The photos are going from most recent to back to our trip to the Big C. So, I will start with the trip from Guatemala to the Big C. If you are interested in reading chroniclogically, scroll back a few pages.
****Let me start by saying this was one of the most interesting, fasinating, intriguing and wonderful trips we have been on. The girls were impressive with the amount of questions, thoughtful insightful observations and curiosity. It was an incredible educational experience and we think the girls were old enough and wise enough for this trip.
Although the dengue made me tired and sleepy, I felt good enough to continue on with our travels. We landed in C and immediately took a very expensive State controlled cab to the coast to a French colonial town named Cienfuegos.
There are two currencies, one is the local peso that is used by the locals and CUC's (convertibles) which are meant to be used by the tourists. I had brought Canadian dollars with me, as they are not taxed as heavily as the USdollar, but still it is so weird to use dollars and have them so devalued, once by purchasing the Canadian and then again purchasing CUCs. We had to make sure we had plenty of cash on us as no US atm or credit cards are allowed on the island. Everything is expensive for tourists except for staying in casa particulares and the meals they provide. The CP's were once an underground network of people opening their homes to tourists now they are legal and state controlled (but there seemed to ALWAYS be away around the State). It was a great way to experience the culture, get around state controlled transportation, tourist traps, and helpful hints. Plus, the conversations were great and the families always took fantastic care of us. This helped as it is NOT a cheap country for tourists.
C food in Miami is totally different from what C food is now. After the Russians left, C went into the "special period" as the presidente named it. Basically a time of terrible hardship. Therefore, meals consisted of either: chicken, pork, rice/beans, or lobster (consumed by tourists though). Never saw a chicken breast only dark meat. We asked about that...nobody knows where the breasts go, but everybody DOES actually know...most likely the rulers stomach. The food is bland, usually served with cabbage, carrots, and rice. Not a lot of spice or flavor. Rum is everywhere and can be purchased everywhere. That is one thing that is in abundance.
There is hardly any garbage anywhere due to the fact that the people are so use to not having anything, nothing goes to waste. Everything is recycled. And since staple food sources are controlled by the State, there are no bags of junk food, plastic bags, et al. There are no fast food restaurants except the "SuperRapido" which i noticed mostly sells small rum bottles. (it WAS the holidays). So, the country is so clean, no traffic and no air pollution. The last cars from the US are from 1959 so we saw the most incredible cars basically priceless. Of course, there are plenty of cars from Russia (Ladas) and China. They are very very resourceful, and it is amazing to see how they manage to keep things running like those cars. If you can't get a part, you find someone who can make the part for you.
It is a very safe country, as the joke goes in Havana...there are 3 million people who live there. One million are police, one million are compatriot informants making 2 million police watching the other million. But, the people are so very nice. The one tiring thing, is you always feel like you are being ripped off, not by the CP's but for services when traveling. They always blame it on "the state taxes us at 90% " but we always hired "under the table", so not quite sure where the tax figures in......
Communism does not work as everyone there is a capitalist trying to make a buck. As you will see in the photos, we took rides in non-state cars, on a farmer's wagon, on a pedi - cab. Totally illegal. There is also a class system which I defined by transportation. Highest rung: a person owns a car, then a person who owns a motorcycle and sidecar, then a person who owns a horse and wagon, then a person who has a bike and finally the person with a thumb and legs (hitch hikers can number up to a 100 on the intersecions of roads during the holidays). Most people make about 12 dollars a month legally. If you are in the tourist business and operate a restaurant or a horse and carriage, or a hotel or CP, you can make some decent money and have more than others. Otherwise, you just get by which is what most people do. Although, they are some of the most educated people, have the most doctors per capita than any other country (they just don't have medical supplies) and are rich in culture, sports and the arts.
Cienfuego was laid back....we hit the road one day in a 1959 Plymouth to Trinidad, where once sugar cane plantations ruled. We watched salsa bands that played in empty lots, homes, bars, in the streets. Live music is EVERYWHERE in Cuba. We ate lobster in someone's backyard where they had 3 tables set up as a "restaurant". It was like stepping back in time. Gorgeous old historic brick walls, wrought iron and lobster..yum.
