“This is true in theory. In theory, Communism works…”
Homer Simpson
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Itinerary in pills
- Day 0-1: Arrival in Havana and Las Terrazas
- Day 2: Playa del Chivo
- Day 3: Varadero
- Day 4-5: Maria La Gorda
- Day 6: Guanahacabibes and Robaina house
- Day 7: L’Habana vieja
- Day 8: Cueva de los peces and Playa Giron
- Day 9: Topes de Collantes and Trinidad
- Day 10: Playa Ancon and Cayo Coco
- Day 11: Cayo Guillermo
- Day 12: Santa Clara and back to Havana
- Day 13-15: Habana nueva and back to Italy
- Conclusions
Introduction
Crystal clear water, fine white sand, expanses of palm trees. In the collective imagination, these are the main features that our minds associate with the idea of the Caribbean, of which Cuba is the pearl. However, describing Cuba as a concentration of postcard beaches is an exercise I gladly avoid. I had the opportunity to visit Cuba in 2015, as guest of two dear friends from Havana, at that time colleagues of mine in Belgium, with whom I experienced what remains so far the trip on which, more than any other, I felt more like a native than an outsider.
They say the country has changed a lot since then. At that time, the most important tenant of the Palace of the Revolution was Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, who had begun to open up to the Westernization of the nation, with still modest results. Westernization observable, for example, in the very few Internet points opened in Havana, recognizable by the influx of young people attached to their cell phones who flocked around them, or in the activity of my friend Guillermo, among the few who managed to open an independent one. However, the fruits of the Castro revolution, which delivered more poverty and repression to the country than modernity, were still quite evident. Poverty that I saw in the people begging me everywhere, from those who lived on the street to those who did so while on duty at the airport or in a museum, and into which I projected myself as I listened to my friend Diana, who told me about how people struggled to live on an average of 25 CUC per month (equivalent to 25 U.S. dollars), how they had indeed gone through times when they themselves did not have enough to eat, especially during the so-called “periodo especial” proclaimed by Fidel several years earlier, and the existing ban on connecting to any social network, with communication based solely on government sources, which omitted reporting in the newspapers on any news episodes attributable to bad governance.
A visa was required to enter Cuba, applied for directly at the Cuban Consular Office, paying about 50€, issued immediately. Today it is also possible to apply online, which was not possible at the time.
I left during Christmas vacations, one of the best times to visit the country, along with the other winter months. Not recommended, on the other hand, was our summer, because of the scorching, humid heat.
Itinerary in pills
The itinerary summarized below was drafted with the cooperation of a family member of my friends, who used to work at the Ministry of Tourism, and together with some of my work colleagues, who accompanied me on this adventure. Since we had the support of our friends in Havana, the itinerary was organized so that we would also spend some time with them. To move between the various stops we rented a car, an undertaking not as obvious as it might seem. In fact, consulting several car rental websites, we had not found any available, even though we had started searching extensively before departure. In the end, our friend Guillermo was able to get us a car from a private party. Below is a summary of the various stages.
| Day | Itinerary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Arrival in Havana in the evening | night in Havana |
| 1 | Las Terrazas | night in Havana |
| 2 | Playa del Chivo | night in Havana |
| 3 | Cueva Saturno, Varadero | night in Havana |
| 4 | Pinar del Rio, Maria La Gorda | night in Maria La Gorda |
| 5 | Maria La Gorda | night in Maria La Gorda |
| 6 | Guanahacabibes, Robaina house | night in Havana |
| 7 | L’Habana vieja | night in Havana |
| 8 | Cueva de los peces, playa Giron, Trinidad | night in Trinidad |
| 9 | Topes de Collantes, Trinidad | night in Trinidad |
| 10 | Playa Ancon, Cayo Coco | night in Cayo Coco |
| 11 | Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo | night in Cayo Coco |
| 12 | Santa Clara | night in Havana |
| 13 | L’Habana nueva | night in Havana |
| 14 | flight back | – |
| 15 | back | – |
Note: Since this is a trip from a few years ago, I invite you to check the correspondence between my account and the situation today, given the major changes in recent years. This is not so much about the stages (which I assume remain valid), but about logistical issues.
Day 0-1: Arrival in Havana and Las Terrazas
We arrive in Havana after a long journey, landing around midnight local time (which for our physique corresponded to 6 a.m., given the jet lag). We wait for our luggage for a couple of hours, meanwhile our friend Guillermo, who had come to pick us up at the airport, starts to give us up for lost. However, we manage to rejoin and arrive at our 5-star super hotel, namely our friends’ apartment, to which I would have gladly left a hospitality score above the maximum in a hypothetical review.
