Exploring Cuba

As you know, for an American, even getting to Cuba is kind of a stretch - but it doesn't get a whole lot easier even after you arrive. If you are in Cuba on a license (like I was) you are limited in the things on which you can spend money. You cannot buy anything not related to the purpose of your license.  Still, that is not what makes exploring the islands difficult. No, it is the other financial constraints that get in the way.

Because of the American embargo, US companies are not allowed to do business in Cuba. This means that many financial instruments (credit cards, debit cards, even travelers checks run through US banks) will not work. Even the licensed American traveler needs to have a way to pay for things, not connected to the US system. So how do you do that?

Trinidad

Well, opening a foreign bank account and being issued foreign bankcards is simply not a practical option. That means you need to have cash or foreign bank travelers checks, enough to pay for whatever you will buy. For short and simple trips that might not be such an issue, but for what I had in mind it made me a little nervous. What if you get robbed, or somehow loose your funds?

Of course that could happen anywhere, but in a worst-case, you just have someone wire you some cash. In Cuba, it would have to be from a non-US Bank. I had visions of being stuck alone, in the Cuban countryside with no money and bad Spanish. I decided I had to find a different way to explore the island.

I did something I have never done in my life.  I signed up for a package tour. I had always avoided them because I prefer the freedom that comes from being on your own, but this tour would get me to a bunch of places I just could not figure out how to get to on my own. It was five days in five different aspects of Cuba. It seemed like a good choice.

Hanabanilla

We started out from Havana, where I joined a group that had been together, sightseeing, for a couple days. We headed south across the island to the Caribbean coast and the medium sized provincial capital of Cienfuegos. The routine was pretty constant: drive, lunch, visit, free time, hotel and again the same thing the next day. Our second day took us to Trinidad, an old sugar capital - quaint and well preserved. Day three we visited the nature reserve, Hanabanilla, a beautiful spot - all done up for tourists - a boat ride across the lake from a tourist hotel. Idyllic, but it felt very artificial. Day 4 was el dia del Ché. We visited Santa Clara, home of his mausoleum and scene of his great victory in the battle against Batista. And then finally they deposited us in that most alien of Cuban destinations Varadero. Varadero is to Cuba as Las Vegas is to America. It exists in the country, but if you think that is what the country is like, you're badly mistaken.

Varadero

At the end of the tour, I had seen a lot and learned a lot about Cuba outside Havana. Like all the countries I have visited, there are big differences between the city and the countryside. I also saw a lot of places where I wish I could've stopped the bus, gotten out and done some real exploring. I would've loved to have rented a car and been on my own. Alas. Given the trade-offs, I think my tour was the best I could manage – even if not as much as I wanted.