by Taylore Daniel 

Wandering between Hemingway’s two favorite pubs and the hotel he lived in for seven years, it becomes clear that although he traveled extensively, he liked rambling within a small radius when he was in Havana. Both of his regular watering holes were within a five minute walk of his hotel.

Havana itself is a sprawling city of two and a half million or so. Within Havana is La Havana Vieja (Old Havana), a four square kilometer historic district where fabulous architecture, political monuments, broad boulevards, tree-shaded plazas, grand hotels, colonial houses and 1950s vintage cars rule, like Hemingway’s 1955 Chrysler New Yorker convertible. Though in Old Havana, he would’ve had no use for a vehicle. His stomping grounds lay neatly within the parameters of Old Havana, and in fact, his main haunts were all within staggering distance of Calle Obispo.

Obispo itself is one of the liveliest streets in Havana. It’s packed with new and used bookshops, hole-in-the-wall sandwich and pizza kiosks, sugared-churro carts, treed plazas, the smell of cigars and the sounds of Cuban Salsa bands erupting from the bars and restaurants. The first time Hemingway moved to Cuba, in 1932, he settled into Hotel Ambos Mundos, right on the corner of Obispo and Mercaderes.

I decided to mimic Hemingway’s daily route, beginning at his hotel, where he stuck to a strict daily discipline of writing from daybreak until noon or so, followed by, as he summed it up, “Mi mojito en La Bodeguita y mi daiquiri en El Floridita.”

At Hotel Ambos Mundos, where he lived for seven years, I stepped inside a spacious L-shaped lobby. A bar with stools is surrounded by a piano, sofas and tables, and two whole walls are lined by windows. From the polished lobby, a caged elevator clanks up to the 5th floor of the hotel. Off the elevator, a large photo of Hemingway hangs above his black Corona 3 typewriter, a gift to him from his first wife in 1921.

Hemingway’s typewriter! Before computers, before cut-and-paste functions, before auto-correct and spell-check, before email and Word attachments, was the typewriter. Technology wise, it’s like comparing fish larvae to a thrashing, 2,000 pound, adult marlin. There is something innocent and true about it. More than anything else that I saw of Hemingway’s life in Cuba, his typewriter evoked a visceral sense of the man and his life here in Havana.

Down the hall is room #511, where he lived for seven years, and which is preserved as a museum. In it are a single bed, an entrance table just inside the door, and a desk drenched in sunlight that sits under a window overlooking the streets of Old Havana.

To imagine that he’d sat in this very room, barefoot, unspooling stories onto the page, letter by letter, hunched over the simple black typewriter, was moving. In this very room, on the very typewriter mounted on the wall outside, he began “For Whom The Bell Tolls” about the Spanish Civil War. To imagine this robust sportsman and adventurer sitting quietly, diligently pecking out his stories, conjures up the contrasts within this man. Though even in his writing, he had the spirit of a hunter, equating his old typewriter—with its demands for hard strikes upon each key—as his “Royal Machine Gun.”

Just as Hemingway would leave his typewriter after a morning of writing to head into an afternoon and evening of drinking, it was now time to leave his hotel and check out his favorite watering holes.

Heading just two short blocks from the hotel is Calle Empedrado. Turn left and one block up is one of Hemingway’s two favorite afternoon drinking establishments, La Bodeguita del Medio, which perfected Cuba’s national drink, the mojito.

Before I could even see the sign for this bar, I was struck by a mass of people spilling in and out its doors, loud jazz coming from a band within. Inside, it was standing room only between packed tables and bar stools, the bartender lining up a row of mojitos, which Hemingway declared were the best in Havana. Having tried a mojito that tasted like nothing more than sugar-water in another (unnamed bar) before settling in at the Bodeguita, I can personally attest to the Bodeguita as having perfected this blend of rum, fresh-squeezed lime, sugar, soda, ice and a type of mint called yerba buena.

From La Bodeguita, it was a short jaunt back to Calle Obispo, then up seven blocks to Hemingway’s other favorite watering hole, El Floridita Bar, just across from Museo de Bellas Artes. Here, they named a drink for Hemingway called “papa dobles,” which consists of rum, freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice and lime juice, maraschino liqueur and sugar syrup all shaken together with ice, then strained into a chilled martini glass. Hemingway clearly spent a lot of time here, evidenced by his having a drink named for him.

His heaviest drinking period, where he spent many a day at El Floridita, occurred when he was writing “The Old Man and the Sea,” which won him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Though at this time he was living twelve kilometers outside of Havana at his Finca Vigia, cajoled away from Old Havana by his third wife. He lived at the finca from 1939 until 1960, and entertained guests from Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn and Spencer Tracy, to Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

His love of Old Havana, and of Cuba, was evident in the gift of his Nobel Prize medal to the Cuban people. Though Hemingway is now long gone, his energy and complex genius still thrum through the vibrant streets of La Havana Vieja, adding a poignant note of a life fully lived to this sensual Caribbean island. This lively Cuban bar in the heart of Old Havana was one of Hemingway’s favorite haunts.

If You Go:

Money: Two currencies exist side by side, the Convertible peso and the regular Cuban peso. The convertible peso is considered “tourist money” and is worth considerably more than the non-convertible bills. Always check, if you pay with a convertible peso, that your change comes in convertible pesos. The word “convertible” will be written right on the bill.

Hotels and Casas Particulares: Book as early as you can. There are not a lot of accommodations available in Old Havana, and I’d highly recommend you book a place right in the old town. Just a street or two beyond it, the neighborhoods have narrow, often unlit roads, which are not recommended at night, and have been known to have problems with muggings even in the daytime.

Hop-On Hop-Off Bus: Highly recommend! For a mere 10 CUC (pronounced ‘kook’), you’ll be taken down Paseo de Marti, along the Malecon, over to the Plaza de la Revolucion, to the Copacabana nightclub, through Vedado and much more. A terrific, effortless way to get an overview of greater Havana.

About the author:
Taylore Daniel B.A. has traveled through thirty countries, and is a writer, artist and speaker. Her upcoming book is “Travel and Retire Abroad,” and she will soon be re-releasing “Spain to Egypt: A Grand Tour Around the Cradle of Western Civilization.” Visit her at www.tayloredaniel.com

All photos are by Taylore Daniel

by Megan Kennedy

As I look out onto the Viñales Valley and into the tobacco fields below, a sense of calmness washes over me. Lush green plants, ochre soil and dome-like limestone mountains (mogotes) make the landscape an impressive sight. The combination of the land and the people turn the valley into a place that invites me to linger and discover.

