Cuba Blog Part 4: The Real Cuba, Really…
This last portion of my blog about
the Cuban cruise is on Cuba itself.
This is based on my assessment, my thoughts, my interpretations of the
time I spent on the island, which was about 6 – 8 hours per day for 5 days,
plus an overnight in Havana.
I am not going to try and present
a “guidebook” presentation to points within Cuba, instead sharing experiences
and my assessment and thoughts of the experience. For further geography info, you can check out
my Caribbean destination info on one of my websites through this link: http://for-travel.info/caribbean/western-caribbean
Here below is the route we followed (map provided by
Celestyal Cruises):
The first stop was Santiago de Cuba, an important seaport
located on the south coast towards the east, not far from Guantamo Bay. Cuba’s second largest city with close to a
half million inhabitants. It is 540 miles
away from Havana to the northwest.
Closer to the main Caribbean Sea than Havana, this served as the early
base of the Spanish Conquistadors in the early and mid 1500’s before Havana
became the new “it” spot in the late 1500’s.
Santiago de Cuba also has a large natural harbor, well suited to
seafaring. The region is well known for
its music, with many local artists creating their own sounds that eventually
lead to what we know as Salsa. Desi
Arnaz is from here, also Rita Marley, wife of Jamaican icon Bob Marley.
The big attraction here is the
historic Moncada Barracks, where Fidel lead his first revolt against the
dictator Batista. This one in 1953
failed, after which he and his revolutionaries such as brother Raul and Che
Geuvera retreaded back to the nearby Sierra Maestra mountains to plot further.
You can easily see dozens of bullet holes in the facade. (photo attached).
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| Moncada Barracks - Santiago de Cuba |
Some industry here, with a highlight
being the original distillery founded by Emilio Bacardi, Rum guru. Our tour was basic, very nice coaches –
modern and air-conditioned - took us around to the basic sites, walking through
the Moncada Barracks which is now part museum, part school. Later, we drove to a traditional Afro-Cuban
performance with song & dance, an art gallery visit and attempts to try and
get currency exchanged. Nice central
square, beautiful cathedrals and government buildings all blended together into
a nice introduction to Cuba.
Then, Havana; unique, mysterious Havana at last. We arrived about 9:30 am and left after
staying overnight and most of the next day, leaving late afternoon. We get two city excursions included, one
walking tour on the first day, one bus tour the second day that included visits
to the Art Museum and Museum of the Revolution.
Optional night life tours such as to the Tropicana, or the Buena Vista
Social Club.
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| Havana Old Town |
The walking tour started
right across the street in a main central square of historical and current
importance, and meandered down the cobblestone streets of “Old Havana”, a
protected UNESCO world heritage site (photo attached). Visits to the market square, the hotel
Hemmingway lived at for years, walked past the only 5 star hotel, and more.
~ THE
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE PROGRAM DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN’T GET OFF THE SHIP AND ROAM
AROUND ON YOUR OWN, YOU CAN! AS
LONG AS THE MAJORITY OF YOUR TIME YOU HAVE STRUCTURED INTERACTION, IT’S JUST
FINE TO HAVE SOME UNSTRUCTURED INTERACTION ~
I met two ladies on board from Dallas, hanging out together on the ship, and we
all went out at night into Havana, just walking off the ship and meandering
down the streets through a night life zone we had scoped out previously while
taking the day tour. Friendly locals and
doormen would oblige being asked a question either in poor Spanish or
English. It was refreshing to go out and
never see a TV set, instead having live music and great conversation and
interaction between patrons, performers and staff. Sitting at tables with visitors from Italy,
Ireland, and locals all drinking and dancing and living it up in this fun,
music – loving Caribbean island country!
A bargain too, no cover charge and a round of 3 beers cost $5!!
The old town is gorgeous, Spanish Colonial and Baroque
Architecture, with a Russian Orthodox Church here, a 400 year old Cathedral
there, cool mansions and government buildings peppered throughout. Over 3000 buildings mostly housing shops, restaurants and bars on the street level and renters (subsidized by the
government) above within about a 2 sq. mile area presents visitors with ample
to do from incredible cultural attractions to fantastic nightlife, shopping and
more! Outside of the “old town” there
are 2 other areas that hold some attractions, such as Hemingway's house
located outside of Havana about 9 miles in the small, working-class town of San
Francisco de Paula.
After a couple blissful days and an overnight in Havana we
scooted around the western edge of the island and dock in the bay outside of
Maria la Gorda. This is a stop at the dock
and beach of a long-lived hotel here on the edge of one of Cuba’s beautiful
nature areas, the Parque Nacional Peninsula de Guanahacabibes.
