Author: Rob Ainsley

An easy day in prospect – a holiday, almost – but first I had to escape my horrible accommodation. This involved retrieving my bike from the cluttered downstairs reception area. In the dark. This was also the living space of the hosts, who were snoring on a makeshift bed. The battered old wooden door to…

Knowing that I’d be in Havana later on, to sit out the spare days between the end of my trip and my flight home, I decided to bypass the capital today and head on to the Comedy Capital of Cuba, San Antonio de los Baños. (I was told by various locals that you’re not allowed…

I felt like a posh, rich westerner at my business-hotel breakfast, tortilla, bacon, eggs, fresh fruit, proper coffee and all (pic). Then I saw myself in the mirror, and felt like a scruffy cycle tourist again. Another sunny morning, another tailwind. I headed on the coast road along a ridge: at last, scenery that didn’t…

Yet another day of easy, fast, pleasant cycling, though the main roads are getting noticeably busier now we’re nearing Havana, with the traffic all going much faster than me (pic). There were the usual refreshment stops en route, notably at the untouristed Jovellanos, where I pushed round for half an hour enjoying the obscure-small-town vibe….

The best breakfast so far: the casa is apparently renowned for its grub. Ham’n’cheese omelette, orange juice, coffee, fresh fruit (pineapple, papaya, banana, melon), a bowl of shredded coconut, a plate of guava puree, pancakes, cakes, rolls, sausage, cheese, tomato… a snip at $5. However, in a country where doctors earn about $60 a month,…

After two weeks I’m beginning to get a bit of ennui. The days are becoming samey, and I’m feeling adrift. I woke from a nightmare at two in the morning, and panicked when unable to find the light switch in my pitch-black, unfamiliar room. I laid awake till six, when I managed to retrieve my…

How many Cuban bureaucrats does it take to change a light bulb? Makes no difference, we don’t have a light bulb… Anyway, I spent the morning at the visa office, extending my stay, and the officials were all helpful enough. First, I had to get special stamps to pay with, involving a trip to Bandec…

A day off. Or rather, a short bike trip to the seaside and back for lunch, and an afternoon lounging round Trinidad, while I waited for the visa office to reopen tomorrow morning. I didn’t care much for Playa Ancón, a tourist beach (pic) by a hotel. Guards wanted $1 for me to use the…

I had the casa’s grand courtyard all to myself for my splendid breakfast (pic). With Vitamin C requirements for the coming week satisfied, I set off through the waking dawn streets, across that Yorkshire Bridge, to join the main road to Trinidad. It was lovely cycling (pic). After the previous few days of rather perfunctory…

I woke up to a minor disaster. At some point in the night – presumably during my dream about a house collapsing – my laptop had slid off the bedside table on to the casa’s hard stone floor. The screen was now as cracked as a tour-minibus windscreen, and worked as a touch screen about…