After returning from Cuba, many people have asked Linda and I, ‘What is it like there?’ A lot of fleeting images make the answer a bit choppy. The people are extremely warm and friendly. It is a poor country but no one is starving. Then again, few people live well, at least as we would think of it. Looking at the condition of the towns and cities, billions of dollars are needed for infrastructure, renovation, advancement. So much of Cuba seems to be in disrepair. But after almost 60 years of communist rule, there is a feeling of resiliency and hope that once the Castros are gone, things will be much better. We shall see.
February 24, 2017
After a short 45 minute flight from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara, we landed near the site of the last and most decisive battle of the Cuban Revolution in 1958. The airport is unique. I cannot recall the last time we landed on a runway and did a U-turn. No problem, however. There was only one other plane at the airport.
After clearing immigration and customs, we stopped at Casona Guevara, a paladares, or family-run restaurant. These small private
eateries are often in a converted part of a home and generally look and operate like any other restaurant.
Paladares were legalized in the 1990s after the post-Soviet economic crisis known as the Special Period. Since then, they have grown and flourished throughout the country. Black beans and rice would be a staple of every lunch and dinner we had on the island. Chicken on the menu is ubiquitous and wonderful. Pork is plentiful and decent. Beef is stringy and seasoned. Kind of what we would eat out of a crockpot. Lamb is rare. Fish is common and tasty. Lobster is common and awful.
After lunch, we had an educational exchange with Apiquete Melodias Antilanas, a band
comprised of senior citizens who play 19th century Cuban music on 200 year-old instruments. Another group of seniors, the Danzon Dancers, taught us their national dance, the son. The dance migrated to New York and when combined with Puerto Rican influences came to be called Salsa. It was very entertaining. A group of Cubans gathered to watch the gringos stumble around. Great fun. My “partner” was Paula, a delightful and patient, albeit very short, Cuban senora.
After this short introduction to Cuba, we drove north to our hotel for the next two nights on Cayo Santa Maria, an island cay nine miles long and one mile wide. Known for its turquoise blue water, mangroves
and indigenous wildlife, Cayo Santa Maria is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located on the Jardines del Rey Archipelago (Garden of the Kings).
The only negative was to reach it we drove 24 miles each way over a man made causeway. But the place was fabulous. Beautiful rooms on a property surrounded by water and amenities few Cubans, unless they worked there, could ever hope to experience.
We had access to the internet which few nationals do. For them, news from the outside is difficult to come by. We had access to CNN and a variety of cable channels. The average Cuban has a television but only three channels are available: two provided by the government and one from Venezuela.
February 25, 2017
This morning, we departed for Caibarien, a small coastal town know as the Villa Blanca, or white village, for its sugary sands and beaches. We met with a manager of a local community print shop.
His family had operated the antique presses located here since the late 1800s. When the revolution came, they “donated” their property to the government.
Rosie, our guide, is very proud of the traditions held dear in her country. Her father fought with Fidel in the mountains of Cuba and even though life is tightly controlled here, she recalled many stories of the corruption and poverty that existed on the island during the previous regime of Fulgencio Batista.
On the way out of town we stopped at a small farmhouse, where the owners operate a honey making business, most of which is shipped to Germany. We also visited a community art project, “Color de Miel,” which is UNESCO supported and attempts to interest children in the visual and performing arts. A few of the younger students performed several traditional dances and a fetching young lady sang two Cuban melodies. All very charming.
Our next stop was a shuttered sugar refinery, now turned into a museum. We sampled the juice straight from the cane. Very sweet. Our guide gave us an overview of the industry and the refining process, all very informative. When Fidel came to power on January 1, 1959, he was viewed as an idealistic reformer. However, in the early 1960s it became clear his economic socialist leanings were a precursor to a more dictatorial and communist belief. Russia became the Cuban state sponsor and almost all trade was with the Soviet power.
When the USSR collapsed in the early 1990s, Cuba was left stranded and entered into the Times of Trouble. The country was devastated, the economy shattered. Starvation was rampant. The downturn was worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s in the U.S. Life in the countryside is still third world. Although all citizens receive a place to live and a basic allotment of food, it is a minimum. Most people walk or bicycle. Horses
and small wooden horse drawn carts are common. Some old Ladas or beat up American autos are around, but very, very few newer cars.
