Crazy about Cuba
Nov 2017
I can’t resist! I have to download all my thoughts, emotions and gathered facts for my own sanity!
7 nights Cuba and a life-enhancing journey!
Warning: up until the part on Havana, the source for most of the information was Janis, our lovely young Cuban guide on the Three City visit described further down.
Facts Cuba:
- 11,5 Mio inhabitants
- 2.5 Mio in Havana
- 2017: 4 million tourists, main economy
- South side of the island darker sand as less erosion.
- 1495 keys and islands around Cuba
- 200 beaches
- 300 bays
- Bay of Pigs is 900 m deep
- Cuba 1250 kms long
- On Atlantic Ocean but Cuba has 100 kms on caribbean sea
- The shops with vitrines are government held, the market stalls are privately held but pay the government about 40% in taxes
- In privately owned shops you can haggle down 10 or 20%
- Everyone basically works for the government
- Since collapse of the Soviet Union they have joint ventures with foreign companies whereby Cuba has ownership and foreign cies do oversees management
- Currencies:
- Cuban peso is the national currency in which all salaries are paid (pictures of heroes on notes). It is illegal for Cubans to be paid in CUC, but 50% of what they buy is in CUC (some products only available in CUC such as sanitary products and school supplies)
- all foreign currency is converted into convertibles CUC (pictures of the monuments associated with the heroes. (1 CUC is slightly less than 1 Euro)
- that is why foreign tips in CUCs are so in demand
- We paid 850 Euros, return flight Amsterdam-Veradero with agency TUI, including transfers, visa, 7 nights all inclusive food and drink unlimited.
- Our hotel, Sol Palmeras is 5 kms from Varadero town (7 kms long), 2 hours from Havana and 4,5 hours from Trinidad.
- Beaches are numbered from 1 till 64 in Varadero
- Turquoise sea, white sand
- I saw no beggars
- I saw no rubbish in the cities
History described by our lovely Cuban guide:
1868: The first war of independence against the Spanish lasted 10 years and was badly organised.
1895: Jose Marti: poet, philosopher, journalist, instigated the Second war of independence. He spoke 5 languages, including Greek and Latin and was like a model to Castro.
He had to live in exile in Mexico and UK. (1895 -1898) Santiago de Chile was the only enclave left. Then came the explosion of battleship Maine in Havana harbour which led the Americans to join Cuba to defeat the Spanish, it succeeded but the Americans did not leave and occupied from 1898 - 1902. In 1901 the Cubans asked to have the right to a Cuban president. In 1902 they signed many treaties which were supposed to enable them to have one, one of which was Guantanamo naval base: “to keep us safe”. The Americans asked for 4 naval bases but just got the one. No expiry date was given. In that case it is valid 99 years and should have expired in 2001, which makes the American occupation of the base now illegal, added to that it is not being used as a base but a prison.
- 40s - 50s Bautista came in by coup (pro American), he was just after the money and stayed as governor for 15 years.American mobsters in Havana, casinos, all the big bosses were here.
- Castros movement launched in 1953 was called 26/7 as it was the date of the Moncada garrison attack. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail and was released on amnesty in 1955. Fidel didn't stop and as Bautista was trying to have him killed, he fled to Mexico to organise the revolution which is where Che Guevara met him.They came back together to Cuba in 56 and waged war till 59.
- 1961 US severed relationships with Cuba and started trade embargo (reinforced in 63 by travel embargo)
- 15 april 1961 US attack in Bay of pigs intending to topple Castro, was carried out by 1400 Cuban exiles under CIA supervision. Fiasco, over in 72 hours
- 17 April 1961, Americans withdrew aerial support leaving only the mercenaries to avoid a stand-off with Kruschev. Cubans took 1000 American prisoners, which were held for 20 months then released in exchange for food and medical supplies.
- 1962 Cuban missile crisis. USSR brought missiles to Cuba, Kennedy declared naval blockade: confrontation, verge of nuclear war. Settlement, Khrushchev removed the rockets and US removed in Turkey, US promised no aggression. Fidel wanted closure of base and removal of blockade so was sore at Kruschev on deal conditions.
1990s: collapse of USSR: severe economic crisis. Many left.Crisis of the boat people. If caught at sea they were called ‘ wet feet” and sent to Guantanamo then sent back. Those who made it to the USA were called ‘ dry feet” and after one year could become resident.
