So you want to be a Cuban bus driver?

Choosing to ride along the Carretera Central (the national highway) through the centre of the country was a decision we made based on our time restrictions and our hope to ride the full length of the country. We knew it would be different from the small, rural roads that we usually prefer to ride, but it was worth it to move quickly through the flat, agricultural interior so that we would have more time to zig and zag a bit through the more moutnainous parts of the country. Compared to Canadian highways, Cuban highways are quite tame. Very few people here own private vehicles so most of the traffic that passes us on a daily basis (aside from the horse and bull-drawn carts and bicycles) are trucks and busses. Truck drivers tend to be very respectful of us and slow down behind us until there is a safe opportunity to pass. Bus drivers, to the contrary, love to try to squeeze between us and whatever mode of transportation is oncoming in the other lane. They leave us squeezing our handlebars and hunching our shoulders as if somehow making ourselves smaller on our bikes will keep us from being hit. Sometimes the turbulence they create sends us off the road and into the gravel ditch. While 99% of Cuban drivers are content to be set back by 10 seconds in order to safely pass us (smiling and waving as they do) bus drivers leave us with the impression that the only thing that matters is how quickly they can get to Havana...

We are happy to be heading into the quiet northwest of the country, following smaller backroads through Pinar del Rio province for the last few days of our trip. Hopefully, we'll be leaving these busses behind in the capital!

~Christine