This area is known for its agriculture, specifically tobacco, but it is still astonishing how much there is. Some of the farms look big, probably cooperatives or state-owned farms, but there were also some farms that looked like small holders. The housing was modest, well kept and nearly all had electric service.

Nothing was a "rickety shack." Certainly on the whole it is much better than I have seen in rural areas Africa or other islands of the Caribbean. Land reform and housing were two other priorities of the revolution. Even with several explanation of land reform and the land tenure structure, it is still difficult to identify the status of land just in passing.

Though the quantity and variety of agriculture other than tobacco was unremarkable, there were gardens and small plots of corn, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, beans, bananas, coffee, cassava, malanga (taro, edo, coco yam in other places), oranges, grapefruit, and a few other vegetables. Scattered about there were also some bee hives, fish ponds, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, ox and horses. The ox and horses were used to plow and pull carts. Not many trackers. There were private automobiles at a few of the houses.

Lunch was a cyclist’s dream and set the standard for future lunches. In Sumidero we found 8-inch cheese peso-pizzas – that is pizzas that were priced in pesos: four for a dollar. And, across the street was a guarapo stand (a drink made from sugar cane) with glasses twenty for a dollar. For the afternoon we seemed to cycle from guarapo stand to guarapo stand.

One of the great part of the day was cycling along with our Cuban colleagues, have discussions about politics, history, current affairs and society. The offered thoughtful response through all phases of the conversation.