There seems to be an unwritten rule that all travel writers are obliged to describe Cuba as forbidden, mysterious and “lost in time.” But Canadians, Europeans, and others–especially those from Latin American nations–travel to Cuba without a thought…there is nothing forbidden, mysterious, or lost about it.
Still, for Americans who visit Cuba, it’s not really what we imagine at all…
Cuba is a social sciences-class of a country where some experiments have admirably succeeded and others have dismally failed. Cuban literacy rates are among the highest in the world (higher even than the U.S.). Cuban life expectancy rates are on par with the U.S. (Cuba has the highest number of doctors per capita in the world.) Education and health care (free of charge) are considered a right of every Cuban citizen.
Crime in Cuba is virtually non-existent. Pop music doesn’t blare from every corner. There are no illegal drugs, no gangs, no graffiti. You won’t find cleaner city streets and rural highways anywhere…grass is neatly trimmed, no one litters, and vistas are unmarred by those bastions of capitalism: billboards. Can you imagine? No Coca-Cola signs! Well, guess what…there is no Coca-Cola in Cuba either!
(To be honest, there are a few billboards, only used to promote the Cuban state agenda. One, for example, depicts, on the right side, a line of ants, each toting a leaf three times its size. On the left, one forlorn little ant stands alone and empty-handed. The headline reads “Nosotros trabajamos. Y tu?” We work. And you?)
Visit Cuba Beaches: Veradero Beach is True Caribbean
Cuba beaches: Varadero is one of the best
Most visitors to Cuba head directly for Varadero Beach. This is the Caribbean island’s foreign-tourist playground…20 km of white sand beach dotted with all-inclusive resorts. You can scuba-dive, skydive, go deep-sea fishing, even play a round of golf. If you love to shop, though, you’ll be disappointed—the one state-run shopping mall is a depressing place, with nearly every store selling the same Cuban cigars and Che Guevara T-shirts. (He must be writhing in his grave!)
If you’ve seen any Caribbean beach resort, you don’t really need a description of Varadero…people sunning themselves on the beach, bobbing about in turquoise waters, sipping rum concoctions and grazing on massive buffets…
Sound like fun? If not, go directly to Havana. Or Trinidad, Santiago, Santa Clara, Baracoa or any of the cities where the majority of Cubans live. Or head for the countryside to see the tobacco and sugar cane fields and rolling hillsides.
Old Havana is living history
In Havana, treat yourself and check into the Hotel Nacional. Once the haunt of luminaries like Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra and Lucky Luciano, it oozes character.
On the grand arched porticoes you can relax with a cup of rich Cuban coffee or an ice-cold mojito (a tasty Cuban drink concoction of rum, lime, sugar and mint leaves). Or stroll the vast gardens where naval guns placed by the Spaniards in the late 1800s still point out to sea. From here, you have a bird’s eye view of the world’s longest malecon and a good viewpoint for the frequent protest demonstrations that occur in front of the nearby U.S. Special Interests Section.
Further east, Habana Vieja (Old Havana) is the jewel of the capital city. A UNESCO World-Heritage protected site, parts of it have been painstakingly renovated. Tidy streets, some of which are pedestrian-only, lead to shady plazas where old men play dominos and smoke Cuban cigars.
You’ll pass massive Spanish-colonial churches and Baroque-style buildings with wrought-iron balconies and flower-filled courtyards. Once private homes, they’re now being transformed into boutique hotels, small bars and cafes that fill at night with tourists eager to hear live bands playing the music of Benny Moré or the Buena Vista Social Club.
(This is Ernest Heningway’s Havana…pay a visit to the Hotel Ambos Mundos where room #511 has been turned into a mini-museum and shrine to Papa Hemingway. It’s not far from Hemingway’s favorites Havana bars, La Floridita and Bodeguita del Medio.)
Anyone enchanted by Old Havana will also fall under the spell of Trinidad, on the southern side of the island, a six-hour bus ride from Havana. Called Cuba’s “Sleeping Beauty,” Trinidad is also a World-Heritage site, with cobblestone streets and beautifully restored homes with clay roofs and porticoed porches, with giant echoing rooms sparsely filled with rocking chairs on cool tile floors.
Cuban Music: Salsa, Merenque and More
Trinidad is a ‘living history’ kind of place…and one of the only spots in Cuba where tourists and foreigners mix in a truly relaxed sort of way. Especially at night. Every evening at 10 p.m. on the steps leading to the Casa de la Música, you can catch a live Cuban salsa/dance show.
Cuban salsa must be the most joyful music in the world. You won’t be able to sit still when the salsa band takes the stage and everyone jumps to the dance floor with broad smiles and hips swaying. A night in Trinidad is one you won’t soon forget.
And by the way, the beaches of Ancon are just a short drive from Trinidad. Here, you’ll find a stretch of all-inclusive Cuban beach resorts. You can stay at Ancon Beach and easily drive back and forth to enjoy the nightlife of Trinidad.
Further Cuba Resources
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