A change in the weather

 

Waiting for the ferry

Preparing to leave Kustavi 

The weather has changed and we’ve ridden in rain, strong winds and quite cold temperatures for the last couple of days. However, when I say we have ridden, we haven’t really as we’ve been almost on holiday. Our distance has diminished to under 40 km a day.

The Aland islands are spectacular in their geography which ranges from lichen-covered bedrock and forests, with water water everywhere populated by white swans, a couple of different species of seagulls and terns, to rich and rolling farmland the closer we get to Sweden.

Bruce doing the Highland Fling on bedrock

Lichen covered rocks

A derelict farm shed

Our first stop was in Brando, one of the rocky islands that we reached by two ferries and bike. That morning we experienced our first solid rain which began before we left Kustavi and continued until we reached our hotel. We had two nights there. On the morning of our second, more rain threatening, we held our concert and were delighted by eight performances, all very high-quality and affording much amusement.

The concert program

A long ferry ride preceded by a short ride and followed by a slightly longer ride saw us arrive in Kastelholm the next day. We visited the castle and sat down by the marina to enjoy the afternoon sunshine.

Remains of a Russian fort, circa The Crimean war

A solstice Maypole 

The castle at Kastelholm 

The marina

Only a few more kilometres, mainly on bike paths, and we were in Mariehamn, the principal town of the 6000 plus islands that comprise this autonomous region of Finland where Swedish is the predominant language. The city is quaint and full of places to eat. 

If you can see us in this sign, you’re doing well

Taking a selfie in the town

Hay stacks

We have not seen any moose or bears, although I don’t think there are bears on these islands, but we have spotted a fox. 

Our next stop is Sweden. According to a Finn, Swedish drivers are not as polite. Let’s see.

Statistics for those who are interested

So far we have ridden a bit more than 600 km. There’s been quite a few hills but riding an e-bike has made them more pleasurable than they have been in the past. Hills that is. We all carry two panniers which contain our worldly goods for the six weeks we’re on the road. 

No bears yet

Bill stopping for coffee

A very odd goat track that we found ourselves on complete with sharp rocks and undergrowth

Farmland

Pauline demonstrating morning tea

Paul pumping up Pauline‘s tyre

A little siesta after lunch

We are enjoying a rest day inTurku in south west Finland on the coast after riding for five days from Helsinki. The riding has been very pleasant as we cross through forests around lakes and through farmland. There are a few hills. I guess this is not surprising. And the weather has been very kind, although the day that got over 30 was a bit much.

We were able to cool off however in a beautiful lake 10 m from where we were staying. This is where bears might be. Certainly there were warnings up about them and although I planned what I would do if one broke through the window during the night, I did not have to execute the plan. Talking to Lady Al from Idaho, That was pretty fortunate as she said we would not have survived.

When we’re not riding, we are either stopping somewhere for coffee and cake, taking a breather, making sure everybody who’s in the group is in the group and has not been left behind, or we are checking navigation. This sometimes involves local people and that’s really good because we get to learn more about the country that we’re in as well. For example, the teacher told me a couple of days ago that Finland is no longer the poster boy for education in the world. That things have not kept up to scratch.

When we arrive at our hotel, we busy ourselves with laundry and possibly shopping for dinner if we don’t want to go out, and then we amuse ourselves with cards, and in one instance a dinosaur jigsaw. We also talk a lot. 

We’re having a lot of fun and we’re joined in Helsinki by Karen and Maureen Who had cycled the route along the Baltic coast. Michael will be joining us shortly in Turku to ride to Hamburg.

Welcome to Finnland, land of rocks, trees and water

Steve and Bill reading and writing 

Sam found a way to counteract the midnight sun 

Margit chilling 

A wild game of Wizard 

We arrived in Helsinki aboard the 30 hour 1100 km ferry from Germany. A very smooth crossing. 

Waiting to board 

Our ride from Bad Segeberg was full of twists and turns and had us on our navigational tiptoes. We also weren’t able to find anywhere to have coffee until we were almost at the ferry port. We sat outdoors at a very pleasant cafe run by an even more pleasant woman.

Margit and Janice at the lake

Kate at a roadside library

Where are we again?

Waiting at the ferry port was slightly tedious as we sat there for hours and hours and hours. Once aboard, we’re headed to our cabins as it was 1.00pm.

The next morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast of considerable proportions and spent the rest of the day playing cards on and off, both 500 and wizard. I think we were pretty noisy. Card playing was punctuated By lunch and dinner followed later. More cards then off to bed.

