13 December 2024, Santiago de Cuba to La Maya, 31.68km at 7.3kph average
Leiby Reyes Vena €20 (R397)

As usual, when planning a trip, I research the places to see and things to do, mark them on a map, cut out the outliers, and join the dots. I confirm my choices by checking for available accommodation within cycle-reach, particularly when travelling light without a tent and the means to independently sustain ourselves on the road. Cuba was no exception.
When I had done my planning, six nights proved problematic with no formal accommodation options for example via Airbnb. On Google Maps, each of the six showed beds in theory being available, but none of the marked options included contact details.
By tweaking our route, I avoided two of the six, and one of my formal hosts found us a bed in another, leaving three unknowns, the first being La Maya.
In my determined pursuit of certainty on our first night back on the bikes, I somehow connected with a local young man named Osmany. Via many WhatsApps and a phone call from last night's host to him on our behalf, we agreed to call Osmany on arrival in La Maya. And it is through him that we find ourselves, not in the casa advertised on Google Maps as it is not authorised to accommodate foreigners, but in an unadvertised room in a house undergoing extensive additions and renovations.
Our host is married to a Columbian, and seems to have several family members resident in her rabbit-warren home with its narrow passages.
Our en suite room has no windows, glass bricks providing soft lighting from outside. There are three large mirrors in the bedroom, including one on the ceiling, and another directly opposite the open shower! A string of flashing lights decorates the headboard and a selection of sweets, drinks and soap are on sale.
Our host will prepare dinner for us, and is struggling to register us with immigration for reasons unknown to her and to us.
After our nap and shower, we strolled the streets in search of water and sustenance for our long ride tomorrow to Guantanamo. The town was in celebratory mode, and incredibly cacophonous.
A good day, though tiring.
--
I'm guessing here, but I suspect there was quite a lot of building post-revolution during the 30 years Castro was subsidised by Russia. The real hardships associated with bad economic policies (and sanctions) would have followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.