Cuba: Part II
Cuba was never more than a hazy dream to me when i was growing up.
In February President Obama loosened travel restrictions relating to Cuba. With Fidel Castro “retired” and moving out of the picture additional restrictions are likely to be removed in the coming years. If the political climate remains the same, then open travel for U.S. citizens seems at this point to be inevitable. Already, since the new travel rules were announced there have been “tourism” programs introduced by companies like National Geographic, and even popular night show host Conan Obrien made a trip to the country as part of a comedy skit. But what is Cuba like after all these decades of “isolation?” I traveled there to find out what Americans can expect, and what attitudes Cubans express towards the United States after so many decades of passive hostility.
The Monument of Maximo Gomez, a revered General who fought the Spanish in both the 10 Years War and the Cuban War of Independence, which became the Spanish-American War. On the other side is an elaborately carved fountain that rivals what you would see in Rome (except it doesn't work). There is also a park named after him in Miami, Florida.
Cuba has a long history with the United States. Columbus claimed Cuba for the Spanish crown in Oct. 1492. Three hundred years later it was taken from the Spanish during the Seven Years War by the British, who later returned it to Spain in exchange for Florida.
Cubans fought for their independence somewhat continuously from 1865 to 1898. Cuba's military governor Valeriano Weyler invented modern day concentration camps, killing between 200,000 and 400,000 Cubans during that time. During that century, four U.S. Presidents tried to purchase Cuba from Spain. Eventually the U.S. entered the Spanish American War and in 1898 Spain gave up the country as part of the Treaty of Paris. After that the United States had control over the Cuban economy as well as it's leaders.
One of the those leaders was Fulgencio Batista. Batista was greatly liked by the U.S. Government, U.S. Mafia, and wealthy landowners. He was also very corrupt and under his rule the economy stagnated while the gap between the rich and poor widened. The history at that time and all the factors that led to the revolution and embargo are complicated but well worth reading about. I'll just say a lot of corruption, killing, backstabbing and stubbornness on both sides led up to the current situation.
A sunny day in front of the National Hotel at the intersection of the Malecon and Avenida 23.
In addition to all the old American cars there are a whole bunch of Soviet cars. The American cars are better.
I was always thought (was taught) that the 50 year trade embargo had pretty much destroyed the country. I was never told that the United States was just about the only country in the world Cuba could NOT do business with. The country was doing pretty well until the Soviet Union dissolved in the 1990’s. Cuba's economy had been heavily subsided by that superpower nation.
Today Cuba trades with China/Asia as well as Europe. Some American products still arrive in the country via other routes, like Mexico. Walking around you can see Chinese and Korean vehicles on the streets, and you can find European companies that do business in the Unites States like UPS competitor DHL Express. In restaurants Coca Cola products are readily available. Cuba has an estimated 34% of the worlds reserve of nickel and exports 8% of the worlds cobalt. The United States has very little of it's own nickel deposits. The mines in Cuba were originally opened to supply the U.S. with nickel during WWII. Today they are operated by a Canadian mining company.
The Malecon
An empty lot where you can park your taxi and meditate on the ocean. Beyond are the conrcete ruins of salt water swimming pools now filled with sea life.
We thought we might eat here at this 11th floor restaurant but it was closed.
Hotel Sevilla was popular with the American Mafia during prohibition. Some of their pictures adorn a wall.
An old Italian Cinema.
The second place we slept.
The first thing i was surprised about during my short visit was that no Cuban ever seemed surprised that I was a United States citizen. Some of them were very impressed that i was from Alaska; one of our cab drivers, an old man, was visibly excited because in all his years of driving people around he'd never met anyone from Alaska. They are already used to a steady flow of visitors from our country. The second thing that surprised me was that everyone was so welcoming. I never met a Cuban who treated me badly or expressed anger towards the U.S.. I even heard a senior citizen giving a tour about the Cuban missile crisis say that in her opinion Cuba should never have allowed Russia to put it’s missiles so close to the United States. Havana was teaming with tourists from Canada and Europe and the general populace seems to practice being polite and accommodating to outsiders, as much of Havana's economy today depends on those visitors.
Downtown Havana as seen from the fort across the harbor entrance.
A random museum that had nobody in it.
Windows from the American Battleship Maine which exploded in the harbor and was blamed on the Spanish. It was the event that drew the United States into the Spanish American War.
Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro was built in 1589 to protect the harbor.
A passage through one of the walls of the fort.
Canons facing the sea. Originally they actually strung a big "security" chain all the way to the other fort across the entrance of the harbor.
A horse and carriage leaving a castle. Not what i was expecting to see when i woke up that morning.
The entrance to Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña (Fort of St. Charles).
The fort was built in 1774 after the British handed Cuba back over to the Spanish in exchange for Florida. It is the third largest fortress complex in the Americas.
The fort was built in 1774 after the British handed Cuba back over to the Spanish in exchange for Florida. It is the third largest fortress complex in the Americas.
I think this used to be filled with tigers and crocs.
They still fire a canon every night at 9pm to announce closing time.
Somehow we got stuck on the roof and walked all the way across it. That pink framed wall was our goal but it is not connected due to a hidden street. The last time the fort was used militarily was in 1959 as a prison.
The third floor of the old Presidential Palace, which is now part of the Museum of the Revolution. It was built in the 1920's and functioned as living quarters and government meeting rooms, like the White House in the U.S.A..
Bullet holes dot the marble walls from the day a group of student rebels stormed the palace in an attempt to assassinate Batista. The attack failed and Batista later fled the country.
There were at least three groups of students roaming around when i visited.
Two crops from one image. Below some girls photobombing my picture of the ceiling mural above their heads.
The presidents desk and office.
