Author Archive La Poderosa Tours

I’d read an article in the press back in 2014, about a Harley Davidson tour around Cuba called La Poderosa and run by Che Guevara’s youngest son,Ernesto. I’ve been riding motorbikes for years but had never tried a Harley. I researched a little more and decided to book myself onto a tour for March 2016.

Ya en 2014 había leído un artículo sobre un recorrido por Cuba en Harley Davidson llamado La Poderosa, organizado por Ernesto, el hijo menor del Che Guevara. Hacía años que andaba en moto, pero nunca había probado una Harley, de modo que investigué un poco más y decidí anotarme para participar del Tour en marzo de 2016.

I arrived in Havana after a long flight from London, and was greeted by a rep who helped me through security and then arranged for me to be taken to a Casa for my first overnight stay. What struck me immediately was how friendly the local Cubans are. Maria Elena called me that night to ensure I had arrived safely and to check if there was anything I needed. I went on to have a comfortable night’s rest and woke up early to have breakfast and meet some of my fellow HD riders, who had also arrived the previous night. I was travelling on my own so had no idea who the other members of the group would be. As it happened, they were five delightful chaps from Lebanon.

Llegué a La Habana luego de un largo vuelo desde Londres. Allí me recibió un representante que me ayudó con los trámites y con el traslado a una Casa para alojarme allí esa primera noche. Lo que me sorprendió de inmediato fue la amabilidad de los cubanos. María Elena me llamó esa noche para asegurarse de que había llegado bien y consultarme si necesitaba algo. Luego de un descanso reparador, me desperté temprano para desayunar y conocer a algunos de mis compañeros de ruta, que también habían llegado la noche anterior. Yo viajaba solo y no tenía idea quiénes eran los otros miembros del grupo, que resultaron ser cinco muchachos encantadores del Líbano.

On the first day, we met up with Ernesto and Camilo, and went straight to collect the bikes from the outskirts of Havana, but not before we had President Obama and his motorcade drive right past us. I felt like I had woken up in a time warp, and was fascinated by the classic cars and the colonial architecture.

El primer día, nos reunimos con Ernesto y Camilo y fuimos directamente a buscar las motos a un lugar en los suburbios de La Habana, no sin antes ver circular ante nuestros ojos al Presidente Obama y su comitiva. Fascinado con los autos clásicos y la arquitectura colonial, sentía como si me hubiera despertado en el túnel del tiempo.

An hour later, we were off. I had chosen the Harley Davidson V-Rod. Not a common choice of bike for long journeys, but in my opinion, the best bike to ride if you want a constant grin on your face underneath your helmet. What a machine. All the jokes about having a huge throbbing engine between your legs will come to mind, but there is just nothing that comes close to the joy you get every time you start that engine and ride this bike. Just make sure you are experienced enough to handle it though. It’s got a lot of power, it’s heavy, and it’s not the easiest or the most comfortable bike to ride. But it’s definitely the most fun. And that is exactly why you should choose this bike.

Una hora después, partimos. Yo había helegido la Harley Davidson V-Rod. No es la elección más común para recorridos largos, pero en mi opinión es la mejor moto si lo que uno quiere es tener la sonrisa estampada en el rostro debajo del casco durante todo el viaje. ¡Qué máquina! Seguramente lo que viene a la mente son las bromas relacionadas con tener un gran motor rugiendo entre las piernas, pero no hay nada que se asemeje a la alegría que se siente cada vez que uno enciende el motor y anda en esta moto. Eso sí: hay que estar seguro de ser un conductor lo suficientemente experimentado. Tiene mucha potencia, es pesada, y no es la moto más sencilla de usar, ni tampoco la más cómoda. Pero sí es la que depara la mayor diversión. Y es exactamente eso por lo que habría que elegirla.

Having said that, all the bikes on offer were new, looked after and gorgeous to look at.

Habiendo dicho eso, cabe agregar que todas las motos que nos ofrecieron eran nuevas, estaban bien cuidadas y eran un espectáculo en sí mismas. El solo verlas daba gusto.

Over the next few days, we rode through mountains, over the highest bridge in Cuba, along a spectacular coastline and even over a 2-3 mile stretch of road covered in migrating crabs. We went off the grid, with no internet or phone access. We drank Cuban coffee – lots of it. In the evenings we stayed in comfortable accommodation, which ranged from 5 star exclusive beach resorts in Cayo Santa Maria through to lovely cabins in Santa Clara.

