Light rain and unusually cool weather greets us this morning.  Timing is relaxed, as we depart for the Museo de la Revolucion a bit before ten a.m.  The building is the former presidential palace.   The last inhabitant, dictator Fulgenico Batista, was overthrown by Castro’s revolution in 1959.  The museum documents the time directly leading up to, during and directly after the revolution.

Today, we head from Havana, on Cuba’s northwest coast, to Cienfuegos on the southcentral coast. Cuba, roughly the size of Pennsylvania, runs more or less northwest to southeast for about 720 miles, and ranges from 19 to 119 miles wide from north to south.  We travel about one hundred fifty miles to the east southeast to get from the capitol city to the port city of Cienfuegos.

Our ride takes us through rural Cuba, providing a view of the landscape and the people.  There is little traffic once we leave Havana.  In addition to automobiles, we see horse drawn carts and people on bicycles.  We pass through wide open country, with occasional settlements.  While there are some cattle, by far the most abundant crop is sugar cane.  We see rice fields and a smattering of other crops.

Ever present turkey vultures are visible throughout the day.  Other birds sighted include cattle egrets, great egrets and snowy egrets.

Our lunch stop is the approximate half way point of our journey, at Fiesta Campesina.  There is music, of course!  There are also nice grounds for a short stroll.  Bird watching is especially good here, with a West Indian woodpecker standing out as the most exciting sighting.

On our way again, we end up at the magnificent town square of Cienfuegos.  Founded in 1819 by Frenchman Don Louis De Clouet, the town prospered as a port for the sugar trade.  Tourism is an important industry today.

The highlight of the day is the magnificent acapella concert performed by the renowned group “Cantadores de Cienfuegos”.  Their material ranges from Gospel to the Beatles to a variety of Cuban standards.  They are mesmerizing.  After the concert, we have an opportunity for a people to people dialogue.