We wake up with the jet lag already practically gone and start the day with a breakfast provided by the owners of our luxury hotel. As will often be the case during the trip, breakfast consists of salami and cheese sandwiches and mango or guava smoothie. They ask me if I would like milk, which I normally consume in abundance, and I more than willingly accept, unaware that they meant powdered milk (heated in microwaved water), because the one in the packages we are used to cost 2.50 CUC (equivalent to 2.50 USD), corresponding to one-tenth of their salary.
I use this simple anecdote to open a small parenthesis on currency. Until 2020, Cuba was, I believe, the only country in the world where there were two currencies, specifically the CUP (Cuban Peso) and the CUC (the so-called Peso equivalent). The ratio of CUP to CUC was 1 to 25 (at least it was at the time of the trip). The CUP was the currency that Cubans used, with which one could buy basic necessities in the stores that the state provided to ensure the bare minimum for everyone, for example bread or powdered milk. One could even buy chicken meat; veal, on the other hand, was already too expensive. Instead, the CUC was somewhat the currency used by tourists, with which local businesses were able to make some cash. However, the CUC was also used by Cubans for certain goods of necessity that were not primary, but not too secondary either, such as clothes. Considering, for example, that a simple T-shirt cost around 10 CUC, compared to an average monthly salary of 25, one can well understand the disproportion between the price of goods and people’s economic availability at the time of our trip. As of 2020, the only currency used is the CUP.
Anyway, after breakfast we use our first day for some relaxation with our friends, with whom we visit Las Terrazas, a natural resort an hour or so from Havana, where there are thermal baths, streams and other things of aquatic nature in which you can cool off. We spend a good part of our day here, beginning to settle into the reality of the place. We close the day with our first sunset, which we see from the road.
Day 2: Playa del Chivo
We begin our visit to the first beaches in the Caribbean. We are still around Havana and, following the suggestion of our native friend, we decide to visit Playa del Chivo as a representative beach of the area. The beach is quite wide, there is no lack of typical Caribbean beach features, plus there are not many people (almost all tourists because it is not beach time for Cubans). The water is very clear with beautiful colors, which do not render much in the photos I post below (unfortunately, I do not get many from that day).
There are also a minimum of services on the beach, which we take advantage of for our lunch, which will be of very fresh lobster, which was very cheap.
The day is entirely devoted to the beach, as well as a few small logistical things I can leave out.
Day 3: Varadero
It is our first day as independent travelers, since our friends cannot join us. We arrive in Varadero, located northeast of the island, in about three hours by car. We have no Internet (and will have no connection for the entire trip), and therefore no Google Maps either, but we use an app that allows us to download maps and open them offline, which is called Osmand. Yes, the same thing you can do today with Maps, only it didn’t work there! The highway, if you can call it that, is already an adventure: cyclists walking the wrong way, people asking for rides in the middle of the roadway dressed as policemen (our friend had explained to us that some people use this tactic to pull over unsuspecting drivers), carts pulled by cows in the middle of traffic, wild boars crossing the road, and more or less conspicuous chasms, which I manage to dodge only because of my experience as a driver on the bumpy roads of Calabria (a Belgian colleague of mine who was relieving me had not surprisingly much more difficulty).
On the way to Varadero, we make a stop at Cueva Saturno, a very striking cave with beautiful colors, in which we have the opportunity to dive for a refreshing swim.
We then finally arrive in Varadero for our further taste of Cuba’s beaches, the colors of the sea this time being more intense than in Playa del Chivo.
In the late afternoon, we return to our affectionate 5-star super hotel in Havana to meet up with our friends, with whom we spend Christmas Eve evening.
Day 4-5: Maria La Gorda
We get away from Havana for two days to visit the northwest part of the island, particularly Maria La Gorda area. The road to get all the way there from Havana is quite long; in fact, we take about 5 hours in total. To break up the trip a bit, we stop around halfway for a brief visit to Pinar del Rio, a very picturesque town.
We arrive in Maria La Gorda and take possession of our lodging, a small wooden house nestled in the bush in front of the beach. Unfortunately, it is a bit cloudy on the two days of our stay, but it does not prevent us from noticing the beauty of the place and swimming on Christmas Day. We also take part in a boat excursion with some snorkeling stops, although the reef does not seem unmissable.
Day 6: Guanahacabibes and Robaina house
We have to return to Havana again, and since we have another 5-hour drive ahead of us, we decide to stop first at Guanahacabibes Park, where we visit some picturesque caves in the middle of the forest, and then at the Robaina house, the tobacco plantation where Robaina brand cigars are made.
We start at the park with a the difficult name, due to its proximity from Maria La Gorda. We are met by a local guide, who takes us on a direct tour of the caves, which we access via a short path through the trees. In the caves we see sleeping bats attached to the rock, the scenery is quite unique, but I would say nothing particularly unmissable. Still, it is worth stopping for an alternative stop.
