Cuba in 2015, my take.

On Friday I arrived home from a fantastic 6 week holiday that started in Havana on July 12th. I'm still feeling very wary after the 13 hour flight from Vancouver, but I feel I need to start writing about my experiences as soon as I can to ensure no important details are missed as time goes on. I have yet to have one of those deep and meaningful story telling sessions with friends or family, but I did try to explain the current situation in Cuba to my mum last night. It was pretty hard to try and explain exactly what I saw, and what I felt. I am very conflicted, but I will do my best to put something into words for you here.

I spent two weeks in Cuba before heading north through Mexico, The US and Canada. The days spent in Cuba were amazing, and I will never forget them. I'm not exactly sure when I decided that I wanted to go to Cuba, I think it was after watching The Buena Vista Social Club on DVD, or perhaps it was after learning about the revolution some years back. It doesn't really matter, what does matter is that in 2014 I made the decision to save for and book this holiday. After advice from my travel agent I booked a tour with Intrepid Travel, partly because it was within my limited budget, but also because the reputation of the guides preceded them. On tour I would spend time in the major cities; Havana & Santiago de Cuba, as well as visiting smaller sites of historical importance like Santa Clara, not to mention the controversial province of Guantanamo.

When I finally arrived (4 flights and some very long immigration queues later), it was a glorious hot day in Havana. My first experience of Cuba in 2015 was customs at Jose Marti Airport. Customs agents spoke hardly any English (me even less Spanish), and communicating that I was just visiting for a short holiday took some time, as did the bag scanner queue. Then, once i'd managed to convert my Euros to the tourist CUC currency, I took an odd taxi journey to Old Havana. When your driver continues to switch the engine of the car on and off along the highway it strikes me as odd anyway!

Before I left for Cuba I had of course Googled images of the places i'd be visiting, I had an image in my head of what to expect, but I've learnt from various travel experiences to go with an open mind and not to expect anything. Cuba is one of the places you will visit where you get a whole lot more than you thought you would. Old Havana is a bunch of adjectives mashed together, including Hot, Chaotic, Humid, Bustling, Historic, Musical, and at times Aromatic (for want of a better word). It is also beautiful beyond words when you stop to soak it all up. If you can forgive a little rubbish, the bumpy unkempt roads, and the relaxed 'Cuban Time' attitude to service, you will see what I mean. You may also see there are some oddities that can only be explained by Fidel Castro's Communist regime. Don't get me wrong, coming from a democratic country with first class technology, an excellent personal living situation and the ability to invoke change with my vote, there are still things about living in New Zealand that aren't perfect either. In Cuba I never came across a situation where an entire crowd of people were sitting on their phones, and I didn't see a mall (or a McDonalds). You may be thinking, don't judge what you don't know, but there are some things that just don't make sense to me. Perhaps I should write a similar article about John Key's regime...?

I'm not an expert in systems of government, & I won't pretend to know all aspects of communism and socialism, but here are a few things I discovered that drew my attention:
1. You can earn more in a day begging on the street than in a month being a doctor. University Education is free but when one graduates they are not guaranteed well paying jobs, in fact many have 2 or 3 jobs to get by. I paid 5CUC (approx. 5 Euro) for a photo with 2 cigar wielding old women, this would have fed them for days!
2. There appeared to be a huge Military and Police presence everywhere I went. Armed soldiers patrol almost every building or monument of significance. For such a happy 'peaceful' country I thought this was unnecessary - I would have felt more comfortable without it.
3. Guantanamo Bay. The whole situation with the Americans still occupying land with an expired lease is dodgy. I could go on about this for a whole post. Google it if you don't understand. Further to this, up until recently (while I was on my holiday in fact), the relationship with The US was very fragile. I've heard the Pope had a lot to do with the reconciliation, but that's about all I've heard - i'd like it some more information please!
4. Have you ever met a Cuban? Before going to Cuba I hadn't. From what I've learnt, it isn't easy for Cuban's to leave Cuba, let alone get into another country. My tour guide told our group about the one time she traveled to Europe and the lengths required to obtain a passport. Paperwork must be perfect, and a very stressful interview must be answered with the exact answers the government require.
& 5. It's been six weeks since I posted my first of about 10 postcards from within Cuba. So far only 2 have arrived. I was warned not to trust the post offices, but seriously, what could a postcard do? I didn't say anything offensive! If it can take one week from the US, surely something fishy is going on...

I found it hard to be ignorant to what was going on in the background, but my experience definitely wasn't tainted by it. If you choose to go to Cuba one day you will love it. I know I did, I know because as soon as I had left I wanted to go back. I arrived in Cancun, Mexico, and instantly realized I would no longer be in a place so friendly or so relaxed as I had been. The differences were staggering. In Cuba when you walk down the street you feel compelled to say "Hola" to everybody, if you don't initiate a greeting they certainly will. And Cuba is just so alive; music is being played everywhere, by bands or on stereos, and everyone can dance, boy can they dance, and even though I cringe at the thought of dancing with a partner with set Salsa moves, I wanted to dance too. Also, I never thought i'd like Cuban food but I miss that too. Arroz Congri (rice and black beans) sounds so simple, but it was so delicious, as was Ana's Flan. Flan became my favourite dessert - as my waistline will attest. It may have been simple food but it was not boring.

Cuba is by far my favourite country I have visited. Now i'm interested to see how the relationship with the USA develops and it's effects on the country. I hope the charm remains and the people can remain as beautiful as they have always been, but perhaps with some better facilities and opportunities. Finally, in the words of my Intrepid guide Tatiana, "Hakuna Matata" - it means no worries, the perfect way to describe Cuba!