In Cuba, thousands of Cubans have lined the streets of the central city of Sancti Spiritus to bid farewell to former leader Fidel Castro.

People bid farewell to the motorcade escorting the ashes of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, as it leaves for its journey across the island in the province of Santa Clara, Cuba, on Dec. 1, 2016. Castro's ashes are on a three-day procession from Havana towards the southeastern city of Santiago de Cuba, where he launched his revolutionary movement decades ago and will enjoy his perpetual rest. (Xinhua/David de la Paz)

People bid farewell to the motorcade escorting the ashes of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, as it leaves for its journey across the island in the province of Santa Clara, Cuba, on Dec. 1, 2016. Castro's ashes are on a three-day procession from Havana towards the southeastern city of Santiago de Cuba, where he launched his revolutionary movement decades ago and will enjoy his perpetual rest. (Xinhua/David de la Paz)

Sancti Spiritus lies half-way between Santa Clara, where the cortege rested overnight at the mausoleum that houses the bones of fellow revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and Camaguey, the country's third largest city where the procession is expected to rest Thursday night.

The cortege is expected to arrive on Saturday at its final resting place in Santiago de Cuba. There Castro first launched an attack on the U.S.-backed forces of Fulgencio Batista in 1953.

Castro died on Friday at the age of 90 as one of the most notable figures of the 20th Century.