After the visit of the park, we head to Robaina house, which we reach in a couple of hours. We are greeted by a young woman who guides us through the plantation and explains the process of harvesting and making cigars. We end the visit with a hands-on demonstration of the final step in the process by an elderly gentleman who rolls dried tobacco leaves into the classic cigar shape.
We finally return to Havana in the evening, stopping again on the way for a brief stop in Pinar del Rio.
Day 7: L’Habana vieja
We spend a new day with our friends, taking advantage of their presence to visit the old part of the capital, putting off the newer part for a few days later. The city does not have any generally well-known attractions (except, perhaps, the Palace of the Revolution), yet overall I liked it very much, both visually and because it gave me the impression of a very authentic city. We visit, in no particular order, the Palace of the Revolution, the Morro Castle, the Plaza Vieja, the Cathedral Square, the Bodeguita del Medio, and, finally, the Malecon. All really beautiful.
Day 8: Cueva de los peces and Playa Giron
We wake up early in the morning because we have 4 days out of town ahead of us. The first day is devoted to transferring to Trinidad, where we will be staying for 2 nights, and visiting some of the roadside attractions. We decide to focus particularly on Cueva de los peces and Playa Giron, two locations with beautiful sea and many varieties of fish (hence the name). We make a first stop on the beach full of colorful fish already visible from the shore, which we enjoy while sipping a great coconut milk. And of course we cannot miss some snorkeling.
We then arrive at the “cueva,” where we see some very unique varieties of fish. Unfortunately, we don’t have an underwater camera, so I can’t show anything, but it is really worth it.
We continued the day with a magnificent experience: eating a mamey, to date the most delicious fruit I have ever tasted.
We arrive in the evening in Trinidad, where we will stay for two nights in a “casa particular,” typical Cuban bnb-like lodging owned by a friend of our friends. Getting to the bnb was no easy feat, in fact upon arriving on the street we start asking for information and coincidentally everyone was telling us that the place we were looking for was their house. Fortunately we manage to contact the owner of the accommodation, who explains how to find it. The casa particular is very nice, but outside it looks like a third-world place.
Day 9: Topes de Collantes and Trinidad
We start the day with an excellent breakfast served by our host, consisting of omelet and mango juice, and head to Topes de Collantes, a natural park to which we devote a good part of the day. The visit to the park consists of a medium-difficulty trek, following a path to a small waterfall amidst dense vegetation and rather noteworthy rock formations. The pond below the waterfall is swimmable, in fact we take advantage of it to cool off.
We return to Trinidad in the afternoon. The town is quite small; we manage to visit it in a couple of hours, even stopping for a mohito.
Day 10: Playa Ancon and Cayo Coco
We wake up early in the morning because we have a 4-hour drive ahead of us to reach the Cayos area on the east coast, which our Cuban friends claim is the area with the most beautiful sea in the entire country. Before we set off, we stop at Playa Ancon, considered the most beautiful beach on the stretch of coast (we are west) in the vicinity of Trinidad. Indeed the colors are beautiful, plus there is hardly anyone on the beach besides us.
We arrive at our Cayo Coco resort in the afternoon and immediately go to see the beach, which is a piece of paradise. The best thing is that although the resort is quite large and crowded, we do not see many people on the beach, unlike at the pool, located 50 meters from the beach, which is full of people. My mental limitations will always prevent me from understanding how anyone can get that far and prefer to be at the pool instead of enjoying such a beach.
One peculiarity of the Cayos area is that it is (at least at that time it worked that way) a place where Cuban citizens are not allowed access, except for those working in the resorts. According to our friends, this would be due to an event that happened years earlier, in which Cubans had defaced the nature of the place in some way, receiving as punishment a ban on all citizens, even blameless ones. Personally, I believe that the absence of Cubans was more due to the cost of the resorts, which was not affordable for their average salary (but still absolutely not high, in our case we are talking about 50 CUC per person for full board in 4-star resorts!).
Day 11: Cayo Guillermo
It is the most anticipated day, dedicated to visiting Playa Pilar in Cayo Guillermo, considered the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean. Cayo Guillermo is about a half-hour drive from Cayo Coco, so we take our time. On the way we stop at a park, whose name I cannot recall, with the intent of observing its wildlife, reported by Lonely Planet as wonderful and thriving, particularly because of the massive presence of huge crocodiles. However, we soon realize that the guidebook was not very up to date; in fact, the park is desolate and abandoned, and there is no one there. We are in the process of going away, until we see a guy coming toward us dressed in long robes and hooded, which seems strange enough, given that it is over 30 degrees outside. However, we understand the reason for such clothes as soon as we step outside the car; in fact, a swarm of mosquitoes assails us so that within seconds our skin becomes a minefield. The guy explains to us that the park has actually been abandoned for a few years, and that the thriving wildlife vaunted by the Lonely Planet is reduced to a small crocodile kept captive and fed from time to time, which we go to say hello.
