Cuba A Country Of Contradictions

Time to reflect on my time in Cuba - my goal was to see the La Verdad Cuba - the real Cuba - I think I have - albeit as much as any tourist can - the internal workings of this the only communist state in the Western Hemisphere are a mystery even to the people who live here!!

The biggest issue for me was lack of good Spanish (OK and an inability to salsa!! ) - I can get directions (sometimes!) food and a beer but having a meaningful conversation or discussion was difficult - there are very few Cubans with good English - especially outside Habana but I was lucky to meet a few people who were willing to talk about the situation here






Cuba is truly a country of contradictions - although things are "changing" this change like everything else is carefully controlled by the Revolutionary Government - Cubans are "looked after" by the state - everyone has a place to live , free education and health care - a safe society to bring up their kids, subsidised utilities subsidised food (albeit not enough to live on )- so for a lot of Cubans life is OK - but the price is liberty and freedom - you can't speak out - you can't leave the country for travels (unless by special permission ) - you can't easy access the internet (home. connections are limited to Casas and some businesses - some telecommunications centres have terminals but its expensive for Cubans - a weeks wages for an hour)

The irony is that Castro came to power on the back of dissent and protest - the very things he now suppresses The dictator Batista (who the Revolution kicked out in 59) was very corrupt - torture and disappearances were common place - people were very poor and literacy and healthcare were at low levels - Castro implemented socialist principles which made many peoples lives better - however the after the first year or so there was a big swing to the left - driven mostly by his brother Raul and Che - and Cuba distanced itself from the US, aligned itself firmly with the Soviet Union and embraced Communism.

Since then little has really changed which makes for a fascinating place to visit - so much is good here but so much is not good To be honest it is a testament to the political skills of the Castro brothers that they have remained in power for 55 years without a hint of a political unrest - quite amazing - the Cubans really don't know if the grass would be greener with democracy - its that fear of the unknown that keeps them controlled The biggest advantage the Castro's have (even though Raul is the Commandante now they work as a team - Fidels influence is still huge) is that Cuba is an island - there are no borders to guard - migration can be tightly controlled - sure you can risk the Florida Straits but if the Cuban Coastguard don't get you the sharks probably will! With no outside influences, very few immigrants and limited internet there is an information bottleneck - Cuba has evolved in practically total isolation - and that hasn't done it any favours.

Of course Cubans find another way to spread the news - Radio Bemba! - Lip Radio - word of mouth! The States` influence is everywhere - there is one newspaper - Granma - 8 pages of Communist Party controlled "news" (Granma is the name of the boat that Fidel came back to Cuba on to start the revolution ) There is no advertising here - only revolutionary posters and quotations on walls - sometimes by Fidel - very rarely by Raul but most. commonly by Che Its not an understatement to say he is a Cuban obsession - his image pervades Cuban society - an image of how things changed 55 years ago but relevant in 2013 - maybe not - besides its well known that he and Fidel fell out - Che went off to Bolivia to fight more revolutionary battles and died there - his last words - "You can kill me if you want - I am only a man" Every few blocks there is a division of the CDR - each division has its Presidente de CDR - The CDR is the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution - grassroots of the PCC - Cuban Communist Party - The CDR keep an eye on things locally - you can't sneeze without a Comrade noting it - they ensure that the rules of the revolution are followed!

 
But like every communist society rules bend - corruption occurs and a black market thrives - all chasing convertible pesos - the oxygen of life for Cubanos There is not true poverty here - not like India - but people are poor - they have a house but it could fall down at any moment - they have electricity but it could go off at any time - they have food but it is rationed and of course you have to queue - "Quien es ultimo?" Who is the last? is what Cubans say when the join the cola - there is public transport but you have to wait for it - and then wait a little longer (at every intersection there are people holding out money looking for lifts) and at others there are officials in uniforms who stop the drivers and ask them to take total strangers on board if they are heading in the same direction!!

