Thoughts on Cuba

Whilst in Cuba museums were visited, and many propaganda messages were read that it made it so easy to support the revolution. However talking to people about how life is now compared to earlier years, especially the years where support from the Soviet Union was provided, makes for a very different story. When Cuba was opened up to Tourism in the 90s's to substitute the lack of funding from the Soviet Union, that is when things began to change.

The average weekly wage for Cubans equates to around $US25 to $US30 a month. Education, health care is all provided, and other necessities are either rationed or subsidised.

Those who deal with tourists, get to charge tourists in tourist money. Casas often charge around $US25 for one nights stay. A taxi from the airport can charge $25 for a lift into town. A private car for the day with a driver can be $60. Meals which are bought in the local currency for a $1 are then sold onto tourists for $30...and this is when things don't add up.

Cuba, as beautiful as the old colonial buildings, classic cars (despite the smelly exhaust), lush green landscapes, the vivacity for life, dancing, cigars and rum are, does show it's ugly side. Touters are constantly at you in the towns, hustlers trying to get you into some deal, it is often hard to know when people are genuine and want to chat, especially if they are sporting some kind of gold bling.

Most Cubans are well educated and can see what is happening around them. Pedro, a Cuban who we met when buying some bus tickets said he studied to be a Nuclear Physicist however after he completed his studies, there were no jobs available where he could utilise his new found knowledge. Frustratingly he gave up that dream and sells bus tickets and earns around $US10 per month. He like many other Cubans, can't make a difference, not yet anyway.

It seems as the Castros are decaying, so to are the foundations that modern day Cuba was built on. The ideology which Che fought and died for is long gone. Who knows what Cuba will be like in five or 10 years time. It seems that many Cubans are now in it for themselves.

UNESCO Fever

Cienfuegos...
A UNESCO town with lots of colonial buildings by the water, interesting but nothing amazing.

Just one of a number of colonial buildings

Trinidad...
A UNESCO town with lots of colonial buildings by the water, a little bit more interesting than Cienfuegos as they had lots of sugar cane fields and mountains to explore nearby.

We headed off to Topes de Collantes for a walk through the mountains were coffee is grown and a swim at the waterfalls.

Waterfall time!

Then it was off to Valle de los Ingenios to check out a 44metre tower where slaves were watched from in the early 1800's and were shot at if they tried to escape...there were nice views of the sugar cane fields from there.

The view looking up from half way up the tower

Vinales

A small town a couple of hours away from Havana that is surrounded by forests with limestone rock faces (mogotes), and tobacco fields (where we learnt how cigars were made). Absolutely gorgeous!

Mogotes 

Learning the magic of cigar making

A terrible view

The city of not so delightful smells...Havana

After a restful nights sleep we ventured out into Havana after we met a local lady who was genuinely friendly (and who was also a neighbour of the owner of the Casa). She was kind enough to help us find a new, more central Casa in Centro Habana and we then wandered the streets and started to take in present day Havana.

To describe Havana in a few short words, lets say...
Smelly - lots of erm, lovely aromas
Alive - the Cuban passion for life, music, dancing and rum
Hustling - many Cubans are trying to make some extra dollars
Backwards - an economical split in society has taken shape and is growing

The Malecon

Our Casa

Our first moments in Cuba

The not so legit Casa...
We arrive in Havana in the evening. It is dark outside and we get a taxi to take us into town to see a lady who we had been put in touch with, who could help us find a casa to stay in. As the taxi pulls up in the back streets, in an area a little outside the Centro Habana area we look around the streets with some caution. We find out from our contact that she could organise somewhere for us to stay, but it was only at casas which are not registered with the government (which would have been nice if she told us earlier), we were a bit hesitant about it but then worked out that it would be them who could be arrested and not us, so it was ok with us. Before our very kind taxi driver drove off into the night, we had a quick chat and checked with him if we were in a safe neighbourhood and he provided the necessary reassurance we needed. We were then shown to our casa, set up camp for the evening and all was well.

The first mojitos...
Our stomachs were then grumbling and calling out for rum, so we walked off in search of food and booze. As we were in Cuba, we thought it very appropriate to make our first beverage a mojito. Our waitress delivered our drinks to our table, then waited for us to have a sip, and kindly asked if we needed some more rum - which seemed to be the approach many Cubans take when offering you a mojito - hey I am not going to complain! The mojitos were slurped with enthusiasm, and more were ordered.

The not so spectacular spectacular show...
Our entertainment venue for the evening involved a spectacular show full of music and comedy, well so we were told. As the evening progressed, we realised the music component of the spectacular evening were some less than entertaining Latin American music videos. And as for the comedy, well we left before that started...somehow the UV lights guided us out into the night.