After lunch and before returning to Caya Santa Maria, we stopped at the quaint town of Remedios to visit an old church with the oldest altar in Cuba. The
central square, patterned in the Spanish style, has been somewhat refurbished but, like everything we have seen, needs a coat of paint and a lot of mortar work.
February 26, 2017
We returned to the city of Caibarien and met with locals at the Casa de las Tradiciones. This is a museum and planning center for the biggest annual celebration in the city, the Parrandas. It is like a big street party, only encompassing the entire town. Held for two days, Christmas Eve and Christmas, it is a combination of Mardi Gras and Carnivale. We were treated to a viewing
of several ornate costumes and some dancing, no doubt a national pastime. There seems to be an innate sense of rhythm as part of the Cuban DNA.
We journeyed back to Santa Clara and toured the Che Guevera memorial and museum. The parade ground and viewing area is enormous for this size town. Che is a national hero and in stores throughout the country, there are more memorabilia and collectibles
devoted to him than Fidel. Santa Clara is the site of his greatest battle and he is buried here.
After lunch, we departed for Havana and an early check-in at the Hotel Melia Cohiba. It is one of many hotels for this Spanish chain in partnership with the Cuban government and overlooks the Malecon which is a broad esplanade, roadway and seawall along Havana’s Atlantic coast. Extremely nice hotel. Brightly painted, old American cars are everywhere. 1950’s Fords and, particularly Chevies, make up 40% of the automobile traffic in the city.
The creative Cubans jerryrig everything. Replacement parts were tough to come by, so they fashioned their own. Linda talked with a driver at a gas station across from the hotel and he opened his trunk
to expose a 15 gallon plastic gas tank because the original tank rotted through. Name a part on any one of these cars and its replacement has undoubtedly been fabricated from a piece of junk found at the local dump. Walked around the Malecon and local neighborhood a bit. Nice feel to the place.
The dichotomy between good and bad in Cuba is extreme. On the plus side, there is free health care, considered to be some of the best in the world. Prior to entering Cuba, both Linda and I had to pay almost $400 each as a kind of prepurchase of Cuban health care coverage for our stay. Education through all levels is free. Everyone has housing. It could be a dumpy house or a beaten up apartment, but everyone has a shelter.
A basic food allotment of beans, rice, eggs, some meat, etc. is available every two weeks. There is essentially no crime. Maybe an occasional pickpocket, but violent crime is almost unheard of. Something like a school shooting in the U.S. is incomprehensible to a Cuban.
The negative side is the lack of opportunity. A taxi driver we had graduated as a mechanical engineer. His pay is $25 per month. A pair of plain
shoes is $30-35. His wife, a doctor, the highest paid profession, makes $60 per month. Prices that we saw in restaurants, stores, etc. are about half what we pay in the U.S. In order to exist, everyone has some kind of scam or battering of services going on. Parts from a manufacturing plant walk out the door and are traded for something else. Oil from a garage disappears and become a currency of sorts. Siphon off a few gallons of gas, pocket a couple cigars you’ve rolled...you get the idea.
Visitors and tourists are revered partially because they bring tips and the opportunity to acquire something extra in order to live. Cuba’s biggest export is medical services. However, doctors typically cannot travel overseas with all their family for fear they will not return. As a matter of observation, in the entire time we were there, I counted seven boats and most places we were at are on or near the water.
Dinner tonight was at the “world famous” chicken house,
El Aljibe. Who am I to dispute that? But it was very good.
February 27, 2017
Today was spent soaking up
the nostalgia of Old Havana. But first, we participated in a discussion about the Cuban economy with economist and professor Dr. Jorge Mario Sanchez. This was a fascinating two hours. The good doctor has taught at several U.S universities and represented Cuba in a variety of diplomatic and economic posts.
Our travel group is not made up of tourists. Officially, we are visitors. This distinction allows educational and cultural exchanges, not unfettered tours. Anyway, the Cuban government did a study on the number of Americans who would visit Cuba if there were no travel restrictions. Minimally, they expected the number would exceed 1.1 million. That equates to one 747, fully loaded, landing in Havana every 20 minutes, 365 days per year. There is no way the infrastructure could support that number. And, it might even be more.
