Santiago de Cuba
We were quite late getting into Santiago de Cuba, partially because we departed late but also because there was a generator problem during the night that required the ship to go a bit slower. Fine with us, since it allowed the opportunity to be on deck as the ship navigated the very small harbor entrance. A huge fort called El Morro dominates the horizon and has guarded the entrance since the 1600s. The dock was still forty minutes from the entrance so we could see and smell some of the attractions, like a huge refinery and electric generation plant. While the dock area was quite large, it was intended for cargo ships - which were plentiful - and not passengers. The immigration shed was marginally larger than the one in Cienfuegos so disembarkation was again a challenge, especially since we had already lost an hour and thus the bus activities were being curtailed a bit.
Cindy and I were finally on our bus by 11:30 and for a five-hour tour of the town, fort, and San Juan Hill. The town was really a bust. It is crowded, noisy, filled with traffic and now filled with at least three hundred tourists since half the ship was there at the same time. While standing in the heat trying to hear our guide, we were approached by dwarfs, crippled beggars, a woman with what appeared to be leprosy and assorted others, all of whom were looking for handouts. Ah, the socialist state at its best.
We were marched though the town with almost no explanation since the guide was now in a hurry to move the agenda forward. We did stop for a moment outside a lovely museum that had been built by the Bacardi family, who had started their rum business in Santiago. In fact, Santiago is noted for Ron and Son, Rum and a regional dance. We could not go inside due to time constraints and the promised visit to the Rum Museum down the street was cancelled. After another ten minutes of forced march, we were back at the bus, happy to be in the AC but not pleased with what turned out to be a rather useless visit to the town. It was then off to the fort El Morro for a detailed view and another opportunity to walk the gauntlet of vendors. The fort is very impressive both inside and out – and then it was back to the bus.
We drove quickly though the outskirts of town where there were lots of monuments to the revolution leaders and battles, all of which were now getting on my nerves since we had heard enough about all the people and places important to the revolution on other bus rides. We finally got to San Juan Hill and off the bus to listen to another set of stories, then back on the bus for lunch at a marina, which was quite lovely (both the setting and the food). After lunch back on the bus to the middle of town again for a performance by a local dance and drum troupe, which we found enjoyable but incomprehensible since the story line had not been presented to us on the bus. We did manage to figure out it was man vs woman and the woman won – and the drumming was incredible and very fun to watch as well as hear.
Back on the bus, back to the crowded immigration area with just enough time to get rid of our remaining CUCs - much to the delight of the vendors - and back in line for immigration where we had to turn over our visas since this was our last stop in Cuba. The ship felt wonderful since we were really hot by then. Santiago is considered to be the hottest city in Cuba, a distinction we now knew to be true!
Late that day a letter was delivered to our cabin. It was a letter like no other I’ve ever seen in fifty years of international travel. Fathom announced that Port Fees and Taxes sometimes change and that for this cruise they were less expensive than had been anticipated when we paid for our tickets. Therefore, they were crediting $44.50 to each person’s account since the company was dedicated to transparency and fairness. I was shell-shocked and had to read it twice more to truly appreciate what they had done. Not one person on board would have known that the fees were cheaper than anticipated and the company could have kept the extra $32,000, but instead they returned it to the customer! Can you see any airline saying, “Well, fuel prices have gone down since you paid for your ticket so we’ll give you some money back.” Truly amazing and we used the $89.00 for some lovely wines that evening. Thank you, Fathom!
We spent the last evening dancing, so what else is new! In Havana a Cuban band came aboard and stayed until Miami. Wow, where they good. Six guys who made music as if there were sixteen of them. It was so much fun to dance to a real band, all of whom also sang. They really livened up the ship in a way that the Craze Band could not. Four brits playing all the big hits from 90s, big that is in England. They were really bad when playing as a band, but much better when two of them were just doing jazz.
During our sea day we had a chance to think about some of what we had seen of Cuba thus far. The first thing we decided was that the grand revolution failed, and failed badly. The socialism of Cuba does provide for free education, free medical treatments and a subsistence level of food. They have ration books and are allowed certain amounts of rice, beans, cooking oil, chicken, pork, eggs, bread, flour and some other staples but for anything else they need to have money to purchase it, and money is hard to come by. In a ‘perfect’ socialism state you would not have the numbers of bums looking for handouts. They say there are no homeless people in Cuba but we saw people who seemed to enjoy sleeping on the streets more than in their homes! I think that Bernie and his followers could do with a good grounding by coming to Cuba to see all the benefits of socialism. The stores that we went into on our own were rather shabby and the shelves were empty or nearly empty, reminiscent of East Germany before the wall came down. There were always huge lines at the banks and no one was able to tell us what they were waiting for. They only make about $16 to $40 per month, and one guide told us that there are lots of banks but no money. You do not see lots of folks walking around with iPhones or tablets. Our guides told us that the Internet is regulated and expensive; no free WIFI anywhere to be found in the cities we visited. As with any country that has a system of rationing, there is a thriving black market for ‘luxury’ items such as beef, fresh vegetables and fruits, and quality clothing. We were told that Cubans were free to travel anywhere, and yet there is still an illegal migration of Cubans trying to get to the USA via Central America before we end the ‘dry feet’ rule which gives every Cuban thousands of dollars and legal status in the USA once they set foot on US soil. The People to People (P2P) program never talks about the rolling blackouts that last for two to four hours per day. They don’t talk about the six dollar per liter gas, which prevents most taxi drivers from working. They don’t talk about the lack of highway infrastructure that makes a 300-mile drive take 12 hours, if you have the gas.
Cuba is a lovely country with lovely people but until there is new leadership and a new form of governing, it will never be a tropical paradise. We are delighted that we took the opportunity to visit now and we wish the Cuban people the best of luck, but they will need far more than luck to get them into the free world.
We have fulfilled our civic duty and voted on Wednesday. We depart tomorrow for five weeks to avoid the silliness of this election cycle. Perhaps we’ll have internet access and if we do, stay tuned. Best wishes, Cindy and Wm
