Cuba--So Worth the Trip!

Cruising Havana in 1952 Chevy style!

We have visited 37 countries since 1972, all but five of them together.  And we’ve visited some of them multiple times, like Nepal, India, Mexico, Thailand, Spain, and Indonesia.  But among all of them, Cuba ranks as one of our most favorite.

Why?  We’re not sure.  Perhaps because it’s the most recent.  Most likely, it is a combination of uniqueness, warm and friendly people, music and art everywhere, history, architecture, beautiful landscapes, a living vintage auto museum, its racial diversity, and a part of American and Spanish history.  That’s quite a blend, but it comes together nicely.  The Lonely Planet quote in my last blog nailed it: “Timeworn but magnificent, dilapidated but dignified, fun yet maddeningly frustrating—Cuba is a country of indefinable magic.”  More observations and a link to photos follow the brief chronology below. Also included below is a separate link for nothing but vehicle photos, and another one for short music clips.

Havana

A side street near our first hotel, constructed in 1920.
We felt perfectly safe wandering the streets late at night.

After 18 hours of travel, we started off with three full days in Havana.  It wasn’t enough, but fortunately, we had a couple more days there later.  Our definition of hell is a capital city, border crossing, or 3^rd class train ride in a 3^rd world country.  But that was not the case in Havana.  It was downright pleasant.  Havana is a mix of old, new, under construction, clean, dirty, and dilapidated.  Above all, it’s a city of energy and color, with lots of history—and propaganda.

Moka, Vinales, and Soroa

During a walk in the Vinales countryside

We then traveled to Moka (a self-sustaining eco-village from a replanted coffee plantation) then to the beautiful area of Vinales where we biked, hiked, and enjoyed fun music in the town square. We took a walking tour in the countryside to visit a coffee farm and a tobacco farm, where we learned about the 90/20 percentages- 90% of all production goes to the government, and 20% is kept by the farmers for “personal use” and sales.  Somehow this math works!  From there we spent a night Soroa, in a beautiful forest waterfall region.  The wind was so strong at night that rain blew in through the window cracks of the restored 1943 mansion.  Our place lost its water pump, but the staff cheerfully brought us buckets of pool water to flush the toilet.

 We returned to Havana and walked two miles in the dark and rain to the Fabrica de Arte Cubana. (http://www.fac.cu/) which showcased Cuban art, music, dance and food in an old factory amid numerous bars. Exciting, and it seemed like we were the only non-Cubans there.  Our ride back in a belching old Russian taxi was quite an adventure.

Road Trip to Bay of Pigs, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad

Reinaldo, our guide and
driver for five days

Cienfuegos from our historic hotel

Reinaldo, our guide and driver for the next five days, made the last part so fun.  A former government lawyer making only $44 per month, he’s now a guide living the dream.  (Coincidentally, Gretel—a former teacher and our first guide in Havana--is his girlfriend). Like her, Reinaldo gave us the back story on what it’s like to be Cuban. I can’t begin to condense five days of extended conversations in this blog, but we got insights we rarely get in our other travels.  The second half of the photos in our photo link pretty much describe the beauty of these areas.  Trinidad, at over 515 years old, is the oldest colonial city in the Americas.

Go if you can! 

It is still possible to travel to Cuba, just not on cruise ships or large “people-to-people” tour groups. It’s cheap and easy enough to travel independently—much cheaper than a similar time period at a Hawaiian or Mexican resort. And other than Japan, we have never felt safer--more so than here at home.  We'd go again in a heartbeat--but only after we learn more Spanish.  And we'd use Cuba Travel Network again.

 

Our last hotel, built in 1930.  A mafia HQ and casino
until 1959.  Saw a lot photos of  dead and alive celebrities.

Photos and videos

Here are three highly curated photo links, best enjoyed on something larger than a smartphone.  Sit back with your favorite beverage and enjoy!

Cuba summary and our best shots, mostly in the order of the above chronology:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/yfB52w2A5XkvQ3fn6

Cuba cars and other vehicles (something that makes Cuba extra fun!) https://photos.app.goo.gl/6vdKAaEEEy1KpY9p8

Music—just a few short clips of some of the abundant and fun music we were privileged to enjoy.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sEqEs5HvQEq35kJt6

"What We Can, While We Can!"

Odds and Ends

Here are but a few random thoughts and observations.

Marketing—Cuba is mostly devoid of advertising. The only billboards we saw were political, highlighting the revolution 60 years ago.  The country seems stuck in its past, but paradoxically wanting to be a player in the modern world.