Founded in 1875, following the expansion of tobacco cultivation in Cuba, Viñales became a World Heritage site in 1999. The valley is devoted to agriculture, mainly tobacco. Because mechanical harvesting reduces the quality of tobacco, traditional animal power and hand labour are still used.

Viñales has lots to offer: the surrounding farmland is lush and plentiful, with organic farms, caves, horseback riding, bike rides, beach excursions, swimming and plenty of day hikes. But the main draw, and the reason I had come here, is the chance to visit tobacco farms.

With a Cuban Adventures guide I set off along the dirt paths, sweating under the hot sun of late morning. Since it is winter – tobacco planting season – we amble past fields of little plants intermingled with larger ones. We discover a variety of other crops during our walk, including coffee, pineapples, beans, guava, bananas and a variety of potatoes. I am able to try some of them. Everything is fresh and crispy, with powerful flavours.

We enter a thatched tobacco aging hut to learn about the process of growing, preparing and marketing the harvest. Each farmer is given a quota, with ninety percent of the crop being bought by the government. The farmer retains the final ten percent and is free to use it for personal consumption, local sales and exchanges or making and selling cigars to tourists. Our group gathers around our host farmer and settles in to hear firsthand about his working life.

Tobacco farming is arduous work. The soil must be prepared before the hundreds of seedlings are hand planted. The plants require frequent tending, and harvesting is a multi-step process, since different leaves are picked at different times, according to their intended use. With two or three leaves handpicked from each plant at every harvest, many hours of labour are required.

The harvested leaves are strung on cotton threads, then hung to dry in long thatched houses or barns. This curing process takes several months, after which most of the leaves (including the pick of the crop) are sent to government owned factories.

However, every farmer puts his own unique stamp on the tobacco he gets to keep, by fermenting it according to an individual recipe. These are often passed down for generations. Our guide’s family recipe was fairly simple, calling only for water, vanilla and rum. But the farm host’s recipe was a bit more elaborate, and includes “water, pineapple skin, guava leaves, honey, sugar cane and a little rum.” With a sly smile on his face, our host notes that some of that rum is applied to the outside of the leaves, and some to the inside of the farmer.

Whichever formula is used, the leaves are placed in a Royal Palm tree box to ferment for from thirty days to a year before aging begins. After this, they are ready to be rolled. Sadly, those images you have of the cigar in your mouth having been rolled on the soft thighs of a dusky maiden are just a myth. It’s more likely to have been shaped by the skilled but calloused hands of a farmer or factory worker.

Since the veins hold seventy percent of the nicotine in each leaf, they are removed before the cigars are made, and used in perfumes, fertilizers and pesticides. Cigars have three parts: a filler (the heart of the cigar), a binder and a wrapper. Depending on the cigar’s size, it takes from four to six leaves to make one.

To learn more about the process of making cigars, light up this video:

After our farmer finishes his demonstration, he lights up an aged cigar. Others are passed around for us to try, and I relish watching my fellow travelers’ reactions. I end up enjoying most of the tobacco in our Cuban Adventures group, as the others didn’t want more than a couple of puffs. Their loss was definitely my gain, for the smoke is robust and the taste smooth with a hint of honey.

As I walked through the fields and took the time to talk to the farmers who harvest the tobacco I feel confident that these natural, cottage-industry cigars beat mass-produced factory stogies hands down. After smoking one, I was more convinced than ever. The care the farmers take in fermenting the leaves and hand-rolling each cigar yields a far better – and more distinctive – product than anything I’ve found even at high end tobacconists. I leave with a full bundle of twelve cigars for a mere 25 CUC, a major bargain for such quality handcrafted product. I’ll carefully save each one for special occasions or for those times I want to be transported back to the hot sun and green fields of Viñales, if only in my mind.

As I let the smoke caress the inside of my mouth, I look out into the valley and into the tobacco fields below. This has been one of the essential experiences I wanted to have in Cuba and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Like our host’s recipe for fermenting tobacco, the magic came from a variety of ingredients, all blended in the right proportions: rich tobacco, fresh mountain air, a relaxed pace of life, friendly and welcoming residents and the local organic produce. The combination captured me; I didn’t want to leave Viñales, and I certainly plan to go back.

If You Go:

♦ Tobacco is planted late in the year and grown for three months (during the wet season). If you would like to see the plants, make sure you plan your trip around it.
♦ Viñales is located two hours from Havana by car or about three hours and forty-five minutes by Viazul bus.
♦ There are multiple casas particulars located in the village. They are a mix between a homestay and a B & B. A better option than hotels, they give you a chance to stay with locals and experience more of the Cuban culture. You can book some online or find one once you arrive in town.
♦ Walk around on your own to the farms by grabbing a map at the tourist centre, hire a guide or go as part of an organized tour. There are multiple options to explore the valley whether on foot, bike or horseback

About the author:
Megan Kennedy is a lover of travel and spending time outdoors. She writes a travel blog, www.wanderlustmegan.com which focus on her solo female adventures within British Columbia and abroad. She hopes to give readers inspiration on travelling while working a full time job thru accessible adventures. You can follow her on Twitter @WanderlustMegan or Facebook.

All photos are by Megan Kennedy:
Tobacco drying hut with farmland and mountains in the background
Small tobacco plants growing in the futile soil
The farmer demonstrating how to roll a cigar
The farmer lighting a cigar before we got to sample it.
Tobacco leaves drying

Trinidad, Cuba

by Paul Norton

While all of Cuba is dripping with historical significance, there are few better examples of the rich and colourful history of the island than Trinidad de Cuba. Trinidad is located on the south coast of the island, 67 km southwest of Sancti Spiritus, 80 km east of Cienfuegos, and 88 km due south of Santa Clara.

The expeditionary Diego Velazquez founded Santisima Trinidad (Most Holy Trinity) in 1514. It was one of the first of seven cities founded by the Spaniards on the island. The city did not have railroad access until 1919 and was not connected by highways with the rest of the country until 1950, which accounts in part for its feeling of being frozen in time. Trinidad was officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is estimated that there are about 60,000 inhabitants currently in the city, although it has the feeling of a much smaller place when you are there.

