Cuba!
Strongly recommend people watch Cuba Libre on Netflix as soon as they register. The trip will be much more relevant and interesting if they do. Also encourage watching the movie Poppa in Cuba since we go see the place at which it was filmed and see his boat.
Danny and Jorge were wonderful bike tour leaders and I would hope they could team up again for future tours.
It was evident the tremendous amount of work that Kasia had put in prior to the trip and her attentiveness to our wishes was greatly appreciated.
Walking tour was enjoyable and very informative.
The nightly explanation of what was covered for drinks and the menu choices was greatly appreciated.
Our bikes worked well throughout the trip, and it was nice to have the sag option if you wanted to rest.
The willingness to accommodate people needs/requests if at all possible was wonderful. For example, changing money in Trinidad.
The chance to swim in the Bay of Pigs was great and we enjoyed the Bay of Pigs museum. The film was interesting.
The impromptu stops to sample the fruits/drinks and have the rationing system explained at the bodega was part of what made the ride so enjoyable and memorable.
The classic car tour and delicious lobster dinner was a spectacular way to end the tour!
Check in at the hotels and at casas went very smoothly from a customer view point (likely due to your work prior)
The first day ecological lecture and tour of the spelunkers museum /foundation was good. People fell asleep from travel tiredness but not the speakers fault
Casa Teresa Ponce in Trinidad provided a very nice breakfast but the room was ok, not up to the standard of the other casas we were in. I’d suggest a different casa if possible. Specifically, our room’s ac was at bed level blowing directly at our feet. One true bed, one padded platform. Water shower head didn’t have wires so the lukewarm water was not from that.
In Cienfuegos it would have been fun for me or Ray to have stayed with the pediatrician casa owner. Will and John stayed there for reference. If possible in the future, I would suggest you try to put a medical person in that casa.
Casa Babe was delightful. The Rancho resort was excellent. I’d suggest riders be informed of the availability of wifi in the pool area.
The dinners were excellent and I have no complaints about the box lunches. You supplemented with copious amounts of fruit and peanut bars. Always having water available and without complaint was excellent !
Others in the group enjoyed the CDR meeting but it was too difficult for those of us who didn’t speak Spanish to communicate and probably better suited to a younger age range.
Gabriel’s talk on student life was average. She was too quiet or shy with which to interact. Perhaps a student with some English would have been better able to interact.
The tobacco farm was very interesting and I hope future groups are able to continue doing that.
The entrepreneur was fascinating and excellent. It was refreshing to hear a dissent voice. I hope that continues for future groups also.
The female church tour guide in Remedios was superb and I enjoyed her wit and observations on Cuban life. I’m don’t know if it could be arranged for her to do future tours, but I hope so.
I’m disappointed the cigar rolling in the itinerary didn’t occur; the art community visit was ok but in my opinion it could have been skipped and given us more time in Havana later in the day.
I would not have minded an earlier start to the bike riding to have avoided pedaling in the mid-day heat.
Tell people that hotel president is the last mostly reliable wifi for a few days so they can let family know they arrived safely. Hotel president also the easiest place to buy wifi cards and charged the regular $2 cuc without up charge
10 person limit on hotel president elevator is unrealistic and baggage wt should be considered since a group of 6 of us put it out of commission
I appreciated the advance notice about no hot water at ICAP in Santa Clara. Our room was perfectly fine. Others had no a/c.
Rating: Excellent *****
Mutt Dickson
Glendive, MT
Mutt adventured with Wilderness Voyageurs on the Cuba Clásico Bike Tour.