Film “ 90 miles to Florida”. Also brought about a lot of changes. People are now allowed to sell properties, start their own business and foreigners can invest. Before the 90s, 85% was from the USSR.
Emotions
- Amazing toilets in public places, doors like stable doors open at top and bottom, just cutting out middle, doors mostly do not shut! No paper either. Makes for fun bonding with co-travellers!
- Guide emotional, proud and protective of her country
- Colour of the sea out of this world: turquoise, around 24 degrees, big waves at time, colour so vibrant it is magnetic, so many hues from the deepest of blues to the palest of greens. Hard to define the depth of the palette
- Sand white, crushed shells and coral
- The sound of the surf lulling, mindful, getting in touch with your body again, the feel of sun and sand and water on naked skin, taking time to just be present
- Morning yoga and chanting and 7am swim warming up in the morning sun
Day trip tres ciudades: Santa Clara - Trinidad- Cienfuegos: 700kms
Set off joyfully like on a school bus trip, various people from different countries and tour operators. 2 drivers and Janis Lynn, like most, studied at university for 6 years. Good english and adorable.
Nice bus, airco, seat belts no one uses and toilets unoperational as waiting for Russian parts.
Transport is a big problem here, few cars as they do not manufacture any, they have to import them from far. Even a russian Lada costs between 10 and 20.000 CUCs or more. Brand new cars cost from 50.000 upwards. The cheapest car is a Fiat. Saw some armoured looking vehicles they pile into, and of course the old American yellow school buses and American oldtimers, motorbikes with sidecars. The American cars from the 50s are actually hybrids, nothing is original, they are all converted to diesel.
Roads wide and drivable but not great condition despite the peages.Hitchhiking is the second sport in Cuba after baseball!!
The government pays people to help hitchhikers.They wear yellow or green uniforms and stop cars or buses, unless you are doing a private tour, it is mandatory to stop and take people on board.
Dual carriageways practically empty, average road surface condition.
Occasional caballero on the side or horse and trap.
White licence plates for private cars, white with blue stripe are government owned.
Housing:
In 1959 Fidel promised the people housing. It takes years. Once you have worked 5 years for the government you can apply for your own house and it takes 5 to 6 years to obtain. Until then you live either with your parents or your in-laws if you are married.Mother in laws are very important here! You don't have to pay a lot to get a loan, it is a percentage of your salary and you become owner within a further 5 to 6 years, and can pass your house down to your children.
Nowadays it is also possible to buy from individuals but it is a lot more expensive.
They have many social benefits: free healthcare and education (89% of the population is literate).
Many rent out rooms in their house (casa particular) to tourists, recognisable by the blue anchor symbol on the facade.
3 or 4 generations live in the same house, children look after the parents.
In colonial days Santa Clara was one of the richest cities and the houses were huge, most 3-4 stories. A big door for the carriages, and within it a smaller one for people. People had many children in the hope some would survive.Most houses had 3-4 slaves living on 2nd floor.
In Havana people live up and work under.
Local flats look very sordid.
Slogans everywhere
- La revolucion sigue (the revolution continues)
- Nuestro deber, es vencer (our duty is to vanquish)
- Patria o muerte (homeland or death)
- Socialismo o muerte (socialism or death)
- Fidelidad (fidelity)
- “El futuro de nuestra patria sera un eterno baragua!” (The future of our homeland will be an eternal protest)
- “Cuba: genuina demonstracion de democracia” (Cuba: genuine demonstration of democracy)
Large green areas in between the cities, some swamp areas.
We travelled via Cardenas:
Also known as “ flag city” as this is where the Cuban flag was first hoisted in 1850. Also known as “ crab city” as in the mating season the crabs cross the road from the mainland to the sea and get run over.
Bacardi rum till 1958. Batista governor, last war of independence, Bacardi owner left to escape Batista’s greed, now called Santiago rum (the best, I confirm).
Flag:
3 blue stripes for the 3 provinces when it was a colony (now replaced by 15 districts)
2 white stripes: purity of cuban cause and the strength of the ideal
Red triangle: blood they are willing to spend
White star: fair cause
Cigars:
We watched a little old lady who had been rolling for 35 years.
