INTO CUBA

CDT Day 29: CDT Mile 631.7 – 642.8 (11.1 miles – 17.8 km)

Wednesday May 15, 2019

A distant hum of highway traffic woke me early this morning. We were camped on a rocky escarpment high above the valley below. I watched the stars dance across the night sky as I drank my morning coffee, a Starbucks Via with powdered milk. As delicious as it was, I tried not to think about a cappuccino that most likely won’t be available in Cuba.

It was a perfect morning. The temperature was mild, the sky was clear and we only had a short hike ahead to get into Cuba, our next resupply town.

We broke camp and were on our way by 5am. It was beautiful to hike in the quietness of dawn. We made great progress. The lights of Cuba down below looked tantalisingly close. We passed another hiker cowboy camping right on the edge of the escarpment. Gave me shivers seeing how close to the edge they camped.

Hammer was hiking ahead of me as I kept stopping to take photos. By sunrise we were off the escarpment and hiking through ranch land for a bit. We then followed a muddy cow road, then a paved state road and finally the highway to arrive in Cuba just before 9am.

We checked into the Del Prado Motel and got a room straight away. The motel is a relic from the 1950’s but comfortable enough. Breakfast next door at the Del Prado Cafe followed. It was as expected, delicious eggs, hash browns and cremated bacon.

With stomachs full we went back to our motel room and took a longed for shower. Hammer went out to do our laundry while I updated the blog. Hikers were drifting into town and by the afternoon the motel WiFi was overloaded. Cuba is not serviced by AT&T so I will just have to wait to finish updating the blog after dinner.

Hammer is waiting on a credit card replacements his mum sent him from Sydney. It has not arrived in Cuba yet. Fingers crossed it arrives tomorrow, otherwise we may have to stay another day. Not a big problem as it appears that the trail between Cuba and Ghost Ranch, our next destination, is under snow. Some hikers have had to turn back.

We shared dinner with the small hiker bubble we’ve been in for the past 10 days or so. Two birthday celebrations and much laughter, combined with delicious Mexican food. It’s good to get a chance to talk to other hikers in a more relaxed setting. The staff at El Brunos Restaurante y Cantina were terrific. We walked back to our motel and tried not to think too far ahead. Fingers crossed the card arrives tomorrow and we can get back on trail.