Up for an early breakfast, then packing our panties and heading down to where our bikes were housed on the ferry. We rode 22 km approximately to our hotel and really only got lost once. Our navigation systems were telling us we are only 100 m away from the hotel, but we couldn’t see it. The reason we couldn’t see it is because being in Helsinki is like being in a forest. It’s difficult to believe her in the middle of a city as there are just trees everywhere.

Off to the laundromat of course in the afternoon after we checked into the hotel. We visited the most enormous supermarket I have ever been in. It’s sold everything from fishing gear to electrical goods to food to linen and things for the house and clothing. Literally a one stop shop.

On the way

Our group is 15 with four more joining in Helsinki. It’s 21 June and we leave Hamburg on the 22 June on our first leg of the journey. 

This photo was taken on our practice ride to make sure the bikes were okay and everybody was okay riding them.

From L-R, Al from Idaho, Liz and John from New Zealand, Peter from Canada, Sam Pauline and Margaret from Australia, Nelson from Canada, Steve from Australia, Bill from Pennsylvania, Kate Carmen Des Janice and Bruce from Australia.

No

Bruce, Bill, Peter, Pauline 

Kate, Bruce, Carmen 

Liz

Nelson and Margit 

This is where we begin

We arrived in Hamburg via a train from Frankfurt via a plane from Istanbul via a plane from Bangkok via a plane from Melbourne via a train from Maryborough. Are you tired reading that sentence? We were tired doing it all. Nevertheless, it was most uneventful travelling. I do envy the Europeans however who can just get on a train and go anywhere, as opposed to our long haul requirements.

Des in Istanbul 

In Hamburg, we have caught trains and buses, walked and attempted to keep out of the sun. It is hot, punctuated by rain and thunderstorms.

Have you ever seen 50 or 60,000 miniature ships? Well, I can say that I have. They are on display at the Maritime museum and overwhelmingly magnificent.

Maritime Museum Hamburg 

We have explored the very busy Elbe River with its constant traffic of container ships, barges and ferries. And even a “beach” with small children and dogs paddling in the river. Can’t say I would’ve liked to have any body parts immersed in that water.

Three views of the Elbe River Hamburg 

Our bikes arrived and after much kerfuffling all were allocated and locked away.

Havana to Varadero then home

A stroll through the city with Pauline was like coming home as we encountered Alberto on the same corner we had encountered him on Day 1 in Havana. A trained architect, he had dreams of emigrating to somewhere he could ply his profession. In the meantime he was exchanging money and spruiking for tourist rides in Oldsmobiles.We had been to his apartment to exchange some money on our arrival. A lovely man. 

We joined the others who had been on a walking tour of Havana for a delicious three-course lunch at a restaurant on one of the main squares in Havana. A highlight were the frappe mojitos.

Arley asked us all what we had enjoyed about the ride and what we had learnt about Cuba. This made for a very entertaining listening exercise. It seemed that Cuba had wormed its way under our skin despite stomach troubles, broken limbs, potholes, heat and winds. Reading Graham Greene's Man in Havana doesn't let you feel it until it is in your body as well as your imagination.

Our final trip to Varadero a 25km of walled resorts, temporary homes to Russians and Canadians on holiday. What a different Cuba the resort presented. It was all you could eat buffets, all you can drink drinks, as much sun as it took to burn you brown and as much fun as you wanted to have.

The beach indeed was spectacular. Waves. Sunshine. Sand. Portuguese Men of War washed up. 

And from there we all drifted away, one by one. Until next time.

Back to where we began

We rode 10km out of Vinales where the bikes were put in the bus for the last time, The ride took yas thought the Valley of Silence which was very peaceful, verdant and productive.

We then walked through farmland for about 5kms to a tobacco farm where we saw the leaves drying, along with coffee beans and were treated to another cigar rolling exercise. This time Michael took a puff after dipping his cigar end in honey and rum. 

The farmer told us that he gives the government 90% of his crop and keeps the other 40% for private sale. This is of course illegal, but possibly the only way of eke out a relatively decent living.

More walking, this time to an eco-restaurant perched on top of a hill. Fabulous food and views over the valley and hills beyond. 

Then onto to the bus for our transfer back to Havana to the hotel we stayed in before. It was like a homecoming in a sense. We'd been on the road on our bikes and in the bus for almost three weeks and had circumnavigated Cuba, seen the various landscapes, the beautiful cities and coastal areas and the lifestyles of the farmers. We had been sung to and entertained with stories, trips to historical sights, food - good and not so palatable, and each other's stimulating company. The long hours in the bus were spent in discussions or sleep. Not a lot of reading as there was always something to look at from the windows as we travelled pretty slowly both on the bus and in the saddle.