Havana was the girls favorite. We stayed in "Old Havana" in a casa particular which was a private 2 bedroom, living room and bath on the 5th floor walkup. Everything is old and run down unless you are staying in a hotel. But, we didn't want the hotel experience. The owner, Juan, an old scholar and bilingual, who lived above us, didn't expect the changes 52 years ago, and never left. He has only seen his sister twice in 50 years as she left with so many others. A story we heard over and over. Split families, those who got out, those who weren't sure, and those who couldn't or can't. One new friend said "we are all prisoners on an island." It was always sad when we left a casa, when they said "buen viaje" "have a good trip"....knowing that they could never leave. Travel even in their own country is nearly impossible with the cost of transportation. People only know their own towns and/or surroundings. Never leaving. In Havana, we walked the streets, admiring buildings, loving the music, touring the official historical places of la revolucion. Pretty interesting their take on the Bay of Pigs, la Revolucion et al.
It is also sad to see such disrepair, to see how most people live in the city. The problem is every home is
"rent free" but it means that you cannot sell your home unless you buy another home that is exactly equal in worth and size.....therefore, a family that grows with each generation ends up smashed together in the same home. They say they have one of the highest divorce rates in the world.
We walked freely at night and had an amazing NYeve. We got reservations at the "best" flamenco dance restaurant. Down the street, in a plaza, the Buena Vista Social Club was actually playing too. So, when the dancers and musicians were on break at the restaurant, we took turns taking the girls down to the plaza to see BVSC. The tradition at midnight is to throw water out of the balconies (usually 5 stories high) to symbolize throwing out the old year and bringing in a good clean new year. The girls loved dodging the water, running through the narrow cobblestoned streets, taking cover under balconies and alcoves with hundreds of others.
Our last stop was Vinales which is famous for it's interior countryside beauty, tobacco farms and caves. We stayed in a home with a private room and bath but ate and hung out on the families front porch (i think swept 20 times a day by the mom) and their dining room/kitchen. It was soooo clean yet so sparse. Didn't matter, the girls had new friend's with the casa's children, even got invited to a birthday party down the street and played and played with the kids. One little girl wanted to be a famous dancer so "she could travel and see the world."
We had our casa arrange horseback riding with some farmers, who took us around the fields, to a lake and to see how hand rolled cigars are made. They offered Mojitos and Victor said yes. Well, this WAS on a farm with no potable or running water, with mint picked from the field with goats in it, and made with a farmer's hands that probably had not been washed. Hence, Victor got a stomach "problem" and was out of it for 2 days. I took the girls spulunking and walking about. We managed to spend every CUC and not lose our passports and get back to Panama where things started to go a bit wrong AGAIN for me.
Just like the dengue, my temperature began spiking to the point of semi-convulsions, my joints began aching again and by the time I got to the Caracas airport I was unable to walk. During most of our trip, we were receiving phone calls from Guatemala about Victor's mother's health. She was in a hospital in a semi-coma and his family wanted him to come back to Guatemala if things got worse. The problem was, we could not make outgoing international calls while in C so we were constantly waiting for incoming messages. The plan was for victor to get us to Caracas and then turn around and go back to Guatemala for a few days. Now, there I am, unable to walk much less speak coherently in Spanish...so Victor decides to get me all the way back to PLC. Once we got my fever down, my symptoms started to appear just like Victor's a few days prior. Aha, I had taken a sip of that Mojito.....a few lab tests later..... yup...we have amebas. Everybody back on antibiiotics again. But, since my immune system was so warn down and still recovering from dengue, my ameba attack lastest about 5 days in bed and it took 2 weeks more to get my strength back. In the meantime, Victor was doing everything under a great deal of stress because he was so worried about me and his mother he was: going to labs, grocery shopping, going to pharmacies, taking care of the girls and.......laundry.....which included his pants with our PASSPORTS....... Our passports are now ruined. Next entry.....the Passport saga. (some good news, Victor's mother came out of the coma and recovered well enough to go home. Unfortunately, she does have liver cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. She appears comfortable and happier to be home but these are sad days for Victor and his family.
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