Tailwind Joy..

Tailwind, tailwind!! Today was an absolute pleasure and if I hadn't of only left around 11am would have done far more than the 124km I managed and that included some phaffing around a large dam, looking for some camping spots. It's amazing how a slight tailwind can elevate the spirits and course one into exploration. As I write this I actually have no idea where I am at all. After the off road, following my nose( remember I have no mapping now as my other phone broke), searching for a camping spot near a dam, I found a road and just had an educated guess which way to turn, but I still don't know which road I took, I just know I'm heading North West, which is ok. It's an island, how bad can it get? I stopped in at a town called Viana after about 75 kms and needed to eat. I got told by a lady at a cafeteria that the bar down the road had food, ( I'm not joking, one cannot take anything here for granted. Food, water, etc)so I rolled up to this bar which was essentially just a square concrete structure under a roof with no walls around it, so open to the outside. Two fellas were quite taken by my arrival. This happens here quite a lot here in Cuba, more so than in Greenpoint even. They started chatting to me, like I was Cuban, even after I had said I was from South Africa, but I think that they had had way too much Rum already, and offered me a sip of theirs. Neat, its strong stuff, a la rocca, as they say. No food at that bar so was busy at Penny, gearing up for another 12 km to the next town, them watching me, syncing my Bluetooth headphones to my iPad, curious. I got called back, offered a place to stay the night and I was presented with half a glass of white rum. I couldn't stay, it was about 2.30 and still had a way to ride, and I knew if I had that it was going to be a messy afternoon further, but I downed the rum in one go, to exuberant mumbles. I have to admit, I nearly turned round after I had headed off, but had it been 4pm not earlier, I would have. It was a cool experience and Cubans can be like that, just outright warm and hospitable to strangers and locals alike. The language, being as it is, a bit of a struggle, one eventually kind of gets the idea. I'm going to try and reach Varadero tomorrow, I should manage another 130kms, tailwind assistance, et al. All I have to do now is find out which way I need to go to get out of this town I'm in...and what it's called...chuckle! On a food note, if you don't eat pork, don't bother coming. I got told that if you kill a cow to eat, and get caught, you can go to jail for between 8 and 10 years. WTF? The dude telling me the story, said, " And this isn't even India!" Chortle chortle. Pig is big here, on the menu anyway. Credo...cooked in all sorts of interesting ways, one would actually not know it was pork, taste and texture is like over cooked beef. Live and learn... I set off early for me, 7.30 ish. I made good time, averaging around 25 kms, which on a loaded bike is quite reasonable. I travelled through many communities which are set up for the collective farming set out in a socialist state. I was thinking it must be hard to leave that set up. I guess that's the same everywhere, just take that first step out the door, and you're away. That's the hard part. Imagine Grabouw on a Friday afternoon, outside the PEP store, and just enlarge that image by 10. These communes are set up about every 15kms. I had breakfast at a place which was 2 km before I reached Corilillo. He had a hostal with 2 bungalows and a small restaurant attached. He made me food especially as was not yet open. We discussed Africa and Cuba and that his father lives in Mallorca, and he desperately wants to get there. He has never left Cuba. Neither have 99% of the population, the government just won't let them go. He is hoping that with the family connection to Spain he will be allowed to, but has to do much paperwork first, and even then they may refuse it. I was told that Raul Castro still has all the control of the government here and that the new president is just a puppet. Many people are seeking opportunities to a better life, but it is so difficult to do here with all the control still in place. The country has so much potential and the people are willing, but not allowed. It's all very interesting and somewhat sad. I got through 100km in 3.47, so I was fairly motoring. To be fair it was quite flat. Then I hit a bit of a wall, a headwind and I hadn't eaten, and the last 12km into Cardenas was a real drag. I got to a small kiosk thing I have mentioned before and ordered 2 hamburgers and so much juice, the poor chick working there was just looking at me with pity, God knows what she must have been thinking. I had no shirt on, was dripping with sweat and smashed my burgers in about 3 minutes, all whilst sitting on the concrete floor outside her kiosk. Cardenas was big and I had to cross the city through the middle of town, which was crazy. I eventually got to Varadero, and I am here for 8 days, until I renew my tourist visa next Monday, which is a bit of a schlep I understand. Nothing is efficient here and everything takes bloody ages. So to psych myself up I am going to spend the next week lying on the beach, which is one block from my Casa. I went to check it out...it reminds me of Umhlanga, just longer, so should be great. It's a lot more expensive here so may need to do lots of in-casa cooking. There are 2 big mercado stores very close, so may just make big pasta dishes and keep them in the fridge. In the end my 2 days ride was 259kms and took me around 10 and a half hours to do. My legs are in need of a rest now, so I'm sure I'll enjoy just chilling and checking out this very touristy archipelago. Thank you to all of you who are reading my blogs, I do hope they are giving a reasonable insight as to what this journey has been like, although it's quite factual and I know that can get a bit tedious to keep coming back to. Please send any comments or questions I can try and answer, and please if you find them interesting, please share them on your pages. Everybody dies, not everybody lives...it's a true story, don't wait to find out, even if your name is Clarke Kent.