It was always a big goal of mine to visit Cuba before Castro died. I wanted to experience authentic Cuba before the embargo was lifted and it became just another island in the Caribbean. Cuba is special in that it is virtually the only place left in the world untouched by McDonalds and Wal-Mart. So, a couple years ago I booked a week’s vacation over the Christmas holidays to experience this beautiful and tranquil island.
I flew into Varadero Airport in the middle of a sunny and warm day in late December and took a bus trip to my hotel which was located halfway between Havana and Varadero. The hotel was situated in the tiny fishing village of Jibacoa and had its own private 60km long beach of white sand and coral rich waters. The hour long bus ride to the resort provided a scenic view of the countryside, combined with typical scenes of island life. We drove through some very poor sections of the island, almost reminiscent of Jamaica, as well as some small farms which did not fence in their animals and our bus had to stop frequently for bulls and cows standing in the road.
Cuba’s beaches are known for being the most beautiful in the world and I can understand why. They have pure white sand and the water is a gorgeous color of turquoise. We spent most of our time lazing by the pool and beach – snorkeling amidst the coral reefs and going sailing where we were lucky enough to spot a manatee. The hotel backed onto some lush forests and mountains which you could hike each morning with a guide. We also got the chance to go horseback riding down the long stretch of private beach.
One of the highlights of my trip was my day trip into Havana. I took a guided day tour of the city which was headed by a Cuban who spoke perfect English. As University is free, almost every native Cuban has a university education, and most appear to be graduates of travel and tourism. We got to take a walking tour through Old Havana and then a bus tour with spots through the new section of Havana. Old Havana was my favorite as it had cobbled streets and colorful buildings in the traditional Cuban style. There were also tons of small shops selling Cuban cigars and spiced rum. The city is quite clean minus the exorbitant number of stray dogs running around the streets.
In the newer section of the city, we got to see the downtown core, as well as the parliament buildings and the communist propaganda that line the city streets. It was interesting how you felt like you were back in time, seeing all the 1950’s American cars and the lack of any chain or big box stores. The Cuban people were big fans of our clothing, and asked for our hats, etc as they aren’t able to get much due to the embargo. Before we left, we gave some of the extremely friendly staff at our hotel some of the items that they coveted the most.
If you have the ability to go to Cuba, I would highly recommend visiting this beautiful and unique island. The people are incredibly friendly and the scenery is out of this world.