Vinales

We rode from Soroa to San Cristabel which was about 60 km before we stopped at a hotel for lunch. Lovely cool place, good lunch and cold beer  before we jumped in the bus for a transfer to Vinales. The road we were on was very rough and very potholed so it was an active concentration to avoid veering off and falling over. Funnily enough I quite enjoyed the ride and was disappointed when we arrived at our stopping place for the day.

It was Saturday and everybody was out and about doing their shopping hanging out together young people in particular and of course the farm labourers were continuing to labour.

We were deposited at various casa particulares around the town. It was dark when we arrived to our place was very basic run by an old woman and her family. We had to ask for the generator to be kicked in,  in order to have a hot shower.

We walked to a very noisy restaurant for dinner which serve served absolutely excellent food. However, the wine was a bit costly at $44 US. Always good for alcohol consumption to have it limited by cost.

At the 40 km mark the bus pulled up and there was Pauline sitting next to our driver Joel. She had fallen off when waving to some children. I went with her on the bus to a hospital where she was given a painkiller and not much else because the hospital was in an appalling stage regarding everything that you would normally expect to find in a hospital. The absolutely filthy toilets had no running water there of course was no x-ray machine for Pauline to be examined and so we drove back to where the others were at the beach and joined them for lunch. The plan was to take Pauline to another hospital when we return to Vinales.

The next morning we set off to ride 60 km to a beautiful beach. The first 10 k’s was absolutely stunning as we rode through beautiful forest on gently up and down rises. The next 10 km was okay, but after that there were potholes the size of meteor craters everywhere on the road. It was an absolute effort of concentration and riding along that no more than about 10 km an hour.

Note the doctor's chair and notebook! At least she had a stethoscope and a blood pressure machine

We swam at the beach, but that was marred as well as Maureen was stung by a jellyfish. We were served huge pieces of fish and lobster, but I had certainly lost my appetite.

Back to Venus and Maureen took over the care of Pauline. They did not arrive back to our casa until 11:30 pm after visiting two hospitals, the last of which had an x-ray machine and confirmed a hairline fracture.

It was a strange way to finish what could’ve been a beautiful day.

Las Terrazas to Soroa

We rode a quick 30 km back the way we had ridden the day before then a long transfer to Las Terrazas where we arrived about 4.30 in the afternoon. 

Our lunch stop was rather special. It was on the side of the road and was sort of like a mini resort in a way. There was an open air restaurant selling hot food, cold food, any sort of food WITH condiments, as well as cold beers. And there were market stalls as well where you could buy various mementos of Cuba . 

On our arrival The hotel looked absolutely magnificent nestled into beautiful gardens and the architecture was superb. We climbed out of the bus and grabbed our bags with much excitement.

Check-in was not as smooth as it could’ve been and when Des and I were finally allocated our room we discovered it was about half a kilometre from reception down steps to a beautiful room with a stunning bathroom overlooking the forest, but not only was there no hot water,  it ended up there was no water at all. That was a bit of a problem for toilet flushing to say the least reception provided us with a 10 L bottle of water to use for the toilet, but that didn’t actually wipe away the grime of the day.

Apparently, this area of Cuba is unique in the government owns all of the houses and all of the people who live in them work in the park in which this hotel is situated. No one can buy in. I didn’t understand what happens when people die and how they get replaced as workers and dwellers.

Dinner however was perfect. We climbed down many many many more steps to a local house in the village where we were treated to home-cooked food as well as a five piece band that sang us through dessert and coffee. Then up the stairs and straight to bed.

In the morning after the weirdest breakfast we’ve ever been served. We took a bus trip up a hill to where there had been a coffee plantation owned by a man who had employed hundreds of slaves. The conditions looked absolutely awful. The present conditions weren’t beautified as the recent cyclone that had passed through Cuba had torn down trees everywhere and those still standing had lost their leaves.

Des at the coffee bean grinder

The distinguishing feature of this place were the vultures. There were scores of them hanging in trees or flying around.

We rode down the steep hill and visited Rio San Juan a marvellous place with cascading ponds and clear oxygen rich water. I climbed into my bathers and swam as I wasn’t intending to ride the hilly r
oads any longer. The gradient were about 17% and the potholes were more like fish ponds.

We arrived at Soroa and visited the Orchard Gardens. Again where we met with an excellent botanist with a great sense of humour and vast knowledge of the plants we then walked to a waterfall before going back to the hotel which had an enormous pool that we all took advantage of.

And our swim was followed by a long hot high pressure shower. Bliss.

Dinner at the hotel was shared with a large bus group of French tourists. I had some fun talking with them.

Played pool, had another mojito and went to bed a happy woman.