Early morning in Oslo
Oslo - Havana, this will be a long day.
I have had a dream; se Cuba before Castro dies. Last autumn I realised I had to hurry when Fidel got health troubles.
I got the opportunity to be part of a group bicycling for 14 days. Our route is from the Havana in the North to Vinales in the West, via Pinar del Rio to Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Sancti Spiritus in the East and back to Havana.
Early morning in Oslo, up at 04.
Hotel Sevilla
00. My very kind twin sister Siri is up making me breakfast. She is leaving Oslo a few hours after me for skiing in Lillehammer.
Taxi from my sister’s home in Oslo to the railway station catching the train to the airport.
The flight is scheduled at 06.55 am to Paris. I had 4 hour in Paris. Arriving Havana 18.35 pm local time. By the time I`m arriving Havana and Hotel Sevilla in La Habana I have been travelling for 23 hour.
Havana is the main tourist destination and the most popular territory in the Cuban archipelago.
Havana’s greater charm is the city itself, with diverse architecture, wide avenues and famous promenades, particularly those at the city’s historic centre, declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1982.
Havana City shows an intense and permanent scientific and cultural activity, a 20 kilometre long strip of beaches along a 47 kilometre long coastline that is suitable for fishing and diving.
The city has a large and functional hotel and tourist infrastructure.
Arriving Havana is as returning to the 1950. We were met with the sight of old cars, lots of beautiful Bel Air, well preserved by the owners.
The first evening the group had a dinner together presenting us for each other and to be informed of the tour plans. The group consisted of 16 Norwegians. And we were 6 from Trondheim. I was travelling with a colleague of mine, and none of us know the other members of the group.
We know that he bicycles is shipped to Cuba from Norway. Our Norwegian guide Egil, informed us about the arrangements for the tour. We would have the opportunity to bike by small villages, visit culture events, meeting the locals and tasting the genuine Cuba.
We had a small bus following us with equipment for repairing our bikes, also bringing water, beer and soft drinks.
We also had a larger bus following us with our luggage, and if some of us didn`t want or didn`t make the distance that was scheduled for the day the bus was an alternative.
View from Hotel Inglaterra`s top floor.
Some of the days we were going 56 kilometres on bike, and it was good to know that we had the opportunity to have a distance in the bus.
We had a short walk in the city and a Mojito on the top terrace at Hotel Inglaterra before returning to our hotel.
I had been awake for 30 hour, have troble sleeping on the plain. What in the h..... have I given my self in to?
To morrow we are biking to San Diego de los Banos, a distance of 56 kilometres.
My last thought before I fell asleep was; How will my bottom part feel like tomorrow evening?