The last stretch of road from the park to Cayo Guillermo is very unique and isolated, and involves passing through a spot populated by many flamingos.
At that point all we have to do is head to Playa Pilar, which we walk to from the parking lot by crossing a short path. Fortunately, I don’t have my passport on my back, because the first thing that comes to my mind upon seeing that beach is to immediately set it on fire (below is a photo as I ponder this option, among others). The water is among the most crystal clear conceived by the Almighty, and the sand dunes can be seen out to sea from considerable distances. Plus the sand has the consistency of flour; I will find something similar only at Whitehaven beach several years later.
We finally return to Cayo Coco to enjoy our last afternoon at sea.
Day 12: Santa Clara and back to Havana
We wake up very early to see the sunrise in Cayo Coco, before setting out for Havana. Apart from the mosquitoes, which are devastating at that hour, the sight is wonderful.
We have about 7 hours of driving ahead of us, so we plan a few stops, including one more or less halfway in Santa Clara, where we visit Che Guevara’s mausoleum. This is a place from my point of view not particularly impressive, but it is worth stopping to observe the worship of the character by many natives.
The day was mainly dedicated to transfer, so nothing more to report, except a possible accident on the highway with a cart pulled by cows.
Day 13-15: Habana nueva and back to Italy
It is our last day in Cuba, we are quite sad and it is raining, so we decide to spend our time visiting the new part of the capital. We start from the Ron (rum) Museum, which I must say I find quite interesting, and some other minor attractions, before ending the tour at Plaza de la Revolucion, the famous square where the monument of the national hero José Martí is accompanied by the depictions of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos on some buildings. I ask Guillermo why the first was so famous while the second is unknown to most, considering that they had practically the same role during the Castro revolution, and with an unwanted parallel with Nietzsche’s philosophy, according to which morality follows aesthetic canons, he explains to me that the reason lies in the fact that Che Guevara was attractive, while Cienfuegos looked like a Taliban.
We close the trip with a beautiful evening at our friends’ house, sipping a collective rum and with a pseudo-Italian dinner, which we manage to prepare despite the terrible ingredients collected in the worst market of the city, as a thank you for their commendable hospitality.
Finally we return to Italy, after a rather exhausting trip for reasons that I will not go into, aware of having lived two weeks in a parallel world.
Conclusions
As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Cuba remains to this day the trip in which I felt less like a tourist and more like a traveler. The possibility of experiencing daily life in the company of our friends is priceless, as is the memory of a land as poor as it is beautiful. In addition, the historical period in which we traveled made everything even more fascinating.
From a landscape point of view, I think my friends were right in indicating the Cayos area as the most unmissable part, although it was also the relatively most touristy. The cost of the trip was sufficiently low, partly because for half the time we slept for free at our friends’ houses, and partly because for the remaining half we relied on a casa particular in Trinidad, which cost about 15 CUC per person for two nights with breakfast included, and on 4-star resorts in Maria La Gorda and Cayo Coco, which cost about 50 CUC per night with full board. The car instead cost us 1000 CUC for the whole period (200 CUC each since there were 5 of us), a rather high figure justified in some way by the lack of rental vehicles available.
It is difficult to draw up a ranking of the places that impressed me the most, given the heterogeneity of what we saw, but I will try:
- Playa Pilar in Cayo Guillermo: I haven’t seen all the beaches in the Caribbean to be able to evaluate what the guides say, but for now it is definitely the most beautiful beach I have seen in the Caribbean Sea, between Cuba and Costa Rica
- Cayo Coco, not too different from Cayo Guillermo, with crazy colors and a wonderful sunrise, mosquitoes aside
- Maria La Gorda, heavenly beaches and completely absent mass tourism (at least during our experience)
I didn’t particularly like Varadero beach, which is constantly listed among the most beautiful beaches in the world and among the best in Cuba. Not because it isn’t beautiful, but because honestly in Cuba I have found beaches that are decidedly more breathtaking (the comparison with Playa Pilar in my opinion is unfair).
Among the stops that we had initially included in the itinerary, but that we unfortunately couldn’t do due to lack of time, I mention Vinales (with a stop for a swim in Cayo Jutias) and Cayo Levisa, which were recommended to us by our friend’s family, as well as Baracoa, in the south of the country. However, I believe that our trip was truly wonderful, I still jealously cherish the memory of it and consider it among the most beautiful I have ever done.
“Capitalism is the unjust distribution of wealth. Communism is the just distribution of poverty” – W. Churchill
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