Cuba functions but only just - it adapts - streetlights are timed to come on and off every few minutes to save power - nothing is wasted here - we could learn something from that....- they must have the smallest rubbish dumps in the world - the old American cars are over 60 years old - patched up and converted to diesel - Chevvy on the outside Toyota in the inside!! People with babies wash out disposable nappies for re-use - old men wander the streets picking up cans crushing them with their feet and putting them in big sacks to sell on for a few pesos But of course some people are more equal than others - you see fancy watches - nice cars - iPhones - wallets full of convertibles - not possible on the wages of the State - the black market at work!!

But of course there are a lot of great things about Cuba - government officials excepted Cubans are friendly happy welcoming people who live life with good humour and with a smile on their faces - when things go wrong they shrug and say "Es Cuba!" - That's Cuba!! And of. course the weather is great - they are just starting their winter ( so the temperature dips down to 25C some days :-) so its sunny days cool nights and low humidity - nice! The food is OK but quite similar most places you go - the traditional food is Comida Criolla - rice beans and meat - most commonly pork - street food exists but is limited to tiny pizzas and even tinier omelettes!



                            We may not share the same ideology but Che and I both love golf!!

 But for me the real Cuba is outside Havana - in the small towns where you can wander the hot dusty streets - doors and windows to every casa wide open - kids in the street playing baseball - men in the bars throwing back Havana Club - (every time they open a bottle a little gets poured on the floor to thank the saints of the house) people greeting each other with the typical quick single Cuban kiss on the cheek ( go for a European double kiss and you are left kissing fresh air!) and chatting animatedly in rapid fire Cuban Spanish - everything to the soundtrack of Cuban Son music - that`s La Verdad Cuba!!!

Hopping Across The Northern Coast

From the most easterly part of' Cuba it was time to turn around and make my way back to Havana - no real hurry though and after the trauma of the Cuban Visa Crisis it was time to put my feet up - so I headed to Guardalavaca - Guard The Cow beach - named because when the Europeans arrived in the 1500s the native Indians The Taino needed to keep an eye on their livestock! The Europeans are here again but this time confined to the all inclusives - a few Casas have opened up in the village and I stayed there The beaches were gorgeous with some especially good snorkelling at Playa Esmerelda - but after 4 days my feet became iitchy again and I headed along the coast to a little fishing village called Gibara I arrived there on a Sunday - it was the definition of sleepy - deserted streets - just the wind blowing hard in from the Florida Straits It wasn't long before I bumped into some locals "De donde? Where you from?" is the standard greeting - followed by a whispered " Cigars? " These hustlers are called Jineteros literally jockeys - they "hop" onto a tourist and only get off when they have their fill of convertibles! But they are pretty harmless and don't really mind if you give them the brush off


Gibara remained sleepy and very windy the next day so I decided to move on up the. coast to town called Moron - I really felt at home there:-) As well as having some nice colonial buildings it is pretty close to the northern keys - Cayo Coco and Cayo Guiellerma - a good chance to go diving I hadn't been for 4 years so it was good to get back in the water The keys are again the home of all inclusives - its quite a strange dynamic - watching the Europeans and Canadians relaxing in the lap of luxury while the Cubano hotel workers are bussed in and out in old Russian trucks However as I said before its good for the economy and provides a lot of work but personally I would rather spend my money with the locals that give it to a hotel - plus I find it difficult to understand why people come to Cuba and don't see Cuba - es loco!

Back on the mainland I found out that there was a mini cultural festival going on and the star attraction that evening was Andy Velasquez - described on the poster as El Mango del Humour - The Mango of Comedy At 60p a ticket that was not to be resisted and though I didn't get any of his jokes (a lot was lost in translation) it was great to see Cubans at play

The next arrived and my plan was to move to Remedios another couple of hours towards Havana - but of course you remember from my previous posts about nothing ever going to plan in Cuba... I had read about the bus company Viazul opening a new route from Moron to Remedios - ideal! 2 places I wanted to go - a 2 hour bus trip down the new motorway! Too good to true - of course it was- 3 buses and a taxi later (and of course much waiting asking and pointing) I arrived in Remedios just 5 hours later than planned! Of course the new route had never existed in the first place - once again thanks for nothing Lonely Planet!

