Miami-Dade County is the per-capita and monetary leader of Medicare fraud in the United States. Not surprisingly, given the geography, there are more than a few Cuban-Americans getting in on the action. I am also sort of responsible. Unlike the perpetrators that make the news, I have not…
Walking around Old Havana just to see crumbling buildings is not something you necessarily need a guide for. However, to interpret the important colonial decay from the less important colonial decay the Havana City Historian’s Office has been hosting a series of annual summertime walking tour called “Rutas y Andares”.
Anyone who comes to Cuba who isn’t part of a tour group has two pre-ordained methods of leaving the airport: a rental car (80-100 CUC a day) or a taxi (15-25 CUC). To solve this problem I’m going to share some information on how to get transport to/from the airport to La Havana for only a couple of dollars, and maybe even pennies.
Like Highway 1 in California, the road in Gibara, Cuba hugs the coast through twists and turns as land takes a 90 degree vertical dive into the foamy water bellow. Waves break over rocks and shipwrecks. (22 photos)
Within 24 hours of arriving to Cuba almost three years ago I made the following conclusions about the society at large: smoking is allowed anywhere, yelling long distances is an accepted form of social interaction; and it is never acceptable to snitch on someone stealing something from their workplace..
El Lagarto is a restaurant high in the forests of the Escambray Mountains that will put you in a food coma so deep that you will be glad it’s all downhill to get back to your casa particular in Trinidad. Like most superior restaurants in the country it is a private business. (15 photos)
Canasi is a brilliant Cuba overnight primitive camping experience that will get you away from smog belching cars, people trying to sell you stuff you don’t want, and maybe even reggaeton music. What makes Canasi so grand is that to get there you have to ford a river where it meets the Caribbean Sea and parts the coastal mountains. (9 photos)
I’ve lived in Cuba for three years and I’ve met my share of patriots, dissidents, gusanos, and human rights activists. I’ve met Communists and Anarchists. One time I think I ran into some Surrealists…or maybe they were just homeless vagabonds…either way, my point is that in three years of living here I’ve never, ever, met a terrorist.
Time heals all wounds. After 55 years the multinationals are back in Cuba and the last name of the President is still Castro. The exploitation of the island by the former, and the nationalization by the latter, now seem to be forgiven as multinational corporations get an early stake, and take a huge lead, ahead of local producers.
Somewhere in Texas, right now, someone is wearing a t-shirt that has the pictures of Stalin, Mao, and Fidel with a caption that reads “Dictators Agree: Gun Control Works”. I’ve seen the image and caption reproduced many times in my home state, a place known in Cuba and the world over, for its obsessive love of guns.