Our unforgettable travel experiences – No. 2
We did this trip in the year 2000. Before the 90s, Cuba had survived the US embargo that existed since 1960, mainly by exporting sugar and tobacco. Thereafter, the Communist Party under Fidel Castro decided to invest a lot of money in tourism which then became the most important revenue sector.
When a country starts to invest in tourism and new infrastructure we find these are often good times to travel to a newly developing destination: It's when the traditional culture is still intact but before mass-tourism destroys it (and you can also enjoy a bit of comfort 😊). The timing of our Cuba trip was during this change - in 2000 there were 1.77m tourist arrivals with an average expenditure of around 1'100 USD per person. Today (or before Covid hit), there are over 4m tourists per year with an average expenditure of around 600 USD per person. Just an example of development of mass-tourism.
The 3 main reasons we chose Cuba was 1) for the Cuban music which became world famous with the movie Bueno Vista Social Club and the Cuban culture, 2) for the vintage cars – nowhere on earth are there as many classic old timer vehicles on the road as in Cuba and 3) for the diverse scenery and white beaches.
Due to a ban of importing foreign cars to Cuba that only ended in 2011, the locals were forced to find solutions to keep their old cars running. Nowadays, an estimate of 60'000 to 70'000 vintage US cars are still being used on the roads and have been fixed by using Soviet Lada engines. This is definitely an interesting 'collaboration'!
Together with our close friends, Bea and Tommy, we put together a 2-week holiday and flew to Havana in November 2000. Tommy had never travelled that far, but he was really into Cuban music, cigars, was inspired by the freedom symbol and life of Che Gevarra and absolutely loved old cars (he used to collect and restore old Toyotas himself).
Our choice of hotel in Havana was the iconic Hotel Inglaterra. This hotel was founded in 1875 and truly had an amazing vibe. Winston Churchill - a famous lover of Cuban cigars – had stayed there 100 years before us! The location is great with an excellent view of the Grand Theatre and of the Capitol from the hotel's roof terrace. And what better place to be for our first Cuban mojito!
Walking through the town was an unforgettable experience. There is so much to enjoy just watching the daily life and old cars. On one corner we came across an elderly man sitting there enjoying his cigar and watching the world go by – yes, welcome to Cuba!
In order to explore this largest island of the Caribbean we rented a ‘normal’ (modern) car. Our first stop was the famous Vinales valley in the very west of the island. The landscape is stunning and even today we can still smell our 22-year-old cigars in Aaron's wine-fridge, ones we bought at the factory there. That really does bring back some memories! Our hotel was the Hotel La Ermita from where we had this superb view over the UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape and the hilly formation called mogotes.
Here, the best soil and climate provides the perfect place to produce the best cigars in the world in combination with their ancient knowledge. It's said that in 1492, Christopher Columbus reported seeing indigenous people smoking a primitive form of cigars!
A little further on we stopped at the sea for the first time at Cayo Jutias. Seeing the sea with its most amazing array of blues and white sandy beach, we agreed that Cuba must have some of the best beaches in the Caribbean. Our beach-stay was planned for the second week, so we knew we had something to look forward to.
On our way east we stopped in a lush and hilly area in Los Terrazas. We took a lovely hot hike to the Mirador de Soroa with great views across to the hills and we also visited the beautiful Salto de Soroa waterfall.
On the road to Trinidad we drove through some hilly landscape and it was almost like at home with cows grazing in the green pastures and fields. The drive took longer than we expected as the old local cars don’t go very fast 😊.
Trinidad is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the Caribbean and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988. Founded in 1515, it was the center of the sugar trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.
With cobble stone streets and colonial buildings, the atmosphere is unique. But it's only because of tourism that at least part of the city is well preserved. Sadly, other parts are falling apart.
Walking around Trinidad we had an interesting insight into a local shop. Imagine going to your grocery store but you hardly have any choice of food… This is a truly very sad aspect of real life in Cuba. Also, Cuba, along with North Korea are the only countries in the world where Coca Cola is banned!
It is also very sad to know, that now 22 years later, the situation in Cuba is as bad or probably even worse than before. A very special and good friend of ours, who spent a lot of time in Cuba, living, travelling there and helping out families restore and update their homes with basics such as windows, doors, fridges, experienced just how difficult the life is for the local people on the island. The average salary is between 30 and 80 USD a month. And even if you have money, you have to drive the full length (1'250km) of the island just to find a place that sells windows, doors and fridges. There are some good videos from The Spartan Vlog on YouTube that can give you an insight of real Cuban life.
Not far from Trinidad there’s another highlight: Valle de los Ingenios - the valley of the sugar mills. These are three interconnected valleys which were central for the sugar production. At the peak of the production there were over seventy mills and over 30'000 slaves working on the sugar cane plantations.
Driving around Cuba was really amazing and we had many unforgettable moments throughout. And sometimes it doesn’t take much, like with this beautiful tree and the little kids you meet along the way.
Or a dinner at the communist style Hotel Zaza – this was the only hotel in the area and choice of food was very limited. But the experience was an unforgettable one when after dinner a local band started playing these beautiful traditional Cuban songs. Even today we still remember the melody of 'un mojito mas'. Of course it wasn't the real name of the song but to us it sounded pretty much like it - especially after some Rum 😊.
Another great time was at a Cuban dance club. It was in Moron, an old city we came across on our way towards the second part of our trip that would be our beach-stay. There was this local dance club where everyone was dancing Rumba – it turned out we were the only foreigners there and we had a brilliant time! It was really great watching the locals dance, we tried some steps out too and we’re sure the locals had a good laugh watching us 😊.
In 2000 Cayo Guillermo was a very beautiful idyllic beach region and not yet too touristy either. We hadn’t wanted to go to the tourist hotspot of Varadero and preferred the unspoilt beauty of the island. Our hotel was at Playa Pilar where the colour of the sea was spectacular. We took beautiful beach walks, organised a sailing boat and did some snorkelling. A perfect way to end an unforgettable trip.
This trip is still very special to us and will always remind us of the many years and great times we had with our dearest friend, Tommy. Only a few years later, Tommy very sadly died, far too young - RIP our dear friend - we miss you!
We truly had an amazing time in 2000. Cuban landscape is beautiful, the beaches are stunning and the people are really happy and friendly. We can only hope that sooner rather than later the political situation improves so that the locals have the possibility of a free life after over 60 years of embargo and repression.
"One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name"
(The Call - Thomas Osbert Morsdaunt, 1730-1809)
Travel blog and travel guide by Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker
© Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker