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| as seen on the street |
With travel restrictions easing a bit, hubby and I got a
People to People Educational Exchange visa for Cuba from the US government and hopped on a 40 minute charter flight from Miami. We arrived just
after Obama's historic visit and the Cuban people were full of hope and anticipation.
Landing in Havana, the airport looked like many African airfields, immigration was pretty straight forward with '
Por favor estampe mi visa, no mi passaporte.' A local guide, Otto, met our group outside customs, we found our coach/bus, and off we went. It was explained the toilet on the coach didn't work (and wouldn't work all week) and that although arriving on time, we were too late for our visit to the national cemetery, our first planned stop. Whilst this defied logic, it is how it is and if you go with the flow all is fine. I guess living in Bonkers Florida has been good training for a visit to Cuba!!
Impressions:
- It wasn't as 'dire' as the literature made out - we were well looked after, there were toilets & toilet paper a plenty (albeit many with missing toilet seats), the food was excellent, things stuck pretty much to plan and the Cuban people were very happy to see Americans.
- Cuba is a volcanic island with lots of rural countryside, remnants of [primarily Spanish] colonization scattered about and new emergences of tourist wealth - particularly in the beach resorts of Varadero which are out of reach of many Cubans.
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| Guessing these are tourists boats! |
- We saw the best of Cuba - I definitely had the notion that resources were diverted into the tourist sector (for foreign exchange) - for example, the average wage earner could not afford the meals we ate and it was only recently that our government-employed tour guide was allowed into hotels with his foreign tourists!
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Our room - Hotel Nacional
built 1930 |
CNN and BBC are available in the foreign tourists hotels, but not in the homes of the Cuban people.
- The press is State controlled, but journalists have some access to internet and blogging. There were excellent public service announcements on TV for mosquito control and Zika virus (which has reached Cuba).
- The average Cuban wage is circa US$25/month. There are two currencies - the Cuban Peso and the Cuban Convertible Peso or CUC, which is the tourist currency.
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| Note prices in two Cuban currencies |
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| ration store open 9-11 am and 4-6 pm |
- Food rationing still exists and approximately 1 week's food per month is provided at subsidized prices with a ration card. A limited selection of non-rationed food and consumer goods are available at high prices; a pound of cheese, for example, costs more than a government employee's monthly wage. An elderly East German woman was on our tour and the communist sites gave her flashbacks to the old Soviet bloc and some unpleasant memories. She escaped inside a refrigerator in the 1960's.
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| Safety Pin Building - look top left of picture |
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| gov't building being restored |
- Music and art flourish - with a distinctive style and Spanish/African influences.
- Here's our purchase: flowers and birds hand-carved from wood - to decorate a bare spot on our balcony.
- Cuba has a rural economy; the agricultural sector still uses oxen and Soviet era tractors (when they work) to plough. Organic farming is the norm out of necessity - they cannot afford fertilizers and pesticides - so ironically they are leading the way in soil re-nourishment and organic methods. Tourism is now taking over as the largest economic sector.
- When the Soviet Union/Comecon block fell, Cuba lost its sole trading partner and the protection from market forces that saw the Soviet Union paying twice the market price for Cuban sugar (main export) as a subsidy to the Cuban government. The early 1990's are known as the 'special period' when Cuba, which imports most of its food and essential goods, had severe shortages resulting in a large wave of 'boat people' migrating to the USA.
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| Santeria ritual dance |
- Castro did not outlaw religion, although many senior Catholic clergy fled as they had supported the wealthy. Cuba has a local religion, Santeria, an amalgamation of African and Catholic traditions and beliefs. Marriage does not seem to be a high priority in Cuba.
- Gun and drugs crime is minimal. Discrimination not a strong concept with our tour guide, Otto. Health care and education are free for all.
- Raul Castro began a public dialogue in the late noughties that resulted in some relaxation called 'upgrading' in response to a recognition that the old system was not providing essential goods for the people. Foreign travel for Cubans has been allowed in the past few years. Limited and expensive internet access available in public places.
- We saw so much more, schools, medical facilities, dance, churches, a stunning portrait of Abe Lincoln (apparently brought out for President Obama's visit) - I could bore you for hours -- but won't.
- It is unclear how far & fast Cuba will go in reform. See the latest news/edict from Raul here.
And yes, they have
hundreds and hundreds of 1950's American car bodies (called Almendras by the Cubans for their shape) as tourist taxis, taken out of garages a few years back when Raul Castro allowed some private sector enterprise.
Most don't have the original engine, but are fitted with whatever parts they can find and run on cheaper diesel.
On way back, we flew over the Keys and then the
Everglades, the later looks like a soupy swamp.
We returned home to frolicking dolphins and
Red Tide complete with irritating cough it brings, bad smells and dead fish. Fortunately as of this writing it seems to have moved south!
The next few weeks have us busy with the
Pinellas County Citizens University (PCU) which take us round to many of the County's facilities and introduces us to their services and programs. So far we have been to the government commissioners' board room, the ambulance service, public works (construction, roads, environmental services, bridges, etc), the justice center (courts) and 911 (or 999) emergency call center (we missed this one being in Cuba) - mini me is looking forward to visiting the jail in a few weeks time!
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| Note the fire hydrant & ball to the left of the dog |
Sea Turtle Season has begun and this morning was our first patrol! Here's what we saw on the beach, photo by Turtle Joe. Cuba also has nesting sea turtles (although turtles and eggs are still considered a tasty delicacy by a few) and have begun to protect them too.
Check out this British slang word
numpty, shared with me by a very non-numpty friend. A great expression for yourself next time you make a silly error!
And yes, they have hundreds and hundreds of 1950's American car bodies (called Almendras by the Cubans for their shape) as tourist taxis, taken out of garages a few years back when Raul Castro allowed some private sector enterprise.
