4 weeks in Cuba (Oct - Nov 2016) - a real holiday!
Yes, even we need a holiday from time to time and we chose Cuba as our first Caribbean island before it gets too westernised. It's the largest island in the Caribbean and historically well known for the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, a point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States which nearly lead to world war III.
Cuba is a Marxist–Leninist one-party republic, where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have accused the Cuban government of numerous human rights abuses, including arbitrary imprisonment and torture. Cuba is a developing country with one of the world's last true communist system that is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee and skilled labour. It has a high world ranking in health care and education.
For us Cuba is all about its people. It is a multi-ethnic country whose people, culture and customs derive from diverse origins, including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the long period of Spanish colonialism and the introduction of African slaves.
The people are very respectful, really friendly and always willing to help. Refreshing, relaxed, uncomplicated, full of energy ... simply simpatico! We felt very safe and well taken care of here.
Music is a major part of the Cuban culture and the people certainly love singing and dancing.
The accommodation was very clean and provided very good service. Buses and taxis were all organised and on time. We only had one slight altercation on our final evening where an unscrupulous vendor tried to charge us double the price for the same thing we'd bought the evening before, but that was the only problem.
Our four weeks were a bit too long and we needed a change from beans and rice with meat which was why we enjoyed the burger at Mexico City airport so much!
