Ax Spairt'x ancient gateyyay tn Snuth Atrteriea. ( ~uha uxetl tn he the tnurixt eetitr‘e nt the ( 'arihhean. ltx nenn xignx. xhnp trnntx antl tnueh nt‘ itx tttntnr name date haek tn the tnurixt ltey alayxnt tlte l’ittiex. Ynu teel ynu're nn art nltl tiltn xet nt the .-\tnerteatt tleep xnuth. yyhere it’x
alyy ay x xutntner. In the enuntry'xitle. yy ltere tltey ritle hnrxex and wear
enyy liny hatx. ynu expeet them tn xay ‘l lnyytly 7‘ tint 'l lnlal‘.
\Vextet tt tnurtxtri xtnppetl yy itlt the rey nlutinn heeauxe nl' tlte ['8 tratle ettthat‘gn. and the reynltttintt‘x tlexire tn elean up xneiety. ()nly reeently hax the gny et'ntnettt lnnketl tn le'\ elnp tnttt‘ixtn ax an untapped xnuree nl tlnllat'x.
l lay atta ix a taxeittatittg eity . lull nl‘ entttt‘atliettnnx. In the xpaeinux tnyy'n eetttte. a palnr-xhatletl park liex itt trnttt nt a t‘epliea nt the .'\nteriean White I lnttxe. tinyy a lilirary antl tttuxeuttt nl xeietiee. ()ppnxite.
l lay atta'x l lixpattie huiltlingx xtatirl lteautitttl atttl tleeayetl.
l’rint'ity ryyixe. tteyy teehnnlngy‘ lnr the lttixpllitl\ entriex helnre huiltlittg repair and repainting.
they are taekling l lay anaK hnuxing er ixix. \y ith planx tn rehnuxe a llllltl nt the eity irt tett yearx. Sadly. it liax pt‘nhahly entire tnn late tn xay'e tttatty liutltlingx. particularly irt nltl l lay atta. a ttta/e nt narrnyy xtreetx yy ith a ltntehapntelt nl xty lex. lt ix nnyy an ny e ret r M tletl xluttr. yy here rlt ittktttg yy ater hax tn he eat‘rietl itt htteketx ttnttt yy agnnx in the xtr‘eet.
('ttha‘x xhnpx xell nnly a tlrah range nt ltaxte tteeexxttiex. But lnr the tnut N. the hntel tlnllar—xtnrex glitter yy tth \yextern gnntliex. l t'nuntl tltix an ntlrl entteept yy hn gne.x tn ( ~uha tn liuy ('nea rt 'nla nr‘ tniernyy aye nyenx'.’ lhe texult ix a perxixtent Lletnantl lnr hlaek triarket tlnllarx. ln eentral I lay atta ynu ean get tnay'he tyy'ettty' reuuextx tn ehange tttntiey' in an hnut.
l lattay a ix ttinxt liy ely at night. yyith tttatty eltthx. einentax and theatre. the ( 'nppelta npett—air eate xellx the hext tee—ereatn in the yy'nrltl. and at rttttlntgltt it‘x tull. \lttxie ix ey er y yy here. ( 'uha'x ttiuxie retleetx the natinttal hixtnt‘y'; a unique trtat t'iage hetyyeen the llatnenen guitar and .-\trtean tlrurrt. with a tlirtattnn yytth (an.
1 he ixlantl ix eight hundred rtiilex lnng. \y ttli at'nuntl tiy e huntlretl lieaehex. antl yntt are ney'et' tttnre than thirty rnilex trnrrt the xea. \\'ith the ltahatttax tn the nnrth. and the (at tltlte'att tn the xnuth. the elimate ix pet teet lnr niueh nt the year,
l’ritle nt the heaehex ix \‘eratlern. ati ltnut ~x tll iy e trntn l layana and atly er ttxetl ax ‘the xutt‘x t'ay'nurite all xt\teert trtilex nt' it. the erttphaxix ix ntt yy ater xpnrtx and the
l‘eaelr
(ttl‘att lny e nt tttuxie. dancing. and ttextax ( they 't'e a gt'egarinttx lnt ). l'ltete are plenty nt‘xrnaller and quieter heaehex tnn.