Cubans (and this chika)
love their cocktails!

Alcohol—Bars are everywhere!  The cocktail lists are often longer than the menus. It’s hard to find more than the two national beers, and they are seldom on tap.  People can walk around with a drink, but not guns—just the opposite of the States.

Food—We found it very bland, and condiments were in short supply. Quantities, however, were too huge for us.  Unlike other countries we have visited, the markets were sparse and lacked variety.

 

Actually this was one of our
better meals

Toilet paper and soap—we were advised to bring our own, but it wasn’t necessary, except in just a couple of instances in public bathrooms. We never got sick, and we used water purification tablets and/or our Steripen. The ice in our mojitos and whiskey sours was fine.

Staffing—most businesses, especially the restaurants and hotels, were way overstaffed.  However, where it mattered the most for essential services like banking, internet, phone, ration card shops, bus tickets, etc., they were woefully understaffed.  And speaking of banking, it took over two hours to change money at a bank.  After that, we used hotels for almost the same rate, plus they would change US dollars.

Noise—We heard no wailing sirens like we constantly hear at home. We saw, but didn’t hear, many electric motorcycles.  But the ancient autos and gas motorbikes seem unmuffled with screeching brakes. Vendors with push carts had unbelievably loud voices.  Just about every street had the sounds of hundreds of voices echoing off the concrete walls through open windows. This continues through much of the night, supplemented by the sounds of night clubs and an occasional rooster.

Empty tables everywhere
with the new restrictions

Sanctions—have really crippled the economy over the past 60 years, especially since 1990 when the Soviet Union collapsed and could no longer afford to support Cuba.  That’s when Cuba stuck its toe in the water with tourism and allowed small mom and pop businesses to start.  And that sparked much-needed renovation to its aging buildings as people started remodeling for B&Bs.  Unfortunately, the June sanctions imposed by the Trump administration are crippling the tourist economy—especially those in the private sector.  Cubans we talked to said visitors are a fraction of what they were a year ago.  The irony is that Americans can freely travel to other authoritarian countries like Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Russia, Turkey, and China which have less in common with us than does Cuba.  Our misguided policies that pander to the anti-Castro lobby in Florida are forcing Cuba to turn to countries like China for support and infrastructure capital.

Tips—Cubans in the tourist industry depend upon tips.  Most government employees--and thus most Cubans--work for less than $40 per month.  They get by with monthly ration cards and side hustles (Remember the 90-20% split mentioned above?) Those that can, try to get into the tourist industry where than can earn many times more just from tips alone. One of our largest expenditures beyond airfare and accommodations, were tips.  These directly support the Cuban people, whether their employer is a private or a government hotel, restaurant, guide, or taxi.

One of our scratch-off wifi cards

Communications--Like everywhere else in the world, it seems like everyone had a cell phone.  We purchased one-hour blocks of wifi time at our hotels and from a tourist office.  They cost about $1 per hour.  We didn't buy a local chip, so we relied on What's App, could send and receive emails, download the morning newspapers, and post on social media.  Hotels and some restaurants had wifi, and we could always find a strong signal in public squares (using our VPN, of course!) Unlike Hong Kong, nothing was blocked or censored. We could also see uncensored live CNN and BBC if our room had a TV.

Cuba's capitol building is modeled after the US in Wash DC

History and Culture--We found them  particularly interesting when compared to other places.  Part of that is because it is intertwined with ours, especially over the past 120 years. Hemingway, the Mob, music, our vintage autos, the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban missile crisis are all part of the mix.  It was interesting to hear Cuba's side of the story.  We don't believe all of it, and we found the propaganda in the museums a little wearing.  However, it reminded us that revolutions happen for a reason--often huge inequality and oppression, and the US has sometimes found itself on the wrong side of history by supporting Baptista and the Shah of Iran, among others.

Cubans—We loved them, and they love Americans.  Although their markets are sparse and they don’t have a lot of material goods (except cell phones), Cubans are warm and friendly.  They seem joyful with their abundant music and open affection with one another.  Very few we met said they wanted to move to the USA if they had the chance.  What struck us the most upon arrival and throughout our two weeks was the ethnic diversity and apparent harmony.  Descendants of black slaves, blue-eyed Spaniards, and Hispanics socialize, work, and intermarry as one society.  The music videos in the link above illustrate this diversity. It seemed like women were empowered. Many of the Cubans we met were divorced but in a new relationship.  One clerk at a hotel had three wedding bands on her finger.  When I asked her about them she said, "I was married three times--to the same man!"