Bob's Blog

This Blog will follow my adventures - well holidays really. Hopefully you will want to tell me what you enjoyed in the countries I have visited and maybe recommend places to go.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Touching the real Cuba


Sheila and I went on the Ramblers Holiday ‘Colourful Cuba’.
The highlights were
1. The best dancing I have ever seen - in Trinidad, to a live band, in the square, totally informal and spontaneous. It epitomised the music in Cuba where there are live bands at every place you stop.
2. The spectacular drive across the mountains from Baracoa (in the east, the first settlement and place of landing by Christopher Columbus) to the coast.
3. The bicytaxi (rickshaw) ride back to our hotel in Baracoa, in total darkness, downhill at great speed.
4. The Turkey Vultures circling overhead, particularly in Vinales where there must have been 100 of them.
5. The view of the Vinales Valley.
6. The King bird singing its heart out on our first morning.
7. Drinking Mojitos in La Bodequita del Medio in Havana. Hemingway’s favourite bar (or was it Daquiris in El Floridita - they were good as well).
8. Picking and eating oranges on one of our group’s walks.
9. Exploring Baracoa.
The group of 20 were great and formed a wonderful team with Julia and Enio as guides throughout the trip and a series of local guides who were so well informed. We travelled from Havana to Vinales, Soroa, Trinidad, Bayamo, Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa and back to Hemingway’s favourite hotel, Ambos Mundos, in Havana.
In Enio’s words we touched the real Cuba. The education and health systems seemed great (the kids, all in their school uniform, looked as bright and cheeky as any) but transport looked a real problem. From our bus we saw so many people waiting for transport. State vehicles are obliged to stop and pick up passengers and so trucks seemed to do most business.
There is a lot of poverty but we did not see anybody who even looked hungry. There is a ration book system and two currencies. The peso for the Cubans enables them to buy food very cheaply but for any luxuries they need to be involved with tourists and get hold of CUCs. It is a tipping society which does go a little way to spreading some money around. Housing in most cases is very basic - in the country particularly some are just shacks. A school we visited was a wooden building with thatched roof but solar panels and a computer and video and TV.
Havana is just not typical of Cuba with so many buildings restored with UNESCO money.
The walking was excellent, unfortunately in mud as we caught the edge of a hurricane and Cuba had been experiencing a lot of rain anyway. The wettest conditions our guide had seen in 15 years.
A wonderful trip to a fascinating and beautiful country, blessed with people who are so musical and love rum!