Where Mountains Meet Sea (with a road squeezed in between)

When I read the reference to the Big Sur in California, the south coast of Cuba immediately went to the top of my places-to-ride list. Between Cuba's highest mountains (the Sierra Maestra) and it's rugged Carribean coast is squeezed a narrow road linking Santiago de Cuba in the east with Pilon and Manzanillo in the west. For most of the ride, we had blue-green surf on our left, crumbling, rocky peaks to our right, and wind at our backs (plus, for half of it, rain on our heads!).

When I read about the route, it was described as good pavement with a few gravel sections that shouldn't slow cyclists down. That may have been the case pre-2005, but Hurricane Dennis in that year, took quite a toll on a highway built so close to the shore. The sections closest to the water were at best smooth gravel and at worst badly broken pavement. At times, the road disappeared all together and rogh tracks were etched into the hillside so as to make it passable. These short sections were nerve-wracking as the waves were crashing less than 50 feet from us and the rocky cliffs that towered over us spat down rocks because of the rain.

The rough road conditions made for a fun ride, and the rain only dampened our clothes, but not our spirits as we rode along what is touted as the most beautiful road in Cuba (though Jodie and I did realize that it's time for new waterproof bob bags before our next trip!).

Since my words can't really do it justice, be sure to check out our pictures (the link is at the top or to the left).

Since turning northward into the flatter interior dominated by sugar cane fields and banana plantations, the weather has been sunny and hot once again. From here, we'll ride the length of the island towards Havana and then further into the mountainous Northwest of the country. Stay tuned! Internet here is slow and hard to find, but we'll do our best to keep sharing blogs and pictures when we can!

~Christine