Durante los días siguientes, anduvimos a través de las montañas, cruzamos el puente más alto de Cuba, recorrimos una costa espectacular, e incluso hicimos un tramo de unos pocos kilómetros a lo largo de un camino cubierto de cangrejos en plena migración. Sin acceso a Internet ni telefónico, nos desconectamos por completo. Tomamos café cubano – ¡mucho! Por las noches, el alojamiento (siempre cómodo) incluyó desde exclusivos complejos de playa 5* en Cayo Santa María hasta las acogedoras cabañas en Santa Clara.

What sets this tour apart from any other Harley Davidson tour, however, is the fact that Ernesto and Camilo are the perfect hosts and guides. Humble, and down to earth, I came away having made friends that are more like family. I also learnt so much. It was surreal visiting Che’s memorial and hearing first hand about the revolution, and what those men had to do to get their independence.

Lo que distingue a este Tour de cualquier otro organizado con motos Harley Davidson es la presencia de Ernesto y Camilo, los anfitriones y guías perfectos. Humildes y al mismo tiempo prácticos, del viaje me llevé amigos que ya son casi como de la familia. Además, aprendí mucho. La visita al mausoleo del Che y la posibilidad de escuchar de primera mano información sobre la revolución y lo que estos hombres tuvieron que hacer para lograr su independencia fue una experiencia surrealista.

Each and every part of the trip was simply perfect. Every detail was taken care of.

Todas y cada una de las etapas del viaje fue simplemente perfecta. No hubo ningún detalle librado al azar.

Relato de una experiencia inolvidable

An account of an unforgettable experience

Somos cuatro amigos que compartimos la vida desde hace mas de cuarenta años con todo lo que eso significa. Un buen día descubrimos que existía la maravillosa posibilidad de recorrer “la tan anhelada Cuba” en moto, y no solo eso, en Harley Davison.

We have been a group of four friends for over forty years, during which we have shared the ups and downs of life. One day, we discovered we had the wonderful chance of riding Cuba, a country we had yearned to visit, by motorbike. But it was not just ANY motorbike: it was a Harley Davidson!

La primera gran sorpresa fue conocer al hermoso grupo que conforma La Poderosa Tours, empezando por María Elena, que fue la artífice de que nuestro sueño pudiera ser realidad. Compartir con Ernesto y ella la travesía fue como vivir en un sueño hecho realidad.

The first big surprise was meeting the wonderful group that makes up La Poderosa, starting with María Elena, who was instrumental in making our dream come true. Sharing the ride with Ernesto was the realization of our dreams.

Para nuestra sorpresa, conocimos amigos que parecían ser de toda la vida, compartimos charlas y añejitos como si lo fueran. Las características técnicas del tour fueron perfectas pero no tienen comparación con la calidez humana de todo el grupo (no nos olvidemos de Fidel como guía y Eliazer como conductor) que superó ampliamente las expectativas que cualquier agencia de viajes pueda ofrecer.

To our surprise, we met people who we immediately felt like life-long friends, with whom we shared long talks and “añejitos”. The tour was perfect as far as the technical aspects are concerned, but these do not compare to the warmth of the whole group (including of course Fidel, our guide, and Eliazer, the driver). They far exceeded whatever one may expect from a travel agency.

Solo tenemos palabras de agradecimiento por habernos hecho conocer la mítica isla de una manera maravillosa, emocionándonos junto a Ernesto al visitar el Mausoleo en Santa Clara, o festejando el cumpleaños de Carlos en Trinidad o el de María Elena en Cayo Santa María.

Esperamos todos desde nuestros corazones que este emprendimiento pueda seguir evolucionando y que podamos compartir nuevos viajes juntos.

We are nothing but grateful to all of them for giving us the opportunity to tour the mythical island in such a wonderful way, getting moved to tears together with Ernesto during our visit to the Mausoleum in Santa Clara, or celebrating Carlos’ birthday in Trinidad and Maria Elena’s in Cayo Santa María.

The four of us deeply and sincerely hope you may continue growing and developing your venture, so that we may share new rides together!

Searching for somewhere to go on holiday, I came across a report about a tour of Cuba on a Harley-Davidson. This spiked our curiosity so we contacted the site. It was a tour operator called La Poderosa Tours that was run by the son of Che Guevara and Camilo, his friend.

Procurando um destino para nossas férias, deparei com uma reportagem sobre um tour em Cuba de Harley-Davidson. Ficamos curiosos e fizemos contato pelo site. Era a empresa de turismo La Poderosa Tours organizada pelo filho do Che Guevara e Camilo, seu amigo.

