Cuba has been getting a fair bit of attention in the media
recently, and most of it is negative, related to an oppressive political regime
that is severely restricting the freedoms of the Cuban people, particularly
when it comes to the press. The transition of Fidel Castro out of office did
not bring about the kinds of changes that were expected, which is not all that
surprising when you consider that his successor is his brother Raúl. Compared
to its neighbour, the capitalist USA, Cuba provides an incredibly intriguing
example of a surviving communist regime. So when I decided to take a
spontaneous trip to Cuba with some fellow Aussies, who were like me doing
university exchanges in Mexico, I didn’t have a much of an idea of what to
expect. What I found was one of the most valuable and surprising travel
experiences I have ever had.
Cuba has so much to offer to the open-minded traveler, precisely
because the way that Cuba caters to tourists (an important part of their
national economy) is quite different to most countries. As a group of young
students between the ages of 20 and 23 we weren’t looking to stay in five star
hotels, but there is no youth hostel network in Cuba. There is, however, a more
informal accommodation network, made up of “casas particulares”. For around
$10-15 a night, many Cubans provide a room in their house for tourists, usually
offering breakfast and dinner as included or additional extras. This is a huge
change from standard backpacking – instead of meeting other travelers from
around the world, you’re meeting the locals. You eat real Cuban food, sleep in
their homes and rock in their rocking chairs. If you can speak Spanish, it is
an incredible opportunity for insight into the psyche of a culture so different
to the dominant capitalist ideology.
We'd been told to take cash over as the ATM networks were
unreliable or unavailable or both. There are two currencies in Cuba, one for
tourists and one for locals. It gets confusing, and it means that Cuba can be
either very expensive or very cheap, depending on how good you are at getting
off the beaten track, and how well you can pick the people trying to rip you
off. The internet is expensive and internet cafes are few and far between in
Habana, which means they are virtually non-existent in the smaller places.
Another huge difference in our travel experience; all of a sudden we were off
the web.
Habana first appeared to me kind of like a city in a futuristic
sci-fi movie; deserted by its original inhabitants and reoccupied by
"survivors". This leap of the imagination was prompted by the
deteriorating state of the once impressive colonial buildings, a disrepair that
is the simple result of little to no restoration since the 1950s. At night, the
city is dark and poorly lit, with very few cars on the streets, yet many young
people wander in groups, or linger in doorways. There is a significant police
presence, and the constant patrolling of the streets has contributed to making
Habana a very safe city, in spite of its somewhat tatty appearances. One of my
hosts later expresses to me her appreciation for this safety, that she feels it
is undervalued by other cultures. She has a point – there are not many urban
inner-city environments in the world where it is normal and perfectly safe for
8 year old children to wander unaccompanied to and from school or play.
Habana is a city that offers up a feast for the eyes. Vintage American cars are all of a sudden commonplace, people line up for icecream in the street and wait in lines for pretty much everything you need to buy. Reminders of the revolution are everywhere - while the lack of commercial advertising is obvious to the Western tourist, the government advertises one thing - the revolution. It is more than a part of history - Castro's revolution is part of modern day Cuba.
