The Long Drive.

On my third day in Cuba, Daniel and I, with a couple of good friends, made the long drive from Havana to Cayo Coco, where we planned to spend a few days relaxing, scuba diving, sun-bathing, and beach-going (I know, it's a hard life). Cayo Coco is an absolutely beautiful resort town of the same ilk as Varadero, just way, way farther away. As we drove the 6 hours through the Cuban countryside, we passed through a few towns and got to see some areas of untouched beauty. Some of the landscape could have been right out of Jurassic Park.

We tried to get a few snapshots along the way, hoping to capture the atmosphere of what we were seeing. A moving car made that difficult, but we did get a few (or a lot). 

I can hear John Williams as I type.

Spot the two rancheros! ^^^

Whenever I visit a new place, I like to see what life is like for the people that live there. I mean real life. I'm not the kind of person to pack as many tourist attractions and museums as possible into each day. I would much rather roam around local side streets or villages, watching people in their everyday routines. That kind of stuff says more about a culture than anything you can read in a Lonely Planet travel guide. (I don't have anything against tourist attractions - that's just not where the gold is.)

Our road trip afforded us a view into a part of Cuba (albeit a small part) about which I knew nothing.
Here are some photos from our road trip(s), for your browsing...

It wouldn't be Cuba if there weren't pretty cars!

A Cuban rest stop.

One of the first towns we passed through.

Cayo Coco...in the distance.

In Cuba, they don't mess around with transportation. Horse and buggy, bike, sidecar, classic car. You name it, they've got it.

You can add tractor to that list.

Incredible artwork in Ciego de Avila, one of the towns we drove through on our way to Cayo Coco.

A Cuban Main Street.

Traffic jam.

The land bridge we crossed in our final stretch to Cayo Coco.

Cayo Coco. Where all your dreams come true.

             On the way back...

The most retro phonebooths I've seen in any city (sorry, London).

A car that, as you can see, literally sparkled. Somebody was a little excited...

Just some explosives, nbd.