16 December 2024, Guantanamo to Tortuguilla, +-41km at around 10.8kph average
(My odometer gave up the ghost part way through the morning, so I can't provide accurate stats...)
Doña Yuya, Playa Guanal, Tortuguilla 7000 peso (R403)

We had read before leaving South Africa, that Cuba is home to the smallest bird in the world, the bee hummingbird. We had undertaken to keep an eye open for this tiny beauty, but were not very optimistic about catching sight of one. Stepping from our casa this morning, however, we saw, sucking nectar from a flowering bush on the city pavement, a bee hummingbird! You will need to take my word for it as I had no time to capture it a-flutter before it fitted off, wings moving so fast, I could not even confirm its colour.
We have seen vultures, a hawk of some sort in large numbers, and two blue parrots.
In some countries, roadkill is a regular distraction. Since getting on the bikes in Cuba, we have seen only two splat-flat snakes, and two partially squished toads.
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It should have been an easy ride, but the heat-humidity is debilitating, in addition to which, I am not feeling quite well.
We had hoped to catch a glimpse of Gitmo, but it is not visible from the road. We were conscious, however, of an increase in military personnel along the route.
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Tortuguilla (the double-ell pronounced y) is one of the towns in which I could not find contactable formal accommodation. I reached out to our Guantanamo host before boarding our plane, and she put me in touch with Carlos Rafael who manages a casa for Doña Yuya. As it happens, we have the rondavel to ourselves. In addition, Carlos has arranged for his neighbour to prepare an extravagant lobster dinner for us, as he is away this evening.
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An interesting oddity: in the province of Santiago de Cuba, all the bridges are painted blue; in Guantanamo province, the bridges are painted yellow.
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The symbol photographed below signals a casa particular. It appears in either red or blue on private houses with a room to let. We have come to understand that blue is for houses authorised to accommodate (and report on the presence of) foreigners. Some houses display both colours, which makes sense if you want to increase your pool of potential guests. Tonight, our casa is not authorised to bed overseas guests, yet here we are. Either Carlos has a way of registering us outside the normal system, or he is willing to risk breaking the law.