Finally made it to Havana, and got greeted by Fern (Brittan) and all the girls from week one cheering as we went down to the baggage claim. (Fern Brittan has done several women for women cycle rides - Cuba was her fourth (I think) - and they had completed the event the week previous to us arriving. They were waiting in departures at Havana as we came through arrivals, and you are separated from each other by a perspex partition (friendly!) They all cheered as we came through, which seeing as we had endured a hellishly long journey and were all scared to death with the anticipation of everything was enough to make you well up! I asked Fern how her bum was (of all the things to ask a public figure when you run into one! - but she said it was fine) and Maggie forgot that Fern wasn't her best friend! Maggie ran up to Fern and greeted her (through the perspex) very enthusiastically saying Hi Fern, how are you? How was it? And totally forgot the reason she knew Fern was via a one-way medium known as TV - and that therefore Fern didn't know her at all!
We stayed at the Occidental Mirimar Hotel where we will also be staying for the last two nights of the trip. Had a buffet dinner - fish and rice, and then to bed. Slept until about 2am local time (7am UK) then dozed on and off. (Caz and I spent half the week waking at 2am!)
Currently on the coach waiting to go to the bay of pigs.
Later.....
I am sitting on the steps to the pool, and have just watched some of the girls enjoy a salsa lesson while sipping a rum punch. Lovely! Got the bikes fitted today, I have bar ends and Ali's handle bar bag, and Allie the elephant also now in place! All seems good to me. Caz isn't so sure, but then she didn't train on the bike of doom! Look at the state of this handwriting...that'll be the rum then!......
When I went to upload the photos from this day, I realised I mentioned nothing in my journal about the museum. Or the hotel. The hotel was affectionately christened (maybe by those on the trip more used to 5* accommodation than myself!) as communist Butlins. It consisted of very basic cabin - style accommodation (If you were lucky you got a living room as well as a bedroom, and if you were really lucky you got hot running water!) The pool and restaurant / bar area were all together centrally. Next to the hotel was the museum commemorating the bay of pigs invasion - of which the Cubans are very (rightly) proud, so we visited with guide Enyo during the day, while waiting to get fitted for our bikes. I should mention, these photos (I am not very good at thei blogging malarkey yet) are the wrong way round - the pool you can see taken from a high window is in Havana at the Mirimar hotel, working your way up to the coach trip to the Bay of Pigs, then the bike. The shots below show the museum and 'communist butlins' hotel. I have to say I thought the hotel was fine - if this was as basic as it was going to get we'd be just fine! More pics can be seen here thanks to the wonders of the web!
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