It's Cuba!

I've really struggled with how to write about my experience in Cuba. It's the only place I have ever travelled, where I had such mixed feelings when I returned home. It is an incredibly beautiful and magical place, but overwhelmingly unsettling. I feel like Americans have a wildly over romanticized idea of Cuba. We want to see it how it may have been pre-embargo, as a country filled with vintage cars, beautiful women and dancing, mojitos and cigars, but we don't realize how ignorant that is.

My best explanation for all my starry eyed friends is to watch "Una Noche". I mean it. Every aspect of that film was spot on. From the prostitution, to the starving manged dogs and horses, dilapidated buildings, Santeria rituals, overly aggressive men and the manner in which the Cuban people seem to be continually repressed and demoralized... this film is too accurate.

In Cuba, tourism rules. It is the only means for the Cuban people to receive any income that is not regulated by the government, so they will go to great lengths to "make a buck". In any kind of travelling, you should expect to be taken advantage of (in some way) for being a tourist. That's just how it is, but in Cuba... it's on a totally different level. These beautiful, culturally rich people have been starving and living without basic needs for so long, they are utterly desperate, and as a tourist you pay the price. I spent a considerable amount of time arguing and haggling over... well everything.

HAVANA

The Cuban capital and most visited Cuba city. The Malecón is really the heart of Havana, a dilapidated stretch of road that runs the length of Havana. The locals spend their days there fishing, riding bikes, strolling, and watching the incredible sunsets.

Hotel Nacional De Cuba- An iconic hotel near the Malecon.

Che Guevara is the most publicly celebrated figure from the Revolution, his image is everywhere.

The Musuem of the Revolution is the former Presidental Palace. Its marble lobby is still riddled with bullet holes from an unsuccessful student attack in 1957. It is a beautiful building, displaying several artifacts used during the revolution, including Granma, the boat sailed by Che, Castro and Cienfuegos from Mexico that started The Revolution.

Internet has only recently become available to the Cuban people (basically within the last year). Although the government still highly regulates internet use, there are public parks, where after purchasing a $2 ETECSA card, people can access the internet for 1 hour. This new advancement has allowed the Cuban people to connect with distant loved ones, create facebook accounts join the modern world. These parks are generally always filled with people and the sound of laughter.

This is a typical corner Bodega scene- empty shelves and only a few bags of staple goods available.

Havana streets are a lively place. Most people walk everywhere, very few people own vehicles and if they do, they are used as taxis.

TRINIDAD

A beautiful Spanish hillside city lined with cobblestone streets and filled with the sound of salsa music and the clipclop of hooves.

The streets in every Cuban city are filled with people, but my favorite were the men playing dominos. They would remain for hours... greeting passersby, laughing and sharing rum and cigars.

CIENFUEGOS

Considered to be the Paris of Cuba. This beautiful city has such contrasting architecture from the other colonial towns I experienced. Generally a stop off for local tour buses, there is no shortage of Jineteros.

CAYO GUILLERMO

Voted by Trip Advisor as one of the top 25 beaches in the world. This place is truly incredible with some of the clearest water I've seen anywhere in the world. It's a wonderful place to come and relax for a few days, if you can get past all the French Canadian all-inclusive resort goers, which is nearly impossible.

TRAVELLING IN CUBA

Travel in Cuba is definitely an expierence. From horse and buggy to airplanes, all the modes of transportation are still a throw back in time. It's the only place in the world where I've seen a que for a payphone and been the ONLY person in an airport .

Random Fun Facts

-Health care is totally free to everyone, even abortions, which are common and not condemned.

-Education is free to everyone, and everyone goes to school. Less than 1% of school-aged children are illiterate, compared to 19% in the US.

-There are more than 70,000 licensed physicians in Cuba. There are less than that in the whole continent of Africa.

-If you are an architect, you make the same amount of money as a store clerk, approximately $742 Cuban pesos or about $28 USD a month. If you are a taxi driver or a prostitute you can make 10 times that.

-In 1959 Castro publicly condemned Christian beliefs, since they do not coincide with Marxist ideals. More than 60% of the Cuban population is considered to be Catholic, but only 1.5% attend church services.

-Condoms cost $1 for 75, and Cuba has one of the highest rates of condom usage in the world.

-Tourist taxis cost about $10 USD in the city, local taxis are $10 pesos= $.67

-"You want drink, I get you drink. You want dance, I show you dance. If you want sex, I give you sex."-Ah the beautiful, beautiful boys.

#Cuba #Che #vintagecars #streetlife #backpacking #fruit