#5: [02-Dec-19]

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#1: [10-Jul-04]

30-Dec-2010 -- This report is the first out of a series of three confluences that we visited during a three-week bicycle tour through Cuba.

Our entry point in Cuba was Varadero, about 100 km east of this confluence point. First we approached the still to be completed confluence 23°N 81°W, but ended up not attempting it due to the marshiness reported at a previous attempt.

On day three of our trip we reached this confluence starting from the north coast at Playa Jibacoa 30 km north of this confluence. Head winds helped us to get to Jaruco (4 km from CP) along a road that follows parallel to the famous Hershey Cuban Railway, an electric train service established as early as 1922. From the town Jaruco (20’000 people) we made a side trip to this confluence on small asphalted roads across a flat plateau with various agricultural land use.

The confluence turned out to be located directly next to the road (15 m), which made Elionora very happy, since she is not so keen on bush-fighting. The exact location is now on an unused and fenced spot of land right next to a resident’s house with some banana and palm trees. The area around the confluence is flat and inhabited by farmers. Right next to the confluence, a farmer with his tractor, a horseman and the local resident (owner of the confluence) were having a discussion about way finding. But their topic of discussion was not the confluence point.

We returned to Jaruco and continued the bike trip towards Havana. Thereby, we traversed the mountainous region of “Escaleras de Jaruco” with its carst caves. At the end of day, we reached the town Tapaste, about halfway to the capital.

PS: The display of our GPS receiver is hard to read – because it is our old receiver with its broken and scratched screen. If you ask why we didn’t bring our new GPS device, you can find the answer from the Geodesical National Office for Cuba.

CP visit details:

• Beeline distance from bicycle parking: 15 m
• Walking time (incl. return): 0 sec
• Time at the CP: 1:28 pm
• Measured height: 115 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 6 m
• Minimal distance to the CP: 15 m
• Vegetation: grass, nearby banana and palm trees.
• Distance to a road: 15 m
• Distance to a track: 15 m
• Distance to houses: 18 m
• Topography: absolutely flat.
• Weather: sunny, 25° C (felt temperature)
• Description of the CP: In the province of La Habana in central Cuba. On populated agriculturally dominated land.
• Given Name: The Resident Way Finding Confluence

Story continues at 23°N 83°W.