CUBA: FEBRUARY 15 - 21, 2015
Leaving from the frozen tundra of Montreal, Quebec - We headed for the tropical urban paradise of Havana, Cuba. We spent most of our week in Havana, Cuba's Capital. We were amazed by the decrepit beauty of the Malecon (the coast road along the city's waterfront). The buildings blistered and crumbling from the aggressive salt water and lack of repair, made for an picturesque backdrop for the brilliant colored vintage cars racing down the road under the crashing waves that roared over the pavement. We entertained ourselves with sightseeing, music, cigars, and rum. Sightseeing in the open topped buses is made all the more entertaining when the Malecon is flooded and the driver takes routes he isn't used to... let's say that most if the trees in Havana are not manicured and telephone lines are not strung for double-decker buses with humans on top! We even bought a couple of local palm fedoras to protect us from the sun. To get from place to place, we took taxi rides in old 1950's Cadillacs and Russian Ladas. We enjoyed walking through the tourist areas and enjoyed venturing off into the crumbling slums even more. Picking up a sticky bun for 10 cents at the local baker made the day even sweeter.
We grappled with the poverty of this city and its country when having conversations with locals who could have been friends. They explained the deep divide in society between the local currency and the convertible money foreigners used, 25 times the value of the local cash. They wanted from us more than we could give them, so many of our partings were less than friendly.
One evening we saw the Cuban Ballet put on Swan Lake and the next saw the BuenaVista Social Club with dinner and live music all night. We took a tour to see tobacco plantations, natural caves, and rum production during our stay. We taught our tour guide the phrase "it's like herding cats!" She liked that turn of phrase and used it on us the rest of the day. Even though it was a week of unseasonably cool weather, we took ourselves on a trip to the beach using local transportation (Brucie is a wonderful tour guide). The beach was stunning, even more so because it was deserted. Just us, the sand, the man-o-wars, and the sun!!!
We would love to return to Cuba some day, but it wont be the same. This country isn't ready for demanding American tourists and the tourists aren't ready for the Cubans either. We are so glad we got to see the Malecon before Disney buys it. We are thankful to have had the hard conversations with locals, buy cigars in a grandmother's apartment, eat incredibly salted foods, and sip rum from the distilling barrels. What an experience! The world is ours!
We grappled with the poverty of this city and its country when having conversations with locals who could have been friends. They explained the deep divide in society between the local currency and the convertible money foreigners used, 25 times the value of the local cash. They wanted from us more than we could give them, so many of our partings were less than friendly.
One evening we saw the Cuban Ballet put on Swan Lake and the next saw the BuenaVista Social Club with dinner and live music all night. We took a tour to see tobacco plantations, natural caves, and rum production during our stay. We taught our tour guide the phrase "it's like herding cats!" She liked that turn of phrase and used it on us the rest of the day. Even though it was a week of unseasonably cool weather, we took ourselves on a trip to the beach using local transportation (Brucie is a wonderful tour guide). The beach was stunning, even more so because it was deserted. Just us, the sand, the man-o-wars, and the sun!!!
We would love to return to Cuba some day, but it wont be the same. This country isn't ready for demanding American tourists and the tourists aren't ready for the Cubans either. We are so glad we got to see the Malecon before Disney buys it. We are thankful to have had the hard conversations with locals, buy cigars in a grandmother's apartment, eat incredibly salted foods, and sip rum from the distilling barrels. What an experience! The world is ours!