Cuba is a significant island nation with a population of over 11 million and a land mass greater than that of other Caribbean islands and that of all but one of the Central American countries. Its state-run economy, with a GDP of around $90 billion, is sizable but relatively small compared to that of some of its neighbors.

Cuba has a long and complex history, going back to the indigenous people who were there by 3,000 BC, if not earlier.  Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba as part of his 1492 exploration. By 1514, Spain had control over Cuba and kept itthrough the 19th century.  During this period there were incursionsby the Dutch and English.

By the late 18th century, Havana was the third largest city in the Americas. Slavery was an important element in Cuba’s economy, especially for sugar cane and tobacco.  In 1823, President Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine which was intended to protect the West Hemisphere, which included Cuba and other countries, from Europe and others.  By 1901 this doctrine was specifically extended to Cuba by the Platt Amendment.

In the second half of the 19th century, Cubans struggled for freedom from Spain, which came in 1902, not long after the USA got involved due to the 1898 sinking in Havana’s harbor of the USS Maine. However, Cuba’s independence was not fullyachieved, as the US effectively controlled or influenced Cuba for decades in various military, political and economic ways.  

After the adoption in 1940 of a constitution, the Cubans elected Fulgencio Batista as president and communist influences grew.  Batista later lost the presidency but regained it through a coup and then tainted elections in 1954.  Rebellions against Batistabegan around 1952; the opposition’s leaders were Fidel Castro, his brother Raul and Che Guevera.  Batista fled on January 1, 1959, and Castro took over and began massive reforms.  

Cuba pursued stronger relations with the USSR and endeavored to free itself from the USA’s heavy influence. In January 1961, the USA severed relations with Cuba. Over the next two years the USA acted to isolate Cuba, including imposing restrictions on trade and travel that continued for decades.

In mid-2015, the Obama administration and Cuban government took steps to thaw USA-Cuba relations.  On August 14, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry personally reopened the US Embassy in Havana.

With these developments, we began exploring taking a trip toCuba in 2016.  However, even with the thaw, US citizens still had to get advance written approval from Cuba to travel there and, under US rules, could only go there with accredited tour operators, and for educational purposes described by the US State Department.  In contrast, people from other countries, such as Canada and Russia, traveled to Cuba as normal tourists.

Fortunately, it was not difficult to arrange our trip because ouraccredited operator knew and expedited the necessary steps. The eight-day tour we chose focused on the Havana area (at the beginning and end), a stay in the Vinales area (in the middle) andvisits to other places near Havana (at various times).

No regularly scheduled flights were permitted from the USA to Cuba. We had to overnight in Miami to take an early morning special charter flight to Havana; it was an 80-minute trip. As recommended, we brought ample cash in US dollars with us. This was necessary as in Cuba US credit cards were not accepted, there were no ATMs or US bank offices, and Cubans preferred to be paid in US dollars rather than Cuban pesos.

A Dramatic USA-Cuba Announcement

On February 18, 2016, less than five weeks before our scheduledarrival in Cuba, the United States and Cuba released an importantstatement:  President Barack Obama would visit Havana from March 20 (our first day there) until March 22.  Obama’s trip wouldbe a dramatic symbol of the evolving USA-Cuba relationship, and he would only be the second US president to go to Cuba (Coolidge was there in 1928).

As it turned out, we saw Air Force One, the presidential jet, on the tarmac just after we landed at Havana Jose Marti International Airport.  We arrived just minutes before President Obama plane set down. As is explained below, Obama’s stay in Havana added a special dimension to our Havana experience.

            Havana

One consequence of Obama’s trip was that the Cuban government commandeered the rooms, including ones that we and other travelers had previously reserved, in Havana’s few “good” hotels. The government reassigned the rooms to members of the press corps, aides, security, members of the US House and Senate, and others who joined the presidential trip. Our tour operator was, fortunately, able to secure alternate lodgings at various “casas particulares” (private accommodations or residences). And, the operator found a very good local restaurant for our opening night dinner, which had previously been arranged to be at a restaurant – now rebooked - at the famous Hotel Nacional.

As for our lodging, the tour operator got us a bedroom in an apartment on the top floor of a six-story, early 1900’s building.  It was well situated across from the attractive grounds of the Hotel Nacional and within sight of the waterfront beyond the Hotel.

We shared the apartment’s sparsely furnished common spaces, such as the spacious living and dining rooms, with the half-dozen or so Cubans who slept in the apartment’s other bedrooms.  They or a prior generation had been given use of the apartment after it and the rest of the building had been expropriated.  

The apartment and building were likely luxurious before the expropriation.  Now, however, they were in disrepair, like many other formerly grand Havana buildings.  Just a few old, previously privately owned mansions and other buildings in Havana were being slowly restored and repurposed.

