Cuba is no doubt a beautiful island. For its size in the Caribbean being the largest of all the islands, Cuba offers quite a variety of scenery. From the round top mountains of Viñales in the west to the flat farmlands of the center. But what struck me with awe was the beautiful mountains southeast coast line where the Sierra maestra mountains reign. On my trip, I had the pleasure of getting to know a bit of the Far East coast in the little town of Baracoa and the second biggest city, Santiago de Cuba. With Baracoa being a small town, I had the pleasure of enjoying some local authenticity of Cuban life with a very small touch of tourism. I consider the Caribbean home, traveling to my home islands of Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico a number of times. Baracoa felt like home, with its greenery and mountainous atmosphere. It’s humidity as of the rest of the Caribbean Im familiar with.
On the way to Santiago from Baracoa, I got to see the beautiful southern coastline where the beautiful high rolling hilled mountains meet closely with the sea with edgy cliffs. The region is fairly dry giving me a little resemblance of Arubas rocky western coast, only much more gorgeous. Little villages hug the coastline without the invasion of foreign interests such as hotels and real estate, a rare sight for many amazing places I’ve seen. In the distance ahead you can see the repeating pattern of cliffs and mountains into the horizon. This is a drive I would designate one of the top drives in the world.
Playa Maguana
Santiago de Cuba wasn’t too interesting in my opinion other than another large city surrounded my mountains. But the city lies within a beautiful bay. Aside from the noise and car pollution, it’s not hard to forget the beauty that surrounds you. The most surreal experience, is a mandatory visit to the historic EL Morro fort, that used to protect the city and bay from foreign attacks. It sits high up on a peninsula overlooking everything from the mountains in the interior, the city and port, as well as the gorgeous coastline and vast sea and beyond.
Moncada Barracks bullet holes, the first fight of the Cuban revolution.
The American embargo seems to be slowing thawing out meaning easier travel to Cuba than this trip went. I certainly plan on returning, whether it be next year or in a few. But for certain, considering the love I felt at “home” in southern Cuba, a return here is a must. Hasta la proxima vez.
I write this post about these three wonderful towns in Cuba not so much to highlight the some of the cool things to see here, but to highlight some of the unique experiences I had the pleasure of…experiencing. Santa Clara is within itself, a cool and unique town. It’s locations is geographically and historically the heart of modern Cuba. It’s the site of the battle of Santa Clara, a historic turning point for the Cuban Revolution. Here you will find the very train that the rebels derailed of the Bautista regime before the dictator fled the country, allowing the rebels to take over the country. This is also the place where the world revolutionary icon, and inspirational traveler, Che Guevarra, the one who set off on not one but two journeys up the South American continent, memorial lies. Outside the city is a tribute to his life and his story from setting off from Argentina on a motorcycle with his buddy, to his last days in Bolivia before he died. Despite being a ruthless murderer in his revolutionary days, as a traveler, and reading about his journeys around the globe, he is a huge inspiration to continue traveling. Not too far on the other side of town, is yet anther monument as a tribute to him, where I “hiked” up for a view to a kill to enjoy a nice ham and cheese sandwich.
The start of the journey is this town didn’t quite start off so smoothly though. If I had known any better being its my first time in Cuba, I would have set off from Cienfuegos earlier. Arriving around 6pm, I not only had almost little to no time to do anything, it was raining miserably leaving a section of the city to undergo a blackout. Fortunate for me, it was only in one part of the city, the part I was staying.
Santa Clara for some is a few hour stop. For me it was an overnight experience. Perfect enough to get a taste of the local culture speaking with a few viejos about Cuba and the United States, all very nice people. The rain and blackout weren’t the only issues I faced though. Upon leaving for Sancti Spiritus, I made a huge mistake. I’m one to use military time on a daily. When I prearranged my viazul bus for a one way trip to Sancti Spiritus, I ignored the fact that 1:20pm was in fact 1:20 am, while I was sleeping. I arrived to the bus station 11 hours late.
