view, the road itself and the surrounding jungle-like vegetation were impressive in themselves. Most of the road was cement and built into the mountainside somewhat like a bridge. I tried not to look down over the cement railing that kept us to the road. As the rain started to fall harder, I stopped worrying about rockfall and began to worry more about the entire road being washed off the mountain.

As we descended, we began to see more and more cacti and fewer large, lush trees. But the rain still fell. When we hit the coast, the rain was still falling and we were shocked by the amount of mucky water raging in the rivers. When we passed through a small village and saw that most of it was flooded, we knew this must be more than the normal amount of rainfall. A woman told us that it had been raining hard for four days. We found a place to stay and it rained all night, then again for most of today as we road on towards Guantanamo. In a few places, we forged through water that covered the road and came about midway up our bobs. The wake from a passing truck sent Jodie off her bike. There was water everywhere!

We finally got a bit of sunshine this afternoon and our clothes are all hung out to dry at our casa in Guantanamo. We hope the clouds have run out of rain, but it looks like a new storm is already brewing in the distance. Tomorrow, we´ll ride out towards Santiago de Cuba, and then along the southeast shore of the island, keeping our fingers crossed for some sunny beach siestas along the way.

-Christine