Cuba - 6-days cycling trip - Vinales - Pinar del Rio Region - June 2015

We cycled the western part of Cuba from the 12th to the 18th June 2015.
Our start and end point was Vinales.
Travelling extensively around the world, we didn't have any bikes with us but luckily, we found some to rent in Vinales.
We stayed at the Casa Particular " Villa El Nino" (we recommend it, owners are really nice). They knew someone (named Frank) who could rent bike. We were happy to find out that the bikes were "touring bike" in relatively good shape and that he even had some bike panniers to go with it. We negotiate the price and got them for 8 CUC (=8 USD) per bike per day.
GPS being not allowed in Cuba, we had to leave ours behind so we duplicate our route on Google Earth but it is probably not 100% accurate.
The only map we had was photos of the regional map that we took at the "visitor information" in Vinales (see uploaded photos). There are not that many roads in this region so we didn't have any troubles to find our way.

The first day, we cycled from Vinales to Santa Lucia and stayed at one Casa Particular along the main road just before the turn off for Santa Lucia.
The second day was a really big day for us. We first went to Cayo Jutias which is a very nice beach. On the way there, you can collect some coconut and drink the water. We then kept going but as this part of the island is not really touristic, it was difficult for us to find a Casa Particular and we had to pedal up to Mantua. So the best would be either to stay one night at the Casa Particular located at the junction between the main road and the road going to Cayo Jutias or there is a campesimo somewhere between Baja and Vista Hermosa (see uploaded map in photos). There is only one casa in Mantua and the owners are really nice and it is really well price.
The third day was a lot shorter, we went to Laguna Grande and stayed at the Villa there, This is a government run resort-type accommodation. It is a bit out of the way with not much to do but it was really cheap.
the fourth day, we pedal to Playa Bailen. The only casa we found was a small fisherman wooden cabin (overpriced) and the beach itself was terrible. No sand, covered by seaweeds. We don't advice to go there but the village of Sabado is really nice and there are several casa particular there (before the turnoff - see uploaded map).
The fifth day, we cycled towards Pinar del Rio stopping on way to visit the Robaina Tobacco Farm near San Luis. The best is to ask local for direction because it is a bit out of the way on a dirt road. It was nice a nice stop. There are plenty of option for accommodation in Pinar del Rio.
The last day, we cycled back to Vinales taking a "back road" to avoid the main road with all the tourist buses. It was nice but very hilly. We pushed our bikes a couple of time.

Overall it was a great experience to cycle in Cuba, we saw some amazing scenery. The road is shared between bikes, cars, old trucks, buffalos, people walking,... This part of Cuba is very rural and non-touristy. Most of the people we crossed were surprised to see tourist around and very friendly. It was really the highlight of our time in Cuba.
More photos can be found on our website:
http://www.upsidownearth.com/#!in-frame-cuba/chx6