- 5 sheets of tobacco (1 for taste, 1 for smell, 1 for combustion, 1 for strength, 1 to wrap) plus vegetable glue.
- All hand rolled
- Monte Cristo 4 were Che’s favourites
- They grow tobacco near Trinidad and to the West of Havana and are famous for their cigars.
Santa Clara Mausoleum/Museum to Che Guevara:
First we visited the Mausoleum and museum to Che Guevara.
Ernesto Guevara de la Sierra. (Che is “hi” in Argentina, he died in Bolivia).He studied medicine
Born in Argentina in 1928, he studied medicine. Being sick with asthma set him aside from childhood on (but didn't stop his large consumption of Monte Cristo 4 cigars). Very smart, philosopher, idealist. He studied the Cuban Jose Marti, loved reading, chess and baseball. He travelled a lot in Latin America. In Guatemala he helped the government and then had to leave at the bequest of the CIA. He also worked as a photographer to help the poor. He went to Mexico to meet Castro and find out more about the revolution movement. They met in a farm and conversation went on for 10 hours. Castro brought him to Cuba from Tuxpan/ Mexico, in a 25 person boat. They were supposed to land in November but landed Dec 2nd 1956 as there were 82 in boat. Only 18 out of the 82 survived Bautista’s troops waiting. They fled to the mountains and started war.
Che Guevara was named Commander in 56. He organised the revolution from East to West and released all the cities till Santa Clara in 1958. Only Santiago de Chile was left as Bautista enclave.Bautista sent food and weapons by train to his troops but Che intercepted and derailed the train in Santa Clara and took the weapons and stocks. He led the battle of Santa Clara 28 Dec 58, it took 2 days;and that ended Bautista, Cuba was free.Bautista fled.
Che was leader of 21 battles and was given “Cuban citizenship by birth” , only 2 others achieved this. He became Minister of Finance and Head of the National bank in 1962, married a Cuban and had 4 children.
In 1964 he wrote to Fidel that his job was done in Cuba and he was needed elsewhere, and left to Czechoslovakia and the Congo. Fidel answered he agreed but could help and Che returned to take stocks and weapons. Congo didn’t want to take it to war. He returned to Cuba then on to Bolivia. After 11 months there he was caught and executed by the CIA. Che wrote about this period in his diaries, he just wanted to lead the Communist party, they were alone with 3000 Bolivians after them. They were betrayed. He was executed in 1967. His remains were found in 1997 under the runway of Bolivia’s airport, brought back to Cuba and now in the memorial of Sta Clara which was built in 1998 for 30th anniversary of the battle of Sta Clara.
Mausoleum with wooden roof and stones and plants to look like the jungle. Chronology photos of his life. Flame symbolising the fact he is still alive in the heart of Cubans.
“ Educate your children in the way of Che”, Fidel Castro.
Santa Clara City was founded in 1699 by the Spanish (from 1511 to 1898, Cuba was a Spanish colony). The Spanish came looking for gold and interested in the strategic position of Cuba. Then inhabited by aboriginals which were cheap labour. Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1492 thinking it was India. Life expectancy was 44, mainly due to chickenpox introduced by the Europeans.They all died.
Beautiful neoclassical architecture.
We visited the place where Che derailed the armoured train.
28 Dec 51, the train was defended by 3000 Bautista soldiers, Che had 300 men.
Drove on. Very green, large expanses.
Entered the province of Sancti Spiritus , 2nd highest mountain range of country.
Like driving through the jungle. Dense foliage
Wildlife:
Many birds: Cuban national bird (blue/red/white) can not stay in cage or will die ‘ Tocororo”, bird of freedom. Many species of parrot.
Endemic: native from that country
Exotic: from another country but stays for a while
Naturalised: decides to stay as gets used to the place.
61 sorts of reptiles, many crocodiles (Cuban and American crocodiles from the Keys get on well!!)
Tree rat (look like medium dogs), delicious roasted “ hutia”
Smallest frog in the world, 8,5 mm (banana frog)
Lots of snakes (nonpoisonous)
The dead:
Still prefer burial to cremation. Many family graves. Catholic tradition.After 2-3 years families have to exhume their dead (or pay to have it done), they wash and bundle up the bones and place on the side in the grave to make room for the next
City of Trinidad
Main square declared in 1988 Unesco protected site. Used to be the biggest centre of sugar production.
