Sarah: Santiago, Cuba: An improvement

Trip Start Dec 27, 2007
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Trip End Dec 28, 2008


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Where I stayed
Casas particulares
(Santiago de Cuba hotels)

Flag of Cuba  ,
Saturday, February 23, 2008

After Habana, we took a 9 hr bus ride to a town called Camaguey. Along the way we passed many small villages. Well, now THAT was stepping back in time - no cars, people ride bicycles or horse and carts. It was truly bizarre to see horse and carts used for functional purposes and not just nostalgic ones. Didnīt seem to be running water in many places people hauled water from a well in the garden. Houses- huts were wooden with thatched rooves. There is definitely not a lot of money in Cuba. A lot of people live in what we would consider poverty. The issue of reform in Cuba is a very controversial and complex subject.

Speaking of reform, I read recently on the internet that, with Fidel Castro stepping down and his brother Raul in place, there is hope by some of faster reforms. In light of this, a group of students recently bombarded a visiting minister about why Cubans could not travel freely abroad, if the government believed in its programmes and had nothing to fear from the world. The minister, bumbling, said that if everyone who wanted to fly was allowed to, there would not be enough space for all the planes.  - Now, I had never thought about it like that!
 
Have been in Santiago for about 4 days. It is much nicer than Habana, in my opinion. The buildings are kept in better condition and the parks are really nice.We havenīt done much here but have walked around a lot. We met an old man named Orlando, who, being in his seventies could tell us about life before the revolution as well as  after. Generally, the consensus seems to be (from the people weīve talked to) tat life is better for most people since the revolution, particularly in the areas of health and education. Orlando also lived in the states for 6 years, so he has that perspective as well. He was a really hard case - a very expressive voice and face, lots of hand gestures - you know, the seasoned storyteller. We seemed to bump into him every day and he was very friendly and helpful. He took us up to the top floor of this grand hotel, even though itīs supposed to be jsut for guests.  

Yesterday we went to a Afro-cuban folk concert. It was incredible. I met a lady there who took me back to her place and braided my hair. I actually look pretty silly but better not take it out right away. There are a lot of black people in Cuba, about 50% Descendants of the slaves of course, but there are even more here in Santiago. Itīs funny to say but at first it was kind of strange seeing black people speaking Spanish. Only because we havenīt travelled all that widely. Kind of like ray finding it really weird seeing islanders in New Caledonia speaking French.
 
So we are off to the Dominican Republic today. We were going to go to Jamaica but it was really expensive and not really practical time-wise. So weīll stay in DR for a couple of weeks before we fly to Brazil.
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