Why visit Cuba? In the fourth year of the ╥Special Period in a Time of Peace╙╤the government╒s term for the economic collapse caused by withdrawal of Soviet support╤much of the country has ground to a halt. Although reports in the foreign press are generally exaggerated, the Cuban people undeniably suffer from hunger, hardship, and unrest. Nevertheless, Cuba remains one of the most interesting and beautiful destinations in the Caribbean; the people unpretentious, generous and friendly, with a rich Afro-Cuban culture.
Cuba, unlike other Latin American countries, does not present extremes of ostentatious wealth and bitter poverty. Except for government officials carefully hidden away in a few Havana neighborhoods, everyone lives at the same level: down, but not destitute. Third World travelers with no experience of pre-1959 Cuba may actually find the current standard of living not bad.
Most cities and towns have changed little since the 1959 revolution that saw guerrillas under Fidel Castro come down from the mountains to oust the government of President Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar. Relics of the past are everywhere. Central Havana╤Old Havana╤is undergoing restoration, and will soon stand in all its former haughty grandeur. Towns such as Trinidad and Santiago qualify as time capsules, with their cobblestone streets and old colonial buildings, fountains, and plazas still extant. The burgeoning number of horse-drawn carriages plying the streets╤a result of the country╒s transportation devolution╤contributes to the old-world atmosphere. This, in fact, is one of the unforeseen, positive effects of the Special Period: a cleaner environment. With factories closed and trucks idled due to lack of fuel, the air is pure and the water a crystalline blue.
Hundreds of miles of empty beaches await you. Varadero, the beach resort east of Havana, offers all the facilities you would expect at a good Mexican resort. The sand is spectacular and the scuba diving tremendous. The sun shines an average of eleven hours a day in Cuba, and the flawless emerald and turquoise water averages 80 degrees, three degrees warmer than the air.
Transportation is the Cuban traveler╒s biggest headache. Any trip longer than a taxi ride can quickly become a nightmare. The Cubans have a phrase for it: ╥No es facil.╙ (╥It╒s not easy.╙) Lack of fuel and spare parts has dismantled much of the country╒s public transport system. The easy and expensive way out is through the travel agents at tourist hotels. These people will do your booking, and you╒ll travel in relative comfort, though surrounded by other tourists and shielded from the nation╒s harsh realities.
Another pricey option involves renting a car, which provides good mobility but is often quite nervewracking. Even with little or no traffic, Cuba╒s roads are filled with hazards, and outside Havana and Varadero few gas stations accept tourist fuel vouchers. Those that do are often impossible to find.
The fastest way to get around the island is by air╤if you can secure a ticket. On a major route like Havana-Santiago only two planes fly each way per day, and in the Cuban waiting room the line is a week long. U.S. dollars will help, but you still must make reservations a week in advance.
Trains are the next step down the Cuban travel ladder, with a line of about three days for Cubans waiting with pesos. With U.S. dollars, however, you can often walk up to the station Ferrotur office, buy your ticket, and be on the train within an hour.
Cuban bus stations are citadels of desperation. Although the wait here is only two days, travelers know they will eventually be subjected to a 20-hour jaunt on a rickety Hungarian-made bus, the windows jammed open and the seats pushed back in positions of painful permanent repose. Dollars are worthless here, probably because no Cuban would ever imagine any foreigner wanting to ride such a bus.
At the very bottom lies a mode of transportation free and open to all: ╥hacienda auto-stop,╙ or hitchhiking. You╒ll have plenty of company; the roadsides are lined with people who cannot afford a bus, train, or plane.
Many of the services the Cuban people complain about╤the train system is the most common target╤are not appreciably worse than elsewhere in Latin America. The problem most often is not quality, but quantity. Everything is in short supply, from bread to electricity, bus seats to cooking oil. Always be prepared to queue. Patience and a sense of humor are vital if you wish to return home with your sanity intact.
Cuba╒s tourist industry is young, barely 10 years old. Many Cuban tourism officials seem to sincerely believe all tourists wish to stay in large, beachfront hotels and join prepackaged tours to tourist-only destinations. They have yet to genuinely discover the alternative sort of traveler who wants to stay in Cuban hotels, eat Cuban food, and meet real Cubans.
Because of the vagaries of the world sugar market, tourism is currently Cuba╒s most stable source of foreign currency. The government sees great potential here and is developing major resorts all over the island. Castro himself is now an enthusiastic support of tourism, somewhat ironically championing foreign visitors as the saviors of his socialist system.
Getting There:
The U.S. Treasury Department╒s Trading With The Enemy Act does not prevent Americans from traveling to Cuba. It does, however, forbid them to spend their dollars once they get there.
Although technically illegal, many Americans subvert this ban by flying into Cuba from Canada or Mexico. Cubans welcome Americans and their dollars, and immigration officials will not stamp your passport. The U.S. government will never know of your trip unless you choose to blab about it.
Official exceptions to the U.S. restrictions do exist. You may travel to Cuba and shower the country with your money if you╒re a working journalist or engaged in research related to your profession. Members of organized, educational tours are also considered exempt.
Two companies that arrange Cuban tours are Marazul Tours, 250 W. 57th St., Suite 1311, New York, NY 10107, tel. (212) 582-9750 or (800) 223-5334; and CamBas Associates, loosely associated with the University of Iowa, tel. (319) 354-3189, fax (319) 338-3320.
For more information on Cuba, contact the Center for Cuban Studies, publishers of Cuba Update, a bimonthly magazine devoted to the country. Write 124 W. 23rd St., New York, NY 10011, or phone (212) 242-0559.
For Further Reading:
Caribbean Island Handbook, ed. Sarah Cameron and Ben Box, Trade & Travel, 1992. Packs an amazing amount of nitty-gritty information into its 34-page section on Cuba.
The Complete Travel Guide To Cuba, Paula DiPerna, St. Martin╒s Press, 1979. Though a bit out of date, this well-researched, well-written, comprehensive guidebook offers a balanced, valuable view of the island.
Cuba: Official Guide, A. Gerald Gravette, Macmillan, 1988. A well-rounded guidebook with sound introductory chapters on history, culture, flora and fauna, and traveler╒s tips.
Getting To Know Cuba: A Travel Guide, Jane McManus, St. Martin╒s Press, 1989. McManus is a U.S. journalist who has lived and worked in Cuba for the past twenty years; she spent two years writing and researching this book.
Trading With The Enemy: A Yankee Travels Through Castro╒s Cuba, Tom Miller, Atheneum Publishers, 1992. A superb travelogue with comprehensive insight into Cuban society, and a persuasive sales pitch for the nation╒s many attractions.
From the Spring 1994 issue of Travel Matters, Moon Publications╒ free quarterly newsletter. For a free subscription leave an e-mail message for Moonhandbk @ aol.com or call (800) 345-5473.
