San Antonio de los Banos – Nueva Paz – 90 km
As I biked through the countryside, I noticed the days were slowly
developing a rhythm of their own. I passed by several small
settlements that all seemed identical with horse-drawn carts, hole-in-
the-wall pastry shops and the occasional peso-pizza stand.
Fortunately, refrescos stands, where one could fill your bottle with
juice at a mere three pesos, were plentiful.
Towards the end of the day, and reaching Nueva Paz, the map didn’t
show another village apart from tiny Nueva Paz. To the villagers’
surprise, a foreigner cycled into their little town enquiring about a
casa. More surprised than the villagers, I discovered the village amid
a festival. I wasn’t sure what the celebration was about, but I
assumed the event was important as the only two establishments
offering rooms to rent were full.
A hospitable family invited me in and, as can be expected, my stay
turned out quite a novelty. Casa particulars, or homestays, catered to
travellers and generally consisted of separate quarters with an en-
suite bathroom – all extremely luxurious compared to typical family
life in Cuba. Staying in a Cuban home was totally different. Firstly,
someone had to give up their bed, and there wasn’t a great deal of
privacy as the bedroom had two entrances. One was blocked off with
a curtain and led to the dining room. The other one led to the lounge/
kitchen area and was fitted with a rickety concertina door. The
bathroom consisted of a bucket shower, which I didn’t mind. Toilet
paper was far too luxurious, and good ol’ newspaper did the trick. A
meal, large enough to feed an army, was prepared and, encouraged
by the family, I ate far too much. Embarrassingly, I was fed first, and
the family only ate afterwards. I hoped it wasn’t their only food.