Jimenez, Chiuahua, Mexico

After a night of cooling down, I decided that running to the coast and up via Culican was not a good idea.  I was half thinking that the heat was causing Blondy to stop pumping, so I resolved to keep heading towards Hermisillo and try to keep her cooler.  I decided to make cooling stops every hour, for both me and Blondy.  Today was a better day, in that she only hiccuped once, and that was later in the afternoon, after 6 hours of riding in close to 40 degree temps..I did stop every hour, when I could find some shade and I filled up as regularly as possible, to keep the fuel pump as cool as possible...

Back to that special place called Cuba.  I did not release the parrot, although he was making all sorts of promises, and when I left he was ready to give away a bottle of Havana rum if I would break him out...

May 1 in Cuba is a very special day, in that all of the workers come out to celebrate their trades, as well as reaffirm their dedication to the revolution.  While we had dealt with a little rain previously, the day was clear and inviting.  The celebrations started at 7:00 am in order to beat the heat.  We had made the ride to Santa Clara, becuase this town was the site of some famous battles during the revolutionary war, as well as the home to many veterans of the fighting..

This may be the most poignant political comment I saw:

These two guys are not west coasters...

Early morning and everyone in town gathers at Revolutionary Square for the big day..

A huge statue of Che is the centerpiece of the square...

Chavez was very prominent...

Workers of all trades were celebrating International Labour Day

Primary Teachers

 Nurses....

Retired teachers....

 and Veterans...

The rest of the day was for families....

 Fun...

 Old Cars...

 Old Horses...

and a review of the propaganda which makes Cuba a special place....

to be continued......