However once I got there my luck changed and I found a really lovely casa with very nice hosts - Remedios is famous for Parrandas - a festival on Dec 24 where the down divides itself into 2 barrios - San Salvador and Carmen - huge floats and static displays are created - the scaffolding for the latter was being welded together during my stay - what I didn't know was that this weekend 14-15 they were having a mini warm up Parranda- mostly taking place on Sunday - the barrios paraded their emblems through the streets ending up in the main square where Artilleros, the fireworks experts, set off hundreds of eardrum-popping firecrackers until the square was shrouded in an acrid pall of black smoke The artilleros are completely loco - they light rockets with the end on their cigars and let them fly off from their hands - occasionally one drops and goes fizzing into the crowd scattering locals - I'm not sure any of the Artilleros has read the Firework Code!!

They also have huge metal cannisters a bit like a mortar - they dump large bags of gunpowder in the cannisters and light the taper with their cigars - they move about 6 feet back and there is a huge bang and the contents fly into the sky - this went on for about an hour then every got on with the business of eating a drinking - lots of spit roasted pigs churros and ice cream!

I headed back to the casa and turned in - only to be woken at 2am by more fireworks - which went on for 2 hours!! My casa was a good half km away from the plaza but it still sounded like they were in the street outside! Apparently on 24 Dec there are fireworks from 9pm til 6am non stop!! So that was an explosive end to my trip along the north coast - time to pack up and head back to La Habana for a few days....

The Cuban Visa Crisis

Or how I fought Cuban bureaucracy and won - eventually! To get to Cuba you need a visa - fair enough - I buy one on the net before I leave from the comfort of my bedroom - it lasts for 30 days - I am visiting Cuba for 49 - no problem it can be extended at any immigration office in Cuba for another 30 days for 25 Pesos (convertibles of course)

However I can't renew too early as my extension would expire and obviously I can't let my initial visa expire that would be bad - build in weekends and strange working hours for Immigration Offices ( for example Mon Wed and Fri 9am - 11am) and my window of opportunity is small - but my sights are set on Baracoa - its a small town and I have 4 days to renew it - easy...

Day 1 - I arrive in Baracoa at lunchtime - spot of lunch then a leisurely stroll to the bank - oh yes I forgot to mention you need special stamps to get your visa renewed - they don't sell them at the Immigration Office though - that would be too easy - you need to go to the bank! I get the stamps - I consult my Lonely Planet - the Immigration office is listed and its not far - I stroll down - its open - always a bonus - I wave my passport enthusiastically and say Visa - a shake of the head - No! This is not the Immigration office its the Ministry of the Interior - thanks for nothing Lonely Planet! But the chica tells me where the office is - its far - a 20 minute walk - did I mention the heat? Its hot!

The stuff I need to renew my visa...

                                             This is not the Immigration Office Lonely Planet!!


I walk to the place she mentions - no big office saying Immigration - I ask someone and he points to the other side of the street - I cross - still I can't see it - I ask someone else - they point - I go where they point - still I can't see it - I ask someone else - they point to a door about 6 feet away - unmarked - its open - I enter - there is no one there! I wait - still no one - then I see a sign - All Visa Renewals are being processed at our other office - with a street name but unhelpfully no number! I leave and make my way to the other office - much asking and pointing later I am back on the other side of town - quite near the Ministry of the Interior actually - again I need to get within 6 feet before I know I'm there - obviously its unmarked however its open - I see a sign above a room saying Immigration Tue & Thu 9- 1 and 2-4 - its a Tuesday 3pm I have hit paydirt There is someone in the office - I get out my passport and wave it more enthusiastically than last time - Visa? Again the head shake No! Porque? I ask - La muchacha este enferme - The girl is ill - all Visa Renewals are being processed at our other office and she points to where I have just come from Ay Carumba!!