Our bedroom was large but unfurnished except for a plain bed and night table.  The floor was made of stone, perhaps marble, and was bare.  There was no air conditioning and little if any hot water, so our showers were cold.  The shower stall was dingy. Our toilet was a shared one, down the hall. It was a challenge to find a working electric outlet to recharge camera batteries.

Despite the inconveniences, we were fortunate to be in the casa rather than at the western style hotel initially reserved for us.  On our return to Havana later in the week we did stay in that hotel;the US Mafia had built it as one of Havana’s first hotel-casinos.  

At the casa, we experienced for three days how Cubans in Havana, probably some of the luckiest ones, lived. While our hosts were friendly, it was difficult to converse with them as my wife’s Spanish was rusty and they did not speak or understandmuch English.  They made us good local-style breakfasts. Fromthe apartment’s long balcony, we could see in the distance thecomings and goings of the Obama related dignitaries and others at the entrance to the Hotel Nacional.

We were lucky to witness around Havana the palpable excitement of the Cubans about Obama’s visit.  We saw groups of Cubans eagerly lining Havana’s sidewalks to see Obama as he made his way around the city in the presidential limousine (aka, “the beast”), with the extensive cavalcade of accompanying police and press.  His presence, and its significance, seemed to be a topic of happy conversations wherever we went.

During their first night in Havana, President Obama, Michelle, their daughters and Michelle’s mother ate in a local, well-regardedrestaurant, San Cristobal Paladar.  Our guide heard, early the next morning, about the Obama’s dinner and quickly got us reservations at the Paladar for that night.  The Obama’s evening at a local restaurant soon became known around the world asCuban, US and other newspapers, as well as the CBS Evening News TV broadcast, reported the event.  

The Paladar was on an unlit street so narrow that even a single passenger vehicle could barely fit through; the Secret Service must have had fits about security.  The maître d’ showed us thenow roped off and “enshrined” private dining room where the Obamas ate, and said that the table, flatware, etc., were arrangedjust as they had been for the Obamas. I wondered when others would be allowed to dine there again.  We had the restaurant’s local specialties, which were excellent, in an adjacent room.

The tour operator organized events designed to satisfy the State Department’s educational requirements.  We had private sessions with a Cuban journalist who authoritatively discussed politics, economics and social issues and with a well-known Cuban urban planner. At a dance studio we practiced salsa and rumba. We had private performances from, and conversations with, a quartet of some of Cuba’s finest young jazz musicians led by a professor of music and a famous “hip-hop”- jazz band and singer.

Most of our time in and around Havana was, however, spent walking through historic, picturesque areas as normal tourists do, albeit with more information and efficiency in getting around than if we were traveling on our own. A driver quickly ferried our group around town in a comfortable air-conditioned van. Our tour guide,although licensed by the Cuban government, was not always its advocate.  She was knowledgeable and personable. On the last day we gave her and the driver large US dollar cash tips.

Among my first and lasting impressions of Havana is that it looksand feels like a European “old world” city. In this respect and others, it differs from any other island country in the Americas that I have visited. Many Havana buildings are from the colonial period with some dating back to 1560.  Its 18th and early 19th century buildings, notably churches, ballet halls and theaters, museums, and so forth, resemble buildings in European cities from the same periods.  Interestingly, the capitol building and dome, erected in the 1920’s, were modeled after the US Capitol.

It was evident that many old buildings and colonial areas had been restored.  In the 1980’s, Cuba began a multimillion-dollar restoration project, and we appreciated its effects.    

In a different vein, many taxis and passenger cars on the streets, mostly Chevrolets and other GM products, were “antiques” as they were made in the USA in the late 50’s. They gave the city a“frozen in time” feel and look.  Due to Cuba’s economic conditions, in part attributable to the USA embargo, as well as its own policies, it was unusual for passenger vehicles made after the 1950’s to be owned by private persons in Cuba.  

Maintaining the old US cars was a challenge as OEM and other parts could not be bought from the USA.  Cuban car owners had to become their own mechanics, and they frequently had to make repairs using old, rebuilt parts and whatever alternative replacements would work.  Ironically, Cubans were so successful at keeping their vintage cars running and looking good that thecars would have fetched high prices in the USA.

In parts of the USA, and especially in Miami, it was common, even eight years after Castro left office in 2008 and over 50 years after he came to power, to disparage him and criticize the revolution’s effects on the Cuban people.  In contrast, Cubans in Cuba were openly appreciative of the health care, education and other benefits they received due to the revolution, and they spoke fondly of Fidel.  They also candidly hoped for improvements, such as economic ones.