We arrived in town after a 300 km trip from Havana on our big blue and white Viazul bus. As we pulled in to the downtown bus depot we saw the usual crowd of locals there with large placards and photos, touting the virtues of their various casa particulars. While it was a tough call whether or not we should stay at any one of the hundreds of private residences, we opted this time to head out to the nearby Peninsula de Ancón, where the first new resorts were developed in Cuba following the 1959 revolution.

The Ancón Hotel is nothing to look at, featuring typical Russian-style architecture from the 1980s. It is fairly well-appointed inside and all-inclusivo (all food and drink included). Ask to stay in the newer part. The main dining room is where to turn up for the big buffet-style meals, and you can get nourishment anytime at an outdoor snack bar. The food is adequate but not exceptional. The old saying that ‘You don’t go to Cuba for the food’ still holds true, although things are improving as they realize the importance of the tourist peso. Like every tourist hotel, there are nightly shows at a stage near the outdoor bar, featuring a great array of talent. It makes one appreciate the high level of training for young musicians, singers and dancers in Cuba. The best feature was the Playa Ancón itself, with wide expanses of white sand and beautiful blue ocean for sunbathing, swimming, skin diving, boat trips and fishing.

If you get tired of the beach life, it’s only necessary to hop into a cute little yellow coco cab and you’ll be in town in 10 minutes. There’s a lot to see in Trinidad: perfectly preserved churches, museums that were palaces and tenement houses that are a symbol of that Cuban region for its peculiar style. The old town architecture is neo-classical and baroque, with a Moorish flavour. Red tile roofed houses painted with pastel colors, ornamented with artistic balconies, iron wrought railings and multicolour facades. The city is very clean and well cared for. If you walk over the cobbled streets of the Trinidad, it makes you feel like going back into colonial times. A friend remarked to me that the millions of stones came from the bilges of Spanish galleons that dumped their ballast in the city and replaced it with the plunder of the new world. I wasn’t able to verify that story anywhere, but it seems possible.

The Plaza Mayor is considered the epicentre of all things, and the eager traveller should start their walking tour there. Make your first stop the Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísima Trinidad (Church of the Holy Trinity), at the upper edge of the plaza. The city’s main church is also Cuba’s oldest. Although there has been a church on the site since 1620, construction began on the current building was completed in 1892. The interior with its 14 alters is breathtaking. A small donation is customary.

There are literally dozens of museums with themes from romanticism to war and other fascinating historical sights to be seen with walking distance of the beautiful little plaza. Most of them are well worth the 2 or three pesos convertible (CUC) charged for admission. At least two of them have towers, which afford stunning views of the city, ocean and surrounding area.

All along your route you will find enchanting small cafes where you can sip on a cerveza or a café con leché while you listen to live music. There are great sounding bands of street musicians everywhere you turn, providing a wonderful living soundtrack to your trek. Don’t miss the outdoor linen market – a two block stretch of some of the most beautiful embroidered items you’ve ever seen. The Parque Céspedes is also a lovely place to relax during the day. On the weekend it becomes an open air disco for the younger crowd.

If you are into la mùsica as much as we are, there are lots of great venues de la noche to choose from.

One of our favourites was the Casa de la Trova. It has been criticized by some as being too unauthentic and pandering to tourists, but we loved it nevertheless. Rotating bands entertained all day and evening, generally offering the more traditional genres like son and (of course) trova. They offer free salsa dance lessons during the day. Check out the gift shop and pick up your discos compacticos to remember the fun once you get back home.

Another real find was the Palenque de los Congos Reales. This fabulous open-air nightclub specializes in performances of relatively authentic Afro-Cuban dance and music. You can always catch something spectacular there, performed by a large company of dancers, and accompanied by a big band of hot players.

There is open-air music on most evenings at the Casa de la Mùsica, which spills over into the cobblestone stairway on the side of the main church. You are most likely to find big salsa bands there, great for dancing the night away! There’s another good store with CDs and DVDs at rock bottom prices. They stock musical instruments too.

As in all of Cuba, paladars are plentiful in Trinidad. These officially authorized restaurants in people’s homes quite often serve tastier food than you can find in any of the state run restaurants. Our favourite was the Paladar Estela. It’s hardly a secret – you can find it near the top of the list in all the guide books. You enter through an elaborately decorated colonial house with many religious objects, two blocks north of the cathedral. The handful of tables are set in an exuberant backyard garden setting, with huge numbers of flowering plants and a wall festooned with vines. Portions are nearly as voluminous as the plant life, and dishes include roast pork a la cubana, fried chicken, grilled fish, and ham omelette.

There’s a lot to see outside the city too. Be sure to make time for a trip to the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills) to see the ruins of dozens of 19th century sugar mills located just outside the city, which are a reminder of the importance of sugar to the Cuban economy over the centuries. Other attractions include hiking in the surrounding mountains and horseback riding in the beautiful countryside.

To sum it all up, if you want to gain a real sense of the fascinating history of Cuba, you can do no better than to make Trinidad your number one destination on the island. Que te diviertas!

If You Go:

AIR:
If you live in Canada, non-stop flights are available to Cuba from these airlines:
Western Canada: Air Transat www.airtransat.ca
Eastern Canada: Air Canada www.aircanada.com

BUS:
Víazul is Cuba’s tourista bus line, and is by far the best choice of public transportation to tour the island. They run comfortable, air-conditioned long-distance coaches with washrooms and televisions to most places of interest to tourists. The Korean-made buses are in good repair, reliable and punctual. Schedules can be found on their website. The buses can be used by anyone including Cubans, but in reality, few Cubans can afford the CUC fares. Reservations can be made in advance, but are usually unnecessary except at peak travel times. Do not waste your time making an on-line reservation on the website – that rarely works. Refreshments are not served, despite what the website says. Bring your own if you can. The buses do stop for meal breaks at highway restaurants. They are often over air-conditioned, so bring something warm to wear.
www.viazul.com

ANCÓN PENINSULA HOTELS:
Hotel Ancón
Brisas Trinidad del Mar
Hotel Club Amigo Costasur

CASA PARTICULARS:
There are many Web sites that list casa particulars. They can be reserved on-line, but there are many stories of travellers who have shown up only to find they have been double-booked. It’s usually better to just show up and find one there. The rates are generally 20 to 25 CUC per room per night. Here’s a few web sites. If you do a Google search, you’ll find more.
www.cuba-junky.com/cuba/cuba-casa-particulares.htm
www.casaparticular.info
www.bedincuba.com
www.cubaccommodation.com
www.casaparticular.org

About the author:
Paul Norton does many things …. Radio show host/producer, graphic artist and web designer to name just a few. He’d love to be able to afford to travel more. His second trip to Cuba took place in February 2010. Visit www.paulnorton.ca.

