Welcome back aboard. Sorry it has been 41 days since we last checked in. What a whirlwind it has been. I’ll try to be brief while we get caught up, and also do justice to the incredible adventures we have had while we were offline. On January 31st we flew to Miami and met our travel group, Academic Arrangements Abroad and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art Team.

 Even before we boarded our plane for Cuba, we know we were in for an exciting trip, as our fellow travelers were all first class, sophisticated and well traveled individuals; most from “Up North” and one couple from Europe. They welcomed us Southern Boat People with good humor.  

Cuba, a country of contrasts and complex issues, exceeded all of our expectations at every turn. We had never traveled with an organized tour group, and were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the guides, speakers, presentations, sights and encounters that had been arranged for us. As this was a people to people art tour, we had the opportunity to visit artist’s homes and studios, and attend a wonderful variety of art, dance and musical performances.

One of my favorites was  an informal rehearsal of the National Cuban dance team. Just watching their warm up routine was thrilling and exhausting.

Our week was nonstop, colorful and exciting touring of Havana with some very interesting and informative lectures on the history, current attitudes, and hopes for the future of the Cuban people, as well as explanations of the extremely complicated political situation that is now unfolding.

Tom and I ventured out into the streets during a bit of our free time to visit the local markets. There are two currencies in place in Cuba. When we exchanged our money, we were given Convertible Pesos, otherwise known as  CUC’s.  One CUC is valued at about $1 U.S. dollar.  The local Cuban people are paid in Cuban pesos which have a value of about 24 to $1, or about 4 cents each. Under communism, the idea is for everyone to be equal. Doctors make  $20 per month. The street sweeper makes $20 per month.  The local people also receive a monthly ration of certain items, 5 eggs per person per month, a certain amount of milk, cigarettes , etc. This is not really enough for a family, so they must go to the market to buy what they need. At the market we visited, the prices are in local Pesos and a whole basket of fruits, meats and vegetables would only cost the local person around $3.00. Artists are not subject to these rules, and they are the richest people in the country. They can sell their works for any price. Art is also not subject to the US embargo. Very recently people have been allowed to open up private restaurants in their homes called paladars. It is now legal for locals to also rent out rooms as hotel accommodations. This is the very beginning of opening the door to capitalism and entrepreneurship.

The local people were incredibly friendly and welcoming to us. They all seemed very excited with the idea of normalized relations with the US. When Obama made his announcement of the US desire to normalize relations, it put extreme pressure on the Cuban government to make changes to satisfy the people. The US is no longer the enemy, and can not be used as the reason for their woes.  According to our lecturers, the Cuban government admits that they have made mistakes and the system of dual currencies is not sustainable. The country is shrinking, with 35,000 people leaving each year. It is the young women and men, who are the future of Cuba, who are choosing to leave. There are many old people who left many years ago, who now are returning to Cuba to die. This is also putting a strain on the system. The people and the government realize that Cuba is a minnow who is trying to swim with a giant shark, so will be very difficult to maintain their own culture and independence, while avoiding being gobbled up.

The city of Havana reminded me a lot of Charleston, with beautiful architectural details and building styles from many periods of history.  Then imagine putting the city through 50 years of complete depression with no incentive or money to maintain the buildings or infrastructure. The revolution occurred in 1959 and each year Cuba received billions of dollars in aide from the Soviet union, up until the collapse in 1989. 1990 began what is now called the “Special Period”. The city is literally crumbling apart. Cubans are allowed to “own” their own homes, which means they own their 300 sq feet of living space within a large building. The government owns the building, and there is no HOA, and no one maintains the structure itself.  We were told during one of our lectures, by a leading Cuban architect, that In the city of Havana, 3 houses per day literally fall into the streets. Tom walked through the streets trying to imagine what it was like when his father had lived and worked here back in the 40’s.

Up until very recently it was illegal for individuals to buy or sell their car or houses. If your family owned a car back in 1959, you did everything you could to keep it running, which is why there are so many amazing classic cars running around. Many have new Toyota engines under the hoods, but there are plenty that are classic all the way through.

We had an overnight  trip to the countryside to visit a few rural artists, Hemmingway’s home, and the beautiful seaside town of Veradero. Hemmingway’s house and grounds and his boat Pilar are now a museum. The house has been left untouched, perfectly intact, as if he had merely stepped out and might return any minute.

I will stop now to let you go back and enjoy this photo tour of Cuba, Since our return from this trip, we have being going full steam ahead with our Bahamas adventure. I’ll check back in again soon to catch you up on our progress. Tom captured this amazing angle video to help him remember the lively sights and sounds of Cuba. Enjoy!