Havana came alive with the morning commuters waiting for buses and the shops opening as we left at 8.00 (8:00) with the first stop being a half hour diversion out to the airport to pick up the bags of those whose never did make it several days ago.










































































 
















































 













































 




Finally left there at 9.20 am (9:20) bound for what I know as the Bay of Pigs but the locals know it as Bahia de Cochinos with Playa Giron playing an important role.

From the north to the south coast along to my surprise a 6 lane motorway.

Waving a fistful of money to show the bus driver that they mean business, the locals tried to wave us down.

On route were some charcoal sellers plus farmers selling strings of onions by standing in the grass medium strip of a 6 lane motorway with vehicles travelling at who knows what speed. Who would want to stop in the fast lane?

Bullocks ploughing the fields, cattle grazing plus sugar cane growing.

Turkey vultures circling overhead became a common sight.

First stop for a coffee, banos (toilet) etc was at Finca Fiesta Campesina. No cockfighting.

Most Cuban public bathrooms have a woman outside who both doles out the toilet paper plus keeps it clean. Tips are expected. When you think about it, if everyone gave a few pesos, it is quite a lucrative living. Some banos had flowers inside. I never did see one with a toilet seat! Plus for future travellers … take your own toilet paper!

Approximately 400m on your right after the Central Australia exit is a kind of wildlife-park-meets-country fair with labelled examples of Cuba's typical flora and fauna. The highlights of this strangely engaging place are the coffee (some of the best in Cuba and served with a sweet wedge of sugarcane), the bull-riding and the hilarious if slightly infantile games of guinea-pig roulette overseen with much pizzazz by the gentleman at the gate.

It's the only place in Cuba – outside the cockfighting – where you encounter any form of open gambling.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/central-australia-around/sights/nature-wildlife/finca-fiesta-campesina#ixzz3x0vYzc00

 



































































 
 
 

 
Perhaps the pilot leaving Auckland should have continued west as we would have reach "Australia" sooner.

No, you haven't just arrived Down Under. About 1.5km south of the Autopista Nacional on the way to Boca de Guamá, is the large disused Central Australia sugar mill, built in 1904, now home to the Museo de la Comandancia.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/central-australia-around#ixzz3x0vjxw8p
 
During the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, Fidel Castro had his headquarters in the former office of the sugar mill, but today the building is devoted to this revolutionary museum (closed for refurbishment at the time of research.) You can see the desk and phone from where Fidel commanded his forces, along with other associated memorabilia. Outside is the wreck of an invading aircraft shot down by Fidel's troops.

The concrete memorials lining the road to the Bahía de Cochinos mark the spots where defenders were killed in 1961. A more moving testimony to the Bay of Pigs episode is the Museo de Playa Girón.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cuba/central-australia-around/sights/museums-galleries/museo-de-la-comandancia#ixzz3x0vpPxNn