Travel Adventure trip to Cuba -- the yuca, Sinatra and the cars!

Cuba is known for being in a time capsule, with cars from the 1950s still on the streets. Credit: Bruce Hale

Let us take you on your next Travel Adventure! Last December, the Angeles Chapter organized its first trip to the island nation of Cuba. President Obama has loosened travel restrictions and we may continue to visit as travel rules have changed to make it even easier. Here's an account of the 14-day people-to-people tour that included visits to eco-preserves and community projects as well as traditional Cuban landmarks.

In December 2014 Sierra Club leaders Bruce Hale and Jon Perica led a 14 day travel adventure in Cuba. This trip marked the first time the Sierra Club has sponsored a trip to the island nation. Travel had been severely restricted for years, but the Obama administration has allowed Americans to travel legally to Cuba on “people-to-people” educational tours operated by companies licensed by the U.S Treasury. Thus, our trip was licensed and legal. We included visits to some eco-preserves and some community projects.

The trip came at a timely, watershed moment in light of President Obama’s announcement three days after we returned that the U.S. will normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. In other words, as restrictions are further eased, more Americans will be traveling to Cuba so that the destinations there will become more crowded. Already in 2013 officials estimate that over 90,000 Americans [as part of the total figure of 500,000 foreign visitors in 2013] visited the island. The figure for Americans may well double or triple in coming years. Our trip participants, however, saw Cuba as it has been before big potential changes start to develop. Up to this point, Cuba has been almost suspended in time for over 50 years. For this reason, during these years, Cuba has had one of the smallest environmental footprints on the planet.

The old American cars from the 1950s still so prevalent in Cuba reflect  this sense of suspended time. In Havana, I would estimate that about one quarter of the cars on the road are such classic vehicles. As a result of the embargo imposed by the U.S. after the Revolution, no American vehicles were ever imported into Cuba after 1959. Thus today there are still cars like 1953 Chevys and 1955 Fords and 1959 Buicks and the like. Many of these cars, however,  have replacement engines, even diesel engines. Many have been repainted in bright colors. Most are used as taxis for tourists. I enjoyed taking photos of these old classics, --until I had enough pictures of ’53 Chevys et al.

Cuba needs to build tourism infrastructure

Before Cuba can handle hordes of American tourists, the tourist infra-structure needs to be more developed and updated. Once relations normalize, this will no doubt follow. The biggest industry in Cuba is in fact tourism [followed by medical services]. Europeans and Canadians have been enjoying the destination for years. Our trip experienced some glitches in part because of  limited infrastructure. A typical response when something went awry is “This is Cuba, what do you expect?!” Our guide often had to work her cellphone to make sure that things would roll out the way they were supposed to. In recognition that our tour had the occasional glitch, our tour operator covered some meals which would not have otherwise been included.

But our group did substantially fulfill the itinerary over the course of the two weeks. Indeed the odometer on our luxury tour bus (imported by the Cuban government from China) showed that by the end of the trip we had covered 2,260 km or about 1,400 miles. And, ours was a custom tour, not a cookie-cutter tour such as the typical off-the-shelf commercial tours  which usually stay rather close to Havana and visit maybe only  3 other cities. We visited seven cities besides Havana.

Havana was our focal point as we checked in to the Hotel Nacional there four times during the two weeks. The hotel, built in 1930 [it is said with money from the mafia], displays the art-deco and neoclassical style popular at the time, is now declared a national monument. It is picturesque upon the bluff over the waterfront. To impart a sense of its history, the hotel has named certain rooms  after celebrities like Frank Sinatra, and has photos on the wall of famous past guests. By the time we checked in for the last time, the hotel felt like home. Its convenient location allowed us to walk on the Malecon, the boardwalk along the waterfront,  and to explore the nearby University of Havana where to this day in the middle of the student square there is still a tank, harking back to the Revolution which was fomented on the campus.
 
Havana, current population about 2.1 million today  and established in 1515, offers many opportunities for walking tours, not only along the Malecon, but also in Old Havana with its narrow cobblestone streets, historic plazas and cathedrals dating back to the 16th century, and the Prado which is particularly a good  pedestrian street for the sighting of the 1950s cars as well as the eclectic architecture Havana is famous for.

