TRAVELSCENE SAMFORD April09
Travel Article on Cuba from a recent client visit – Part 1
We flew to Cuba and landed in Havana, a city of some 2 million people, on a wet afternoon. Our guide met us and apologetically explained that our hotel was having hot water problems so there would be a change of venue but “same quality, same location”.
The streets of Old Havana are cobbled and narrow with the buildings all in varying states of decay. Our lane narrowed and we had to walk the last 50 metres in the rain.
We were surprised to find our hosts were the Sisters of Saint Brigida, an order founded in Sweden. Their convent had been newly renovated into a guest house.
Later a guide explained that while Castro had not forgiven the Catholic Church for supporting his predecessor he had always permitted religion.
We had TV in our room with English language programs. Next morning we took a 4-hr walking tour of the old city.
Havana must have been very grand in times past but is in a dreadful state of squalor. Refuse bins could be smelled before being seen, ancient cars belched black smoke and pathetically thin stray dogs hung around the restaurants and outdoor cafes.
UNESCO has declared Havana a World Heritage city and is funding some much-needed restoration.
Our tour included lunch with a local person. Our companion was a retired petro-chemist and university lecturer and a most charming, gracious and informative woman. Our conversation with her was a highlight of the tour and something other countries could emulate.
A bus trip next day took us north-west to Vinales, a breathtakingly beautiful valley, and included a visit to a tobacco “factory”, a small shed with about 30 workers who must handroll 120 cigars a day (see photo above right).
They are given two cigars a day that, if they don’t smoke, they are free to sell. Hence there are rather a lot of hustlers trying to tempt tourists to buy.
There appeared to be a lot of waste land and we noticed farmers still plowing with oxen.
From Havana we took a bus to Santa Clara. This was a very clean town with a very attractive town square.
We were privileged to have a look through a primary school whist there. It consisted of small classrooms around a cobbled courtyard. Che Guevara looked on in each room. While the school was shabby, pupil-teacher ratios were far superior to ours at 20 children to one teacher. All the children looked neat in modern uniforms.
Later a guide explained that while Castro had not forgiven the Catholic Church for supporting his predecessor he had always permitted religion.
We had TV in our room with English language programs. Next morning we took a 4-hr walking tour of the old city.
Havana must have been very grand in times past but is in a dreadful state of squalor. Refuse bins could be smelled before being seen, ancient cars belched black smoke and pathetically thin stray dogs hung around the restaurants and outdoor cafes.
UNESCO has declared Havana a World Heritage city and is funding some much-needed restoration.
Our tour included lunch with a local person. Our companion was a retired petro-chemist and university lecturer and a most charming, gracious and informative woman. Our conversation with her was a highlight of the tour and something other countries could emulate.
A bus trip next day took us north-west to Vinales, a breathtakingly beautiful valley, and included a visit to a tobacco “factory”, a small shed with about 30 workers who must handroll 120 cigars a day (see photo above right).
They are given two cigars a day that, if they don’t smoke, they are free to sell. Hence there are rather a lot of hustlers trying to tempt tourists to buy.
There appeared to be a lot of waste land and we noticed farmers still plowing with oxen.
From Havana we took a bus to Santa Clara. This was a very clean town with a very attractive town square.
We were privileged to have a look through a primary school whist there. It consisted of small classrooms around a cobbled courtyard. Che Guevara looked on in each room. While the school was shabby, pupil-teacher ratios were far superior to ours at 20 children to one teacher. All the children looked neat in modern uniforms.
Workers here must handroll 120 cigars per day. Travelscene Samford would like to thank our client for this great article, stay tuned for the last instalment on Cuba next time and then lastly Panama in the next editions. Don’t forget that only Travelscene American Express lets you travel anywhere, any time and pay with your membership rewards points so contact us on 3289 3700 and let us help you turn your American Express membership rewards points into your next trip.