A ballroom or something with a not very good mural on the ceiling.
This is a tool used for removing fingernails. Batista thought Cuba was becoming overrun with fingernails.
A large display featuring Batista and several U.S. presidents that the Cuban government does not like, for various reasons. Reagan re-tightened the Embargo, disallowed U.S. citizens to travel to the country and put Cuba on the terrorist list, and the Bush family has it's own very sordid history with Cuba.
As nice as the palace looks, it has no running water. The toilets don't flush and if you would like to wash your hands a bottle of water is provided on the sink. Say what you will about capitalism, at least we have reliable plumbing.
The tail wing of a CIA modified Douglas B-26 that was painted with Cuban military aircraft markings and sent to attack airfields during the Bay of Pigs. Next to it is a U2 engine (not pictured), also shot down.
A friendly dog at the museum.
Straight out of Grand Theft Auto, a delivery truck that carried some of the rebels who stormed the palace.
One of the nuclear missiles that nearly ended the world. Cuba is so close to Florida that they could just shoot the thing off horizontally.
I thought it was funny that in this big open area that the only place to sit is in one of these benches 6 feet from a model of a soviet rocket.
Under the National Hotel is an elaborate series of underground tunnels.
A fashion mannequin dressed in a soldier's uniform. Below is another head next to another pipe.
After hours of military history and exposure to communist propaganda it's nice to retreat to your room and take a break. Our second room was green and also had very high ceilings.
Outside our second room door. Our second room had a much better bathroom but a much noisier air conditioner.
A Russian Orthodox Church, from the Soviet days.
American cars, Russian Churches, Spanish castles, Italian cinemas... there are a lot of influences at play in the city.
This guy took us one a one our tour of the city. He showed us quite a lot.
Our first host told us to two things right off the bat. The first was that "Buena Vista Social Club is a lie." It's been many years since i've seen that movie so i don't remember anything about it other than the music but based on how many times we heard songs from that film performed live throughout our trip, it must have been very influential to tourism in the country.
The second thing she told us was that Cubans don't take U.S. currency. That, i have to admit i had heard was an actual thing. Cuba has two currencies. One currency is the Cuban Peso (CUP) and is used by the native population for things like their utility bills and whatnot. The other currency is called the Convertible Peso (CUC) and is what you will almost always be using as a tourist. The exchange rate for the CUC is set to be on par with the U.S. dollar. In other words, items and services are marked up for tourists. The values and prices for the two currencies are wildly different. You need to be aware when looking at some menu prices on street food windows what currency the price is listed in. I have heard that Raul Castro plans to eliminate the dual currency system by 2017.
An Art Nouveau building that needs some love.
This part of town was looking really bad. I don't know if the buildings were collapsing or being torn down, but jungle trees were moving in.
This huge jungle tree was growing out the side of an abandoned 6 story building. It's roots snaked all the way down the side of the building.
An abandoned looking mansion that is still inhabited. There are many others.
A cool looking huge monument to the national hero Jose Marti. Marti was a poet and journalist who dedicated his life to Cuban independence in the 1800's. It is the highest building in Havana at 358 ft.(109m).
The definitely haunted and abandoned old hospital. They are saving it for the next Silent Hill movie.
People in Cuba aren't allowed to move from one part of the country to another. One way to get around that is to try and get a job as a police officer. As a result many of the police in Havana were formerly poor farmers from the east portion of the country.
We were plagued by problems with running water all over the city. Aside from pollution that was my biggest issue. At our first room the water went out after the first day. The second day the shower and sink worked but not the toilet. The water pressure that day was very low and it took a few minutes to fill up a bucket (the waste bin) several times with enough water to pour down the toilet. Likewise, i noticed many public restrooms did not have functioning toilets.
On the other hand almost everyone has a job. Everyone get's a pretty decent free education. Medical care is free and Cuba loans out some of it's doctors around the world. Most impressive is that everyone gets a free house. The house may not have running water and you might not even be allowed to modify the house, but you won't be sleeping on the street. The water is safe to drink. That impressed me.
Did you know Apple sells mixed drinks in Cuba?
A communist market, notice the lack of inventory.
I needed deodorant. There was only one brand and 4 scents. They were all roll-on. Even so, i was delighted with my sport aqua surf scented roll on deodorant. I guess if they are all good then you don't really need 500 choices.
All over the old town they were replacing old water pipes and paving roads.
A man reading a paper in front of his house. He lived in front of the ocean.
Some scary wiring that reminded me of Half Life 2. Walking around the city at night was very interesting because everyone comes home and opens up their doors. Many people run side businesses out of their homes during the night once they get home from their day jobs.
The most surreal vision i have seen in a long time. I wish so bad i had my camera when i saw this but was only able to snap a photo with the phone. Straight out of a David Lynch movie, this room, from what i saw as i walked by had nothing in it at all except a couch, a black mirror with lights on either side, and a large statue of a Native American Chief with a large flower set at his feet. I wanted to go in there so bad but it's someones home.
As i mentioned previously i was only in Cuba for 3 full days and mostly in one part of Havana. Havana is a large city and there are a lot of other parts of it to see. They have an incredible cemetery, a zoo, an amusement park named after Lenin, an outdoor dinosaur park and many other interesting locations. I hope in the future it will be easier to go back
A close up of one of those old cars. You can see how it's barely holding together. In the background some surprisingly trendy graffiti
The front entrance to the old palace of Batista is now a congregating area for joggers, football/soccer and friends after work
Check out the heavy industry level of unregulated pollution coming out of that stack all day long. That is right next to the area of town we were breathing in.
This guy is all over the place
Generations come and go. Hopefully the next generation will be able to participate in Cuba's economic rebirth, before Havana becomes the next Venice
Cuba: Part II
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