• Submitted by: manso
• Travel and Tourism
• 03 / 28 / 2011

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JAMIE TWIGG & SIMON MCQUEEN. Last updated 08:30 28/03/2011. While we have been tripping around Belize, Si and his cousin (Jade) have taken a detour to see Cuba and a Nicaraguan surf school.  Unfortunately the internet he has access to is dial-up, so I can't get you photos of his travels for another week or so, but in the meantime Si has put together a bit of a tale about their travels to Cuba - enjoy!

Revolution, old cars, fat cigars, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, music, salsa…

Jade and I have split from the boys for a few weeks with the first stop being this Caribbean isle. James was meant to be with us but was in the midst of developing his spectrum of four different tropical illnesses in the 24 hours before we took off.

My knowledge of Cuba before landing was summed up in the first line of this blog, plus some vague high
school history recollections of "Bay of Pigs" and "The Cuban Missile Crisis". Oh and my Spanish is terrible. Still a smile and sense of enthusiasm goes a long way and in that vein Jade had made a Cuban friend in Mexico and together they'd made a fairly loose arrangement: front steps of the Capitolio building, 2.30 on the afternoon we landed. Our taxi dropped us off an hour late; thankfully, our new amigos were still waiting and whisked us off for our first taste of Cuba. First, a coffee bar – no coffee left, sorry; a restaurant – no food, sorry; final stop, a bar – straight rum. Great start.

As we wandered the streets of Havana with a slight rum haze, our appreciation for the city really blossomed. The sound of percussion instruments spilled out from every house into clean cobblestone streets framed by derelict buildings with colonial facades that looked as if they would tumble with even a 1.0 on the Richter scale. Havana is unique among the cities I've been to, where Cadillac, Dodge and Ford cars belch black smoke from their pre-1960 engines.

Dancing is welcome anywhere, anytime – there were stores that put me more into the mood for dancing than most nightclubs in New Zealand, and there's always a friendly face happy to offer a cigar. Having never been a smoker, I was taught the art of cigar smoking after a chance meeting with the head quality inspector of Cuba's most prestigious cigar factory… crumbling into hysteria as I seemingly inhaled not only the smoke, but the entire cigar.

Our days in Havana and the surrounding Cuban countryside were filled with epic walks, boat rides across the harbour, crowded local bus trips, and slamming endless short blacks at rustic espresso bars. A visit to Revolution Square, where Cuba’s revolution was declared in 1959 and which is now watched over by giant renderings of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos was a place where history was palpable.

Cubans look healthy and fit - fast food hasn’t been able to take hold on people's waistlines. Cigars, rum and ice cream are the only luxuries afforded to Cubans and while the monthly salary is just US$15 a month, rent,healthcare, education and a basic food ration are all paid for by the state. Contrary to what CNN will have you believe, the populace continue to support communism.

Eight nights completed in Cuba, a country unlike any other. Next stop Nicaragua and hopefully a catch-up with the other lads.

Source: www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/global-hit-squad/4814189/A-Cuban-excursion