Havana Daydreamin’ By Virginia Ward
It was September 1962 when I reserved space on Robert W. Groves Senior Class trip to Cuba. Every graduating class went to Havana. It was a rite
of passage and it was MY time! However, The Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 squelched any possibility that our class could go in that direction
in spring of 1963. DANG!
Fifty-five years later, our government normalized relations with Cuba, so in September 2017, I gladly plunked down the cash to reserve Cuba for
spring of 2018. My daughter, Jacqueline, and I began planning every detail of our jaunt across the Florida straits. Then, in November 2017, our new
President announced tight new restrictions on American travel to Cuba and reversed the normalization policy. DOUBLE DANG!
No more “people-to-people” travel, only the sanitized version of a Cuban visit accompanied by a US Government approved tour company with
itineraries strictly scrutinized and approved by our administration.
Because we are creative and somewhat grandfathered by the date we had made our original reservations (but mainly because we were determined
to go), we opted for a cruise ship registered in the Bahamas without all the restrictions imposed on American vessels and airlines. GREAT CHOICE! We
would forgo staying in hotels in Havana and sleep on our ship but have the freedom to roam as we wished, as long as we were back before curfew
(not unlike what a high school senior class trip might have required).
We reserved a Chevrolet convertible with a guide and a driver for a day. All three were drop dead gorgeous so what’s not to love already? Our Italian
driver spoke no English, but our guide, Leandro (Leo) a Havana native, spoke near-perfect English AND Italian. We were off to all the hot spots after we
assured them we wanted to see everything. No subject was off limits. Questions were answered as if they had never been asked before; as if it was
important to give us ALL the information we needed on any queried subject. We learned so much from Leo, who seemed to be a history buff as he
offered up many colorful stories about Cuban history that pre-dated “the revolution.” “The Revolution” was a much-discussed topic simply because
the buildings, monuments, parks and such all harkened back to Che, Fidel, Emilio, and the lasting impact their revolution had on Cuba and its people.
Things we learned:
for a few pesos. There were no toilet seats in the places we went – not even for a few pesos. We adapted. Few toilets flush, but there are buckets
of water that make it happen if needed.
Cristo de La Habana, overlooking the Havana bay was designed with one hand to hold a good cigar and the other a glass of rum (he
was joking but it did look so); Cubans call our President “45” and not by his name. Cubans refer to “travelers” and not “tourists.” They don’t like the
word “tourist” (come to think of it, I like “travelers” better too!).
Cubans consider themselves “communists.” They are free to practice any one of their “isms”: atheism, Catholicism, or Santeria (okay, so the last
is not an ism). Leo said he just draws a smiling face on his ballots on Election Day. “No point voting, because it won’t change anything” (sounds so
American).
who plays with a flamenco group, had no idea about Jimmy Buffet. What? No Havana Daydreamin’. Everyone has a land line. Not everyone has a
cell phone. No one has an Apple Phone. Wi-Fi is sketchy and very expensive when it is made available by the government. Speaking of available,
everything is not. Food is available in their markets, but not brands we recognize and not in the vast quantity we enjoy.
20 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JULY 2018