Photo Credits:
All photographs are by Paul Norton or Sue Malcolm.

Havana, Cuba

by Rebecca Tompkins

Cuba smells of cigar smoke and guava. The rich, earthy smell of cigars assails you as soon as you step off the plane, as portly airport officials smoke Cuba’s finest. The guava takes longer to place. It’s juicy, pink flesh and tart taste accompanying almost every meal.

But Cuba also smells like history, like revolution, hardship and triumph. Its past, present and hope for the future is reflected in the booming voices and frequent laughter of its residents, who remain cheerful and appear genuinely happy despite the constant restrictions of ration books, rules and regulations.

Arriving in Havana leaves even my cynical and spoiled travel mind agape. I am staying in Casco Viejo, Havana’s old town, once home to rich sugar barons and real American gangsters. The elaborate mansions built by these once-residents of Havana remain. They are dilapidated, crumbling but nonetheless majestic, echoing their former glory, like grand old dames whose jewellery has lost its gemstones and once fine clothing has become threadbare and moth-eaten.

These regal remnants of a bygone era of wealth stand guard along Casco Viejo’s many streets, but don’t let their rundown appearance fool you, the decrepit buildings and ramshackle sidewalks of Havana are alive.

Washing hangs from every balcony, a multitude of coloured flags flying high above the street, and music and families pour out of every doorway. Women sit and gossip on the steps, calling out to one another and laughing heartily. Men sit playing checkers on the pavement corners, and children play baseball in the street, overcoming their lack of sporting equipment by using sticks as bats and bottle-tops as balls.

Now and again the baseball players part as a fifties-style American Dodge, Ford or Chevy car rattles past. These ageing automobiles are everywhere in Havana, their smooth running and excellent condition testament to the skill and ingenuity of Cuban mechanical engineering – unable to import any car parts from the US, Cubans fashion their own replacement pieces out of scrap metal.

I stay in the heart of old Havana, in one of those grand old buildings, a home owned by a large Cuban extended family. These government regulated homestays are known as ‘Casas’, and offer a room in the home of a Cuban family, and three meals a day if requested. For travelers on a budget, Casas are the cheapest way to accommodate yourself while in Cuba, but even if your budget allows you to stay in one of the many government owned hotels or all inclusive resorts, spending a few nights in a Casa is a must. Casas mean staying in the homes of ordinary Cuban people, giving you a glimpse into their lives and allowing you to appreciate their warm and unyielding spirit.

If your Spanish is up to it, or if you are lucky enough to find an English speaker somewhere along the way, it is fascinating to engage in conversation with a local, to get their take on their everyday life, their current political situation and Cuba’s fascinating past.

Through my Casa experience I meet Roberto and Mariella, a smiling, effervescent couple who constantly attempt to engage in conversation with me despite my halting Spanish, who are exceedingly proud of the meals they produce for me, and who envelope me with hugs and kisses like a long lost relative when I leave. By chance, I also meet Eduardo, a 30-something, gold toothed Cuban who offers to help me back to our Casa when I become lost in Casco Viejo’s rambling streets. Eduardo is the youngest of 13 children and still lives at home along with his father, most of his siblings and many of their spouses and children. His mama, he tells me sadly, making the sign of the cross and offering a quick prayer, has recently passed. Eduardo, his tongue loosened by some fine 30 year old Havana Club rum, also whispers furtively that he does not like the government, and that “everything is their fault”.

Undertones of the communist regime run throughout Havana. Some are obvious – the lines of people waiting outside the bakery to have their ration cards filled, the women approaching you on the street asking for soap or lip balm and the bare-as-a-baby’s-bottom supermarket shelves. Others you have to delve a little deeper to find – the restrictions placed on television programming, internet usage and travel for Cuban citizens, and the complete absence of any form of advertising (a fact that you may not notice until you return to a capitalist country and are seemingly assaulted with advertising virtually everywhere you look).

Havana wears her heart on her sleeve. Her political situation, her music, her lively inhabitants, her colourful past, her vibrant present and her uncertain future. I cannot help but be absorbed by her.

I enjoy Cuba Libres and Mojitos in smoky jazz bars, I am amazed by the quick feet of the dancers in Havana’s many salsa clubs. I delve into Cuba’s fascinating history in the city’s revolutionary museums, I eat churros by a roadside stall and watch the world go by, and I simply lose myself time and time again in the magical streets of Casco Viejo. Havana delights, confuses, fascinates, frustrates and captivates me. It is a truly unique and essential travel experience.

If You Go:

Be sure to stay in a ‘Casa’ rather than in a government owned hotel.
Make sure you take lots of cash with you as there are virtually no ATMs and very limited credit card facilities, and it’s expensive due to the tourist currency.
Be sure to sample some of the 25 year old Havana Club rum and smoke a cuban cigar.
Public transport is limited. You will have to rely on taxis which don’t come cheap. However, there are long haul buses between some cities. These can be booked through most up market hotels (even if you are not staying at them).
Places to visit other than Havana include Trinidad, Vinales, Santa Clara and Varadero.
Cuba Explorer has more travel information to Havana and beyond.

About the author:
Rebecca Tompkins is an environmental lawyer and part time writer. She is an avid traveler and most recently spent a year backpacking around the globe, visiting Peru, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama, among numerous other countries. She is particularly interested in developing countries and immersing herself in indigenous cultures.

All photos are by Jeremy Tompkins.

by Ray Mwareya-Mhondera

So much has written about the crumbling decadence, the poverty and third-worldness of Cuba that it is impossible for an artist to perform or visit the country without any fears and preconceived notions.

According to a fellow artist who recently performed in country at a Latino rock conference, ”No hay!” [There isn’t any] seems to be the current in-phrase in Cuba.

This included foods, coffee..and toilet paper. Determined, I faced the prospect of somewhat reduced nutritional intake with stoic monkish abandon. I would turn tables on deprivation and use our band’s first performance in Cuba to introduce our music to the land that gave birth to the “Bay of Pigs.”

Surprise! The hype was bigger than reality! While the Cuban cuisine can hardly be described as adventurous, it was a far cry from “No hay!” I now believe there is truth in the maxim: “Tourists first – Cubans last,” but I saw little evidence where luxury goods were involved. Bathroom requisites especially, soap in particular.

