The Rough Guide to Cuba, 1st Edition - Softcover

McAuslan, Fiona

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1858285208 ISBN 13: 9781858285207

Publisher: Rough Guides, 2000

Synopsis

INTRODUCTION

Isolated from the Western world for over thirty years, Cuba burst back onto the international tourist scene in the early 1990s and hasn’t looked back since. Shaped by one of the twentieth century’s longest surviving revolutions, until recently Cuba’s image had been inextricably bound up with its politics. Even five decades after Fidel Castro and the rebels seized power, Cuba’s long satiny beaches, offshore cays and jungle-covered peaks – the defining attractions of neighbouring islands – played almost no part in the popular perception of this communist state in the Caribbean. Now, having opened the floodgates to global tourism, the country is changing and Cuba today is characterized as much as anything by a frenetic sense of transition as it shifts from socialist stronghold to one of the Caribbean’s major tourist destinations, running on capitalist dollars. Yet at the same time, it can seem to visitors that nothing has changed for decades, even centuries. Cut off from the capitalist world until the end of the Cold War, and only just emerging from a chronic economic crisis, the face of modern-day Cuba is in many respects frozen in the past – the classic American cars, moustachioed cigar-smoking farmers, horse-drawn carriages and colonial Spanish architecture all apparently unaffected by the breakneck pace of modernization, brought on by the country’s desperate need for dollars following the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Newly erected department stores and shopping malls, state-of-the-art hotels and entire resorts created from scratch are the hallmarks of this new, emerging Cuba. This improbable combination of transformation and stasis is symbolic of a country riddled with contradictions and ironies. In a place where taxi drivers earn more than doctors, and where capitalist reforms are seen as the answer to preserving socialist ideals, understanding Cuba is a compelling but never-ending task.

Despite the hard-to-swallow favourable treatment of tourists and the crippling US trade embargo, there is surprisingly little resentment directed at foreign visitors, and your overwhelming impression is likely to be that Cubans are outgoing, sociable and hospitable, notwithstanding the queues, food rationing and restrictions on free speech. What’s more, in most of Cuba it’s difficult not to come into contact with local people: the common practice of renting out rooms and opening restaurants in homes allows visitors stronger impressions of the country than they might have thought possible in a short visit. The much-vaunted Cuban capacity for a good time is best expressed through music and dance, both vital facets of the island’s culture. As originators of the most influential Latin music styles, such as bolero, rumba and son, thereby spawning the most famous of them all – salsa – people in Cuba seem always ready to party.

There are occasional reminders that Cuba is a centralized, highly bureaucratic one-party state, which can give a holiday here an unfamiliar twist. Naturally this becomes more apparent the longer you stay, but one of the quickest ways of finding out is when things go wrong. Going to the police, finding your hotel room double-booked or simply needing to make an urgent phone call can prove to be unnecessarily and frustratingly complicated. These are the times when you discover Cuba has its own special logic and that common sense doesn’t count for much here. This is not to say you’re more likely to experience mishaps in Cuba than anywhere else – not only are all the major resorts as well equipped as you might hope, but violent crime is remarkably absent from Cuban cities. On the other hand, a certain determination and a laid-back attitude are essential requirements for exploring less visited parts of the country, where a paucity of facilities and public transport problems can make! travelling hard work. Things are becoming easier all the time, though, with the introduction of more efficient bus services, simplified currency systems and a wider variety of consumer goods. Ironically, these improvements also mark an irreversible move away from what makes Cuba unique. Though the nation’s culture and character will always ensure that Cuba is more than just another island paradise, the determination to sell the country to a worldwide market means the time to go is now rather than later.

About this title

About the Author

Fiona McAuslan is a journalist who writes on travel and lifestyle for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, The Independent, Bluepint, and Time Out London. She is the author of The Rough Guide to Cuba, The Rough Guide to Havana (with Matthew Norman), and The Rough Guide to Cuba 3 (also with Matthew Norman).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Where to go

No trip to Cuba would be complete without a visit to the potent capital city, Havana. A unique and personable mini-metropolis, characterized by a small-town atmosphere, its time-warped colonial core, Habana Vieja, is crammed with architectural splendours, some laced with Moorish traces and dating as far back as the sixteenth century. Elsewhere in the city there are handsome streets unspoilt by tawdry multinational chain stores and restaurants: with relatively little development since the revolution, the city retains many of its colonial mansions and numerous 1950s hallmarks.

