And some ask... why Cuba? Well, even if it were not for the previous links from the past (two stops while in the Navy at GITMO, and my father's visits to the country when he was a young man... the largest island of the Antilles would still hold a major fascination and be a constant draw. It was a half-century ago that Cuba was the 'Jewel of the Caribbean'.. and still would be if not for cruel fate. It's prominent location smack between the US and South America, and it's resources would have made it a major player in the region.
But all that was not meant to be, and now it's future is again in question.. no one knows what direction it will soon be heading.
CUBA Trip - April/May 2012
Time in Cuba stopped 60 years ago, right at the moments after the revolution.. now everyone is still living with the difficult consequences.. and many are struggling just to get by!!
When you consider this wonderful mind-altering country is only a short 40 minute plane ride away from southern Florida.. (you're over the Keys in a few minutes)... it is unbelievably bizarre!!
Infrastructure
So much needs to be done... most everything is corroding and visibly falling apart.
There's lots that is extreme.. the road system's beyond terrible... especially the eastern portion of the country. Everyone uses the roads together.. trucks, buses, cars, people, bicycles, horse and oxen drawn carts... everyone.. all jockeying for position. Unbelievably, in some locations they even use roads for spreading out and drying their rice crops!!
Most areas you can travel for hours having to avoid bumps and potholes the whole time. Roads across the entire country need to be resurfaced and for sure widened (they're exceptionally narrow). And it would surely be a massive undertaking to redo the road crossing the eastern mountains over to Baracoa.. but it really is totally necessary.
Living Conditions
In one word... dire. Go into what was once a remarkable upscale single family building structure that is now housing two dozen or more families... or out in the countryside view the blocks and blocks of the old soviet-style housing complexes, and you can imagine and dread their living conditions inside.
There's such a small band that most all the population live within... not many existing outside above or below. There's not much visible abject poverty, and not large numbers of those very well off. Even within the most well-to-do neighborhoods many signs of decay are present.
In most every hotel outside the main cities there is no immediate hot water.. it has to be 'turned-on'... and soap and toilet paper is at a premium (hair shampoo mostly non-existent).
The one main positive it the fact that there is absolutely no commercial advertising ANYWHERE... no billboards, no advertisements, no signs.. nothing. The only country in the world so far that we have not seen any commercial advertising.
The People
The Cuban people are most deserved of admiration and credit... other populations having to endure 60 years of harsh one-man rule, coming immediately after another of additional torment, they are truly to be marveled. For they are a vibrant, sincere, and most warm & charming people.
We have much to admire and learn from how they exist together.. it's not perfect, but the way we are trending in our country needs to be reexamined, and looking at they way in which Cubans coexist under what are very demanding conditions provides some much needed perspective.
The Food
Cuban food is among the most vibrant, interesting, flavorful cuisines to be found in the Caribbean. Combining elements of traditional Spain with foods indigenous to the region, Cuban food provides a powerful link to island memories and traditions.
And we did have several exceptionally good meals on the trip (La Guarida was a wonderful restaurant.. should ya ever get to Havana, a must visit)... but on the whole for the entire 12 day journey, it was mostly bland and very boring... the same basic salad of tomato, cucumber, shredded cabbage, and the running joke of canned green beans (awful)... then rice with black beans, and beef, chicken, or pork.. and the occasional nondescript overcooked fish.
These meals were what 'they' thought American tourists would prefer to eat... most of the group increasingly complained, but little got changed. The food at those restaurants that were privately run was the much better product, and prices were exceptionally reasonable at these private restaurants when considering the obvious differences to those state run.
The Culture
Cuban culture enjoys a rich heritage in the field of art, music, literature, and dance. Music in Cuba is influenced by the musical styles of Spain, France, US and Americas.
Music and dancing are a main source of entertainment for most all Cubans, and many important dancing forms such as Salsa have their roots in Cuba.
After lunch dancing at Museo 1514, Trinidad...