Sntrte nt the ttinxt xpeetaeular xeenety ix tti the tithaeen~grnyyitig r‘egtntt yy ext nt l lay ana. where the tatnnux eigarx entire t'rntn. Vinalex \ alley tx a lttxlt plain tlnttetl yy'ith tlt'atnatiepaltti—enyererl rnek
54 lltel rxt H Tluly l‘lh“)
BACK 1.15'1'
Chris Ballanee getx UllLlL‘l' the .x'k‘iti nl trtnelern (‘uha and finds mueh yy atttittg hut tnueh tn etijny‘.
t'nrtttatinttx. the teltex it an genlngiealage. .Menttttttmlattivti ltL‘t‘L‘l\tite<ttitltttlal‘lt'it enutttry ltntelx. nt tti e’lte. xelt-eatertngehaletx in the \ .il.«'. the Mural nl llt'e'ltlxlwty paintittgnntheittlttt htglielttt latent
llttx txt
rtllr tettl nit. ml the tnekx. tleptettttgeynluttntt lli‘tl‘mtltttlltttte‘tvtli. ltilexetyex tilliy tl': lltt tt- titatl-x int etlntt lhart tnt
titty: _ llle‘ttl.(t\_‘tlt.t]‘x. ltut the yalley
xlllltle‘\‘
tlt lt ~.x .l lteatttttttl
l.tttt‘lltle
lltete ate tttnte kllllll\.llll\ iii the
USEFUL INFORMATION Getting There
Czech airlines arethe cheapestat £410 return from London. with an optional stopoverin Prague (honestlyt). Aerotlottly trom Shannon. Ireland. tor £435(plusthe costot gettingto Shannon). Air Cubanatlytrom Brussels. ContactSouth American Experience 01379 C344. or Progressive Tours 01 262 1676. Local travel agents will deal with Airlberia who arethe bestand quickest. butcost £660. Thompsons doa packagetourtorE749 tort4 days.
WhatTo Know Before You Go
Money: USdoIIars and traveller's cheques- issued by British banks- are taken at hotels. It is quite possible to stay without using Cuban currency at all. It you need sometortrains. buses or cheap catés.the black marketohersseventimes the otticial rate and istar
quickerthan the bank. Don't getcaught.
Hotelsrangetrom £10 doub|e(£8 singletto £35 ($325 single) a night. Allow torat least 5110 each perday totalexpenses.
Climate: The tourist season is Dee-Feb. when it is dry and the average maximum temperature is around 80F (26Cl dropping to 65F at night. June—Oct are hotandwet.
Health:Noinocu|ations necessary. The health service is Cuba's greatest achievement. It is arguably betterthan ours. and istree totourists.Tropica| diseaseshave been eradicated and there is no dangerous wildlite ~apart tromatewcrocodtlesin reservations. Mosquito nets are recommendedtor seaside hotels.
Documents: You need a touristcard.va|idtora 30-day stay. costEtU. Phone the Cuban Embassy (012402488itoran applicationtorm. 0n arriving at the airport 7 before CustomS— you must goto the Cubatur counterto
book a couple oi nights in a Havana hotel.
LanguagejThe 10mi|lion people speak Latin-American Spanish — very fast and omitting most consonants. Verytew people speakEnglish.so basic Spanish is needed for travelling (unless you go on a package).
Getting Around
Trains and long-distance buses are cheap. Cttybuses are regularand cheap (atlat tare ot3p). lnternalair travel isreasonablypriced. Carhire is expensive—£60. including petrol. tora ZOO—miledaytrip. ABritish driving licence is allyou need.
Usetul PubHcahons
Unfortunately. the only guide to Cuba. Hildebrand's Travel Guide (published by Karto graphic. West Germany. and distributed by Harrap Columbus at $23.95) is not as helptut as it mightbe (competitors please note).
i __
xnttth nt the ixlantl. Ynu turn a
enrner' tti ltaeattan .\'atinnal Park and
are \llkltlL‘lll_\ enntt‘ntttetl hy a yalley t‘l enttet‘ete tttttttxtc‘t'x. ltlL‘-\l/L‘Ll. l’lc‘l'tttlttelyhpulxe‘tl tnr't’ligltILyyatet‘ ntnttxterx t‘txing lrnttt a pntttl. gt'axxex ttt their tttnuthx; nther tttnttxterx are eating tt'eex. nt‘ killitig tltett prey.
l he l‘tggext are Stitt high. liteltke antl perleetly prnpnrttnnerl. ltaennan alxn haxntltet xniall tnuxeutrtx. lieaehexatttl tttnuntatnx.
llte nearext tnyy rt ix Sattttagn. eleanet than l lay aria itlltl irt tnuelt hettet’ repatt . altltnttglt tuxt axnltl. ltx nart‘nyy eenttal xtreetx ate elnxetl tn trattteeyety l‘lltlilk atttl Saturtlay night tnt ;t tiexta nt tttttxte antl ttltttx.