This is the immigration office - note lack of sign!

The other immigration office - also unmarked!!

So I trek back into the center no asking or pointing required - I know the way! I get to the office still no one there - but I can hear voices from upstairs - I call up - Hola - eventually a guy appears - I ask Visa? He replies with a shake of his head "No! - regresa manana" - come back tomorrow - I don't have my visa but there's hope!

Day 2 - I have breakfast and head down to the office - the officer is there - he looks serious - he is called Noedis Matos -my nemesis - I get out my passport - I am not waving it anymore - just holding it - Visa? Without looking up he shakes his head 'No! La muchacha este enferme" Come back on Monday - my visa expires on Sunday - I explain how the other office told me to come here and that this office was handling renewals - this time he looks up narrows his eyes and tells me to come back on Monday It appears I have a problem - what to do? I'm not going to be defeated so I head back to my casa and enlist the help of the owner We head down to the office and initially appear to be getting nowhere - looks like I may need to head to a bigger city to get the Visa - just when things are looking bleak Noedis suddenly cracks - come back tomorrow at 8 o'clock en punto - on the dot (this makes me suspicious - nothing in Cuba is ever on the dot) - we will process the visa extension - really? - until that piece of paper is in my hand I'm not getting excited and I still don't have my visa but there's hope!

Day 3 - being British I am there en punto being Cuban of course he is not - at 8.25 he pulls up in his Min of Immigration Lada (what a loser) and opens up He sits down at his desk and get his pens out and arranges them - he then does this with various other bits of stationery - he then gets out his phone and puts music on - he then goes and gets a coffee - this I understand - the day should start with a coffee and Cuban coffee is good At 8.40 he beckons me - I produce my documents - he examines them minutely - he gets out a form - its a long one - everything is written down - he attaches my special stamps to the form with a paperclip - even though I can see a space for them to be stuck on - I know his game but say nothing - he gets out a sticker with the word Prorroga on it - extension ! He turns the sticker over but its not one of those with the split in the middle - no surprise there - it must be peeled from the corner - the first corner is not good - his nails are thick and manual dexterity is not Noedis' forte - a second corner is tried - again failure - this is getting surreal - I am so close to this visa I can smell it but if he tries and fails with the third corner I am going to burst out laughing - I am biting my lip and pinching my legs - but Noedis thankfully knows his limitations and seeks out the chica who makes the coffee and who has long nails The visa gets stuck - scribbled on and the stamp comes out - bang - he stamps it in that Latin macho fashion and I am done Gracias I say Adios he replies - his first words that morning. I put the passport in my bag and leave - the Cuban Visa Crisis is over - I hope!

My visa!!!

To The End Of Cuba

From Santiago onto the most eastern part of Cuba - the town of Baracoa - only accessible by road since the late 60's  Baracoa is a nice little town - on the coast with a nice promenade along the sea - A Malecon - Havana has the most famous one in Cuba - there is some nice country scenery too with hills to climb surrounding the city and rivers to swim in. Chocolate is big in Baracoa - the cocoa

Buses are the only way to get around unless you hire a car - the major company is called Viazul - the buses themselves are quite modern and reliable despite the ferocious air-conditioning that means I need to wear a fleece! What is not modern is the booking system - want to book in advance at the station - not possible - you can book online but only for buses for than a week in the future - want to get online - most small towns have no internet - travel agents can book you a ticket - but only departing from the town where you are - if they can get through to the Viazul station on the phone - which is not often! So the only option is to turn up and wait and hope - its the Cuban way - Espera! When you do get to the front of the ticket queue - its not quick - first your name - passport number - destination - seat number - all written in longhand in a leger - the ticket can be issued - all the information has to be written on the ticket - then laboriously she pokes little holes in your ticket in various little boxes - I'm not sure why - I'm not sure if she knows why - perhaps Fidel knows - anyway I now have a ticket - I can get on the bus - no - I have to join another queue to check in my luggage - he gives me another ticket - now I can get on the bus!

