Cuba

Sitting at the airport, ready to leave this island. Arriving at the airport, the screen said Montego Bay instead of Kingston, that we thought we were going to. "Oh no, we have to stay here longer" was my first thought. Turned out it was just the screen that was wrong, the plane was actually going to Kingston. Still a bit nervous for the immigration control in Jamaica though, as I don't have a ticket for Santo Domingo, and you must have a return or onward ticket to be able to enter the country. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it's enough to have a norwegian passport.

Then, back to what I really wanted to tell you about; Cuba. The people are quite similar to the Dominicans, except maybe a bit more relaxed (especially in clothing), the main difference is the government. Having seen the sold-out Dominican republic, it was nice to see another possible way. Even if things are far from perfect in Cuba, there is not a lot of poverty and the cubans own Cuba. Not the americans or the mexicans. They also have a very strong national pride, maybe difficult not to have in a country with so much propaganda everywhere. Even in the most remote areas you'll find quotes from Fidel and Che.

The propaganda is everywhere. Still people are very found of Fidel, he has a charisma that makes his people love him. His brother is a totally different person. Fidel is the charismatic leader of the people, talking without a written speach in his hand. While Raul is a man of the military, cold (he never smiles on TV) and he just reads his written speach. As for now he is the official president, but it seems as if he is just the puppet for Fidel which still unofficially rules the country. What happens when Fidel dies is difficult say. Even if the people doesn't love Raul in the same way that they love Fidel, he will be one of two leaders from the revolution still alive, and that alone will probably keep him in power. Cubans themselves believe things gradually will change, but gradually is the essencial word. No one believes in any quick changes.

As for travelling, Cuba is a nice place to visit. The bus you have to take between cities is a bit expensive. But the cheap accomodation and food balances that, it's very cheap to stay here! You have private houses (casas particulares) all over, where it's excellent to stay. Hotels are mostly a bad deal, partly because they are state owned with horrible service. And very over priced compared to the standard you are used to in other countries.

Of course, you have the music, rhum and cigars as expected. All over. As for beggars and hustlers, I think it was ok. At least I didn't get too annoyed. All in all, nice three weeks!

¡¡Viva la revolucion!!


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