Credit to Jim Bennett for the writing below:
So off we head to the land of Castro, communism and cigars.
Five of us, Jim and Danette Potochick, Jim Bennett, and Davron and Carlos
Cardenas, in search of a new adventure. This was pretty much an unknown, for we
knew few people who had traveled to this strange island.
On day one we drive five hours to Miami. In the afternoon we
meet Sergio, the representative of Road Scholar, the tour company that holds
the State Department license allowing educational trips to Cuba. There is a
thorough orientation for the 23 of us, the first step in peeling back all our
preconceptions. Afterward we have dinner
and turn in early. Wake-up time is four A. M. Yikes!
The next morning we groggily bus to the Miami airport, sit
around a bit, then board a scheduled Sun Country jet to Havana. A short plane
ride later our adventure begins. We sail through Cuban customs and board a
comfortable modern air-conditioned bus. Made in China. We meet Guillermo, our
Cuban Study Leader. He is an ex- school teacher and a fountain of information
about the country. He will be with us for the entire trip.
We travel to Revolution Square and learn about the great
events that have occurred there. Everywhere we turn, Fidel Castro is hailed as
a hero. Fidel was instrumental in leading the 1959 revolution, which drove the
avaricious dictator Batista from power. Subsequently the graft and corruption
of the Batista regime were replaced step by step by the glories of the
socialist economy, and the monuments in Revolution Square pay homage to that,
uh, success.
Afterward we’re off
to lunch in a paladar, a privately-owned restaurant. A note: in Cuba there are
an increasing number of small privately-owned businesses. These businesses are
growing rapidly in type and number, so much so that most guide books are already
out of date. Since the retirement of Fidel Castro and the ascension to power of
his brother Raul, capitalist elements are creeping into the economy. Fidel was
a charismatic socialist visionary, while Raul seems to be more of a pragmatist.
Leaving Revolution Square, we drive to the Colon Cemetery, a
huge (140 acres) property of massive monuments, mausoleums, and chapels. The
size and scope of these family vaults defy comprehension.
Later, we’re off to the Hotel Nacional, arguably Havana’s
finest. It is a wonderful old place, quite comfortable, and proud of its famous
past visitors—Marilyn Monroe, Meyer Lansky, Frank Sinatra, etc. Then an
excellent dinner at the hotel and we’re free to explore afterward.
Day three arrives. A huge early-morning buffet, then our
morning lecture begins at 8:30. This is an educational trip, make no bones
about it. Our speaker is a local architect who is heavily involved in the
preservation of Old Havana. He has outstanding knowledge of the city and what
is necessary to repair and maintain the old buildings. Our little group shares
the opinion that his is an impossible task. Many of the buildings in Havana
were constructed in the 20’s and 30’s, and some even in the 1800’s and before. The
architecture is stunning on many of these old places, but maintenance is
dismal. They are disintegrating before our eyes. In the city of Havana half the
incoming water supply is lost to leaks in the system and those leaks have done
untold damage to the foundations of the building. On average, three buildings a
day collapse in Havana. It would cheaper to tear these old places down than
repair them, but there is no money even for that. We can’t conceive of how they
will ever be able to repair, rebuild, and maintain the houses, apartments, commercial
buildings, and infrastructure.
Later we investigate the ‘four plazas’ of Havana, each with
its own story. The people we meet and interact with are unfailingly polite and
friendly. In one square the men are cautioned to avoid the brightly costumed
women who come up and volunteer to have their picture taken with them. These
women wear a brilliant petroleum-based lipstick, and if they kiss you your
cheek will be a smeary mess for the rest of the day. They wear badges provided
by the government; we call them registered kissers. In one of the squares there
is a little shop selling postcards. They also sell stamps, which can be applied
with a little glue stick they offer. There is a slot to mail the cards, and we
are told they may arrive in two or three months.
We visit the first English book store in Cuba. It is run by an American
journalist who lives in Havana. She is very open about how things operate and
the difficulties she can face in operating her little business.
A note: people in Cuba can talk very
freely. Though the country is a dictatorship, there is a free exchange of
ideas. You cannot, of course, go onto a street corner and shout that Fidel is
an immoral communist pig, but people are very open when you ask them hard
questions. At the book store we break up into small groups to discuss life in
Cuba, and one Cuban is asked directly about graft and corruption in the Cuban
government. He is very open is saying that it is prevalent in all levels,
though since Raul Castro has come into power there are an increasing number of
prosecutions for graft.