When delightful older ladies quietly, but most determinedly, approach, requesting “Jabon?” you soon learn to take the hotel soap out with you. Ecstatic ”Ahs!” came first, profuse thanks immediately followed. It is simultaneously touching and heart warming, a coupling with which I became familiar, for the Cubans understand the art of easy communication.

Despite the economic crisis and closed political space, Cuba is an enormously a optimistic country. Nowhere is this more clear than in the capital. Once regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, I suspect Havana is fast reclaiming that distinction.

The hub of life on the Plaza de la Catedral in the Old Quarter. The square is not large. It could be dropped without trace into most of the Revolutionary Squares which dominate Cuba’s cities and towns. The sixteenth century Cathedral has enormous character, watching over the Plaza like a hen guarding its chicks. These particular chicks are the many stall-holders who, since the communist relax, have been allowed to take on ”private enterprise” schemes [largely souvenir stalls] in an effort to aid the economy. Each stall his its own brightly coloured awning so that viewing the Square form the Cathedral steps in the dazzling light sunlight presents a feeling of looking into an emerald casket.

Here it’s possible to buy anything – from string to wooden sculpture, from maracas to a sandwich tourist haunt that somehow never seems touristy.

Also in the Square, one of Havana’s most exciting Rumba ensembles plays throughout the day at El Patio. An exciting feat for a local Cuban band that send revelers when it munched Portuguese lyrics with our English lyrics when we took together on stage in the evening.

Unless you want to splash 300 rands for two rather bland meals, just order a refrescho and succumb to the fabulous music of the Septeto Sabor playing those old rumba warhorses, El Manisero [The Peanut Vendor], or Siboney. Like Cuba’s mangos, musicians are everywhere. They play, they go. Dance groups set up in the street, perform – apparently for the sheer pleasure of performing – and disappear. No one takes a hat round, one of the reasons, apart from the superb music and exciting dancing, that visitors and foreign artists give so freely. ”Guantanamera” is ubiquitous, it’s more of a national anthem than the real thing,a prison.

Certainly, there is a fair number of decaying crumbling once-elegant buildings. But Havana is well into a vast renovation program, thanks to the World Heritage Site claim stamped on the city by UNESCO.

It’s a stimulating if somewhat confusing experience to walk along the winding Malecon, Havana’s beautiful seafront, observing the facades of these once-glorious colonial mansions. A few seem to teeter on the brink of collapse. Others, about to be tackled, are surrounded by heavy girders and cranes. Quite a number have now acquired a glittering pristine elegance.

From old walls of Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magos del Moro [unlike its name, the fort is tiny] there is a sensational panoramic view of the city. Here, gazing across the Bahia de la Habana, one witnesses a city being reborn. Tall, formal skyscrapers vie with 18th and 19th century mansions for domination of the skyline. Then it suddenly dawns that there no competition, surprisingly, the old and the new actually blend in easy harmony.

here is little evidence of Cuba’s legendary former Head of State, Fidel Castro. Far more in evidence, especially in Havana, are tributes to the American writer Ernest Hemingway who lived in the capital for over twenty years. There are statues and plaques in his honour all over the city. His house is now an intriguing Museum, almost like a shrine. Across the city, many of the writer’s ole haunts and watering holes still proudly bear his name. There is even a hotel named after his novel, El Viejo y el Mar [The Old Man and the Sea] where we stayed for several nights. Prices ere quite reasonable – but still beyond the average Cuban’s income.

If there were extortionate prices for restaurant meals I saw none of them. On the contrary, as a visitor, eating out in Havana can be surprisingly cheap..and believe it or not, I didn’t hear ”No Hay” once.

If You Go:

Havana Sightseeing:

www.wordtravels.com/Cities/Cuba/Havana/Attractions
www.iexplore.com/dmap/Cuba/Where+to+Go
www.virtualtourist.com

Cuba Travel Advice:
www.netssa.com

Travel Guides:
www.worldtravelguide.net/cuba (attractions, hotels, restaurants, events, shopping, nightlife)

About the author:
Ray Mwareya-Mhondera is the lead singer of the pop band ‘Spoktown’ which recently toured and performed in Cuba. He’s a former contributor to the Mail and Guardian.

Photo credits:
Photos by Ray Mwareya-Mhondera, Jim Burnett and W. Ruth Kozak.

by Paul Norton

Whenever we asked someone where to go in Cuba, they would invariably exclaim “You MUST go to Viñales!” When we asked why, the replies were seldom convincing. Words like “beautiful, rural, quaint and restful” were used. While these were admirable attributes, they didn’t really convey the unique charm of this little town near the western tip of Cuba.

The words of our friends reverberated in our heads as our big Viazul bus pulled into town. The usual crowd of entrepreneurs pressed up against us as we disembarked, most wanting to take us back to their casa particular for accommodation. We already had the name and address of one that we hoped to stay at, so we fought our way through the hordes and made it to the office of the local cab company. Upon arriving at our destination, we found that the house was already occupado. Not to worry – we were introduced to Yiya, who happened to be walking by. Before we knew it, her Casa Candelaria Negrin (House of the Black Candle) was our home away from home for the next few days.

Yiya made us right at home with wonderful mojitos, whipped up in mere seconds. She prepared table-groaning feasts with tasty fish, fresh fruit, and pretty much anything else we wanted. And that’s not to mention the cake! She was especially proud of her many scrapbooks, filled with comments written by happy guests from all over the world. Our lodgings were neat, clean and inviting.

There’s always a bit of a sense that the casa hosts want to keep a bit of distance from you. They generally eat separately, or at a different time, and they usually have separate living quarters. It’s understandable … you are invading their home. Don’t get the wrong impression, though. Yiya and her family were friendly, hospitable and as informative as they could be, given the language difference!

The Viñales Valley, located in Cuba’s Pinar Del Rio (River of the Pine) province, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As a cultural landscape enriched by traditional farm and village architecture, the region’s predominant feature is the limestone outcrops known as mogotes (haystacks). These huge round-topped hummocks emerged from the sea millions of years ago, during the Jurassic period.

The area is a magical terrain of hills and caves where life centres on growing tobacco. Farmers, most of who came from the Canary Islands, arrived around 1800 and began cultivating tobacco across the region. Two hundred years later, the tobacco grown in the distinctive red soil of the area is still the lifeblood of the Viñales Valley. Only the best leaves get sent to Havana, where hundreds of workers called torcedores or anilladores hand roll them into cigars. Cuba still produces 65 million cigars a year, packed in cedar boxes and exported world-wide.