In any other country, I would have been shitting bricks. As for Cuba, I honestly felt safe and secure and that anything can be done should anything arise, without issues with safety. My heart fluttered at that moment, considering I have only so little money for the next week and U.S. Cards are of no use. My next alternative was to hire a taxi for the one hour ride south east. This direction is of no value to ‘taxistas’ as most to all see value in driving to Havana. I had to ask tons of people and just about every single one turned me down. All attention was deterred away from me. No one wanted to take the “asshole tourist” to the opposite direction. There’s no value. Not many people want long haul trips from Sancti Spiritus. Hell, not many tourists are there for the most part. I don’t blame these guys. Fortunately after begging and negotiating 30 cuc opposed to 50cuc, I evaded these grumpy ass older taxistas, for local who was about my age to take me for 30cuc. What made the experience more grand, was riding in possibly one of the best looking classic I had seen in Cuba, A 1957 Chevy Belair’s. The ride was short, the conversations were great despite the language barrier, and after some time trying to find my casa, I finally made it to Santi Spiritus. Despite the troubles, it was a great memory and I really wanted to take that car back home with me.
After settling down and cooling off in my nice ‘hostal’, of which I had ALL to myself, I set off to scope out the town and local culture. Every place I go, especially hopping around to different cities, I like to stop at a place that moves slower than the rest. This is where I found just that. The town itself is small with the center even smaller. Walking around wasn’t too much, and was able to take my time as all the locals seemed to have been doing also. No one to hustle or bother me. Just me walking amongst other Cubans in town. The town has a nice small square where locals use to connect with the outside world, a beautiful blue church, a few cobble stone streets, narrow alleys, and a unique mason brick bridge over a small river. The town itself is surely no Trinidad, but it’s a small gem of its own, if you want to take things slow and easy. I spent the rest of the evening connecting back home and watching movies in my room. After a nice LARGE filling breakfast the next morning, I hugged my hospitable hosts, and set off for Camagüey.
Thanks to a friend I made in 2011 who is from Camagüey, I had a bit of info on what to expect in this nice little town. Camaguey is considered a large city, but in my eyes, it was a large town. Each city had something I liked about it. For Camagüey, it was two things: smiling people and really pretty women. As for smiling people, traveling through Cuba, I’ve encountered many people with straight faces. Not saying that they weren’t friendly, but smiling wasn’t a default from Havana up until my trip to Camagüey.
Walking down the pedestrian only strip to the center, I walked passed laughing and smiling Cubans. People yelling to each other in such a positive manner and made me so happy to see this. Camagüey is a somewhat fast paced but has the feel of a small town. I only spent a day and a half here before an overnight trip to Baracoa, but I will not forget the hospitable hosts I had and the hours long conversations about life in Cuba and a hopeful future. Off to Baracoa I go…
Trinidad is no doubt a beautiful historic and iconic city with with cobble stone streets, pastel colored buildings, with vintage American cars parked in the most photogenic fashion, anyone can take a photo with any kind of camera and still have a great shot. Trinidad does have its share of tourism but it is no Prague or Rome. You can walk the streets as a tourist and still be among the large swarm of locals roaming the streets. With all the talk about how touristy the city is, it does rank one of few cities I’ve traveled to that carries a stronger essence of local culture despite the tourism. I like this, I like this a lot!
I couldn’t resist taking photos of just about everything. The endless horizon of the beautiful streets, vintage cars, horse drawn wagons and carts, cobble stone streets, and historic town square. As obvious as this may be, It doesn’t seem like anyone has a schedule during the day. Come nighttime, the sounds of cars dissipate and the sounds of salsa take over. Much of the streets outside of the common tourist areas are fairly quiet with locals hanging in the streets, watching TV with their doors open, or walking around drinking. But closer to the city center is nothing but sounds of Spanish Caribbean and reggaeton vibes and banks playing and singing salsa jams. Not to forget the “salseros” getting down to some authentic Cuban salsa. Wednesday night is unfortunately as big of a party night for locals and tourists alike. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t any vibes.
