OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 19 



for huge tubs to line the garden walk of some 

 Brobdingnag's palace. 



At Pinar we selected two cabs that looked as if 

 they might possibly hold together as far as the 

 Ricardo Hotel. The old Ricardo is the human 

 clearing house of Western Cuba. It is the starting 

 point for all travelers bound to the tobacco regions 

 in the sierras. For us it was our last outpost of 

 civilization. 



The next morning (May 9th) we started early 

 by automobile for Vinales. Those of us who had 

 made this journey before in a ramshackle trap, 

 bumping along the execrable road over the moun- 

 tains, could scarcely realize the change. The 

 former journey of a day's length can now be made 

 in an hour by motor over a fine macadam road. 

 It is to be hoped that the Cuban Government 

 will keep up the good roads policy inaugurated 

 by the Americans during the first intervention. 

 The sierra country of western Cuba, with its 

 perfect climate, is one of surpassing loveliness, and 

 given easier approaches and good roads it should 

 become a favorite winter resort and playground 

 for the Americans who go south. There is nothing 

 quite like it in the United States. 