A small green bus takes the tourists around the valley. For only 5 CUC (convertable pesos) it’s a good deal. You can ride all day, with stops at the tourist hotels, in the village, and at the caves and other out-of-town sights. The old bus is rather spartan, with no windows and hard seats. It roars along at breakneck speed, so it’s advisable to always have your camera at the ready, pointed out the window in case something looms into view for a few fleeting seconds. You can hop off anywhere and wait until the next time it comes around to hop back on.

One of the more interesting attractions in Viñales is the little Casa de Caridad Botanical Gardens located at the north-eastern end of town. Started many decades ago by two sisters, their descendants are now running the gardens. The lush gardens in the sizable back yard feature a mix of ornamental and medicinal plants and flowers, as well as palm and fruit trees. Adding to the curious nature of the grounds are homemade decorations like heads ripped off dolls hanging everywhere. The Miranda sisters were well-known practitioners of voodoo back in the day. No admission is charged, but a 1 CUC donation is warmly appreciated.

One of the best-known sights in Cuba is the century-spanning range of transportation choices. Viñales is no exception. American cars from the 1930s to the 1950s share the roads with derelict trucks, horse and carts, sleek tourista buses, farm machinery of all sorts, scooters, fancy newish European, Asian and South American autos, and the ever-present gangs of bicycles.

An intriguing element of travel in Cuba is el amarillo (The Yellow Man). The Cuban government’s system for facilitating hitchhiking is by far the most economical way for foreigners to travel in Cuba. Named for the colour of the uniforms of its administrators, the system consists of points where certain vehicles are required to stop and pick up hitchhikers. In the daytime, when the amarillo is present, you pay a nominal fee. The money all goes to the government; drivers don’t get any of it. As a result, it’s cheaper at night, when the amarillo has gone home and drivers can make some money themselves. There’s a yellow man at the north-eastern end of Vinales, across from the Botanical Gardens.

Music is in the Cuban people’s DNA. Almost every restaurant, coffee bar and nightclub in Viñales offers great entertainment. Given the rural nature of the area, the music is different from that in the big cities like Havana and Santiago de Cuba. On our first night, we ended up in an open air night club called Polo Montanez Centro Cultural. For a 3 CUC cover, we were treated to traditional groups, a contemporary salsa band, singers, dancers, fire-eaters and more!

While walking down Salvadore Cisneros (the main street) one day, we saw a fellow carrying what appeared to be the bridge for a stand-up bass. Aha, we thought. La música! We followed him to a funky little coffee bar a few blocks down the way. A wonderful group of traditional Cuban players entertained there that afternoon on the patio, and we came back that evening for an equally enjoyable group on a little stage inside. It was astonishing how much beautiful noise came from their ancient, run-down instruments. As was our custom, we bought discos compacticos from any musicians selling them. They make great souvenirs, and it helps them pay the bills.

Regretfully, we were only in Viñales for a few days. It wasn’t nearly long enough to see all the sights. We didn’t get to the horseback riding, caving, hiking or bird watching. There are also magnificent beaches to the north, less than an hour’s drive away. We hope to go back again soon, take our bicycles, and spend at least a week there. Sleepy old Viñales is full of warm, friendly people, enchanting adventures and breathtaking sights. Similarly to those folks who said it to us, we now say to you, “Just GO! You won’t regret it.”

If You Go:

AIR:
If you live in Canada, non-stop flights are available to Cuba from these airlines:
Western Canada: Air Transat www.airtransat.ca
Eastern Canada: Air Canada www.aircanada.com

BUS:
Víazul is Cuba’s tourista bus line, and is by far the best choice of public transportation to tour the island. They run comfortable, air-conditioned long-distance coaches with washrooms and televisions to most places of interest to tourists. The Korean-made buses are in good repair, reliable and punctual. Schedules can be found on their website. The buses can be used by anyone including Cubans, but in reality, few Cubans can afford the CUC fares. Reservations can be made in advance, but are usually unnecessary except at peak travel times. Do not waste your time making an on-line reservation on the website – that rarely works. Refreshments are not served, despite what the website says. Bring your own if you can. The buses do stop for meal breaks at highway restaurants. They are often over air-conditioned, so have something warm to wear.
www.viazul.com

CASA PARTICULARS:
There are many Web sites that list available casa particulars. (Regrettably, Yiya’s Casa Candelaria Negrin is not to be found on them.) They can be reserved on-line, but there are so many stories of travellers who have shown up only to find they have been double-booked, it may be better to just show up and find one there. In the rural areas such as Viñales, the rates are generally 20 to 25 CUC per room per night. Here’s a few web sites. If you do a Google search, you’ll find more.
www.cuba-junky.com/cuba/cuba-casa-particulares.htm
www.casaparticular.info
www.bedincuba.com
www.cubaccommodation.com
www.casaparticular.org

About the author:
Paul Norton does many things …. Radio show host/producer, graphic artist and web designer to name just a few. He’d love to be able to afford to travel more. His second trip to Cuba took place in February 2010. Visit www.paulnorton.ca.

All photographs are by Paul Norton or Sue Malcolm.
More pictures can be viewed at www.paulnorton.ca/vinales2010.

by Marc Latham

Before arriving in Havana on a warm January evening I thought modern day Cuba was held together as a country by socialism, with the deteriorating health of Fidel Castro threatening its identity and survival. By the time I left Havana three days later I realised that modern Cuba is as much about history and its long fight for independence as it is about the current government and its policies.

The island looked mysterious as we flew in, with yellows and browns merging on the ground, while greens, blues and greys swirled together in the sky as the sun set. The Jose Marti airport is about seventeen miles (25km) from Havana. I chugged into the city in a Chevrolet taxi with the exhaust fumes of the Buick in front choking my sanitized senses through our open windows. The streets were alive with people and chaotic traffic swerved in tune with blaring car horns. I felt a mixture of reawakening and guilt. I felt alive again, and I loved it: the sights, sounds, smells and organised chaos of the developing world entering our car and my brain. I felt glad that there were still places like this in the world, but I knew I shouldn’t because it was an environmentalist’s worst nightmare!

Once I reached the hotel and the initial buzz died down I hoped once again that Cuba, as other countries, would be able to clean up their air. A notice in the bathroom asked guests to leave unused towels on the rail, to save on the laundry and environmental impact.