                Cocoa Pod
Che opened this chocolate factory in Baracoa                                                                     Armando the peanut seller "Mani Mani Mani!"
 
 Cuban men never lose interest in a nice culo!!


Buses are the only way to get around unless you hire a car - the major company is called Viazul - the buses themselves are quite modern and reliable despite the ferocious air-conditioning that means I need to wear a fleece! What is not modern is the booking system - want to book in advance at the station - not possible - you can book online but only for buses for than a week in the future - want to get online - most small towns have no internet - travel agents can book you a ticket - but only departing from the town where you are - if they can get through to the Viazul station on the phone - which is not often! So the only option is to turn up and wait and hope - its the Cuban way - Espera! When you do get to the front of the ticket queue - its not quick - first your name - passport number - destination - seat number - all written in longhand in a leger - the ticket can be issued - all the information has to be written on the ticket - then laboriously she pokes little holes in your ticket in various little boxes - I'm not sure why - I'm not sure if she knows why - perhaps Fidel knows - anyway I now have a ticket - I can get on the bus - no - I have to join another queue to check in my luggage - he gives me another ticket - now I can get on the bus! Baracoa is a nice little town - on the coast with a nice promenade along the sea - A Malecon - Havana has the most famous one in Cuba - there is some nice country scenery too with hills to climb surrounding the city and rivers to swim in. Chocolate is big in Baracoa - the cocoa tree grows well here. It was the first town founded in Cuba in 1511 and not a lot has changed - well a few things have...it has 3 forts one containing a museum that was not under repair!
                                                         El Yunke in the background
                                                                     At the top!!
                                                Worlds smallest frog!! Can you spot it!!

 However Baracoa is most famous for the Cuban Visa Crisis - not the Cuban Missile Crisis - that happened somewhere else - for details of this traumatic interaction with Cuban bureaucracy see my next post!

Revolution City

Santiago de Cuba - this is where things kicked off for Fidel and his mates - rather disastrously as it turned out - on the 26th July 1953 - he led a attack on several military sites in Santiago but it all went wrong and Castro and his followers were captured Many were tortured and executed while Fidel and his brother Raul (now in charge here) were tried and sentenced to jail. However the whole episode raised huge awareness and support for Castro - the seeds of Revolution were sewn and although he was exiled to Mexico a few years later he returned in 1956 and after 3 years of guerilla warfare with Che at his side he kicked out the dictator Batista and the Cuban Socialist state was born.
 


I planned a couple of days here - a museum day and a day at the Spanish fortress on the edge of town Museum day - you really thought you could plan that McAllister? A. Nothing in Cuba goes to plan B. Especially where museums are concerned My first choice you guessed it - closed for repair - never mind onto my second choice - closed on Mondays - for my third choice I consult Lonely Planet - I read that most museums are closed on Monday so I decide to wait til the next day and go then - I find out that my third choice had been open after all! Plus my second choice wasn't just closed on Monday it is actually closed for...repair. One of the museums that was closed was the Bacardi - its a kind of a dirty word in Cuba - they left after the revolution after Fidel nationalised his distillery - there's even rumours that they finance anti Cuban activity in the US - as a result you can't buy Bacardi here - Havana Club rules! As you. an used I did get to the Fort although the firing of the canons at sunset was cancelled as the 'muchaco esta enfermo' another Cuban phenomenon - when someone gets 'ill' things grind to a halt - no one does their job it only starts happening again when they get better!
Santiago is also a bit of a music town - I met up with some couchsurfers and we went to a couple of Cuban Son venues Of course Couchsurfing - for those uninitiated its where you stay at a total strangers house in a strange town - sounds weird I know but its great - no can do in Cuba - Fidel thinks if we stay overnight with a Cuban we will brainwash them into making a break for Miami So its illegal and they can get fined - only licenced Casa Particulares (B&B) can take in a foreigner Costs a fair bit plus they have to pay a monthly fee as well to the State Talking of money there is this weird system of money in Cuba - 2 currencies There are National Pesos and Convertible Pesos - there are 24 Nationals to one Convertible Some things you need to pay in Convertibles for like buses and accommodation and a lot of restaurants and bars but you can pay for street food ice creams etc in Nationals . Cubans working for the state are paid in Nationals - they might earn 750 (£20) per month - 25 (65p) a day - the cheapest beer is 10 (25p) a bottle almost half a days wages - its like someone on minimum wage paying £25 for a beer - so there is an obsession with earning Convertibles - and who has those - us of course! Makes for an interesting dynamic - has its benefits though as Cuba is very safe - anything that would harm tourism would be very bad for the Cuban economy.
                    Well enough of the history and economic lessons let's move on to the End of Cuba....

