Cuba

My Cuba travel summary:

Visited: July 2015

Duration of visit: 14 days

Capital city: Havana

Population: 11.3 million (2015)

Cuba travel blog reading time: 11 minutes

• Havana Vieja – an open-air museum of historic buildings, revolutionary slogans, live music, lifestyle and despair.
• Tasting mojitos in traditional bars filled with Cuban music and salsa-dancing couples.
• Sleeping in casas particulares and communicating with local owners to better understand Cuban current situation.
• Varadero – vacation on perfect Caribbean beach in first-world luxury hotel.
• Walking on the remains of a path of iconic Che Guevara in Santa Clara.
• Exploring historical architecture in UNESCO listed old towns of Trinidad and Cienfuegos.

Cuba is one of the very few real socialist countries that has been fighting the invisible war against the whole world for the last 55 years. It is so unique, special and controversial that you cannot compare it to any other country in the world.

Unique places to visit, lodging search, limited internet access, unusual things to do and slow travel make Cuba a very special travelling destination.

I travelled to Cuba with my family in 2015, and we stayed there for two weeks. My priorities were different than when I travel alone. Small kids (4 and 6 years old) in the backpack set travelling in a different way. I knew we did not have enough time to see the whole island. We focused in the west, visiting Havana, Varadero, Santa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuegos.

Cuba is a wonderful mix of history, remnants of the revolution, beautiful beaches and a one-of-a-kind cultural experience.

We all speak Spanish, so talking with local people was very easy and always direct. Knowing Latino culture and respecting Cuban traditions helped us a lot.

Understanding the history and traveling with kids also opened many chances for friendly conversations and enhanced our Cuba travel experience.

Planning my trip in Cuba was very different from any other country. In 2015, Cuba had no common booking sites for accommodation, no stable internet, and almost no regular public transport.

We were sleeping in casas particulares – Cuban homes, which possess a special government permit to rent rooms to foreigners. The comfort was lower than in hotels or resorts. But we got a unique chance to live with Cubans, talk with them, eat with them, and understand their culture better. This is one of the highlights of Cuba travel.

The owners of casas particulares are privileged citizens. They have much higher income than average inhabitants, luxury and the connections needed to get permits. They still have to pay high income taxes, but their standard of living is comfortable.

Public transport is limited for foreigners and difficult to access to. On some routes between cities the only option was private transport. On others, good buses were available and we could travel with Cubans.

My strongest first impression of Havana came during the ride from the airport to downtown. I saw well-maintained, almost empty highways and wide boulevards with very few cars. Later I learned that heavy traffic does not exist anywhere in the country.

During my visit, La Habana Vieja, one of the finest ensembles of urban edifices of its time in the Americas, was undergoing renovation.

Workers protected many buildings, including the Capitol and some churches, and covered them with scaffolding. I felt the renovation had lasted a long time, because I hardly saw any real work happening.

The Cuban Capitol, with its mix of Neoclassical and Art Nouveau styles, reminded me of the US Capitol building. Its magnificent dome is inspired by the Panthéon in Paris. The building was inaugurated in 1929 and was the seat of Cuban government until the Revolution in 1959.

An impressive mix of museums, galleries, bars, restaurants, plazas, and small parks turns the area into an open-air museum. Although there are some landmarks and attractive places to visit, I really enjoyed just walking around.

Without any particular plan, I stopped to talk to people and watched kids playing in the streets. Vintage cars, local food, and street life make Cuba travel truly special.

Living in these historical buildings that lack modern infrastructure must be difficult, but walking around and exploring living history is exciting. It’s clear there are not enough resources to repair and maintain over 900 historic buildings of historical importance. They range from intricate 17th-century baroque to 19th-century neoclassical and glitzy Art Deco.

Havana City Wall partially surrounds the old town, which covers roughly four square kilometers.

Unfortunately, La Habana Vieja is degrading faster than it can be restored.

