16 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



MOTORING IN CUBA 



FINE ROADS IN A PICTURE LAND 



By C. Frederick Potter.— Vhotos, by The Author 



A few years' time works great changes in a new country, such as Cuba has become since re- 

 lieved of the Spanish rule of oppression. Not only has the touring car ceased to be an object 

 of wonder, but Cuban-owned cars, used in nearly all parts of the island, are constantly increas- 

 ing in ninnber. 



The Cuban highways, the "Calzadas," compare favorably with the world-renowned Roman 

 military roads of Italy, and are not equalled by anything we know of in America, except it be 

 short stretches of specially built automobile-roads like the Long Island Motor Parkway, and 

 by the asphalt pavements of our cities and suburbs. 



The "Calzadas" of Cuba, radiating in half a dozen directions from Havana, are the great 

 arteries of commerce to and from the interior and were in constant use for the heaviest freight- 

 ing long before there was a railroad on the island. The Camino Real to the westward reaches 

 Pinar del Rio, some 100 miles away. Other roads extend nearly as far eastward, while those 

 in the southerly direction are only limited by the width of the island. 



Speaking from personal experience, after a residence of several years in Cuba, there is no 

 "best" season for visiting the island. The tourist emigration to a warm climate naturally 

 occurs during the winter months, and while those months in Cuba are perhaps the ideal ones 

 in some respects, the country at its best must be seen in early summer. Cuba is but sub- 

 tropical. It is not on the equator by a long way, and it is no^ hot, even in mid-summer; not, 

 at least, with the heat we know of in New York. 



The sea breezes there are never-failing always from one way or another, and always cooling 

 and refreshing. The almost daily showers during the summer months are another delightful 

 phase of the season so little known by the tourist; the terms "rainy season," common to the 

 tropics, should read "showery season" for Cuba. The showers generally come at about mid- 

 day and last anywhere from 5 minutes to a half-hour, and often occur while the sun shines 

 brightly through the rain. 



It is in early summer that we see Cuba at its best. Then the country is in full verdure, 

 flowers blooming on every hand, fruits ripening — many which we never get a sight or taste of 



There are many beautiful roads leading out from Havana, ea.st and west, like the one illustrated above. 



