CUBA
1 527 Kilometres – 29 Days
Montego Bay, Jamaica – Havana, Cuba - By plane
From Jamaica my obvious next destination was Cuba, located just
400 kilometres north. However, the most affordable flight to Havana,
Cuba, was a 2000-kilometre detour via Panama.
The taxi ride to Montego Bay airport was at most five kilometres.
Mercifully, the airport had a wrapping service as I doubted whether
my homemade bike box, held together with duct tape, would last the
journey.
Right from the start, Cuba was a different cup of tea. The first thing I
noticed was the ample space available on the plane, which is quite a
rarity nowadays. I could even spread out and take a nap before
landing in Cuba. During the descent, a beautiful sunset greeted us,
and one could see well-organised farmlands below, which I assumed
were tobacco fields.
Clearing customs and immigration was a breeze. Afterwards, I
excitedly hailed a taxi to Hostal Peregrino, situated in an old building
in Centro Havana. You can imagine my surprise when I rang the
doorbell and a key, tied to a string, was lowered from the window
above. This marked the start of a remarkable visit to fascinating
Cuba.