I’d booked into the Lido Hotel, which the Lonely Planet Cuba guide considers a main haunt in the city. Lonely Planet describes the hotel as a friendly but lacklustre institution, and I found that pretty accurate. The balcony doors wouldn’t close properly, and I didn’t find the blankets, so the night was a little chilly. I was awoken pre-dawn by the crowing of a rooster, and later identified a chicken house on the roof across the road.

The hotel’s roof restaurant served a good breakfast in the morning. The weather was cloudy and cool. With my Cuba guide book in hand I set off after breakfast, and headed towards the dome that I could see from my hotel balcony. The streets were already a hive of activity, with traffic, people and dogs vying for the limited room offered between the colourful and crooked streets.

A few minutes later I entered the grounds of the Capitolio Nacional building, and walked towards its imposing front, which is similar to the US Capitol Building. It was built between 1929 and 1932, and held the Cuban Congress until 1959. It is now used by the Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Science and Technology.

Then I headed to the Malecon, Havana’s famous five mile sea wall, and reached the area at the Parque Maceo. Situated across the road from the high-rise hospital, the park contains the impressive Monumento a Antonio Maceo. Built in 1916, the statue has Maceo, the mulatto hero of the first war of independence against the Spanish, which ended in stalemate during 1878 after ten years of conflict, on horseback above symbolic Cuban figures around the base.

Leaving the park I walked along the Malecon in the direction of Havana Vieja (Old Havana), which was signposted by an old Spanish fort that guards Havana from a headland across the harbour. I walked on the other side of the road from the sea most of the time to avoid the waves that crash over the wall at regular intervals, but crossed over to the sea side when I saw dry tracts of pavement next to the wall.

Castillo de los Tres Magos del Morro (Morro Castle) was built by the Spanish in 1589, and its walls spread dominantly inland for hundreds of yards; leading to a Rio style Christ statue and then the docks. After taking in the view across the water I headed into the narrow cobbled streets of Havana Vieja, passing the ruins of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, an open air market and the Palacio Velasco; an intricate art nouveau structure that now houses the Spanish embassy.

Another impressive statue loomed, and on closer inspection I saw it was of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes. Cespedes is known as the Padre de la Patria (Father of the Nation); he was a planter in the south of the island who freed his slaves before starting the first war of independence in 1868.

It was only after being introduced to Maceo and Cespedes, two heroes of the first war of independence, that I came across the first symbols of the most recent revolution. Walking down Plaza 13 de Marzo a banner celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the overthrowing of President Batista, and at the end of the park a tank used in the Bay of Pigs battle in 1961 sits across the road from the Museo de la Revolucion.

The museum is housed in the former Palacio Presidencial. Tiffany of New York decorated the interior, and its lavish beauty has been preserved: Classic period soldiers, both male and female, mix with angels in a gold and white visage. The presidential office (1920-65) and Council of Ministers (1959-65) are two of the highlights, and there is a wealth of information and artifacts about the revolution and last half-century.

The museum is of course biased towards the current administration, but the Batista dictatorship was obviously heinous. Cameras are allowed in for an additional charge, and I was not challenged when taking notes. There are more remnants of the revolution behind the museum, including a plane and the yacht named Granma that carried eighty-two rebel soldiers from Mexico to Cuba in 1956.

After exiting the museum I headed out to the Vedado district, and the Plaza de la Revolucion; this is where Castro and the Pope have talked to over a million Cubans. On one side of the road is the Memorial Jose Marti; the highest structure in Cuba at over 400 feet (142 meters). Marti was a writer who led the second war of independence against the Spanish in 1895, and was martyred early in the conflict.

The presidential office is situated behind the statue, and as I was late arriving at the entrance I was told in no uncertain terms to leave the area. On the other side of the plaza is the Ministerio del Interior, which features a massive mural of Che on its front; it is best viewed after dark, when lit up.

The other main draw for me in Vedado was a John Lennon park statue, so I tried to reach there before evening. I made it, after getting the hang of the odd and even numbered streets with no names. An old man was sitting next to ‘Lennon’ and he quickly put some trademark glasses on the singer, before jumping up to take my photo alongside the musical revolutionary.

Having seen the sights I wanted to visit on the first day I spent the second perusing the plazas, churches and shops of Havana Vieja in a more leisurely fashion. A Paul and Shark designer shop stood out among the older establishments; I don’t know if Che would have approved, but would Maceo, Cespedes and Marti?

If You Go:

Virgin-Atlantic (www.virgin-atlantic.com) flies direct to Cuba from the UK, while Air France (www.airfrance.com) via Paris is another option.
Searching on www.netflights.com and www.opodo.co.uk can also help you choose the best offers.
The Cuban consulate in London states that everybody now needs a Tourist Visa card. See: www.cubaldn.com It is £15 for British citizens, and the application details are on the website HERE.
There is more info at: www.lonelyplanet.com. (The Lonely Planet guide seems to be the ‘bible’ for the island, although it is three years old now.)
Video of Havana’s Malecon by Marc: www.youtube.com
Other Cuba videos by Marc can be found at: www.youtube.com/user/greenygrey3

About the author:
Marc Latham travelled to all the populated continents during his twenties, and studied during his thirties, including a BA in History. He now lives in Leeds, and is trying to become a writer from the www.greenygrey.co.uk website.

Photo credits:
First Havana photo by Spencer Everett on Unsplash
All other photos are by Marc Latham.

Bariay Bay, Cuba

by Susan Zuckerman

Curls of wood smoke rise above farms, permeating the morning air with a pungent smell and holding a festive promise. Pigs are rotating on outdoor spits all over the Cuban countryside. Today is New Year’s Eve, and tonight everyone will feast on succulent roast pork. This is the most important national holiday in Cuba, as on January 1, 1959 the dictatorial government of General Batista was overthrown. This year, 2009, thus holds particular meaning: the 50th anniversary of the Revolution led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. But today I am seeking a place of much older historical significance.

On a jeep safari tour, meandering and bouncing through thatch-roof villages and banana and coconut palm plantations, our destination is Bariay Bay in the eastern province of Holguin. This is where Christopher Columbus first landed in Cuba on October 28, 1492. It strikes me that we are celebrating New Year’s where the New World was discovered. Our guide, Orestes, however, makes a clear distinction. “Cubans formerly said that Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba,” he tells us. “Now we say that his arrival was an encounter between two cultures, European and Carib. Our schools’ text books have been changed to teach this.”

