CUBA

Proud but pained, excited for a freer future

"I’m grateful I went as it opened my eyes to the limits of left wing revolutionary communist policy and taught me what it feels like to see a people limited and constrained but also surprisingly content. Most important, I learned about the ingenuity of the Cuban spirit and the cleverness employed to beat an oppressive system."
--Luke's Journal

CITIES VISITED:

MUST DO:

FAVORITE MEMORY:

Havana
Cienfuegos
Trinidad
Santa Clara
Old car ride in Havana to Revolutionary Square.
Catch a rumba concert.
Find a baseball game in Cienfuegos.
Visit Playa Giron and see the Bay of Pigs museum from the Cuban perspective, followed by a swim in the bay.
Watching a two-week-old NBA game with some Cuban kids who illegally downloaded it from a tourist's hotel, put it on a flash drive and played it on TV at a bar in Cienfuegos while having a party.


DIFFICULTY TO VISIT RATING:

4/5 VERY HARD

Visiting Cuba from the U.S. is not easy. Though it has opened up to a degree, the country is consistently in the crosshairs of partisan U.S. politics. This makes getting a visa dependent on the mood of the moment. Once in country, hotels can be expensive. There are two tiers of pricing for most items--tourist and local. Research extensively before you attempt to go. It's mostly safe, though don't get caught up in a political problem.

For having such an outsized role in U.S. foreign policy, the Cuban people themselves are incredibly humble and mostly positive about their northern neighbor. The political future is unclear but a vibrant ingenious culture is guaranteed.
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