In 1850 there were 48 sugar mills. Drove through sugar mills valley. Large tower built as look-out to keep an eye on the slaves in the plantation. Many escaped to the mountains and committed suicide.
Beautiful mansions and palaces.
In 1514 the Spanish were looking for gold and founded Trinidad. The needed the aboriginals to mine. 6 years later the gold was finished and they moved on to Mexico. In Cuba they then turned to sugarcane.
In the 1950s Trinidad was totally isolated as far from Havana and no good roads, they came by boat. Called “ the asleep city of Cuba”.
Cobble stones on the streets are from Bremen in Germany and were used as ballast on the boats which travelled here empty to collect the sugar. Same in Havana.
In Havana the old houses are property of the government, here of individuals hence they are used for businesses. Very long windows to let in some fresh air as one of the hottest cities (33 degrees when we were there). They mostly had wooden grates but there was a large explosion in 1700 and many were burnt.
Stunning ornamented buildings, blues and pinks, and ochres with old men sitting chewing on cigars or making music. Old American 1950s cars in bright colours outside, horses and carriages...heat from the cobble stones, locals congregated under the shade of the trees, flowers...a photographers dream…
1 km Prado promenade (shorter in Havana), terraced so as to protect from sun or rain.
Arch of triumph for the new republic founded by the Americans, 20 May 1902.
Tomas Terry, a rich landowner built the city. Caruso performed here. When Trinidad died out, the rich came here.
1850 Spanish casino ( blue and white building)
1902 City hall (grey)
1829 Cathedral
Well worth the 4,5 hour trip!
Drive back to Varadero via:
Cienfuegos
Established in 1819
Drove past the beautiful cemetery dating from 1927, a mini Pantheon built on a hill as they love the sea so much they want to be able to see it when they are dead.
Named after the Governor.
There is a power station and an oil refinery.
Named ‘ the pearl of the south”.
Neoclassic. One of the cleanest cities.
Haiti is 77 kms away.
In the revolution many french came, in 1819 a Colonel from Bordeaux brought many families.
Main square (Jose Marti) stunning in the evening light. Pastel colour buildings. Theatre Italian style.
1829 Cathedral: 12 windows, 12 apostles
Mahua tree planted on the founding spot
On way back drove over the highest bridge in Cuba, Bacunayagua Bridge 140 m long.
Sugarcane was introduced by China and India and remained the main industry till 1990. Slaves were brought over from Africa to work on the plantations.
The stem of the sugarcane is also its seed, once planted there is a new plant within 12 days and ready for harvest in one year. The residual fiber is used to make paper, also burnt as fuel in the sugar mills.
In the 1970s and 80s they had a very generous deal from the Russians where they exchanged sugar for oil at a very beneficial rate ( 72 cents per pound). The two were linked so the price of oil depended on the price of sugar and vice versa. ½ ton sugar = 2 tons of oil.
The collapse of the USSR and the end of the deal provoked a severe economic crisis.Black outs for days on end.
In the 90s they started to invest in oil themselves and opened to tourism. In 1959 Castro had nationalised, they were exporting citrus, rum, cigars and coffee but then it was forbidden to export to USA and to import which provoked shortages of in particular medicine: aspirins. The revolution needed to go on (biased anti America talk), most products then came from China.
Cuban people are a mixed people: Swedish from railroad workers, Canadian, Chinese, Koreans, Africans, Spanish. The main groups are Spanish, African (400.000 slaves) and Chinese from the 19th century. There is a Chinese town in Havana but now only consists of restaurants but they do have their own cemetery. The Cubans call themselves an “ internal mango plantation” (sexy!).
Aboriginals 1511, then African slaves, followed by Spanish, created the creoles.
Extremely friendly and happy to talk
Laid back.
They do expect a CUC for everything which at times is taxing and at times puts in doubt their genuine kindness.
Religion:
Though socialist, Fidel gave the freedom to religion as long as it does not conflict with socialism . There are two main religions: the Catholic church and the Santeria (African voodoo):they have altars in their houses and feed their saints food every day (apples, bananas). They dress in white for a year as promise to a saint for something they want (often cure from a disease).
Incredibly safe (they want tourists to come), an example of a whole nation putting individualistic needs aside for the good of all.