Before we reach Bariay, our all-day jeep safari tour offers other adventures that immerse us in the culture of rural Cuba. As we navigate deeply rutted tracks through villages, people rush out calling “Felice Año Nuevo!” – Happy New Year! Lively salsa and mambo music drifts out of the houses. Many of us have brought gifts of school supplies and toiletries that we pass to smiling children shyly waiting at their gates.

Simply to be in rural Cuba is like stepping back in time. While the farmhouses all have electricity, the windows have no glass, only wooden shutters. We see the occasional 1950s American car, but horses are the most common means of transportation. On this day when families unite to celebrate, many are joyously jammed into horse-drawn carts travelling along the main road.

Our first stop is Rocazul Ecological Park, where we leave our modern jeeps and mount horses ourselves. We are twenty-five on this tour, and a horse is saddled and waiting for each of us. Through hilly open forest we ride at a leisurely pace, serenaded by the songs of warblers, mockingbirds, and Cuban trogans. Back at the ranchero a jubilant band is playing and we’re served ice-cold pina coladas.

We then head towards the coast, through unfenced pastures with cows, horses, pigs, and goats all roaming free, and plantations of tall royal palms waving in the breeze. Our canvas roof is folded back and the sun is hot on our heads. My partner is in heaven to be manhandling a jeep through rough terrain. In the back seat two giddy young women, also from our hotel, are wearing bikini tops to improve their tans and seem to be having the time of their lives.

We finally reach Bariay Monument National Park. Our first stop here is an “authentic” Cuban farm. Inside a house roofed with palm-fronds we are treated to coffee made in the traditional method. The farmer grinds the beans with a wooden pestle. He then pours water, heated atop an open fire, over the grounds and through a metal strainer. Served in unglazed clay cups with a little sugar, it packs a delicious jolt. On the back porch a handsome Cuban in a straw hat is deftly hacking the tops off coconuts with a machete. We insert a straw and sip cool refreshing coconut milk. The discarded coconuts are tossed to waiting chickens that seem to love the sweet flesh. Then it’s time to ride in a cart drawn by two lumbering oxen. We pass a barefoot man stumbling along the road, swinging an open bottle of rum, a sign that the party mood is already erupting.

Back in the jeeps, we soon come to a headland overlooking the turquoise waters of Bariay Bay. Below is the white sandy beach where Christopher Columbus first landed in Cuba. It’s not difficult to imagine the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria sailing into this sheltered bay, which must have seemed a paradise with it’s swaying palm trees. To help us get into the historical mood, a blue-eyed Spaniard in 15th century dress serves us rum, while our guide, Orestes, educates us.

“Bariay Bay was Columbus’s second landfall in the New World,” he explains, “a few days after landing on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. He believed he’d found China, so he sent men to seek the Emperor. Instead they found a native Taíno village. This was where the Spanish first observed people smoking tobacco — and the international popularity of Cuban cigars was born!”

No pure Taíno exist today. Their descendants are blended into the melting pot of Cuba’s Spanish, African, and Carib populations. In a grassy meadow overlooking the bay, however, is a reconstructed Taíno village with four prominent statues representing the gods of rain, drought, fire and sun. We watch a costumed re-enactment of a Taíno ritual. Men and women of the same village could not marry, so spear-wielding young men ambush and chase reluctant young women from a neighbouring village, eventually dancing and singing together around the fire.

Lunch is served in an open hut with glorious views of the azure bay. For starters we have a salad of diced carrot, peas, onion, and various beans. The main course is a choice of chicken, beef, pork, or pasta. I have the chicken, some of the best I’ve ever eaten, possibly from all the coconuts on which the chickens have been feasting. It is served with rice, black beans and fries, and washed down with Bucanero cerveza. Dessert is guava paste sprinkled with grated cheese, a perfect combination.

Thoroughly relaxed from the sun, rum, and cerveza, we view the monument built to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival. It is called “Monumento Encuentro Dos Cultures” (Meeting of Two Cultures). Stately white columns and arches, representing the Spanish, form an arrow piercing into scattered rust-red Taíno idols, symbolizing how this encounter eventually overcame the native culture.

Lastly, we head down to the marina. Instead of sailing in replica ships, it is time to zoom about the bay on jet-skis. Some of us have had enough hot sun for the day, however, and choose to sit in the shade, sip cerveza, and listen to Cuban jazz.

The afternoon wanes. Sunset will soon be upon us. We have a long drive back to our hotel to fancy up for our gala New Year’s Eve dinner and entertainment. Orestes is anxious to return home and start partying with his extended family, an evening he says will involve drinking beer and rum, dancing, singing, and feasting on barbecued pork. Since Cubans don’t eat meat every day, this is extra special.

The day has been an encounter of cultures in more ways than one. Who knows what the next 500 years or even 50 years will bring to Cuba and the rest of the world? Who knows what 2009 will bring? The global economy is crumbling and Fidel Castro will not likely live to see 2010. But tonight is about celebration. Felice Año Nuevo!

If You Go:

We went to Cuba on an all-inclusive package through Air Canada Vacations. Our hotel, the Blau Costa Verde, was an hour from the airport and city of Holguin, in the far eastern part of Cuba. This is a very rural and mountainous part of Cuba with only a few hotels, much different than the sprawling Varadero resort area, which is near Havana in western Cuba. The beaches of Holquin province are divine!

Jeep Safari tours are available through most hotels. Ours was organized by Air Canada Vacations after we arrived and cost 70 pesos, about $90-$100.

Numerous other tours are available from the hotel, including to the local market in Guardalavaca, the cities of Holguin and Santiago de Cuba, and a catamaran tour that includes swimming with dolphins. Many other means of transportation are available as well: bicycles, scooters, kayaks, and pedal boats. All but the scooters are free from the hotel. You can also rent a car; however, none of the roads have names or numbers.

The average Cuban earns about $30 a month. Because of the US embargo, they are especially lacking in toiletries and school and medical supplies. We took a suitcase of medical supplies obtained through Not Just Tourists and donated it to a local clinic. We also took about $100 worth of school supplies (pens, felts, crayons, notebooks, paper, etc.) and soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. These we distributed mostly to children we came upon on our outings, as school was closed for the holidays.

Air Canada Vacations
Blau Costa Verde Hotel

About the author:
Susan lives outside Vancouver, B.C. She has been a teacher for over 30 years and writes historical fiction. This was her second trip to Cuba.

Photo Credits:
All photos by Susan Zuckerman.