Getting there

During the first week, after flying into Havana on Cubana Air from Mexico City and after some flight delays beyond our control, we started in the eastern part of the island  and then gradually worked our way west back to Havana. Unfortunately this required some lengthy bus rides. We had a really careful, cautious bus driver. The rough, often pot-holed roads slowed the bus down as did the horse carriages and bicycles riding right in the middle of the lanes.  We went east first by air to Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city, and then by bus as far as the town of Baracoa, which is on the Atlantic coast in Guantanamo Province. 

As a site where Columbus landed, Baracoa displays the cross which Columbus is said to have erected there in December 1492. Carbon dating has revealed that the wood dates back to the 15th century. Today the cross is protected behind bars so that people do not cut off pieces of it.

Returning to Santiago de Cuba, we attended a performance of dances from the slavery era in replicated costumes. A dinner followed at a ranch in which the 13 employees raise organic produce for the restaurant. As we ate a guitarist was playing classical Latin songs.  Usually live music was featured in restaurants. This dinner was one of many that we had at the “paladores.” These are privately operated restaurants which the government has permitted since 1995. They have proliferated with the increase of tourism in recent years.  Some paladores  are established in restored classic buildings.

Graham Green, the British author used to hang out in the Hotel  Casa Granda in which we stayed in Santiago de Cuba.  From Santiago de Cuba, we continue westward  with a stop at the Shrine of the Virgin of Copper in the copper mining region near the city. The church here is a popular destination for pilgrims.  Today the government co-exists with religions.  Castro even met with the Pope. Cubans can belong to both the Catholic Church and the party if they want to.

We stay overnight in Camaguey, Cuba’s third largest city, known for its maze of narrow, winding streets which mean that our bus cannot access the hotel, so we have to walk several blocks to the hotel. In the morning  the group does a tour via the bicitaxis which can get around the streets easily. We stop  to visit one of the community projects  which make dolls using handicapped workers.

It is then a 5 hour drive to our next destination, Las Brisas del Trinidad, a luxury American-style all-inclusive resort right on the beach about 7 miles from the historic town of Trinidad. Catching the sunset from the beach is a  special pastime here.  During our stay, we also enjoyed a bright full moon.

A lesson in Cuban cuisine

Jon and I especially liked all the vegetarian options  available in the ample  buffet since at many  restaurants the offerings are "pork (the national dish), or beef, or chicken." In fact, what is Cuban cuisine like? Surprisingly it is not spicy. Pepper is not used. One has to ask for pepper or hot sauce. Beef is not raised because it consumes too many resources. Sweet potatoes and yucca root served with onions and garlic in oil or lard are common staples for Cubans.

The following morning we visit the town of Trinidad, founded by  explorer Velasquez, and not to be confused with the island called Trinidad. The old nunnery near the plaza is now a museum of the revolution. Near town we visit one of the eco-preserves on our itinerary  tailored  to  the interest of Sierra Club members. This is Parque Natural El Cubano. After lunch under the ramada of El Cubano Ristorante, the group does a little walk on a nature trail to a view of the river led by a local naturalist guide Nancy who pointed out plants like the guarana tree (which grows caffeine-containing berries) and the red bark tree (known for its soft wood).

We visit another preserve the following day 14 miles from  the city of Cienfuegos. The group does another nature walk led by another local guide. The hibiscus trees are blooming with their red flowers. The park has 28 species of palms and probably nearly as many varieties of bamboos which may at times grow as much as 3 feet per day.

Once in Cienfuegos, a town originally colonized by the French in 1819, we proceed to the Parque Jose Marti, the central plaza which has its own Arco de Triunfo  commemorating Cuban independence. Cienfuegos is distinguished by  a sense of wellbeing and  prosperity  dating back to the days of the sugar barons who became established  here and brought their accouterments of wealth with them  in creating  noteworthy neoclassical French buildings.  Today UNESCO is helping to restore some of them.  Such architecture is prevalent in the downtown pedestrian mall  and in plush neighborhoods. Today the  once exclusive Yacht Clubhouse is a restaurant. This is also true of the Moorish-style  elaborately decorated  Palacio del Valle, where  several of the group had dinner one evening.