Dr. Sanchez noted the warmth of the Cuban people has been mentioned by almost every visitor to the island. They do not want to lose that attribute. I recall the first time Linda and I went to Hawaii in 1979. One of our guides mentioned that a contingent of tour industry people from Florida had just completed a study of why people would travel all the way to Hawaii when Florida had sun, beaches, palm trees, soft sand and all the other great stuff Hawaii had. The answer was, the local people. In Hawaii the people were warm and happy to see you; in Florida, visitors were viewed as an necessary inconvenience. I get the point.
Cuba needs billions of dollars, for just about everything. The three largest sources of foreign exchange are medical services, tourism and the 3 million Cubans who live in Miami. It was a very interesting beginning to the day.
Old Havana is an extensive area of neoclassical and colonial architecture. A few places have been refurbished. A few more are undergoing major repairs. Everything needs paint. The streets are alive. Everyone is hustling something, in a nice sort of way. Street singers, cigar sellers, corner jazz
combos, Carmen Miranda look-a-likes offering photo ops...the list is endless. It is a great walking area with an abundance of small parks and squares with wonderful feel to it.
During our walking tour, we met with organizers of a multifaceted community project started by barbers and hairdressers who created
a free vocational school for youth that has blossomed into a collaborative effort between local artists, restauranteurs and seniors.
We stopped at a local cigar store where an old woman demonstrated the art of rolling and cutting the tobacco leaves
into one of Cuba’s signature products. She has been doing this for almost 50 years! A few people in our group purchased a variety of the famous Cubans--Cohiba, Partagas, Montecristo, Punch, Romeo y Julietta, H. Upmann. I always found the real Cuban cigars a bit too strong for my taste.
Tonight, Linda and I along with another couple from our group of 16 headed back into the Old Town to walk around and have dinner at a local paladar. We decided to travel in style and hired a 1961 Pontiac
Bonneville convertible, the only one on the island. Sweet ride. Our driver said the car would sell for about $55,000!
February 28, 2017
After a open- air pedi- cab ride
through old town, we boarded a ferry for a ride across Havana’s port. Back on the bus, we stopped at the seaside village of Casablanca, Ernest Hemingway’s inspiration for The Old Man and the Sea.
Then on to Finca Vigia to visit Hemingway’s home. He died in 1961 and the home with its furnishings, including 6,000 books, remains as it was those many years ago. The author was a low key member of this small town and is fondly remembered for two of his loves: the local populace and fishing.
In the afternoon, we attended an informational meeting and demonstration at Callejon de Hamel, a local dance studio, where the older members instill a love of performing to a very talented group of enthusiastic younger people. Of course, all attendees were encouraged/required to participate. It was a blast.
Early evening, we all hopped into
some classic cars (ours was a 1955 Chevrolet) and drove toward the part of Havana housing many of the diplomatic embassies. On the way, we stopped at a central square which was bordered by a variety of government buildings and a monument to the Revolution. It was here that Fidel would give his famous hours long speeches.
The embassy area had once housed the wealthy of Havana. It is a beautiful section of the city. Lovely homes and tree lined streets. Today, it is mostly the habitat of communist party members and the diplomatic corps.
In 1980, a group of Cubans took control of a bus and drove it through the fence of the Peruvian embassy.
They requested were granted political asylum. To retaliate, Castro removed the guards surrounding the embassy and soon over 10,000 people crammed into the grounds. Castro ultimately declared anyone wishing to leave Cuba could do so.
That set in motion a six month drama during which more than 125,000 Cubans fled their country. Castro’s facade of popularity and support was badly shaken. He then upped the ante by allowing thousands of criminals and mental patients to leave as well. The boatlift ended in October by mutual agreement.
March 1, 2017
After saying our good-byes, we were transferred to the Havana airport and returned to Fort Lauderdale. It has been a most interesting trip. We were happy to see Cuba before it changes too much. The
combination of visiting the countryside and Havana gave us a perspective that we felt was helpful in understanding this somewhat unique island. Raul Castro has indicated he will step down as President in 2018. However, it seems a free and open Cuba is somewhere off in the distance.