\\ ext nt Sattttagn ix the Sierra \laextta range. ttnttt \yhete ( axtt'n letl the t'eynluttntt. ltx l‘tg‘ge\l peak tlrnpx nttlltllt tn the xea. l he nttly xure \yay nt e\plnt the the trtntttttaittx ix liy httittgaeat
ltayelltng rnutttlt ttha tettutrex pattettee. l he entttttttttttg l 'S tratle etttltargntrteatixtltete txaxhnt'tagenl trattxpnt t. ( ‘ulta hax pet teetetl the art nl tltteuetttg \t the l‘tt\ xtatinn ynu gn tttxt tn the ttttnttttattntt tlexk lnr ynttt uttette tttlittl‘et tteket . and then xee ltnyy tttatty ltuxex ynu‘ll hay e tn \yatt lnt'lietnte ynttt nutttliet tx ealleil. xn ynu kttnyy when in return lt‘x \e‘lt\ll‘le tn art 1\ e at the liux xtattntt at lttxt light tnatn i lietnt‘e the queue. l‘ly ltatn a l-‘.-linttryyatt ix
(‘ulta hax trietl tn teplaee itttltyttlualtxtttyyttltaxettxenl enttttrtutttty ( 'ttlyattx hnlttlay itt gt'nupx tlttl tlltlt‘ttt'tltlelll ttayel ixtt‘t really lllltlL'l xtnnrl lhe ntltet t‘t'ttl‘le'ttt tx that xery tee tx .. ttnt \\ e\ly'ttt.(littltl;il‘l\.tttte'\;t\xlli.ti ('ttlianx yy tll treyet again he attynne‘x xet'y atttx. ( in liatl (layx tt‘x tltttteult tint tn tltttik that they aetually etilny l‘e‘lttti utthelplul. lt'xtate nt lie xetyetl yy ttltitt ltall an hnurnt at my tttg .\tttlhntelxtatt are ttnt appntntetl tnt tltetr yyelenttttng
at a t‘extattt‘attt
xtttilex.
llut ttinxt t. 'uliattx ate lnyely penple. \‘i\ aeinux. ltitt ~ltlntitletl itllkl g‘L'ttet‘tttlx. llte ntlietal gnyertttttettt pnxtttntt ix tn tlixenurage elnxe entttaetx yy itlt yyexternerx. xn tttatty penple are Ittetttlly . littt keep their tll\l;tttee, littt yy ltett thnxe l‘LH'I'tL'I\. tln tlrnp yntt trutekly llllyl pet tple yy hn yy ill tltt anything lnr ynu. l’enple nttett eattte up In ttte ntt the xtt'eet tn nttet' tnxltnyy ttte rntttttl. tt‘equetttly irtxixtittgntt pay tttg lnr eyet'ytlttng.
('uha tx a lirttlge lietyyeen the tirxt Llllkl thtt‘tl yynt ltl\. ;\ elteap lintel tnnttt ltttaxlx a t‘atlin. a telephntte and .t \ltttyy L‘t littl the tittlt‘t ix ttttite tilte'tt tluxhetl yy ith a liueket nt yyater tilletl lt‘nttt the xltnyyet. it it] eatt lie prexentetl yy itlt a trtetrtt yy ttlt Ht l itentx ntt it illlkl tltxenyet' Wint tltettt are ‘ttll‘
Seettery . prteex atttl elttttate trtake it itleal tnt thnxe yyanttng ati unuxual tlL‘\tltt;tIltttt. .‘ylany penple nn ttty tlight yy ere rey txittttg the enuntry ax l littpe it). lltlt ltl aehtey e the tttttxx tttlltt\ nt t‘teh tnut‘ixtx they yynultl like. xntttentte. xnttreyy here. yy ill hay e tnxtutly ltntel ttianagetnent.
l