Later we explore the neighborhood near the Hotel Nacional and find an
excellent restaurant. Carlos is fluent in Spanish and has a long conversation
with our waitress. She is very candid about how much she makes ($25 per month)
and about the hardships of living in a controlled society that has no money.
Cardiologists, she informs us, make $48 per month. Everyone, of course,
supplements their government incomes any way they can. Tourism is the number
one industry in Cuba and many professionals make more money driving cabs than
they can earn in their regular business.
On day four we have a presentation on Cuba-U. S. relations, as seen from
a Cuban perspective. Without going into endless detail, suffice it to say that
there has been a monumental amount of misunderstanding, posturing, and just
plain mistakes on both sides over the past hundred years and more. To get a
better feel for all these problems would take several books.
Later we’re off to the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana, the
fortress protecting the mouth of Havana Harbor. Apparently the fortress and the
blockaded harbor did their jobs well. That is, until the English came and
climbed up the hill behind the fortification and took control of the city.
We’re off to the Artisan’s Market, where we see paintings, photography,
crochet work, wood crafts and other art. We can interact with the people and
discuss their daily lives. As usual, we make an effort to support them by
making small purchases. We are more than happy to spend the money with these
people.
The lecture for day five is on religion in Cuba. Jim B and Danette skip
the lecture and head off on foot to Havana Viejo, the old city, some three
miles away. It is a fascinating walk through the local neighborhoods, stopping
to talk to artists, shop owners, and assorted citizens. On the way, Danette
stops at a school to talk to a teacher, and Jim and Danette are invited in for
a tour. Eventually it is time to return to the hotel, and a ’54 Chev
convertible provides taxi service. A note on the cars: about a third of the
automobiles on the street are American vehicles made in 1958 and earlier.
Mostly 50’s, and few 40’s, and now and then a Model A. Strangely (to us), many
of these old cars have been converted to diesel. Thus you will see a ’57 Chev
clattering down the street with billows of black smoke pouring from its oversize
tail pipe. It seems that all the government vehicles run on diesel and the
operators and maintenance people ‘appropriate’ diesel fuel and sell it on the
black market. There it brings $1 per gallon, while gasoline, imported mostly
from Venezuela, is $5 per gallon.
That evening we dine at El Aljibe, a local favorite, famous for their
roast chicken and ‘secret sauce’. A surprise awaits us when we leave the
restaurant: instead of the usual bus, driven by our trusty chauffeur Roberto, a
string of 1950’s convertibles awaits our group. With ear-to-ear grins we all
jump aboard and caravan though the city to our hotel. Horns honk, sirens
scream, people wave—a very fun time for all.
In the morning we depart from Havana for Cienfuegos, a prosperous
(comparatively) town on the south shore of the island that is Cuba. It is
perhaps a three-hour bus ride, with stops for refreshments and bathroom usage.
Many of the roads have only two lanes, with only one main highway running most
of the 700-mile length of Cuba. We see very little traffic—it is too expensive
to travel. As we get further out into the countryside we see more horse-drawn
transportation. We pass deserted sugar mills and small farms and small towns. A
note on sugar production in Cuba: When the soviets came to Cuba to spread the
benefits of communism (and look for places to install their missiles), they
offered the Cubans 40 cents per pound for sugar. The world price at that time
was 10 cents. Cuba was a huge sugar producer, so the living was good. That is,
until the Soviet Union collapsed and stopped buying sugar. The Cubans had not
updated their production facilities because there had been no need, and now
they could not produce the product for 10 cents a pound. The country dropped
immediately into a deep economic depression, from which many say they have
still not recovered. As we travel we also see farmers putting the roads to
another use besides transportation: they spread their rice harvests along the
road to dry. There is so little traffic that this poses no problems for
travelers like ourselves. When the rice is dry, they bag it and load it into
trucks, for market.
We stop at a museum at Playa Giron, the Bay of Pigs, where displaced
Cubans naively believed a tiny invasionary force would cause the people to rise
up and overthrow the revolutionary government. There are signs everywhere
extolling the triumph of the great Fidel, and we learn the Cuban side of the
story. Any way you look at it, it was an
ill-conceived disaster.
On to Cienfuegos. We walk
through the main square in Cienfuegos, Plaza Jose Marti. There are little shops
surrounding the square, and we wander through them and talk to the shopkeepers
while on the lookout for souvenirs to take back to the U. S. Our accomodations
in Cienfuegos are at the Hotel Jagua, the best in the city. Also the newest,
dating back only to 1958.
The following day we saddle up and head for the city of Trinidad, which
is called the crown jewel of colonial Cuban cities and was founded in 1514.
