Cuba March 20th 2023; from Boyeros to Las Terrazas, day 4
I left relatively late (around 10:00 am), and managed to arrive around 3:00 pm for a total distance of 71 km. A little moment of panic before the departure, I could not find my wallet that was hidden under a book… The rain stopped just in time and the clouds stayed all day, to my delight. I used small country roads for two-thirds of my trip and then the A4 freeway. It’s not a problem in Cuba, because there’s virtually no traffic and almost always a shoulder road. My destination for 2 nights, the Hotel La Moka perched on the top of a hill that overlooks the village located inside a biosphere reserve designated by UNESCO in 1984, the Sierra del Rosario. The village is composed of several pretty little houses, some restaurants and artists’ workshop and some rows of Cuban-style low cost housing around small lakes. The area was devastated in the nineteenth century by intensive coffee growing and in the 1960s, the ‘Las Terrazas’ project was established to restore the area. Terraces were built to counter erosion (hence the name of the village) and several thousand trees (the official site speaks of millions) were planted to counter the effects of deforestation. The slightly faded hotel is very comfortable and is away from the city, even though the noise of cocks and mopeds is very present. Breakfast and dinner are included with 4 hours of free internet for 59 euros per night ! The place is very popular with ornithologists who come in large numbers equipped with their binoculars and cameras with gigantic lenses. Following is the route I cycled on Strava followed by my photos.