Trinidad itself is an awesome city. But what really makes it such a gem, is that it is smacked right in between two different geographic locations. What is better than a piece of history 10 minutes from the beach and about 15 to the local mountains. You have the option of hanging out in the streets, taking a relaxing break on the beach, and taking a hike to the El Nicho waterfalls all in one place. All in all, considering having only 2 day accumulated in Trinidad, its is beyond worth the time and effort spent.
If anyone travels to Cuba, with either intentions of backpacking, culture, or vacationing, I must say, a trip to Viñales is a must. Viñales, about 2 hours and change west of Havana, is a small somewhat touristy town with beautiful dome shaped mountains rising our of the Earth without any kind of obscuring foot hills. It it not only an interesting sight just to the eyes, but ancient caves lie within these mountains giving you a taste of history before. You can do anything from hanging around in its small town having a nice meal, to horse back riding, exploring its caves, wall murals, and tobacco farms.
While we realized an overnight stay probably would have been nice, 6 hours in town seemed just as good for a memorable experience. We took the Viazul bus from 8 Am for $12, pre-arranged. We made a nice stop in Las Terrazas with nice scenery along the way. After fighting through casa owners and hustlers right on the steps of the bus, we had a nice lunch along the main strip with large plate meals for about $5 US / 5 CUC. While we failed to keep up with the hop on hop off bus that the town offers we just hired a local “taxista” to bring us around some of the sites outside of town: including Cuerva del Indio, a cave bar, the infamous wall mural, driving in and out of the valley, an a nice overlook for $15. Since this was my first time in Cuba and without knowing any better, I prearranged a one way taxi online for $80 CUC (Reservation only). Obviously I didn’t realize how expensive this was as the same driver we hired in Viñales was able to take us back to Havana one way for $35 CUC, negotiated from 40 CUC. INCREDIBLY CHEAP! I can’t go 3 miles via Uber in the states without paying just as much.
Unfortunately we missed out on the tobacco farm visit, but fortunately considering everyone has friends, we got our hands on some fresh factory made Cohibas for $35 US, 12 of them, also giving us the chance to see Pinal del Rio. The ride back seemed longer than we anticipated, but I will never forget the sun setting over the highway behind us in a 1950’s vintage Ford. As always, I know things never go according to plan and expect change to happen without being stubborn. In the end, we made a friend of a driver sharing laughs and deep insight into the harsh lifestyle of the average Cuban. With the day ride set to 45CUC, the 10 CUC extra made him and his brother happier than ever, considering the average monthly salary is about $20. Nothing made us happier than to see their eyes water and have them hug us. All in all, this altered plan of a day trip was incredible and considering how long I will be spending abroad in the next year or two, it was a great memory to have with my mom.
Getting to this island has been nothing but endless obstacles, from the American Embargo itself to issues back home. The more problems I faced on this voyage, the more worth it had. With plans to come here in the summer, a car wreck set me back mentally and financially, using my trip finances for a car replacement. Saving up for this trip was a mission of its own as I am also strictly saving paycheck to paycheck, a chunk of money to fund a gap year in 2016. So coming here was not just like any other ordinary trip I have taken in the past few years, it has value despite all the setbacks. Because of all the historic politics taking place and the thawing out of the ridiculous cold war relic of an embargo, between the US and Cuba, there is without a doubt no better time to travel to a country free of any American imperialism than right now. Returning and stressing about US immigration is a story on its own, but for now, lets just get there from South Carolina.
Car wreck in March 2015
Fortunately, my mom tagged along not only to help split costs and stretch out the budget, but to create some life long memories on this historic voyage, especially if I plan to be gone for so long around the globe in the next few years. While the planning was seemingly impossible despite the proximity of Cuba to the US mainland, we made a far-fetch itinerary with awkward plane layovers, work.