Both lovers of Harley-Davidson motorbikes, they restored and rode a PANHEAD and a 1947 FLATHEAD. They launched the company in December 2014 and its name is a tribute to the nickname given by Ernesto Che Guevara and Alberto Granado to the Norton 500 they used on their travels around Latin America in 1952.

Os dois amantes de motos Harley-Davidson, que restauraram e pilotam uma PANHEAD e uma FLATHEAD de 1947. Eles iniciaram suas atividades em dezembro de 2014 e o nome da empresa é em homenagem ao apelido dado por Ernesto Che Guevara e Alberto Granado à Norton 500 que usaram em sua viagem em 1952 pela América Latina.

We checked the itineraries on offer and chose a nine-day one called Green Crocodile (the island is the shape of a crocodile). After the initial contact made in January, we embarked for Havana on 11 April 2015.

Verificamos os roteiros oferecidos e escolhemos o de 9 (nove) dias chamado de Crocodilo Verde (o formato da ilha se assemelha a um crocodilo). Após os contatos iniciados em janeiro, embarcamos para Havana no dia 11 de abril de 2015.

We arrived in Havana and, as always happens, very stupidly we forget that we were meant to wait for our transfer in the VIP lounge. Fortunately, we met our driver at the information desk, and he took us to the Hotel Nacional, which is absolutely beautiful!

Chegamos a Havana e, como sempre, pagamos o primeiro mico: esquecemos que era para esperar o nosso translado na área VIP. Por sorte, no balcão de informações, encontramos nosso motorista. Ele nos levou para o Hotel Nacional, que é belíssimo!

Later on, Ernesto and José brought us the motorbikes to choose from: a Dyna or an Ultra. We decided on the Dyna almost immediately for our tour of Havana but then changed for the Ultra. Next day we met the group: Karl and Marian – a married couple form Germany, John – an Englishman, and William – an Irish American, and the complete team that would accompany us: Ernesto, Camilo, José, Dyone and Eliezer. Maria and I were the first Brazilians to do the tour.

Na sequência, Ernesto e José nos levaram as motos para escolhermos: uma Dyna ou Ultra. Ficamos com a Dyna em um primeiro instante para o passeio por Havana e depois trocamos pela Ultra. No dia seguinte conhecemos o grupo: Karl e Marian – um casal alemão, John – inglês e William – americano irlandês e a equipe completa que nos acompanhou: Ernesto, Camilo, José, Dyone e Eliezer. Maria e eu éramos os primeiros brasileiros a fazer o passeio.

On our first day, we were given a tour of Havana and its surroundings. We visited the fortresses around the city that date from the time of the Spanish colony, then the Plaza de la Catedral. We returned to the hotel, had dinner and saw a show, and then went straight to bed.

No primeiro dia, passeamos por Havana e arredores, fomos às fortalezas que circundam a cidade, da época da colonização espanhola, depois pela Praça da Catedral. Voltamos ao hotel, jantamos e vimos um show, indo dormir em seguida.

We left Havana on the third day along the motorway that cuts the island down the middle and is not at all busy. That’s true of the roads in general. We arrived in Cienfuegos, an industrial and coastal city. It dates back to the French colonisation of 1700, and is in fact the only one in Cuba.

Saímos de Havana no terceiro dia pela Autopista que corta a ilha pelo meio e não é muito movimentada. As estradas em geral não o são. Conhecemos Cienfuegos, cidade industrial e litorânea. É uma cidade de colonização francesa de 1700, a única em Cuba.

We had lunch at an excellent restaurant on a marina where there were several boats. A very pleasant, pretty place.

We stopped off at the Museum in honour of Cuban revolutionary Camilo Cienfuegos, and then headed for Trinidad. This historic city dates from 1500, the time of the Spanish colony. We stayed in a lovely hotel where we were very well treated.

Almoçamos em uma marina onde haviam vários barcos, em um excelente restaurante. Um lugar agradável e bonito.

Fizemos uma parada no Museu que homenageia Camilo Cienfuegos, um dos revolucionários cubanos e rumamos para Trinidad. Uma cidade histórica datada de 1500, de colonização espanhola. Ficamos em um hostel muito gostoso e fomos muito bem tratados.

After a rest we went to dinner. Trinidad’s a city with many young tourists, several hostels andpaladares (restaurants in private houses). With beautiful constructions, it has a flight of steps near the church, which is a gathering point for the young to dance salsa. We had dinner at an excellent restaurant near the steps. It’s worth noting that they serve a delicious meal very well, taking great trouble over everything.

