Communism is terrible. Let me start by saying that.
I was actually torn on whether to visit this country again (I went nine years ago) as I strongly feel that at the end of the day, when it comes to Cuba, tourism supports the Cuban Regime. In the end my desire to see Havanna and the cheap prices got me there.
It’s fascinating. And sad. And while there I couldn’t stop researching everything; education, healthcare, careers, home ownership, etc. If you’re up for a rabbit hole, I strongly suggest reading about Cuba.
Havanna is a beautiful city of ruins, mixed with gorgeous buildings, and people hustling and bustin’ on their way to and from places. There are two very distinct areas of the city, the tourist area, and real Havanna, and if you ever go before to see the real one. We walked up and down the streets where you could see into window-less homes, with an entire family living in a room with a mattress.
The people have limited government-controlled Internet. and I was told some people don’t know better, whereas others have caught on that there’s another better potential life out there. We met two women (we asked them for a lunch recco, and they ended up joining us) who answered a lot of our questions.
At the end of the lunch I said, “you seem so happy,” to one of the women, and she replied with something I’ll never forget, “the Cuban people smile on the outside, but cry on the inside.” Her dream was to see snow one day, but it’s almost impossible for Cubans to get approved to leave travel, and you need a huge amount of money to do so.
I hope the Cuban Regime falls in our lifetime, as it’s a beautiful country, with wonderful people, a horrendous government, and a country that feels like going back in time.
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