The Cubans walking around, sitting in public areas, eating in restaurants, etc., looked happy and healthy and their clothing was in good condition. As in cities in other socialist countries, there were no beggars.  It was also apparent in Havana and elsewhere that the state-run economy was allowing seeds of capitalism and entrepreneurism to take hold. There were many privately owned restaurants, bars and other small businesses.

While at one privately owned bar, the barkeep reminded us of the role the US Mafia played in Havana, especially after an infamous 1946 meeting there of many crime families.  I ordered a mojitofrom the bar tender made with dark rum, rather than the traditional white rum.  He explained, with a smile, that this drink was not a mojito.  Instead, it was called, at least in Havana, a “Meyer Lansky,” after one of the most notorious US mobsters. Decades earlier, Lansky owned interests in casinos in Havana, Las Vegasand elsewhere.

The desire to “make a buck” from tourists showed itself whenteenagers furtively approached, while two of us were walking through a residential neighborhood, and they offered to sell usdiscounted, name-brand Cuban cigars. The Cuban government, however, owns the manufacturers of cigars such as Partagas andMontecristo, as well as controls their sale and distribution.  Thus,these youngsters were selling cigars illegally.    

Even so, we were curious and followed the teenagers up a rickety, dark stairway to a small, dingy second story apartment in a nearby building where they showed us various cigars.  Their“Montecristos” looked well-packed and rolled and smelled good but were missing bands and were not in Montecristo boxes.  They were likely seconds rejected at the factory, stolen, or good counterfeits.  In any case, the price, especially after being reduced through negotiation, for a dozen “Montecristo No 2”, one of my favorites and among the most famous Cuban cigars, made it worthwhile to take a risk.  It turned out that the cigars were goodand, as a bonus, came with a story.

A significant part of our time in Havana was spent in Old Havana, with its five main plazas and their notable structures:

• Plaza de Armas (aka, Plaza de la Real Fuerza), the city’s first square, with old military fortifications (considered the oldest stone fort in the Americas) and Castillo de la Fuerza, built during 1558-77 to protect against pirates

• Plaza Vieja (Old Square), the city’s second oldest square (1559), has been a market, a place for executions, bullfights, etc., and is bordered on all sides by stately colonial buildings

• Plaza de San Francisco, with buildings constructed in the 18thcentury for a city hall and other government offices

• Plaza del Cristo, site of an 18th century church where sailors prayed before taking long voyages

• Plaza de la Catedral, is home to the Cathedral (1727), the Museo del Arte Colonail and other prized colonial structures

Other Havana area sites on the tour included:

• Parque Historico Militar, Castillo de los Tres del Morro & Castillo de san Pedro e la Roca and the harbor where in 1898 the US battleship, USSMaine, was sunk, triggering the Spanish-American War.

• El Capitolio, & Paseo del Prado & Gran Teatro de la Habana

• Museu Nacional de Belas Artes de Cuba

• Plaza de la Revolution, where Castro addressed over a million Cubans on many occasions; it has a tall tower topped by a 59-foot statue of Jose Marti, an important hero of the 19th century revolution.

• Christopher Colombus Cemetery (Cemetario del Colon), a burial site since 1871, now has more than 800,000 graves. Itis a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for tombs, memorials and features designed by world renowned artists and architects (e.g., colored glass panels by Rene Lalique used as skylights in a mausoleum’s roof). The cemetery was divided into areas based on deceased’s rank and social status.

• The Malecon, a 5-mile long, road, wide esplanade and seawall along which people stroll, dive into the sea for a swim, fish, etc.  Along the Malecon is a statue of Calixto Garcia, a general in the 19th century wars that eventually led to Cuba’s independence from Spain. As the general’s great granddaughter is a close friend of our family, we had to see the statue and send her a photograph.  Likewise, at Cemetario del Colon, we sought out his tomb, which was, of course, in the section reserved for heroes, the wealthy, etc.

• Fusterlandia, a colorful Havana neighborhood with structures with tiles, mosaics and ceramics created by a Cuban artist.

• NostalgiCar, a business started, owned and operated by a Cuban couple to maintain and restore old US-made cars.  The couple was self-taught and became known in Cuba assuccessful “capitalist” entrepreneurs.  They became global celebrities after President Obama visited their business in Havana and later brought them to the USA.

Our tour included the requisite and interesting Hemingway stops:

• Hemingway’s favorite Havana bars: El Floridita Bar (for daquiris, including the “Papa Doble”) & Le Bodequita del Medio (for mojitos). Floridita has a wonderful bronze bust of Hemingway sitting at the bar.  The bust had been touched so many times by visitors that it had a golden glow.