Descansamos e fomos jantar. É uma cidade com muitos jovens turistas, vários hostels e paladares (restaurantes caseiros). Com belíssimas construções, tem uma escadaria perto da igreja, que é o point da moçada e para dançar a salsa. Jantamos em um excelente restaurante perto da escadaria. Esse aspecto é digno de nota: servem muito bem, uma comida saborosa, tudo muito cuidadoso.

On the following day (4th day) we visited the city with the guide and left for Cabo de Santa Maria. What an amazing place! We followed a road actually across the sea for around 40 kms. It was as if we were really at sea because at some moments we couldn’t see anything beyond the horizon. We arrived at the Cayo de Santa Maria Resort. Very nice and just as good as any in Brazil. It’s run by the state, which they all are, in fact. A fantastic, transparent, clean sea: it was great! Everything was included. It was a matter of lying back and doing nothing!

No dia seguinte (4º dia) conhecemos a cidade com o guia e partimos para Cabo de Santa Maria. Aí, ficamos maravilhados! Cruzamos por uma estrada dentro do mar, algo em torno de 40 km. Parecia que estávamos indo mar adentro, pois em alguns momentos não víamos nada além do mar. Chegamos ao Resort Cayo de Santa Maria. Lindo e nada a dever aos conhecidos no Brasil. É do Estado, aliás, todos o são. Um mar maravilhoso, transparente, limpo, tudo de bom! Estava tudo incluído. Era só ficar de papo para o ar!

We stayed a day and a half (two nights), before returning along the road in the sea (6th day) and heading for Santa Clara. For us, this was the highlight of the tour: to see the armoured train, the memorial, museum and mausoleum in honour of Ernesto Che Guevara.

Ficamos um dia e meio (dois pernoites). Cruzamos novamente a estrada dentro do mar (6º dia) e fomos para Santa Clara. Para nós o principal da viagem: conhecer o trem blindado, o memorial, museu e mausoléu em homenagem a Ernesto Che Guevara.

This event was decisive in the Revolution. The column of 300 men under Che Guevara derailed an armoured train that was carrying 3000 soldiers, weapons, munitions and supplies from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, in an attempt to put an end to the revolution and strengthen the government of Fulgencio Batista.

Esse evento foi decisivo na Revolução, pois a coluna do Che Guevara com 300 homens descarrilou o trem blindado que vinha com 3000 soldados, armas, munições e suprimentos de Havana para Santiago de Cuba, com o objetivo de acabar com o movimento revolucionário e fortalecer o Governo de Fulgêncio Batista.

We went to the site where the train was derailed and saw that the carriages and the bulldozer used in the operation were in exactly the same position. Then we went to the memorial. The director of the memorial accompanied us on the visit and told us the full story. It included the monument, the museum and the mausoleum with the remains of the guerrilla fighters murdered along with Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967. We went to a very smart hotel for the night, had dinner and saw a lovely show beside the swimming pool.

Fomos ver o local onde o trem blindado foi descarrilado. Eles organizaram os vagões na mesma posição e o trator buldozer utilizado na ação. Depois fomos ao memorial. Fizemos a visita acompanhada pela diretora do memorial, que relatou a história completa. Inclui o monumento, o museu e o mausoléu com os restos mortais dos guerrilheiros assassinados juntos com Che Guevara na Bolívia em 1967. Fomos para um hotel muito bacana para pernoitarmos, jantamos e vimos um show muito bonito na beira da piscina.

We returned to Havana the next day. At the end of the afternoon, Maria and I went to La Bodeguita del Medio, where Ernest Hemingway wrote his wonderful novels, such as The Old Man and the Sea while drinking mojitos. We tried some too!

Voltamos para Havana no dia seguinte. No final de tarde, Maria e eu fomos conhecer La Bodeguita del Médio, onde Ernest Hemingway escreveu suas obras maravilhosas, como O Velho e o Mar e tomava mojitos. Saboreamos alguns mojitos também!

On the Saturday we could have done another tour to a place near the city, but Maria and I chose to remain in Havana to visit the Museum of the Revolution and the Plaza de Armas. Ernesto kindly accompanied us. We did that tour of Havana on the motorbike. Finally, he took us to a house for cigar lovers, whose owner has a tobacco plantation from which he makes cigars. Fantastic!