Free Education and Healthcare for all since Fidel. School uniforms: high white socks, skirts for girls, trousers for boys and shirts.
Age 5 : Kindergarten
6: Elementary
11-15 Secondary then free choice to go to
15-18 High school ( after passing tough exams)
Then tough exams for University
6 years for languages and medicine
5 years for engineering etc
After graduating they have to serve 3 years in the army (mandatory for men, voluntary for women)
All school supplies and medical supplies are free.
They have good hospitals, eye clinics, carry out heart transplants and export vaccins.
With the tourism boom, many university graduates switched to tourism *(our tour guide, many of the taxi drivers, hotel workers). One taxi driver had studied 5 years and was an accredited accountant but would earn 30 CUC a month in a government job.
Tips in CUCs are very important. They all share. Ex our tourist guide shares with the 2 drivers and those back at the office who do not have direct access to the tourists. Wages are still low and many have 2 to 3 jobs.
Food
Maybe the less impressive aspect of Cuba. Arroz Moreno (rice with black beans), beans, cabbage, meat
Lots of fresh fruit: citrus, papayas, watermelon, guayave
And of course RUM!!!!
Farming:
There are private and government held farms , they grow everything: pineapple, mango, cabbage, sugarcane, other vegetables and are self-sufficient for sugar which is also used for paper, rum and other alcohol.
Spain and France are the main importers of rum.
Main market for Citrus, oranges are NL and Spain.
Railroad:
Cuba was the second country in the Americas and the 7th worldwide to get a railroad (1837). Financed by the rich sugar landowners to transport the sugarcane to the factories and the sugar to the ports.
Weather:
Hurricane season 1 July - 30 November, hence houses are built from concrete. There is a big cement factory (biggest in Latin America) in Cienfuegos, it is a joint venture with Mexico (allowed since the 90s).
December- May are the cooler months.
Trip to Havana
We decided to leave our resort for a 2 days, one night, self organised trip to the capital!
Entering Habana through tunnel: built by French in 1958 in 30 months, 700 m long, under sea level.
The tone was set straight from entrance in the city along the malecon (sea promenade), it had just rained and I was immediately beguiled by the colonial architecture, the facades, engravings, colourful paint… Yet also a sadness as many of the buildings along the Malecon are crumbling away and it does not feel right this cultural heritage should not be preserved.
The bus took us past the museum of the revolution with its eternal flame (previously the Presidential Palace which we visited the next day).
They had a good system for tourists wanting to transfer. A bus collected tourists from various hotels in Varadero and dropped them off at various hotels in Havana. We paid 11 CUC. Personally we are staying in a Casa Particular (bed and breakfast) but were told we could just name any hotel nearby, the closest which I could think of was the Hotel Nacional! In grand style we arrived, much to the bus guide’s bewilderment, at the superb old historical building on the water which has housed so many stars and mobsters over the years since the 30s. A lovely cappuccino on the glamorous terrasse steeped in history, with view on the grounds over to the sea, and a photo shoot in progress gave us a good feeling of the past glory of Havana..
Rip off in the government taxi to our casa particular, but we learnt. Lovely young Cuban couple holding it. We have a stand alone bedroom and bathroom up an iron staircase. Dropped our stuff off and armed with a better knowledge of prices and a lot of self assurance we took a great private taxi (red cadillac) in to Havana Vieja as we set off to visit the four main squares:
- Plaza Vieja
- Plaza de la Catedral
- Plaza de Armas
- Plaza de San Francisco de Assisi.
So grateful for my Spanish and the chance to converse with all. This taxi driver is 33, married, with sons of 2 and 5. His parents live down, they live up. The car was his father's and he is a big baseball fan. One other had an accountancy degree (6 years university) but earned more as taxi driver than the 30/month he would earn as accountant. Of all the Cubans I spoke to, he was the first to question what I was calling “ love of the patria” and say it was mostly a feeling of identity, grand parents/parents, just what we know. Doubt it can last...
Neither of us having much of sense of direction, we ended up at another square than intended but found a nice local restaurant (Cafe el Mercurio) for a sandwich and delicious local beer Crystal to the sound of record-worthy live Cuban music before wandering full of awe and excitement and gratitude along the streets of Havana.