In the Provincial Museum on the plaza we attend a choral concert. The choral group of 20 has performed in Europe and South America. They practice 3 hours a day 5 days a week. Jon is going to ask Cal State Northridge to have them perform in the campus theatre. The chorus conductor  invited us to attend a second concert they were doing that evening in the Teatro Tomas Terry just on the other side of the plaza. Famous singers like Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt once performed in this  theatre, --which still has its original wooden seats from  1889.  From the balcony  we had  a good view of the plaza and the sunset  during the concert.

In Cienfuegos, we stay at Hotel Jagua in the Punta Gorda section of town.  Batista’s brother built this concrete, modern high rise hotel in 1950. Today it remains popular with tour groups and offers comfort, spacious airy rooms, and panoramic views of the waterfront.

In Cienfuegos a not-to-be missed tour is a boat ride at dusk to the mouth of the bay to view the old fort there  as well as the sunset. From the boat we saw  an interesting effect as the low clouds became outlined in an eerie orange glow called “the devil’s light”. I had never seen such an effect before.

Back to Havana

From Cienfuegos we returned to Havana by bus. We pass through farmlands in which, among other things, rice is grown. Raising rice in Cuba is a relatively new thing. Rice grains are spread on the highway to dry. These farms, we are told, are private, but some portion of the harvests must be given to the government.  We check into the Hotel Nacional again and enjoy more sightseeing in and around Havana and further enjoy a sunset evening dinner at  La Divina Pastora, a restaurant by the waterfront at the bay near Castle Morro.

In the morning  we depart by bus for the Vinales Valley,  a scenic rural region  about 2 hours west from Havana. It is known for its tobacco plantations as well as the limestone peaks called magotes (which are similar to the karstic islands  in Halong Bay  in Vietnam and  along the Li River in China.  En route we visit El Soroa Orchid Botanical Garden and  El Castillo de las Nubes. The 400 acres  of the gardens are home to numerous varieties of orchids whose  many distinctive blooms we enjoy.  In Vinales we stay at the Jasmine Hotel which overlooks the valley so it  has gorgeous views from every balcony.

The following day we head back to Havana for the 4th and last time with a stop en route at Las Terraces, a popular tourist attraction. Las Terraces is a  virtually self-contained cooperative community in which the local residents have pooled their resources in a green way. The cooperative began  as a reforestation project in 1968; the hills had been denuded  to be made into coffee plantations in the 19th century.  Inhabitants  today  do not pay rent because their labor is their payment. The prime industry for the community is tourism. Last year they drew 45,000 tourists. Some artists live here and  invite tourists to buy their art works in their  little hillside  home galleries.

During our final day in Havana, we  pay a visit to the Hemmingway House, about a 20 minute drive from downtown Havana. The author bought the 9 acres in 1940 and lived there for 20 years. Although his wife had a little tower with a view  built  to be his writing studio next to the house, he preferred to write in his bedroom standing before his typewriter on top of a bookshelf.  The  property is very much as he left it in 1960. Hemingway also hung out is bars like the Bogedita and Ambos in downtown Havana.

There is much more to be said about our trip and about Cuba. Clearly the country is in transition. I was  impressed by how resilient the Cuban people are and how well they  do with so little. Compared to poorer countries in the Western Hemisphere, the island  has  at least a certain level of  prosperity. Capitalism  already has a foothold  upon the island as we see in some private facilities and marketing and catering to tourists. The huge Craft Market in Havana reflects these trends. So do all the late-model expensive cars [not American cars] parked on the street by the market. The question remains whether  some degree of political freedom will eventually follow.

Normalized relations with the US will make this more likely to happen sooner than later, but it will  surely unfold in Cuba’s own way.  Jon and I hope to lead another trip to Cuba in 2016 and we expect to see accelerated changes on the island.

Bruce Hale is an Angeles Chapter leader and co-leader of the 14-day trip to Cuba sponsored by the Chapter.