We had breakfast which consisted of a strange egg concotion and ham which resembled Spam. We were to become very accustomed to this meat during the trip. Didn't really eat much as the food wasn't very appetising and was covered in flies. Managed a couple of pieces of bread and a cup of excellent Cuban coffee.
Shortly after breakfast (or lack of) we had a briefing by Alex and Alfredo about what to expect today. Alfredo explained that there were undulations (not hills) in the early part of the ride.
We then set off on our bikes on a dirt track which was in terrible condition and full of potholes. We passed lots of animals; pigs, cows and horse & carts. We had our first taste of the friendliness of the Cuban people, with all the children we passed shouting 'Hola!' and waving at us. Most adults also did the same. There were lots of vultures circling above us which we thought was slightly ominous. 
The route was quite hilly (although Alfredo still insisted that they were undulations not hills). We soon began to see the difference between hills and undulations though and what we first thought of as hills, we soon began to see in Alfredo's terms and realised 'Eez no so bad'!
Our first stop was for a snack-break in a small village square in Arcos de Canasi where we sat in the shade and ate fresh pineapple, guava, papaya and bananas which were all delicious. The square was full of people sitting about chatting and looking very relaxed. A few children were playing basketball in the square. We had our first taste of Cuban toilets in a pharmacy in this village - Nice!
We set off again towards the city of Matanzas where we were to have lunch. The route was definitely HILLY on the way to Matanzas and the heat made it pretty demanding.
We had to cycle single file through the city and then cycled up a huge hill to a lovely park area overlooking the bay of Matanzas to have our lunch. This was our first taste of lunch served from plastic buckets. The food was great though; chicken, rice, beans and plantain chips (there's a bit of a theme developing here).
I felt really exhausted by lunch time and had a much-needed rest in the shade. I felt a bit better after having eaten and rested for an hour. We then cycled back down the huge hill which we had climbed before lunch into the city of Matanzas. We cycled single file through the city and over a swing bridge and along the seafront (Malecon). We cycled in single file over the pot-holed pavement, constantly shouting 'HOLE!' to warn each other of imminent holes (some of which could have caused an incredibly nasty accident). This was quite hard-going as the wind was against us and it was a long, gradual uphill for many miles. I coped OK with this though as I felt refreshed after lunch.
We met the bus and truck about ten miles outside Matanzas and transferred to Varadero. I felt slightly worried about the rest of the week's cycling after today as the heat made it very hard-going.
We met the bus and truck about ten miles outside Matanzas and transferred to Varadero. I felt slightly worried about the rest of the week's cycling after today as the heat made it very hard-going.
We arrived at Hotel Acauzul in Varadero at about 6pm just as the sun was setting. The accomodation was in small houses on the beach. We were all very excited to jump straight into the sea and play in the big waves to soothe our aching limbs and sore bottoms. The water was beautifully warm and we stayed in the sea until well after it was dark until about 7pm.
We met at 8pm in the main lobby of the hotel for a drink and briefing about tomorrow's cycling. We then had a buffet style dinner in the restaurant upstairs. There was a pretty good choice of food and I'd built up quite an apetite so I enjoyed dinner. We came down and had a few drinks and watched the synchronised swimming group getting ready for their display. A few people stayed up drinking and watched the display, but I was very tired after having woken up at 4am so Ros and I went to bed at about 10:30pm. 
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