Cuba Photo Essay

Savannah Grace

8 years ago

Unfortunately I have not yet been to Cuba but LUCKILY someone in my family has been. Earlier this year, Ammon and Sasha went to Cuba and this is what he has to say about Cuba:

“Cuba is a hard country to write about without getting political because it has a polarizing effect on a lot of people. Especially in conservative, cold war fanatics it is a final bastion of the “enemy” communists while others see it as some sort of idealized rebel state and practically worship Che Guevara.

While the recent politics, economics and history are all intertwined to make for an unusual experience the reality is that for the visitor it amplifies the pros and cons of visiting a 3rd world country.

The majority of visitors go to Cuba on cheap package trips, stay at resorts on beautiful white sand beaches, do the odd day trip to a historical city or two, hope to not get sick and complain about the food. I got the impression that the quality is somewhat less reliable than mexico and other Caribbean destinations.

With the lack of development and restricted access to foreign trade, Cuba is poor and very run down. There is a lot of bureaucratic hassle with restrictions on guesthouses, internet access, how you can access money and even which buses you can ride.

The flip side is that visitors get a kick out of seeing an undeveloped country where 1950’s cars are driven beside horse-carts and there has been no modern city development tearing down the historic buildings. Those buildings are in serious need of repair, there is garbage on the streets, the food is limited, the pollution can be terrible at times but it just serves to highlight how resilient and rewarding the culture can be.

Cuba is arguably the oldest and most important of all the early Spanish colonies in the new world. As such it still has some of the best examples of Spanish architecture and many of it’s first cities are now Unesco-listed historic sites.

We loved exploring the different towns we went through. The fusion of cultures over the centuries also created a rich musical, literary and dance tradition which can still be seen and appreciated on the streets and in the cafes throughout the country today.

In short there is plenty to interest all types of visitors and it is well worth the effort to visit but those that are prepared and informed ahead of time can avoid it’s worst hassles.”