Travelogue from Cuba: A country in transformation

In May 2016, Meike visited Cuba. Read about what she experienced in her travel journal below.

Cuba is a country that is undergoing great change, and the changes can be felt all over the country. We can still experience Cuba’s old-world charm and many things function completely differently from the way they do at home.

Use your free time in Havana to immerse yourself in the city’s atmosphere. Enjoy the music of the city and its joyful vitality as you walk about on foot or ride in one of the bicycle taxis.

If you want to book a table on the rooftop terrace of the famous “La Moneda Cubana” restaurant, please let us know. The restaurant is often booked out days in advance.

In Havana you can experience the thrill of a live performance by the musicians from the world-famous “Buena Vista Social Club”.

I was excited to see how many beautiful old cars are still on the road in Cuba; a short tour in one of these classic cars is a fabulous experience.

In Havana I took a ride in one of the many bicycle taxis and my driver spoke good English.

He pointed out many things and told me about them, including a bar with Cuban music that was a little bit further off. I invited him for a drink there, and to thank me he brought me to another bar where there were only locals and this time he bought me a drink.

In Vinales I went by bicycle to explore the beautiful surrounding countryside. When I arrived back on a tarmac road after an hour cycling on a dirt road, I asked a Cuban for the right directions to Vinales. He was ready with the perfect solution. He gestured with his hands and feet to let me understand that he would ride the bicycle, and a moment later I sat on my back carrier holding a bag of pineapples. He could hardly believe that I could virtually speak no Spanish so, heavily panting, he attempted to obtain the information from me that was most important to him. Cubans are proud of their country and above all they need to find out if we like it.

Anyone who has sat on a bicycle carrier with a bag of pineapples and a backpack knows that this quickly becomes exhausting.  After a few kilometers, when we reached a crossroads, I let him know that, after all, I wanted to continue on my own.

The next day I decided by myself to go on a walking tour and I found a cave with an underground lake that you could swim in. If you don’t like walking you can also get to it on horseback with a guided tour.

The standards in smaller places like Vinales, Cienfuegos or Baracoa are more modest than in the Cuban capital, but here you can still experience the authentic Cuba.

I got to know some wonderful Casa Particulares with very friendly and helpful Cubans and I can warmly recommend them, especially in Trinidad.

After a tour around Cuba, a few days at the superb Caribbean beach of Varadero gives you some time to relax.

What impressed me most of all were the many Cubans I met and who I will remember for a long time. As a tall blond woman I was quite noticeable and people often spoke to me. Sometimes it was just a brief moment when I answered a question about where I was from, with “Alemana”. An excited “WORLD CHAMPION” was the response I most often got. A common reaction from people was that they would exclaim cheerfully and enthusiastically “Bayern Munchen!”, then a big smile would appear on their face as if they had just found the answer to a difficult question in a quiz. They weren’t to know that normally a Hamburger would share this enthusiasm only to a very limited extent.

Next to baseball, soccer is Cuba’s favorite sport.

I found everyone in Cuba to be very helpful and I hope that Cubans can continue to remain that way, even though they now receive so many visitors.

We have a very professional and reliable partner in Cuba and if you have questions you can contact them either from the hotel or from a Casa Particulares.

Let yourself be enchanted by this unique country with its exceptional history, culture and landscape.

TourCompass – From tourist to traveller