... and you can take the tour lecturer-historian (Frank) out of Cuba.... but when he returns.... watch out!!... ;~)
Frank's presence and invaluable work on the tour was of huge benefit to all participants. It would not at all have been the same experience without him. We're really looking forward to reading his book - Batista.
Religion holds an important place in the life of Cubans with main religions being Catholic and Santeria. There is a large arts presence in the country, especially in the major cities.. small private galleries are down many side streets. Music and dance are most everywhere to be found. Baseball is huge.. and cockfighting is prevalent (videos below).
The only newspapers Cubans see are Granma and Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth), two staid mouthpieces of the Castro regime.
Internet access is practically nonexistent for the majority of the people. And when there is limited access, going online in Cuba will try the patience of anyone who's ever had a taste of high-speed connections. And according to the government 1 in 6 Cubans were online in 2011, mostly through work or school, and often just to the intranet... at 3-5kb per-second dial-up transfer speeds. The National Statistics Office said last year just slightly less than 3 % reported having direct internet access, though outside experts estimate the real figure is likely 5-10 % accounting for black market sales of dial-up minutes. For a variety of reasons including the 50-year-old U.S. economic embargo, Cuba is the last country in the Western Hemisphere to get a fiber-optic connection to the outside world, and has relied instead on costly and slow satellite linkups.
Satellite television is an unimagined luxury very few can afford... as are cellphones.
On many issues in the country, there is a substantial generational divide in Cuba.. younger Cubans want immediate change. and older generations the status quo, and are uncertain and fearful of what might happen when the Castros no longer hold power.
Economy
Bottom line.. a basket-case. With a majority of the population (80%+) being government employees making the equivalent of $20 dollars a month... everyone is out to try and make additional income. And then most all of this form of 'commerce' is illegal by government definition (but of course they know it exists). Everyone is out to try and 'work the system'.. not to get rich by any means, but just to survive. The GDP of the entire country of 11.5 million is maybe $60-70 billion dollars... and no one is quite sure just how this compares to the size of the 'shadow' economy existing alongside it (which is rapidly growing).
As for agriculture, this is a very large island, with a very large amount of arable land, yet they import a majority of the food stuffs they require, and a third of their beef consumption is imported.
And they would not be able to afford oil they require without substantial subsides from Venezuela.
Government
When governments have an autocratic rule that supersedes the will and well being of their people, it's an absolute recipe for disaster... (be it forms of socialism or crony capitalism). Any state that controls most all businesses is not going to operate a majority of them any where near effectively, and Cuba is no exception. Go to any of the state run restaurants or state operated hotels, then visit their privately run counterparts .. the differences are obvious and numerous, no matter what anyone might be saying to the contrary. As things move forward within a generation big changes could be coming.. no one attempts to say what will happen. And it goes without saying, little will happen until the 'powers' (mainly that reside in southern Florida & in Havana) allow things to change.. another generation or so needs to go by.. burying ghosts... lessening the wounds.
Tourism
Americans are increasingly traveling to Cuba.. but to do it legally you still must go with a group that has a license to visit. This dramatically increases the cost, and restricts who has the means to travel to the country. You can enter on your own from Canada or Mexico but that adds additional travel and expense.
And as it is right now, you are an American you have got to be ready for a 'travel adventure'... not a vacation. The rest of the world might get to relax on the sun drenched shores at the better run resorts.. but Americans are still forbidden to go to any of these locations.
We are not allowed to be 'tourists'... just cultural exchange participants, that are allowed to stray little from the tightly run tour-group itinerary. The exception are those Americans with family ties in Cuba, they are now allowed to pretty much go back and forth freely and do as they will while in the country... bringing with them to Cuba as much as they can reasonably carry (as the chaos at Miami airport reflected when we were going over).
The Military
There is not a large visible 'military' presence across the country, but you get the feeling that it would not be long for one to appear when needed. As an example, for the Pope's recent visit there were a couple thousand 'precautionary arrests' to stifle the possibility of any activists protests. If you would follow any of the Translating Cuba bloggers you can read about what is really taking place 'on the streets.' And following Yoani Sanchez's tweets, you can learn minute to minute what is transpiring... it is fascinating stuff. (Not being able to meet with her as originally talked about prior to our visit was another major disappointment of the trip.)