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| Beach at Maria la Gorda, Cuba |
This was basically a beach day; barbecue and
recorded music on the beach with ample chaise lounges. There were optional excursions that included
scuba or snorkel, or a bus tour of the National Park. Photo attached is of the remote and desolate far
end of the beach.
Lastly, stopping in Cienfuegos, a
colonial town on the south coast of Cuba, one of the few areas in Cuba with a high
percentage of French settlers. This
commercial port town with a nice well-protected natural harbor became a boom
town with trading and shipping of goods like sugar cane and tobacco, now with about 140,000 residents.
A well preserved UNESCO World Heritage town center with stunning
architecture from different areas encircling Jose Marti Square; church,
theater, government building and sculpture all of amazing beauty on their own
and superbly beautiful all together. We
toured this region for a couple hours with stops in very nice air-conditioned motor
coaches with decent tour guides.
~ THE STOPS WERE
A NICE BLEND OF PORTS OF CALL, WITH THE ONE BEACH / NATURE DAY, 4 DAYS OF MORE
URBAN CULTURAL CENTERS ALONG WITH A FREE NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN OVERNIGHT IN
HAVANA ~
Everywhere we went locals were accommodating, happy, upbeat
and friendly and would pose for photos on request readily. Cubans are very open, perhaps in part because
their homes are so close to each other, and no screens used as there is no
mosquito problem, typically no air-conditioning in homes, so all the door and
windows were mostly left wide open to allow cool fresh air to circulate. You are literally looking in on each other
block after block. Sharing music as
well, such an incredibly musical country with live and recorded music playing
throughout our visits.
It was a delight to not see billboards, neon signs, TV's,
and iconic American brands that we are so used to seeing here and many other
places around the world. The overall
feel isn’t too much different than other Spanish influenced parts of the
Caribbean such as the Dominican Republic.
It didn’t seem to be a big deal to Cubans I encountered that I was from
the U.S., as opposed to being Canadian or European as they are more accustomed
to. The after effects of both President
Obama and the Rolling Stones having visited Cuba within a few weeks prior to my
arrival may have pumped up the warm welcome of Americans into Cuba. I'm glad they paved the way for me!
~ MUCH IS WRITTEN ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE CONCERNS, IF
CUBA CAN HANDLE A SUDDEN INFLUX OF U.S. VISITORS. A BIG OBSTACLE IS THE 2 CURRENCY SYSTEM AND
THE SHORTAGE OF EXCHANGE FACILITIES, ALONG WITH THE INABILITY TO EXCHANGE THEIR
CURRENCY ON THE OPEN MARKET ~
From my research and observations,
airports, cruise ports, roads and similar infrastructure are OK and can handle
a bit more, and growth of visitors will fuel a growth spurt as needed. Accommodations are now more possible with
private homeowners renting a room or two, along with many European (photo
attached of the exterior of the Melia Hotel in Santiago de Cuba, and the
interior of Iberostar Hotel Havana) or other non-US based hotels available, and more
coming, along with cruise ships. U.S.
based airlines have started the process of applying for permission to land in
Cuba.
 |
| Melia Hotel Santiago de Cuba |
 |
| Iberostar Havana Lobby |
All signs point to an increased thawing of relations between
the U.S. and Cuba with lifting of restrictions and sanctions, eventually leading
to open trade and tourism. The official
viewpoint of the old world Cuban leaders is that they are embracing the
conception of change as they work towards “sustainable and prosperous socialism”
as opposed to their long held ideals of communism which had clearly failed
them.
Regardless of your political
ideology, Cuba is a welcome and refreshing change of pace for travelers who
have “been around”. The unique charms of
the land and its people, with the famed musicality and sensuality Cubanos
clearly evident throughout the trip. You
disembark the cruise in port to the sounds of regional music being played in
port, and dancers whirling about as the mostly young immigration officials wearing
short skirts and fishnet stockings welcome you. Police presence was visible, however never menacing and having a strong police force is a good reason why the crime rate is very low in Cuba.
And, they love baseball! I didn’t get a chance to see a game but
looking forward to coming back soon to do so!!
I suggest you visit Cuba sooner rather than later to see the full charm
as it has been for decades, even centuries.
The infrastructure is decent, with minimal glitches that happen when
traveling that you should be able to take in stride. Set your expectations to enjoy a culturally
rich yet very fun experience that you will embrace with an open mind. Viva Cuba!!!
For pictures of my Cuban experience, check out my Google Plus
profile through the link to the right.