The main attractions in Havana’s Old Town are its four plazas, Spanish-built fortresses, lively bars, and areas with live music. An eclectic mix of restored and dilapidated buildings offered us refuge for several days. We spent our time enjoying good food, listening to local musicians, and admiring dedicated salsa dancers in small bars.

One of the most unique experiences in Havana is a taxi ride in one of the old, well maintained vintage cars dating from 1935 to 1960. Because of import limits, Cubans became experts at fixing, reusing, and keeping old cars running for decades. Local mechanics developed their skills so much that they can reproduce any part that breaks.

Even though the colorful Cadillac, Ford, Buick, Chevrolet, and even Mercury or Chrysler cars look perfect from the outside, their appearance can be deceiving. Their outdated technology doesn’t make them very enjoyable to ride in during the midday heat.

We hired one of these four-wheeled landmarks for a short ride within Havana. The unique combination of heat and noise couldn’t spoil our Cuban travel adventure and excitement.

These cars operate as shared taxis and private cabs. Many also serve as rental cars for trips around the city or even farther afield.

What would a trip to Cuba be without visiting one of its beautiful sandy beaches?

We chose Varadero, the country’s most famous beach resort destination.

Varadero is not real Cuba. It is pretty much the same as any other beach resorts town, located anywhere in the world.

Up-scale 4- or 5-star hotels run by international chains completely isolate foreign visitors from the reality of the country. They offer a curated world of cocktails, beaches, parties, swimming pools, open bars, shows, water activities, and all-you-can-eat buffet-style food.

The main reason we chose comfort for a few days was to give the kids some freedom from sightseeing. They loved swimming, enjoying drinks, and watching night shows without constant supervision.

I was surprised to see many Latino and even Cuban guests in the hotels. They competed who could consume more food or cocktails from early morning until late evening, when the bars finally closed.

After reading Che’s biography, watching documentaries, and trying to understand the life of this unique and world-famous guerrillero, I felt prepared. I was finally ready to visit the most revolutionary city in Cuba – Santa Clara.

A revolutionary battalion led by Che Guevara took over Santa Clara on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve 1958.

This marked a decisive chapter in the revolution, as President Batista fled Cuba within 12 hours afterward. Many memorials around the city are dedicated to glorify these historic moments in the revolution of Cuba.

Santa Clara is best known for its massive Che Guevara Museum and memorial underneath the statue. Visiting the museum was one of the highlights of my Cuban Travel adventure.

The museum of Che Guevara showcases many different aspects of his life. From his revolutionary times in the Sierra Maestra consulting with Fidel Castro and Camilo Cienfuegos, to his political career as a Minister of Industry, performing the usual voluntary work.

Che Guevara was buried in the mausoleum with full military honors in 1997. His remains had been exhumed and returned from Bolivia, where he was captured and killed in 1967.

Fidel Castro’s memorable farewell, in which he gave a special declaration about him, perhaps describes him best: “We want everyone to be like Che.”

Che Guevara is one of the most recognizable and influential revolutionary figures of the twentieth century.

He became almost like a rock star – a symbol of rebellion, sacrifice, and internationalism, admired especially by the poor and by children.

He left a leisure life as one of the leaders in perished socialist revolution and escaped to the mountains of Bolivia, where he started a utopian revolution, which was doomed in advance.

Even in Cuba today, it is very obvious that Fidel Castro, as president, quickly disappeared from public areas. His policies had practically destroyed the country and the lives of millions of Cubans.

Meanwhile, Che Guevara and the untimely deceased Camilo Cienfuegos remain revolutionary icons who will stay in Cuban hearts for a long time.

Santa Clara today is a good example of a typical Cuban city, where everyday life of the locals is more visible. The area around Parque Vidal, the main plaza and heart of the city, is especially lively and accessible. It’s a popular place for locals to meet and hang out with a constant hive of activity from live music to old men playing chess.