There is though a good amount of a visible police presence in most all areas of the country, so call them what you will, they are uniformed, well armed, and in all likelihood would ultimately respond completely to the central command running the country (or else).
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| ...cities visited on our 12-day tour of Cuba... |
Cities Visited:
Baracoa
Flew into Holguin early one morning from Miami and took the bus to Baracoa. A very remote location all the way on the eastern portion of the island... cut off by a mountain range to the west. It was a very long drive on one of the most continually bad roads we have ever had the misfortune to traverse.
One of our stops here was to have been a maternity home, but it was cancelled (we were told the government would not allow it). It's a distant part of the country where horses and oxen prevail. Had it not been the location where Columbus first landed, we would in all probability not have visited there.
Santiago
The was no Guantanamo Bay stop as had been indicated in the pre-trip material (a major disappointment). In effect we did nothing but a 'drive-by' from 20 miles away (security reasons was the only explanation given).
The hotel we stayed at in Santiago had no working elevator, the material indicated it was being 'fixed'..when in fact the entire elevator 'system' was in the middle of being completely replaced and would probably have been out for weeks already, and several more to come (the way things function in the country).
Several stops in Santiago were for the most part pleasant, but nothing of particular note.
Camaguay
The historical museum detailed in the itinerary we were to have stopped at was not open. And a stop at a violin workshop had to be postponed till another day.
The hotel was decent.. again no working elevator.. same reason - being replaced. The state must have gotten one massive country wide contract to replace all the outdated elevators across-the-land, for we saw this again and again.. everywhere.
Did unexpectedly go out and get to view several state sanctioned cock-fights...
... (after a 20 minute ride outside the city in a '74 Peugeot, with no windshield)...
... and a full 9 inning playoff series baseball game...
..(absolutely marvelous fan support & sportsmanship.. nothing like the absurd spectacle we now have)..
Sancti Spirtius
Originally the tour had been scheduled to stay in a location just slightly outside of Trinidad along the coast... this was altered last minute to a hotel location in the inland city of Sancti Spirtius, which then necessitated bus ride of 3 hours (total -back and forth) to visit Trinidad.
Both cities were again pleasant stays, but would say without too much hesitation, none on the tour would list either of them as a return 'bucket-list' selection.
Trinidad is pretty much a given 2-day tour stop, as part of a 7-day Cuba tour (Havana, being the other 5 days).
Havana
Largest city in Cuba and its' capital with over 2 million inhabitants.. all in what are basically low-rise very deteriorating structures. It once was for sure the jewel of the Caribbean, attempting to emulate the old world cities of Europe in its' opulence... some of which can still be seen to this day. What an absolute crime it could not have been left to continue on.
It's a gritty, vibrant city... but what will remain in the minds of most, it just how much deterioration it has suffered. Had expected to witness some decay, but major thoroughfares show exactly just how limited are resources in this country to restore the city to its' former grandeur... there is NO money!
And what are purported to be five star hotels, by anyone's standards would be three at best in other parts of the world.. and their pricing is a good proportion higher than it should be considering the quality.
And no discussion of Cuba would be complete without talking about...
The Cars ....
Most all from years prior to the revolution. They just keep getting older and more beat up in most cases (few are gorgeous)... but they keep 'em rollin. These folks have a real talent for swapping parts (and/ or inventing solutions) to put off seemingly forever their demise.
It's a true force of will.. a nation of antique car mechanics.
Might be tempted to again visit the country should things 'open-up' to unrestricted American tourism. But not before several years go by, and that which is much needed to get accomplished...gets done.
We'll just have to wait and see.
Just recently came across this video of old Havana... it really makes you wonder where they would have been today under different circumstances...
PS... To post pix from the trip shortly... been so far working to clear the backlog of reading built up from being away for the couple weeks.