Music City

Music City.... Well that's what I call Trinidad - not the island but a city on the southern coast of Cuba - this place really does have it all - incredible live music - beaches mountains great architecture - hence all the photos!
The city is the best preserved Spanish colonial town in Cuba with lovely cobbled streets and gorgeous buildings In the evenings I went up to Casa de La Musica - an outdoor venue set on the steps of the church where the Cuban Son bands played hard and the locals salsa-ed harder. It was great people watching - the local guys were amazing dancers and the young female tourists were besotted - occasionally a European or Canadian couple would get up but they knew they couldn't compete and slowly edged off the dancefloor to avoid embarrassment Occasionally an older tourist ( that is not a reference to myself!!) would be dragged onto the floor by a young Cuban girl - he would stand there transfixed and bemused while she shimmied and shook Yes it was really best left to the Cubans
The bands are amazing - usually 7-10 people 2 or 3 singers 3 on horns plus keyboards guitar double bass and most importantly at least a couple of guys on percussion - the most popular live music here is called Son - think Buena Vista Social Club - that's Son Each song is about15-20 minutes long and starts quite slowly but the intensity builds until 10 mins in the band are white hot and the salsa in being performed and a manic pace - people crawl off the dancefloor breathing hard and drenched - its intense!
Daytime the choice was beach or mountains or just wandering round the historic centre - deciding on an easy day I wandered round the town - I'll take in a few museums I thought - The Rough Guide describes one that is not to be missed - its huge - its in the main square - I wander round twice I can't see a sign - although to be fair to me Cubans aren't big on signage - plus most streets having more than one name isnt helpful either... I see a building with no sign covered in scaffolding - there is someone inside - It is then I get my first taste of Museo cerrado por reparacion - closed for repair - a phenomenon so frequent I believe I am cursed! The thing is that they give you hope by having someone at a desk so it looks like its open and functioning!
The next day the weather was gorgeous sunny and about 30 C so the choice first day was easy - second day I decided on a bike ride into the mountains - Los Topes de Collantes (I could have taken the excursion on a Russian truck with all the other turistas but thought I'd be different...) - I knew there would be hills but wasn't prepared for the steepness - halfway up was a Mirador or viewpoint - I only got there by pushing my bike the last 4 km - people on excursions on the passing trucks were applauding me! Still the clue was in the name Topes - Spanish for - er... Top! I decided that getting to the viewpoint was a decent achievement and decided to head back - should be a pleasant run back - think again - it was so stepped I had to apply the brakes continually and zig zag my way down to the sound of screeching brakes and burning pads - next time I'm taking the truck!!
After that I needed some recovery time so intended my stay by a couple of days - a lot of the casas have roof terraces in Trinidad where you can relax with a beer and a book and look over the tiled roofs of the city - all very pleasant but soon it was time to move on to the city at the heart of the Revolution Santiago de Cuba...