Off the Beaten Path- Driving in Cuba
This morning we rented the car, a deluxe model Geo or Daewoo type with room for two small people. And we even got a discount when we told him we were American 🇺🇸. The price dropped from $56 to $52 a day. We couldn’t argue with that one.
After stopping off in the picturesque lobby restaurant for a daily mango 🥭 or piña juice we headed over to the NC para comprar los billetos de Compay Concerto! Muy bien.
Next we somewhat hesitantly got boyfriend going with driving a stick, on the unmarked, unsigned (in case there is a difference) Cuban roads. Well it was an adventure and even though I wasn’t in charge of transportation, I was still appointed to read-or interpret rather, the map, el mapa. Interpretation it was. Although it looked plain enough on the map, there was not direct correlation with the actual physical roads. No road signs for one thing, made it difficult for optimum navigation.
We learned to judge intersections by distances between and to read where the passing buses were coming and going to, which was somewhat helpful in determining if we were going in the proper direction, or not. Mostly we were.
We learned the best way to find our pre-determined destination most directly and successfully was by picking up hitchhikers. Everyone hitch hikes in Cuba 🇨🇺. In fact they call it something different. It’s …
People of all ages and occupations (not just hookers although at times it’s hard to read, with all the women clad in the country’s national fiber of spandex) are waiting on roadsides everywhere for rides.
There are huge cattle trucks which ferry passengers around the city and countrysides for no charge. Some places will be very organized with a uniformed officer government official directing passengers onto vehicles and sorting destinations. (Destination Management Services.)
Most cars and trucks stop for riders too. So people ride for hours a day, both to and from school and work, catching rides with different people every time. It’s really something and reflects the major differences in our views on time.
After cruising durch eine ganz kleine Stadtt in which we were totally going on luck and local roads; in which I was so frustrated I told sweet boyfriend that I couldn’t help him anymore if he went down those streets, then we somehow muy magically ended up on the right road, heading toward the right town. Asking an old man in an intersected square and heading on.
We Eventually at some point picked up two soldiers (silent soldiers) our first hitchhikers, then we ended up finally at the destined crocodile 🐊 farm and at the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. After a tour…
Alas. This is where the official travelogue ends and I must ad lib and piece together the rest of the Cuba Trip. I’m afraid it’s also where Arizona boyfriend and I started to deteriorate our relationship. These are the points I remember through both from vivid memory and from low quality photos.
Wednesday was where the journal ended
In between we stayed at an all inclusive resort and got wasted with the fun band after their show. We went off property with them too and just remember drinking way too much and paying for it the next morning. They were as interested in us as we were in them.
Friday night was Compay Segundo concert. It was the best part of the trip!
