After riding about 800 kilometres through the interior of the country, the sea is finally in sight again. I am in Matanzas. Now the last leg of the journey lies ahead. On the way to Havana, a group of cyclists overtakes me at high speed&#8230; Oh, the Cuban national team is training here. I benefit from their slipstream for a good 20 kilometres, but then the road starts to climb and I fall behind&#8230; I&#8217;m only spending one night in Havana because I&#8217;ll be back here before I head home. I also must organize the “famous” cardboard box for transporting my bike. I&#8217;m staying at Casa 1932, which is crammed full of antiques. It looks like a museum. The owner, Luis, and his caretaker, Jorge, are a great team. The capital is full of contrasts and there is a lot to see. At the end of my trip, I want to enjoy a short city tour in a vintage car, visit the Rum Museum, and sip a mojito somewhere in a bar. But first, I&#8217;m heading all the way west, where there is less and less traffic and the population is sparse.
The challenge of getting through the entrance gate to Guanahacabibes National Park is lengthy and quite demanding. This is because the visitor centre is closed all day today, but the checkpoint is open. On the one hand, you can only get through the checkpoint with a ticket, and on the other hand, you need a tour guide, which, like the ticket, must be booked at the visitor centre. The guide usually gets into the car and accompanies and supervises the visitor as they drive through the park. So I am not allowed to cycle through here. If anyone would like to know how I managed to get into the park LEGALLY and unaccompanied to cover 120 kilometres, they can contact me at welcome@cyclingflow.ch. I will be happy to share this insider tip. A cycling paradise on earth – that&#8217;s how I describe the section from La Bajada to San Antonio, the westernmost point of Cuba, where the Caribbean meets the Gulf of Mexico.
I cycle for eight hours through the nature park over a rough limestone platform with holes and razor-sharp, pointed stones known as dientes del pierro, or “dog teeth.” During this time, I encounter fewer than ten cars. But I do encounter hundreds of crabs. A veritable invasion. The red crabs have to cross the main road from the forest to lay their eggs on the beach. The trick for me is not to run over any of these animals and to make sure that my tires remain undamaged. I wouldn&#8217;t want to be here without puncture-proof tires. I feel like I&#8217;m in a slalom competition, which fortunately I manage to complete without crashing.
The landscape is magnificent; I can&#8217;t stop marvelling at it. Rugged coastlines, rocky lunar landscapes, green slopes, palm trees and many mangrove forests, beaches and views of the sea. The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is very rich in species, with iguanas, wild boars, crocodiles and, above all, remarkable bird species. Among them are parrots, owls, vultures, and the smallest bird in the world, the bee hummingbird, which I don&#8217;t encounter. Instead, another lighthouse suddenly appears in front of me. Goal achieved!
Am I perhaps even the first person to have cycled from the easternmost to the westernmost point of the island of Cuba?                      I think so!

West Cuba