are worth about 25% of the CUC. This is the medium of exchange used by the Cuban people. Most Cubans are paid about $25.00 a month by the
government. Doctors are paid twice that. Those who can, supplement their income with music or tourism related activities. The few Cubans who are
celebrities or who are wealthy, pay the government about half their income in exchange for the right to earn it. They think Americans make $2,000
a month. We did not dispel this myth. Why?
rife with deferred maintenance and some are simply falling apart. There are no building materials, or money to repair. You may not buy or sell your
apartment, but you can move in with family or assume an apartment when a family member dies (sounded somewhat like our own DAV Island to me).
Leo and his bride of one year, Lucre, moved in with his elderly aunt and will take over the apartment one day. Sections of his building are already
gone, having simply become unsafe over the years.
bottles or cans littering anywhere! There are no signs against littering; we never saw street cleaners. The Cubans have such pride about themselves
and their surroundings that everything is kept neat and in as good condition as possible with their limited resources
.
We spent time people watching from an open-air sidewalk café table, at one of the hotels we weren’t supposed to patronize. Cuban Rum and
cigars came from another. Our government doesn’t want us to spend money at any Government/Military owned store. Shopping from street vendors
results in black market prices for goods that may or may not be the real thing … and usually are not.
We toured the monument to the Russian missiles, and the Bay of Pigs and saw the downed US spy planes displayed. Leo apologized to us. He
wasn’t even BORN when these things kept me from going to Cuba in 1963, but he apologized.
We spent much time in areas that resemble ghettos in America, but which are normal housing arrangements for the Cubans in Havana. There was
no sense of fear or lack of safety because the people were happy to see us; always offering a smile, a wave, a friendly “Ola!”
Cubans are happy to pose for a photo if they are not wearing a military or police uniform. These two groups are simply not photogenic, so don’t
even go there, or your camera will stay there.
Before we traveled we were told by OUR government where not to sleep, where not to shop, where not to eat, where not to tour, subjects not to
discuss under penalty from OFAC. Once we arrived, we were told by the Cubans, “people we love you, we are glad you are here, we want to show
you our city, our country, our lives.” Leo felt, as we did, that the only way things will ever change is for people to do what we did and spend time
together, each learning about the other.
My daughter just returned from a trip to China. We could go to Russia tomorrow with no eyebrows raised. Yet, that 90-mile trip from the tip of
Florida has Washington’s boxers in a bunch to this day.
The Cuban people are proud, but they are suffering. I felt WE should be apologizing, but I did not. While they don’t have I-pads, American Idol,
wi-fi, Jimmy Buffet, or miles long shopping malls filled with far-too-many-choices, they have pride in themselves and in their surroundings and are
blooming where they are planted. They make their own bread, and they make great music and they drink the best rum in the world! They are happy
with what they have rather than yearning for what they don’t. Maybe they are not suffering as much as I think?
I have one word about Cuba. GO. We are making plans for our return trip, which will include areas outside Havana, visiting farms and cities in the
inland area of the island, meeting, talking and enjoying more smiling happy Cuban people. And I plan to take in all the beauty at the Bay of Pigs and
laugh. It didn’t keep me away. It just delayed my trip. In the meantime until I can go back, I’ll be Havana Daydreamin’.
TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JULY 2018 21