• Museo Hemingway Finca Vigia, Hemingway’s former home with an adjacent covered space for his famous fishing boat, the Pilar.  The house, now a museum, contains: his books;art; African safari trophies of Cape Buffalo, etc.; andfurnishings. On the wall next to his bathroom scale,Hemingway regularly marked his weight by date. Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea while here.

Places outside of Havana that we enjoyed included:

• Buenavista, a coffee plantation built in 1801 by French refugees from Haiti, located at Las Terrazas, 45 miles west of Havana.

• Vinales Valley and town, which are in Vinales Parque Nacional (110 miles southwest of Havana).

• A beautiful, protected sand beach, called Cayo Jutia, with stretches of decorative driftwood; it is less than 90 minutes from the town of Vinales. The beach was frequented by locals and, fortunately, did not have resorts.

Vinales Valley and Town

Vinales Valley has a scenic and unusual landscape with dark red soil and dotted with tall outcroppings of limestone called mogotes. Mountains covered by lush vegetation surround the valley which has its own micro-climate.  UNESCO designated the Valley aWorld Heritage Site because of its landscape.  We had a late morning local meal in the open, looking at the nature reserve.

The soil in the Valley is rich and excellent for growing produce as well as tobacco leaves that are of the highest grade and the best in Cuba for cigars. We walked around a tobacco farm, including its house, barn and A-frame buildings used for curing the leaves.  The farmers talked about the process of growing and curing tobacco for cigars and their lives in the community.

The government is entitled to buy 90 percent of each tobacco farm’s production at a set price, leaving 10 percent for workers.  The farmers suggested, while smiling, that they may be givingthe government less than 90 percent of the production and that they, not the government, may be getting the best leaves.  

The farmers demonstrated how they make cigars, some of which they flavor with cinnamon or rum; they sell most to tourists.  While their cigars were not tightly rolled and had rough wrappers, it felt good to support them by buying a bundle of 20 (not flavored)cigars tied together with a ribbon. As it turned out, the cigarssmoked well, and the bundle’s price was less than that of just one name-brand cigar sold by the government.

We stayed in town at a small, modest, one-story home and casa particular owned by a couple. It had a new addition, with its own entrance, guest bedroom and en-suite bathroom.  The space wasclean, and the shower even had hot water. The owners were gracious and made us a wonderful dinner and breakfast.

The town’s bustling marketplace was filled with stands displayinghandicrafts. The town square or plaza, where locals socialized, ,had a handsome building (Casa de La Cultura) for events such as music and art fairs.  In front was a bronze bust of Jose Marti. The plaza’s popularity grew after it provided free internet access; the government did not yet allow internet access in private homes.

Ranching began in the Valley in the 17th century and by the middle of the 18th century there were thousands of tobacco plantations. The town of Vinales was founded as a farmsettlement in 1875.  Its streets are still lined with colorfully painted colonial style houses over a hundred years old.  The houses are small, one-story, made of locally sourced wood and other materials and have front porches with room for chairs.  Families and workers rode through the streets in handmade wooden carts pulled by horses, on an outdated agricultural tractor and trucks, as well as common-place, but still picturesque, old US-made cars.

Epilogue

Our time in Cuba was a real eye-opener in many ways.  We learned about its 16th-20th century history and appreciated its European architectural influences. We understood better its longmovement toward socialism, the current mix of its state-runeconomy with elements of capitalism, and other ongoing consequences of the 1950’s Castro-led revolution.  Another treat was experiencing the Cuban people’s love of and talents for art, music, dance, etc.  Also, the food was terrific.  We were struck bythe disparity between the negative views expressed in parts of the USA, particularly in Miami, about Castro and the 1950’srevolution, etc., versus what we saw in Cuba and the positive,candid and balanced remarks of those living there.

Obama’s visit, and the excitement it created, allowed us to have special experiences that we will long remember.

Cuba is remarkably photogenic with great subjects such ashistoric, striking architecture; friendly and proud people who are fine with being photographed; vestiges of the USA from the 1950’s; picturesque street scenes; and intriguing landscapes.

As allowed, we brought back $100 worth of excellent handmadecigars and a bottle of Havana Club, a traditional dark rum. My wifesurprised me with a set of mojito glasses and a painting of what aprototype “Havana still life”: a bottle of Havana Club standing behind an ashtray holding a lit Cuban cigar emitting the blue-gray smoke for which good Cuban cigars are known.  The painting was later framed and hung at our home.

This was a terrific trip from many perspectives.

SPH

May 2025

____________________________________________________________________________________

As this narrative was written over nine years after the trip, it may have more than the usual number of inaccuracies or omissions for which I take full responsibility.  I relied on memory, as refreshed by the photographs, a preliminary itinerary and information on the internet about the period.