The provinces to the immediate east and west of Havana, together with the capital itself, are where tourist attractions are most densely concentrated. Visited frequently by day-trippers from Havana, Pinar del R'o, the centre of nature tourism in Cuba, offers more than enough to sustain a longer stay. The most accessible resorts for walking are Las Terrazas and Soroa, focused around the subtropical, smooth-topped mountain ranges of the Sierra del Rosario and Sierra de los Organos, but it's the peculiar mogote hills of prehistoric Vi ales valley that attract most attention. Beyond, out of sight of the mountains, on a gnarled rod of land pointing out towards Mexico, there's unparalleled seclusion and outstanding scuba diving at Mar'a la Gorda.

There are beach resorts the length and breadth of the country but none is more complete than Varadero, the country's long-time premier holiday destination, two hours' drive east from Havana, in Matanzas province. Based on a highway of dazzling white sand, stretching almost the entire length of the 25-kilometre Pen'nsula de Hicacos, this is where most tourists come for the classic package- holiday experience. For the tried-and-tested combination of disco-nightlife, watersports, sunbathing and relaxing in all-inclusive hotels, there is nowhere better in Cuba. On the opposite side of the province, the Pen'nsula de Zapata, with its diversity of wildlife, organized excursions and mixture of hotels, offers a mlange of different possibilities. Across the eastern border from Matanzas into next-door Cienfuegos province, tourist attractions begin to appear less frequently. Travelling east of here, either on the autopista or the island-long Carretera Central, public transport links become weaker and worn-out yet picturesque towns take over from brochure- friendly tourist hot spots. There is, however, a concentration of tourist activity around the historically precious Trinidad, a small colonial city brimming with symbols of Cuba's past, which attracts coach parties and backpackers in equal numbers. If you're intending to spend more than a few days in the centre of the island, this is by far the best base, within short taxi rides of a small but well equipped beach resort, the Pen'nsula de Anc--n, and the Topes de Collantes hiking centre in the Sierra del Escambray. Slightly further afield are a few larger cities: sociable Santa Clara with its convivial main square and thronging crowds of students is the liveliest of the lot, whilst laid-back Cienfuegos, next to the placid waters of a sweeping bay, is sprinkled with colourful architecture, including a splendid nineteenth-century theatre. Further east, the workaday cities of Sancti Sp'ritus and Ciego de vila, both capitals of their namesake provinces, provide excellent stop-offs on a journey along the Carretera Central. Two of the most popular destinations in this part of the country are off the north coast of Ciego de vila province. With their reams of creamy white beaches and tranquil countryside, the luxurious resorts of Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo, on the secluded cays of the same name, are growing month by month.

Continuing eastwards into Camagey province, the smaller, rather remote resort of Santa Luc'a is a much promoted though less well equipped option for sun- seekers, while there's an excellent alternative north of here in tiny Cayo Sabinal, with long empty beaches and romantically rustic facilities. Back on the Carretera Central, the romantic and ramshackle city of Camagey, the most populous city in the central part of the island, is a sightseer's delight, with numerous churches and intriguing buildings, as well as a lively nightlife, while the amiable city of Holgu'n is the threshold to a province containing the biggest concentration of pre-Columbian sites in the country. Guardalavaca, on the northern coast of Holgu'n province, is one of the liveliest and most attractive resorts in the country, spread along a long and shady beach with ample opportunities for watersports.

While Guantnamo province, forming the far eastern tip of the island, is best known for its infamous US naval base, it is the jaunty seaside town of Baracoa that is the region's most enchanting spot. Isolated from the rest of the country by a high rib of mountains, the quirky town freckled with colonial houses and populated by friendly and hospitable locals is an unrivalled retreat, popular with long-term travellers.

With a sparkling coastline fretted with golden-sand beaches such as Chivirico, the undulating emerald mountains of the Sierra Maestra, made for trekking, and Santiago, the country's most vibrant and energetic city after Havana, Santiago de Cuba province, on the island's southeast coast, could make a holiday in itself. Host to the country's most exuberant carnival every July, when a deluge of loud, sweet and passionate sounds surge through the streets, it is testimony to the city's musical heritage that you can hear some of the best Cuban musicians here all year round. Trekkers and revolution enthusiasts will want to follow the Sierra Maestra as it snakes west of here along the south coast into Granma province, offering various revolutionary landmarks and nature trails.

Lying off the southwest coast of Havana province, the Isla de la Juventud is often overlooked despite its immense though low-key charms. Easily explored over a weekend, the island promises leisurely walks, some of the best diving in the country and a personable capital town in Nueva Gerona. In the same archipelago is luxurious and anodyne Cayo Largo, the only sizeable beach resort off the southern coastline of Cuba.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1858285208
• ISBN 13: 9781858285207
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 512