Cuba

---

Hello,

Sorry for the delay and this being brief ...

Cuba was a very interesting country to visit. I was with a fantastic group of people and made friends from Oz and NZ who I hope to keep in touch with.

We started in Havana, and headed East as far as Baracoa. The history was evident everywhere and we were able to visit many historical sites from the revolution. It was interesting to be in a communist country. There was no advertising other than government propaganda. No McDonalds and no Starbucks! The supermarket shelves were fairly empty and there was not much available to purchase. Internet was scarce and slow and it was actually quite expensive to be there as a tourist. They have two currencies and the Peso that the locals use allows their minute earnings to stretch a bit further.

There is so much beautiful colonial architecture but unfortunately a lot of the buildings are in need of repair and only those in the main tourist areas receive any. The old American cars were also fantastic to see.

We had a couple of days at nice beaches and indulged in coconuts filled with rum. Infact we indulged in drinking rum everyday. It was almost as cheap as water!

We mostly stayed in homestays which was fantastic. The people were all really welcoming and we were fed extremely well every day. The food does not vary much but I didn´t mind as I was offered fresh fish and lobster almost every day.

Obviously for me one of my reasons to visit Cuba was to dance Salsa. I had many opportunities and had some fun nights but it was also intense at times with some men being quite territorial.

The music in Cuba was fantastic. We often visited bars and restaurants with live bands and dancing and in some towns there were bands playing in the street. You could always here music whether in the town or homestay.

Baracoa is in the Guantanamo district and the furthest east we visited. There is a large Mountain range and it has a distinct climate which is more tropical than the rest of the island. Because of this they are able to grow coffee, chocolate and fruits there and we visited a coco farm which was interesting.

I found Cuba to be one of the most interesting places I have visited. I would recommend a trip there! The scenery, and people are amazing and it is extremely safe!

---