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NEWS
Cuba
The Cuban Flag 
Map of Cuba
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 Capital
- Havana
Cuba is a beautiful tropical Island country slightly smaller than the state
of Pennsylvania and is about 100 miles south of Key West Florida. Ever since
the trade and travel embargo between the USA and Cuba there have been many
thousands of Cubans fleeing their country under the cloak of a political
refugee. This is only partly legitimate as many of those that flee are for economic reasons.
The communist government took away the luxuries and brought everyone down to a
level near poverty. Recent years have seen some relaxing of the hard line
communistic policies. In recent years many people have been able to travel to Cuba, including returning
refugees who at one time would have faced imprisonment upon their return, but no
longer. With the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has been forced to seek foreign
money in whatever manner they have available. Tourism has made somewhat of a
comeback in this Island.
Much of Cuba is cluttered with dilapidated buildings and the street are traveled
by vehicles that are collectibles. Because of the trade embargo no new
American car have entered the islands since the late 50s. With there being no
replacement vehicles the locals were forced to maintain what was already there,
often times fashioning repair parts by hand.
Downtown Havana and harbor entrance (courtesy of NASA)
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Legal
Entry For years, the only
Americans who could go were journalists, government officials, and citizens with
Cuban relatives, and getting an OFAC license could take weeks. Last spring, OFAC
began granting approvals more speedily—sometimes within 24 hours—to a wider
range of people, including academics, aid workers, artists, and students. With a
license, you can book a seat on a charter flight from Miami, New York, or Los
Angeles (and soon, from Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, and New Orleans) and bring
back $100 worth of Cuban rum and cigars. Check out www.treas.gov/ofac for
details.
Not so
Legal Entry It's easy to go on the
sly—almost any travel agent outside the United States will sell you a ticket.
To book a connecting flight from Cancún or Mexico City, call Cubana
(52-5/250-6355) or Mexicana (52-5/448-0990) airlines. From Nassau, the
connection costs $201 and can be booked through Havanatur (800/645-1179 or
242/326-8643). Be warned: You may fly on an antique Yakovlev YAK-42. Once you're
on the island, Cuban customs won't make a fuss. The cash-starved government
welcomes all tourists, provided they have American dollars (the official
currency of the Cuban tourist economy). The customs folks know not to stamp an
American passport, but like most Cubans, they typically don't speak English.
Cash
still rules Since U.S.-issued charge
cards don't work anywhere in the country, and ATM's are nonexistent, you'll have
to bring all the money you'll need.( note as of 10/28/04 Castro has declared the
US dollar as no longer a favored tender in Cuba, this means you will have to
exchange your money for conversion Pesos 1:1 exchange ratio. If you don't
exchange them you will likely be charged a 10% premiums, as all Cubans will have
pay 10% to convert them to Pesos)
WHERE TO STAY There are 30,000 guest rooms
in Cuba. Some are found in private houses: staying at Sylvia Vidal's
(53-7/34165; doubles $30), in a faded mansion in Havana's Vedado district, is a
great way to see how ordinary people live. For accommodations worthy of
Sinatra—as well as easy access to air-conditioned taxis and English-speaking
tour guides—try the Hotel Nacional in Vedado (53-7/333-564; doubles
$140-$165). The more intimate Hotel Santa Isabel (53-7/338-201; doubles from
$150), probably Cuba's finest hotel, is a colonial palace whose 27 rooms were
restored in 1997.
GETTING AROUND It's certainly possible to
rent a car in Havana, but much less complicated (and less expensive) to hire a
car and driver. Because of the 39-year trade embargo, most cars in Cuba date
from the fifties.
WHERE TO EAT
There are quite a large number of restaurants and all are glad for the tourist
patronization. The meals are heavily fortified with pork, rice beans and vegetables
that are not normally found on the western table. Some combine the
dining experience with Dancing. "The music's gonna get ya" in the
words of a famous Latino Diva, and will make your hips sway and before
long you will be doing the Meringue or Samba or just gyrating to the Latin rhythm
and not doing any particular dance steps. Or you may want to skip the
restaurants and ask your
concierge or taxi driver for the address of a paladar (a restaurant in someone's
house). La Esperanza, in Miramar (105 Calle 16; 53-7/224-361; dinner for two
$20), is one of the best.
COMMON SENSE Havana is extremely safe, for
the most part. Still, it's probably not a good idea to wander around in the dead
of night looking for a taxi (another reason to hire a car). It's also wise not
to leave hundreds of dollars sitting in your hotel room. Ask to prepay for your
hotel stay.
UP IN SMOKE U.S. Customs will confiscate
cigars, of course, unless you have an OFAC license. Canadian official will only
charge you duties on them. If you do buy cigars, keep your
receipts—before any cigars leave the country, you have to prove you bought
them at a government-authorized store.
DEPARTURE TAX At the airport you have to
pay $20 (or you won't be going anywhere).
LIVING DANGEROUSLY
No
American tourists have ever
been jailed for visiting Cuba without a license, but OFAC has meted out
thousands in fines—which could theoretically run as high as $250,000.
Oddly
enough Guantanamo Naval Base is only leased by the US and
thus remains part of Cuba
Sailing
or Cruising to Cuba has become a favorite excursion for deep
water boat owners. Havana is not the only port of call in Cuba but you
can also enter at any one of these: Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel,
Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba Even if you have no boat of your own, you can still sail to Castro's shores, and
legally at that. Beginning in November, Toronto-based Cuba Cruise Co.
(800/387-1387 or 416/964-2569; www.cubacruising.com)
will offer Americans three- to four-night cruises to Cuba from Nassau, Bahamas,
from $535 per person. Passengers are registered as guests of a Canadian
nonprofit foundation, thereby classifying them as "humanitarian
travelers" (the ship does bring medical and educational supplies to
approved Cuban organizations).
Since the law is constantly in flux, call the Cuban Assets Control
Regulations bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department (202/622-2480; www.treas.gov/ofac)
for the current U.S. regulations before you book.
Drugs
Don't think of using Cuba as a jumping off point fro smuggling drugs to the US
as Cuba has a death penalty in place for certain drug related crimes.
Historic
Background
The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European
discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its
development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers
of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations and
Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain
from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule was severe and exploitative and occasional
rebellions were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the
Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent
Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after
a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in
1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist
revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and
Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering
from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former
Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its
difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit
migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via
the southwest border - is a continuing problem. Some 2,500 Cubans attempted the
crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2003; the US Coast Guard apprehended about
60% of the individuals.
Geographical Make Up
Cuba is mostly flat
to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast (the Sierra
Madres) (which is where Castro and his revolutionists hid out while battling the
Batista military). The shore range from some of the finest white sand
beaches to cliff land and Mangrove swamps. There are a tremendous number of out
islands particularly in the South Central Region, that are now environmentally protected.
The natural resources consist of cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper,
salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land.
Useful links http://www.cubaweb.cu/
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http://www.cuba.com/
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