Cuba

Cuba…”Cuba, que linda Cuba.”  “Es complicado.”  “Tranquilo, Vannetta, estás in Cuba, tranquilo.”  “Pero bueno.”  The four most common phrases I hear almost every day in Cuba.  Cuba, beautiful Cuba. It is complicated and difficult to understand at times, even for the Cubanos.  But..”tranquillo”. Relax.  Chill. Even when things don’t work exactly as planned, “pero bueno“, it’s all good. In this complicated, beautiful, vibrant country, we experience the best Cuba has to offer in the way of cuisine, visual and performance arts, history, flora and fauna, and time – time to savor every sound, taste, smell, sight, and touch – time to develop friendships, chat, smoke a cigar while sipping locally distilled ron, while you sit on the portal of your casa particular with your new Cuban family after a pleasant evening meal with them.

Diverse architectural styles are present in Cuba, especially throughout the old cities of La Habana Vieja, one of my favorite places, as well as Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa, and Sancti Spiritus. Longstanding forts, elegant stone churches, tantalizing scents and colorful scenes from cafes lining local plazas delight your senses as you stroll through narrow cobblestoned streets with music at every corner.

Cuba has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites, seven designated for culture and two for natural significance. One of the most fascinating of these is Valle Viñales, a primary tobacco growing region of Cuba surrounded by huge limestone monoliths called magotes.  Because of its World Heritage Site status, farming practices are done in the old way with double-yoked oxen and no herbicide or pesticide applications. Exploring via horseback, hiking, or riding in a horse-drawn carriage are wonderful ways to enjoy the tobacco and coffee fields while learning about seasons and cycles of companion planting, growth, and harvesting. The magotes offer a surprising natural environment experience of the limestone caves and their flora and fauna.

Cuba is an island paradise with spectacular tropical flora and fauna awaiting you, especially in the Ciénega de Zapata and Parque de Alejandro Humboldt, wildlife preserves in central and eastern Cuba.  The endangered Cuban crocodile is often seen jumping from the water to catch…not human observers, but rodents or birds for a snack. Also in Zapata, and the Rio Maximo Wildlife Preserve, are seen thousands of nesting American flamingos, about 70,000!  The tocororo, the Cuban trojan, is Cuba’s national bird, a striking red, white and blue passerine bird seen all over the island. The smallest bird in the world, the zunzuncito, or bee hummingbird enjoys the nectar of hundreds of endemic species of orchids and other flowers of the island.

For a full Cuban experience, include the oriente, the east, to experience Guantanamo, Holguin, Baracoa, and Las Tunas.  The diversity of the country is vast – in culture, people, landscape, flora and fauna and a venture to the east enriches all Cuba has to present to you.

While in Cuba, we live with local families in casas particulares, homes designed to accept guests, eat with our adopted Cuban families or in paladares, privately owned restaurants, and interact with local communities while we enjoy all of the marvel Cuba has to offer.

Without a doubt, Cuba is one of those places that should be at the top of everyone’s life list as a place to visit, get to know, and enjoy!  The friendliest, most welcoming and generous people I have ever met are in Cuba and it has never failed to fascinate and inspire our clients!