With its rough cobblestone street, it is probably also the leg-breaker capital
of the world. How the suspensions of the 1950’s automobiles can survive the
streets of Trinidad is beyond comprehension. We lunch in a delightful paladar
in Cienfuegos, where we have an
excellent meal and a marvelous view, both of the distant mountains and
of the ancient woman hanging out
her laundry next door.
In the afternoon we tour the town, stopping to visit a casa particular,
a Cuban bed and breakfast. The people are marvelously candid, so we deluge them
with questions. Many of the people in our group take very detailed notes, as
though they are preparing for a test. We have, however, come here to learn. A
note about Road Scholar travelers: if our group was any indication, Road
Scholar travelers are very serious about gathering knowledge. Most had traveled
widely and become learned about many parts of the world. They love to share
information and traveling with them is an education in itself.
In Trinidad it is very warm, and by the time we meet the bus to head
back to the Hotel Jagua
in Cienfuegos, we are dragging. We rest a bit, then the five of us get together
on the sixth-floor walkway of the hotel, where we can hear music playing from
somewhere in the city. We have a drink and stick cigars in our mouth. We look
very cool.
The following morning we indulge in the usual excellent breakfast, before
traveling to a local farmer’s market. Unlike the U. S., the meat is not
refrigerated, but hung openly or piled on tables for customers to view. The
meat is very fresh in the morning, but as the day goes on it drops in price. It
is generally a good idea to overcook meat that has been purchased late in the
day. Regarding food in Cuba: everyone is issued a ration book, good for a
certain amount of sugar, salt, flour, milk, etc. After that, you supplement your income with a
trip to the farmer’s market. Sadly, Cuba is a net importer of food. The
government has allotted only small amounts of acreage to the farmers, and the
small size and lack of mechanization, plus the unaffordable price of
fertilizer, make for very inefficient farms. Departing from the farmer’s market,
we load up and head to Santa Clara, the provincial capital, where we meet with
a senior citizen’s social group. On the wall of their meeting hall is a sign
that says Fiesta des Abuelos, or something like that. We interpret it liberally
to mean ‘Get down with granny’, for these folks like to dance, sing, and party.
In the spirit of the day, we tourists join in and boogie with the old folks.
We dine in Santa Clara, then head over to the Che Guevara memorial. Bet
you didn’t know his real name was Ernesto Lynch…. In any case, he was very well-read
and well-educated. He graduated from medical school and spent much time
studying engineering and mathematics. He was a fearless revolutionary fighter
and is revered to this day in Cuba.
Afterward we attend a performance by an a capella choir. The group was very talented and
entertaining. Afterward they have the usual cd’s for sale and most of us buy
one. Again, there is no pressure to do this, but we wholeheartedly desire to
support these groups, and it is a pleasure to do anything we can for them.
After dinner the five of us head out to find some good Cuban music. We
walk for many blocks in Cienfuegos, talking to residents along the way.
Unsuccessful, we finally return to our hotel only to find that an excellent
band is playing. By now we’re all tired, so we go to bed.
The following morning, Jim and Jim and Danette go for a long walk.
Carlos and Davron pass by and throw us a bottle of shampoo or some such, the
same as Danette has been passing out to the Cubans. After a while we all meet
back at the motel, board the bus, and drive for the Cienfuegos airport. We are
careful not to have too much Cuban money left, for it is not convertible
outside the country. We pool all our Cuban money and find we have barely enough
for lunch, then board the plane and leave Cuba without an extra centavo. A note
on Cuban money: they have a two-currency system—one currency for Cubans and one
for tourists. There is a 13% fee to change U. S. dollars into tourist pesos, or
CUC’s. The Cubans are threatening to do
away with this clunky system within the next two years.
In Miami, customs is a breeze.
We check in at automated kiosks, talk briefly to a U. S. Customs inspector, and
leave. Contrary to even the latest guidebooks, we are not hassled about
bringing our purchases back from Cuba—everyone has loaded up with T-shirts and
other memorabilia. Our guides cautioned us against bringing back cigars or rum,
but it is unlikely that a few cigars would cause a problem.
One last note: communications in Cuba are easy, if you can afford it.
Pick up the phone in the hotel and call home. $2.65 per minute. As for
internet, citizens do not have access to it. One or two business owners told us
that they have illegal dishes on their roofs and can get on the internet, but
it is against the law. Lastly, an observation on the police. They seem
efficient, organized, and not especially friendly. Far, however, from a police
state one might expect in a communist country.
Bottom line? One of the best trips we’ve ever taken. An educational
experience far beyond expectations. Well organized, efficient, and really,
really, fun.
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