No sábado faríamos mais um passeio em um lugar perto de Havana. Maria e eu optamos por ficar em Havana para conhecer o Museu da Revolução e a Praça de Armas. Ernesto foi muito gentil e nos acompanhou. Fizemos esse passeio de moto por Havana. Ao final nos levou para uma casa para apreciadores de charutos, cujo dono tem a plantação de fumo e fabrica os charutos. Fantástico!

We went back to the hotel, and returned the bike before going back to Old Havana for lunch and to see the Plaza Vieja, or Old Square, and the Church of San Francisco.

Retornamos ao ho tel, entregamos a moto. Retornamos ao Centro Histórico para almoçar e conhecer a Praça Velha e Igreja de São Francisco.

In the evening we were taken to the farewell dinner, which was in an excellent restaurant. The following day, a taxi picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the airport. We returned to Brazil feeling very happy and ecstatic at having decided on that particular tour for our annual holiday!

Vieram nos buscar para o jantar de despedida, que foi em um excelente restaurante. No dia seguinte, um táxi nos buscou no hotel e nos levou ao aeroporto. Retornamos ao Brasil felizes e extasiados por termos escolhido esse passeio em nossas férias anuais!

Joe and I are now at the end of the 9 day riding tour with La Poderosa in Cuba. It has been a wonderful experience and truly an amazing way to see, smell, learn about the history and feel some of Cuba.

Con Joe hemos llegado al final de un tour de 9 días en moto con La Poderosa Tours en Cuba. Ha sido una experiencia maravillosa y realmente una manera increíble de ver, oler y aprender sobre la historia de Cuba y sentir algo de ese país.

Cuba is hot. Very hot.

The road’s have some enormous pot holes – I rode through one and as my body went up into the air, (followed by motorbike) I just prayed that we would meet again before I hit the road. Luckily we did.

En Cuba hace calor. Mucho calor.

Las rutas tienen baches enormes: pasé por uno y, mientras sentía que mi cuerpo volaba por los aires (seguido por la motocicleta), sólo rezaba para que ambos pudiéramos reunirnos nuevamente antes de aterrizar. Por suerte lo logramos.

There isn’t a lot of traffic but it is the most diverse range of vehicles and animals I have ever encountered – old cars, huge Russian trucks, oxen, horses pulling wagons, motorbikes, bicycles, pigs, dogs, chickens.

No hay mucho tránsito pero circula la más amplia variedad de vehículos y animales que jamás haya visto: autos viejos, inmensos camiones rusos, bueyes, carros tirados por caballos, motocicletas, bicicletas, cerdos, perros, pollos.

Cuba has an emerging restaurant scene and we were treated to some great food. However, beans, rice and chicken (which I was only served once) is delicious.

Cuba posee un escenario gastronómico incipiente y nos agasajaron con excelentes comidas. No obstante, el plato de porotos, arroz y pollo (que me sirvieron una sola vez) es delicioso.

Women don’t ride Harley Davidson’s in Cuba. I was the first woman to ride our tour company’s motorbikes. They gave me a cake with a lit candle to celebrate.

They said I was the best woman motorbike rider in the world – remember, I’m the only one they’ve had.

Las mujeres no andan en Harley Davidson en Cuba. Yo fui la primera mujer en manejar una de las motos de nuestra agencia de viajes. Me regalaron una torta con una vela encendida para festejar y me dijeron que era la mejor mujer motociclista del mundo (recuerden que soy la única que tuvieron).

We’ve stayed in a boutique private hotel, at luxury resorts and we’re currently residing at the hotel that Frank Sinatra and the Miami mafia used to stay at when they came to party and smoke cigars.

Nos alojamos en un hotel boutique privado, en resorts de lujo y, en estos momentos, estamos en un hotel donde solían quedarse Frank Sinatra y la mafia de Miami cuando venían a beber y fumar cigarros.

Last night we celebrated the end of our tour with a return to a rather fantastic cigar boutique followed by dinner at a great restaurant called Cuba Pasion. I still wish I could speak Spanish so I could have asked more questions and understood more of the answers.

It’s been an unforgettable experience and we leave knowing we have learned a lot and made some great friends.

Anoche celebramos el final del tour en una tienda de puros bastante increíble, seguido por una cena en un gran restaurante llamado Cuba Pasión. Ojalá supiera hablar español; podría haber hecho más preguntas y entendido más respuestas.

Ha sido una experiencia inolvidable y nos vamos sabiendo que aprendimos mucho y que nos hicimos algunos excelentes amigos.