Cuba via Miami

 After a bit of a rough start, I was finally off to Miami for an overnight before heading to Cuba.  I stayed with my fellow five workshop participants at an airport hotel where we met up for dinner.  I had traveled with everyone in the group, but for some it was a first time introduction.  While dinner was unremarkable, my fellow travelers were exceptional.

An early morning flight roused us from bed much earlier than I would have liked.  American Airlines services Cuba but does not have a daily to Santiago so you take what you can get.  The flight went as planned as we enjoyed our final Diet Cokes (or insert your beverage of choice) for the next week.

The Santiago airport is very typical of a small Caribbean island.  Before departure we had filled out our E-visas and D'Viajeros (a form submitted within 7 days of travel) stating our purpose of travel - the support of the Cuban people.  While not as easy to visit has during the second  Obama administration, it is still possible to travel to Cuba under a couple of different provisions.  They really don't ask any questions but you do have to show your forms every step of the way.

We were met at the airport by our guides for the week, and one very cute (young and married) van driver.  While our Mercedes van would have been a c-rate vehicle in the US, it is definitely a cut above most transportation in Cuba.  Kip Brundage served as our on the ground guide along with his two Cuban assistants, Sandor and Osmin.  They took excellent care of us during the trip.

Because of our early arrival we needed to make a stop before checking into our hotel.  The Santa Ifigenia Cemetery serves as Fidel Castro's final resting place.  His grave is simply marked with a large rock and a plaque with his name.  The centerpiece of the grounds is Jose Marti's mausoleum which serves as the focal point of the changing of the guard.  We were able to watch two of these while we were there.







Our lunch stop was a restaurant we would return to several times during the trip.  St. Pauli had a variety of Cuban classics along with some American favorites like pizza and pasta.  The food in Cuba is good but they only have so many resources to make it different.  We would find the same offerings during our week including a standard salad of shredded cabbage, sliced tomatoes, and cucumbers.  Since this part of Cuba is very much tied to the sea there was always at least one fish selection.  Fried plantains were a frequent addition to our meals.  And let's not forget the standard rice often with black beans mixed in.  

Hot and a little tires, we boarded the van to go to our hotel, The Imperial Hotel  will be our home for both the beginning and the ending of our trip.  While not luxurious by American standards, the hotel has everything we'll need including a nice hot shower and a rooftop dining space where we'll gather for breakfast and late afternoon breaks.

Late afternoon we took a short walk to the Cathedral Square to watch the street activity.  The square was quite active with people coming and going. The Cuban people are open and friendly and willing to be photographed.  





Our dinner this evening was on the roof of our hotel.  We made on early night of it so we were refreshed for our first full day of the trip.

Tomorrow: Dancing and the waterfront

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Little More Dancing

Image
 With this being our final day, we had one more critique before having most of our day open to wonder around the town or pack.  Most of us walked down the street back to St Pauli for lunch.  You could tell we were missing out pasta because almost all of us ordered it for lunch. Late afternoon we walked to an outdoor performance venue to watch a very different dance show.  There's a show in Havana called the Tropicana where nightly performances by singers and dancers draw crowds.  This group seemed like they were auditioning for that show.  There were two different singers and a drum group entertaining us.  But the real stars of the show were the dancers in their colorful costumes and headgear.  Even though the afternoon was hot, they shimmied and shook for us.  Afterwards we took portraits before returning to our rooms. We gathered early evening to watch the slideshow Kip had prepared of our work during the week.  This is also a time for...
Read more

River Crossing

Image
 Similar to yesterday's start, we stopped at a village to watch the morning routines of the people.  Trucks carrying workers share the road with horse drawn wagons, motorcycles, bicycles, and people on foot.  We walked by a school where preparations were being made for the celebration of Jose Marti's birthday the following day.  White busts of Marti were scattered all over this region and served as lawn art.  After briefly watching the children we continued on our walk alongside the river. To reach the far shore of the river, we broke into two groups to sit in a covered wagon being pulled by a very reluctant horse into the stream.  Our guides resorted to pushing the cart so we could finish our river crossing.  On the other side we wondered down a path taken by locals on their daily routine.  We watched a couple of women doing their laundry in the very clear water of the river.  We also passed by a school where children were engage in soccer p...
Read more

Island Retreat

Image
 This morning we had our second Dawn Patrol, this time back to the port.  People gathered to take the ferry to their work, mostly at a power plant across the bay.  They crowded onto the boat for their short journey while we took photos.   We returned for breakfast and to prepare for our second critique.  We gathered in a suite where chairs were arranged around a television for our second review.  We had a pizza lunch catered in from upstairs to enjoy during the session.   Late afternoon we boarded a ferry to go to a small island for dinner.  We were greeted by several island residents that were egger to show us around, hopefully for a tip.  With a population of 1200, the island supplied everything they needed from housing, to pharmacies, to restaurants.  A fifteen minute walk was all that you need to circle the island.   For dinner we ate at a restaurant just off the beach. The catch of the day was red snapper which w...
Read more