The main highlight of Santa Clara is its revolutionary history. This is reflected mainly in the following monuments:

Monumento a la Toma del Tren Blindado honors the derailment of a train carrying government troops and armaments. A small band of rebels stopped the train here, aiding the forces in the eastern part of the country. It was a pivotal point in the war and the eventual victory of the rebels. I was able to even get inside the carriages!

Plaza de la Revolucion is the open space overlooked by a huge bronze statue of Che Guevara that sits atop the museum and mausoleum. Along with another statue of Che Guevara holding a child, it reminds locals and visitors of Che’s significance.

Colonial old town, cobblestone streets, historic buildings around Plaza Mayor and strategically located bell tower, positioned Trinidad as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Founded in the 16^th century under the Spanish as a small port, it is now one of the most well-preserved colonial cities in all of the Caribbean.

It is clear that government reforms in the past ten years have allowed many private entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. Accommodation, restaurants, small shops, and artists now offer services at a much higher level than in any other part of Cuba.

We found accommodation in a lovely homestay where the host also offered us a good breakfast and delicious dinner. Since it was my birthday and I wanted to taste some delicious seafood, I ordered a lobster. Being close to the sea, gave me certainty that the lobster would be fresh.

Our local hosts assured me that I would remember the delicious lobster feast at an incredibly reasonable price for many years.

“You were right, Jose. This lobster really is special!” I kindly thanked the host for his thoughtful attention.

We wandered around the city for two days in a relaxed atmosphere, and for the first time, we noticed a significant number of foreign tourists.

The next stop on my Cuba travel route was the provincial capital, Cienfuegos.

Cienfuegos in a certain way reminded me a lot to Trinidad, though the city is younger and it has a different architectural style. Its classical facades and slender columns create an atmosphere reminiscent of 19^th century France.

The city was settled in 1819 by a French emigrant, don Luis D’Clouet and later became a powerful town due to the fertile surrounding fields and its position on the trade route for sugar cane, tobacco and coffee between Jamaica and South America.

Cienfuegos afterwards transformed into a key industrial center, part of the revolutionary government’s anti-urban planning policy. Tremendous industrial projects were never-completed: nuclear power plant, oil refinery and the cement factory. But this is not the main reason why Cienfuegos, named after a general, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

Cienfuegos is the best example of 19^th century urban planning in Latin America. Its harmonious architecture and street layout as a seaport earned the city its prestigious status.

Tourism is, beside sugarcane and cigar production, probably the only branch of economy that works on market bases in Cuba. It brings foreign currency and is competitive at the international level.

For me, the best way to appreciate Cienfuegos was walking around the central José Martí Square. I could take in the gracefulness of the historically significant monuments and landmarks.

Cuba is my favorite destination in the Caribbean and also one of the most unique countries in the world. Due to my fluid knowledge of Spanish, I probably enjoyed and understood it even more than an average non-Spanish speaker.

A unique development route that was chosen after the revolution in 1959 has not been successful. It actually turned out to be a disaster, after the Soviet Union collapsed and stopped sponsoring Castro family in the early 1990’s.

Fidel Castro, often viewed as controversial and in opposition to the Western world, has been in persistent conflict with the US. Despite being one of the longest-serving leaders, he is no longer regarded as a hero in Cuba.

The country has faced intense pressure from globalization, new technologies, and development. These changes challenge generations that never had to work hard or compete for survival. Relaxed atmosphere and common revolutionary ideas reinforced with historical paroles, which have been run over by the ravages of time, are still present.

The new generation of entrepreneurs, businessmen and ambitious people is eager to break free from the current system and advance.

If Cuban revolution was an experiment, its transition could be even bigger. It will be interesting to watch the Castro family’s influence fade and see new forces guide the country in the coming decades.

Until then, Cuba is not only a destination for landmarks, attractions, and favorite things to do. For me, it is the perfect place to enjoy a unique society intertwined with tradition, delicious food, irrational rules, and welcoming people. Its revolutionary history and beautiful beaches make the experience even more memorable.