I am really missing warm whether and being on holiday somewhere very warm recently –just makes this current cold winter-like whether, very torturous. This is where I was a week ago; Santiago de Cuba, where you have mountains and sea. It was heavenly. I spent many hours snorkeling, scuba diving, hyking, cycling and just enjoying! The area was spectacular. The country is so interesting. I wish I could speak Spanish and hope to learn more. This is a very clean and safe country as well as a very poor one. I’d like to learn more about this country and its people.
Driving through the province of Santiago de Cuba late at night, upon my arrival in Cuba, I was struck by the cool lights dotting the landscape. Tubes of fluorescent bulbs posted on polls to bathe the largest area in cool light, or pinned to the wall on a front porch to illuminate the standard wooden chairs at entry. Homes nestled in the hills and on the cliffs of the Sierra Minestra mountains. We were in the countryside and the road was extremely bad. A 50 kilometer drive took us 3 hours and the weaving of the bus at night was a skill to behold as goats and other cars negotiated their way along a road where there just was no “right” side to be on. The right side was the side with no holes and some the most traction.
I seriously wish I had the language skills to converse with the people I met in their language. They are proud, extremely educated and they know they are confined. Most never mention this while many still approach the subject with desperation; “Marry me; it will only be an arrangement…. It is my only way out”. Others tell proudly of their children’s education and of their own tenacious employment careers with nothing but pride.
Tourists behave interestingly here in Cuba. Many have visited before, some for many years consistently to the same area. Many develop relationships with local families. I met a couple who had flown 2 bicycles with them and planned a party by the pool at the resort to put them together and then planned on surprising a local family they had know for a few years.
More common are the ones who pack small gifts of soap, pens, paper, clothing medical and school supplies and toys. In the larger cities –of which there are really only two; Havana and Santiago de Cuba city, people will ask you outright for small items such as these –mainly soap and pens. Leaving items for the hotel staff such as small gifts was a simple gesture that I was comfortable with. However, my conscience gave me trouble when out in public. In the larger cities it was difficult to hand out items for many reasons. Firstly there were just too many people and not enough for everyone creating a situation that is best avoided for many reasons.
When meeting and getting to know individuals on a more personal basis I found myself struggling with the idea of presenting these people with charity when they were not asking for anything. I simply was conscious of my position and didn’t enjoy this style of tourist charity. Children were the easiest to bestow small gifts upon. I knew I was not placing them in a position to feel “needy”. Well, I hoped I wasn’t. I imagine schools and medical facilities and other macro methods would have been easier for me. Even though I realize that I may have been projecting.
Some tourists with the best of intentions, behaved in ways that made me uncomfortable. Many had what appeared to me as their “pet” Cuban’s; often spoken to like children, lavished with gifts and special attentions, made to perform for the tourist’s digi-cam if they were singers or dancers at the hotel. I don’t mean to be harsh or judgmental. It was just all food for thought.
Cuba is a wonderful country with smart, proud and friendly people. It is clean and safe and beautiful. I had a wonderful time where 1 week was clearly not enough. I am curious about the people and the political situation, the effects of the embargo, their educational system, music and the “arts”. I saw no literature while I was there except political bookstores with old bound books. The average family works extremely hard, they all go to school, there are no people living on the streets and as I have said already –there is no garbage. There are no mentally ill wandering the streets.
I have to go back.
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