Cuba

Antoine's view

Whatever will the end of the story be, the magnificent island of Cuba will habe lives History pages unique in the world. Put in the Eastern group of nations by Fidel Castro, despite the proximity of the American Giant, and because of the latter's intransigence, Cuba has lived amazing decades, its economy at tl -zero- level, all the delicacies of progress and liberalism waved under it's nose and out of its reach...

Yet, despite the incredible lack of well-being, despite their salaries at the level of the world's poorest countries in the thirls world, when their island, if only in rtourist resources, had enough assets to beat the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and the French Antilles, look at the Cubans, theu do not look destitute, despite their poverty, they don't say they are unhappy.
But they wonder... Little by little, they get access to the greenback dollar, whose possession was long forbidden ; they discover the simple pleasure of taking their family eat an ice cream with chocolate topping or fried chicken and fries...

That's to say that it would be silly to consider a visit to Cuba just like any other holiday !
Go there only to get a silly suntan on the beaches of Varadero would be missing a chance of discovering wonders, a preserved authenticity, treasures ... bably painted ones, all right, yet real treasures ... that woul have, without that painful 50 year long adventure vanished in the whirlwind of real estate business where money reigns supreme.
Spend some time in Havana, the capital : it's one one of the few towns in the world that have not sold their soul to motorcars...
The buildings on the Malecon are in dire need of repair, but some of those in Ols Havana are undergoing renovation, and drinking a Mojito athe Patio's terrace, on the Cathedral's square, is somehow the closet approximation to a trip through time, towards the time when Latin America looked like a film set. Visit also the other towns, Pinar del Rio, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Santiago, and keep some energy for natural scenery, amazing Viñales Valley, the archipelagos, Canarreos, Jardines de la Reina, that surround Cuba's large island.
Start on Hemingway's track, just looking for his footprints in Havana's streets, in all the bars and restaurants ha had conquered, at the Ambos Mundos Hotel (in Obispo street) where he paid 2 dollars a day for his room ... it's more expensive today !) , at Finca Vigia, his home, or in the Romano archipelago, where he sailed for long on his sailboat, Pilar, all that is enough to keep you busy for a few days of your holidays.
I have been lucky enough to visit Cuba several times, from 1968 to 2000; I have sympathized with the Cubans, admired their island's beauty, and always followed with attention their evolution, wondering, as they do, what will the next stage be. : Unlimied Americanization, making a clean sweep of fisty years of candid and outdated dreams ...

Conituniuing an un bearable situation, or , maybe one can dream, that the Cubans become once again the inhabitants of a real 21 st century nation, without being crushed under the irresistible faults of their big northern neighbour ...