Travel Itinerary goes like so:
-Drive 1 hour and change to Charlotte, North Carolina
-Fly 3 hours to Cancun (American Airlines)
-6 hour (12 hour layover really) layover in Cancun
-1 hour and change to Havana (Cubana de Aviacion)
-ENJOY CUBA (2 weeks)
-1 hour by plane from Santiago to Havana (Cubana de Aviacion)
-1 hour and change to Cancun from Havana (Cubana de Aviacion)
-1 night on the beach in Cancun
-Fly 3 hours to Charlotte (American Airlines)
-Drive 1 hour and change back to Greenville, SC
-(My moms itinerary was the same except a bus back to Havana for a night from Trinidad and leaving 8 days before me)
Total cost to be in the air: 780ish
(A non stop flight would have been a blessing at this point)
When we though we had everything in check and set for this trip, our problems didn’t end at our home doorstep on the way out. Little did we know the reputation of Cubana de Aviacion, Cuba’s national air carrier, would be an airline known for frequent tardiness and problems. After being delayed an hour and a half, being transported via bus to our airline, sitting in it for about an hour, the plane decided it didn’t want to “work”, sending us back to Cancun airport via bus for an additional hour. A whole day wasted on traveling with thoughts of possibly not making it to Havana that evening. Thankfully, our problems did end that evening as we we returned to our plane and flew nonstop to Havana. Aside from my mom being questioned at immigration at Jose Marti Airport because of a different hairdo than in her photo (last name is Castro also), we finally made it across a long endless barrier of problems into a world of reminders that everything we went through, was worth it.
6 hour delay, woo…
Upon arrival in Havana, after a long day of travel, restlessness with layovers and plane malfunctions, lengthy currency exchange lines in a 2nd hand smoke hell of an airport, we finally could take in the fact that we made it to Cuba. Finally seeing our first vintage American classics in the evening while jamming out to “Sonique – Feel so good” with our taxi driver. Driving into town looking at all the deteriorating yet stunning Art Deco buildings pass by. Watching all the people in the streets go about their lives in such a fashion that you don’t ever see at home (thanks to technology).
Taxi ride through Havana
We arrived at our casa about 5 to 6 hours late with the expectancy that our hosts would be asleep. Instead, they were wide awake, awaiting our arrival with open arms and a warm welcome, discussing our long journey, and finally showing us to our room before calling it a night and falling into a beautiful coma.
Centro Havana Street at night
The next morning, we awoke early enough to enjoy a home cooked meal by our hosts and was nothing but delicious and thankfully, filling. Eggs, cheese, bread and butter, fruit, coffee, and great company. Nothing beat the memories of opening up the large doors to a balcony that over looked the streets of Havana and the everyday life of Cubans in the streets, selling things from mops, to groceries, and home decorations. Gazing down the “calle” until the unpredictable patterns of buildings and balconies became one single focal point . A sight I had wished to see practically my whole life. Despite the problems we faced, these little details were the perfect creation of a single thought, and that was the ice breaker that made me realize, I really made it to Havana.
Centro Habana , CampanarioCentro Habana , Campanarioel Malecon de La HabanaChe , Plaza de la revolucionOld American Classic in Habana ViajaEl CapitolioBeautiful Classics and colorful buildings in front of El capitolioAmerican Classics in La Habana
Havana Port entryway at sunsetDominoes in the Havana streets
Drinking some Havana Club at our casaCatching a sunset over Havana on castillo de los tres reyes del morro
Like any other big city, especially a country’s capital, there is more than enough to do, see, and experience depending on ones taste. My mom and I decided one full day was good enough to see especially with the limited time we had on the island, me 14 days and her 6 days. One day was good enough to travel in such a fashion to see everything deemed necessary to see and experience. From walking along the Malecón to the U.S. Embassy, to chatting with locals about the US/Cuba relations drinking Bucaneros. To taking in the Plaza de la Revolucion and El Capitolio gazing at all the colors of Art Deco and characters of each American vintage car had. To watching salseros do their thing along the Paseo del Prado, to finally watching the sun set over the city at Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro. Despite all the problems we faced, I let it all go, smiled, and told myself, I’m finally in Cuba. 🙂
