CUBAN REVOLUTIONS
VINALES, Cuba — States. The water, for example, stopped working at our first hotel, Los Jazmines, forcing Lara to negotiate the entire group’s move to different rooms.
Lara and Pablo had to do plenty of adjusting on the fly. Running a cycling trip in Cuba isn’t easy. (That’s probably why it’s not cheap either. Backroads’ all-inclusive, five-night Cuba bike trips in 2018 start at $4,998 a person.) It’s challenging to navigate the island’s infrastructure, from spotty cell and Wi-Fi service to chewed-up streets that can make for a teeth-chattering ride. Government rules are often fickle and in a state of flux, resulting in some last-minute tweaks to our bike route in Vinales. announced in November.
Before we could stay at the Kempinski, we had to get to the Kempinski. Our last bike ride out of pastoral Las Terrazas ended several miles away from our final hotel, depositing us in a far northwest corner of Havana called Jaimanitas. This vibrant neighborhood full of mosaics and murals is where we were supposed to get on the bus that would take us into Old Havana.
“Guys, I have something to tell you,” a solemn-looking Lara said to our group. “There is something wrong with the bus; we will not be able to take it back to our hotel.
“But don’t worry,” she said, breaking into a mischievous grin. “Pablo and I have arranged alternate transportation.”
Lara pointed down the block to a fleet of American convertibles from the ’50s, waiting at the ready. I still maintain that the best way to see a place is by bike. But at this moment, in this setting, four wheels trumped two.
We hopped into our candycolored chariots for one last wild — and unexpected — ride.