The Cathedral was sadly shut both days, no one quite sure why. We visited the museum de la ciudad in a beautiful old building. As intended had a delicious mojito at atmospheric Plaza Vieja to the sounds of another fantastic live band. I feel drunk on emotions. Was glad to sit a while away from the noise, the vibrancy of the city in the church of St Francis of Assisi.
We then walked the full length of the Malecon, along the coast back to Hotel Nacional breathing in the beautiful skyline and getting a wet bum sitting on the wall watching the waves break. We were pleased to arrive at Hotel Nacional and nosed around the building before settling down on the terrasse by the water, under the starry sky for a lovely Mojito. Shattered but happy. We walked to the Restaurant Olivier had liked the look of (St Laurent) but sadly it was full. They recommended Santa Barbara and there we went and tried our first daiquiri (delicious). The daiquiri (cocktail) was supposedly invented for Ernest Hemingway who is said to have downed 14 in one sitting.
We were going to walk back to our Casa Particular but it turned out to be further than we thought so at some point hailed a taxi, collapsed on bed and promptly fell asleep fully clothed at 20:30!!! Haha!! We woke again around 10 pm but could hardly move for exhaustion: so much for dancing all night in Havana! No regrets, my arthritic foot is sore, we we took in a lot today, heard a lot of music and were at a Buena Vista Social Club concert last night.
It feels incredibly safe here, at all times and wherever we were. I think they have been well briefed that tourists are their livelihood and they all seem to see the common need to put aside individual greed.
The vibrancy is palpable and all the vivid American cadillacs and others in front of the colourful colonial buildings makes for compulsive photography.
For breakfast we walked past the endless queues (“In Cuba we queue for everything”) to a local cafette (recommended by our landlord) and had lovely omelet, and fruit salad with cappuccino for breakfast before solving our main dilemma: how to get back to Varadero. Transfers leave in the morning. Our best bet was viazul (the local national bus) so we found a nice taxi driver who took us to the bus terminal to reserve tickets as it was supposedly a risk it would be full. Turns out we just need to be there by 4:30 and she can guarantee us space on the 5pm bus, which is the last today.
Every cloud has a silver lining: we were regretting having spent most of the morning sorting out the return but we did drive past the huge cemetery I had wanted to visit and considering it is pouring this is not a bad way to visit it. Absolutely huge and stunning with its ochre walls and all styles of graves and family chapels, new, old, so large you can drive in, trees and peaceful atmosphere, truly charming. Apparently it is the only cemetery in Cuba with a Spanish church in its midst. Adjoining it is a Chinese cemetery. According to our very informative governmental taxi driver, there is always space, it is a governmental obligation. He prefers the security of working for the government, he pays rent for the use of the taxi as breadwinner but can also use it for private purposes.
Our driver took us for a tour in less visible areas and explained about the large amounts of renovation going on thanks to foreign investment.
We saw 5 th avenue with all the Embassies, I would have liked a posting here…
On to the huge “ Plaza de la revolucion” where people come to talk and gather, the Pope talked here.
Where locals live is a different story, huge shabby apartment blocks out of town and downtown in little dark cubby holes, mostly without windows. They look very cramped yet catch view of old fashioned sofas, prehistoric TVs, artificial flowers and doilies.
After having seen all we could take on the revolution in the museum, we walked to the majestic Capitol (larger than Washington), absolutely grandiose.
We keep running out of CUCs and witnessed the bureaucracy first hand at Banco Nacional. We drew a ticket and waited for ages as all numbers were called but ours. A friendly customer, noticing us sitting there looking frustrated intervened on our behalf and it turned out the only cashier who could deal with us was off on extended lunch break…. Got the money in the end and enjoyed a last meal in Havana, grilled pulpo and 2 mojitos, it helped fight the feeling that the end of this magical holiday is nearing.
The Viazul bus was perfect, air conditioning etc and the cherry on the cake was we got a totally funky open jeep with blaring music and video screen for our ride from Varadero station to hotel. Arrived blown to bits but exhilarated!
Last day of morning yoga and swim before breakfast, an emotional goodbye to our chambermaid who left us a handwritten note and flowers for my hair…
I feel I will still be whirling with all the emotions and impressions for a while on return….and I am, hence this 11 page travelogue!
The Hague, November 27th 2017
