We just returned from three weeks in Cuba. We did a bus tour that took us from Havana to Santa Clara, Trinidad, Santiago De Cuba, and Baracoa. We also made brief stops in Cienfuegos and Camaguey. After the tour ended we spent a few days in Havana and a few more at Varadero.
The tour consisted of mostly home stays in Casa's Particulares and a few nights in hotels. In Cuba Casa Particulares are one of the few ways people can own their own business and it provides a low cost place for tourists to stay besides the government run hotels. Casa owners will also feed their guests for an extra fee, usually $4 for breakfast and $8 to $10 for dinner. Cuba has devised a two currency system that effectively inflates prices for foreigners while keeping prices low for Cubans. I found this to be cumbersome and confusing. Some merchants were unable to give change for $10, sometimes prices are in Pesos and sometimes they are in Convertible Pesos. We heard stories of merchants trying to pass off the lesser currency as change to tourists. It also has the result of enriching people who work in the tourist industry even though Cuba is supposed to be a classless socialist society. One waiter told us that the $10 tip we gave him was more than his monthly salary.
We spent one night in Santa Clara at a Casa owned by a fellow named Miguel. He turned out to be a wild party animal and we were later told that he is having an affair with his neighbour's wife. Santa Clara is the site of Che Guevara's most famous battle and is home to the Che Guevara Mausoleum.
Our next stop was the city of Cienfuegos on the south coast. We were only there for a few hours but we had time to wander up and down the streets and get a feel for the city. Cienfuegos is probably the prettiest city in Cuba.
After Cienfuegos we continued on to Trinidad. We stayed in Trinidad for three days with a lovely elderly couple.
I think that our favourite attraction in Trinidad is the Casa de la Musica. It is a real cool outdoor amphitheatre where you can buy drinks and snacks while watching live bands or dance acts.
Next we went to Camaguey and spent one night in a hotel. We took a tour of the city in a three wheeled pedal taxi.
The next day we went on to Santiago de Cuba. We stayed three nights in a Casa Paticular.
After our stay in Santiago we spent three nights in Baracoa. Baracoa was different from the other cities we visited in that it is a small town and is fairly isolated from the rest of Cuba. To get there we drove a winding mountain road past small farms and at higher elevations pine forests. The town had a cool vibe with live music spilling out of bars and people hanging out on the street sharing bottles of rum.
Count this guy's fingers and toes.
Finally the bus took us back to Santiago where we caught a flight to Havana and our tour ended. We spent three nights in Havana and three more in Varadero. Havana must have been an amazing city 60 years ago, but today the buildings and streets are in various states of decay. Some buildings are actually falling down while others are need of a serious face lift. Havana is definitely worth a visit, but it won't be on my list of places to return to. All we did in Varadero is hang out at the beach. The owner of our Casa loaned us a beer cooler so we had plenty of cold beer and a good pizza place just down the street when we got hungry. The beach looks just like the travel brochures so I didn't take any pictures.
If you decide to travel in Cuba you need to be aware that you need to bring anything you may need with you. We had a difficult time finding cold medication. Store shelves are often bare and you may have to ask around to find what you are looking for. Most of the neighbourhoods we stayed in were in rough shape, but the people are friendly and the crime rate is low. There are always shortages of things we take for granted, and we saw some tourists handing out soap and toothpaste, but I'm not convinced those will be the things that will be in short supply at any given time. If I were to go back I would probably bring some small toys to give to kids. Ball point pens as well. Don't expect toilets to flush or running water in public washrooms either.
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