I had always wanted to visit Cuba. The mystique surrounding Castro and Che had piqued my curiosity and imagination. What was there about this tiny country which lay just 80 miles from Florida that prompted our government to treat it as a threat to our way of life? Why had we backed a poorly organized band of mercenaries in an aborted invasion attempt? Why had American celebrities and fun-seekers flocked there in pre-Castro days? Why is Cuba still a mecca for millions of tourists from all over the world? Why does our government make it so difficult for United States' citizens to visit there? Well, I found a way to go to try to find some answers to those questions and many others. This is the story of my visit and an account of what I found.

CUBA - One Mojito At A Time

So Near, Yet So FarBy Donald E. Smith

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Donald E. Smith
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-7513-6

Contents

CUBA - One Mojito At A Time...........................................................xvii1. You Can't Get There From Here......................................................12. La Habana - PartI..................................................................83. I Visit Finca Vigia - Hemingway's Cuban Home.......................................464. La Habana - Part II................................................................545. To The West - Pinar del Rio........................................................766. Varadero - A Tourist Paradise......................................................1047. La Habana - Part III - In Which I Meet Pupa........................................1148. Cojimar - A Fishing Village........................................................1189. Matanzas - The Venice of Cuba......................................................12610. The Bay of Pigs - An American Fiasco..............................................13911. Cardenas - The City of Flags, Crabs and Horse-drawn Carriages.....................14312. An Unplanned, Abrupt Adios........................................................15713. Final Thoughts - A Retrospective..................................................16314. APPENDIX..........................................................................171Jose Julian Marti y Perez.............................................................171Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna (Che)..............................................172Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz............................................................172Brief Highlights Of Cuban History.....................................................174Did You Know?.........................................................................177

Chapter One

You Can't Get There From Here

"Remember what Bilbo used to say, It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." J.R.R. Tolkien in "Lord of the Rings"

I like to go to places where it's difficult to go. Cuba is such a place. When our embargo was put into effect, tourist travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens became almost impossible. The word "Almost" left me a small loophole to try to leap through. As a former educator in the public schools and the university, I was able to take advantage of that loophole. I obtained a temporary license from our Treasury Department to visit Cuba and pursue my interest in all things Cuban, especially their educational system and health care programs. The license came with many caveats and restrictions. I had heard about the ambiance of Cuban prisons and I took great pains to read the rules. I won't bore you with all of the torturous paperwork and mechanics of making the arrangements. I will just say that the process of getting there, staying there and leaving there does not a vacation make.

Following, is the story of what I remember from perusing the notes that I took while on the trip, the various bits of memorabilia that I kept, and the pictures that I took. The remainder of what will be recorded here is from dredging up the memories that I have stored in my mind since the summer of 2002. I hope that this account is accurate and is a fair and honest representation of what I saw, heard and felt while on the beautiful island of Cuba.

"A person who publishes a book appears willfully in public with his pants down." Edna St. Vincent Millay

I left Cleveland's Hopkins' Airport in mid-afternoon on my flight to Toronto, Canada's Pearson Airport. After landing in the domestic terminal, I took a shuttle bus to the international terminal where I awaited my flight on Air Cubana to Havana, Cuba. I had purposely taken an early flight to Toronto so that I wouldn't feel rushed to make the flight to Cuba. It was much too early. I had almost six hours to wait in Canada before the eleven o'clock flight to see Fidel. As usual, my desire to be punctual had caused the need to sit and wait - and wait

Waiting did give me the opportunity to reflect on why and how I was here, once again, in a foreign airport wondering if my wanderlust were a blessing or an affliction.

As usual, I decided it was a little of both. After many years and many miles of foreign travel, I had, almost, reconciled to the idea that my days of adventure travel were over. My age, family responsibilities and common sense had formed a kind of barrier against harboring additional dreams of going to those exotic lands that, still, beckoned to me.

Common sense was never one of my strong suits, so here I am sitting in a strange airport wondering what the next few weeks will hold for me. Actually, Canada is not so strange, but I do like to fantasize. My first thoughts while sitting amidst the hustle and bustle of a major airport was of home and family. Would my wife and family be fine without my being with them? My past trips had proven that life would go one without me. So, I concentrated on me. Would I be OK? Being in my 70's, I did have a few, very few, thoughts about my health and safety. I was blessed with relatively good health and I did have a lot of experience with foreign travel. So, I dismissed that worry very quickly. What about the heavy restrictions placed on American visitors by a notoriously repressive regime? Well, I promised myself that I would be cautious about my money exchanges, purchases and photography. Or, not.

After more reflections, I sat back and watched the flow of humanity as it went by going to and coming from wherever it is that humans travel. We are a restless lot. We have trouble establishing our nests and staying in them once established. But, enough philosophy. I was hungry. I went to look for something other than the ubiquitous hamburger and coke.

I settled for a bowl of vegetable soup and a cup of coffee. After eating, I found a seat near the gate from where the Air Cubana flight would depart and, again, watched the never-ending flow of passengers walking by. Tiring of this, I found a pay phone booth that accepted credit card calls and called my wife. I wasn't certain if or when I'd be able to call from Cuba, so I wanted to tell her I'd arrived in Canada safely and would be leaving for Cuba in about two hours. When I am about to depart for foreign countries, I always get nostalgic and a little remorseful. Just admit it! I get downright lonely and I begin to second-guess my reasons for leaving home and family. But, when I call, I have trouble articulating those thoughts and just give a factual report of where I am, what I'm doing and what I plan to do. I don't do emotional very well.

I leave the phone booth and check the departure board to confirm the time and gate. I make a stop at the restroom. I almost forget my carry-on and camera bag when I leave the facility. I decide to walk the length of the huge terminal to get some exercise to off-set the time I'll spend in flight. I'm not an especially nervous person, but , now, I feel nervous. Maybe, my age is becoming a factor. In previous years, I'd gone to much more dangerous and exotic places without feeling anxious. What if I, inadvertantly, broke one of Cuba's many laws? What if Castro's secret police caught me in an attempt to circumvent the laws against photography or currency exchanges? What if I...