Yateras is coffee country in the hills of Guantánamo province, at the far eastern end of Cuba, and getting here feels like leaving the island most visitors know. The municipality climbs from the dry lowlands around Guantánamo city into green, steep mountains, part of the great Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa range that runs along the north-east of the island.
The landscape is the story. Rivers have cut deep valleys into old rock, and the slopes are planted with coffee and cacao under shade trees, with royal palms standing above the canopy and bunches of plantain hanging by the houses. In the wet months clouds sit on the ridges for days, and in the mornings the valleys are full of mist that burns off as the sun climbs. Birdsong is everywhere, including the tocororo, Cuba's national bird, whose red, white and blue plumage echoes the flag.
There is a human story here that few people know. The communities of Yateras, around La Ranchería and Caridad de los Indios, include families who trace their descent to the indigenous peoples of Cuba, and they have kept elements of that heritage alive in their farming, their crafts and their memories, long after the history books declared the original islanders extinct. Approach with curiosity and respect, and local people may share some of it.
Be realistic about the riding. The roads up from Guantánamo are narrow, steep and frequently broken, with potholes, washouts after storms, loose gravel and long sections where the tarmac simply gives up. Horses, ox carts and trucks converted into buses share the road, and you will be stopping often anyway for the views. This is ground for a light, robust bike with good suspension, not for a heavy tourer.
Fuel is the great Cuban question. Supply is unreliable across the country, stations in small towns can be dry for days, and foreign riders should fill up in Guantánamo whenever there is the chance and carry a reserve. The same goes for water and some food: there are small shops and paladares in the larger settlements, but nothing to count on. The dry season, roughly November to April, is the time to come, when the roads are firmer and the mountain air is fresh enough to make you forget how hot it was down on the coast.