| I went for research/educational purposes. I just got back this past week. It has to be the worst place I have ever been to in my life. I flew
through Cancun and stayed at Playa del Carmen, which was beautiful. Warm water, crystal turquoise blue, and cool breezes at night in the 80's. Took a
ferry to Cozumel this past Saturday where they were celebrating Carnival. Another beautiful place, $8 round-trip. My dad used to talk about Cuba when
he lived in Miami in the 50's and 60's, and took the ferry from Key West in the late 50's before the Cuban Revolution. He told me how beautiful it
was, and his father's friend had a gorgeous mansion and a tobacco plantation. I landed at the airport in Havana, which was a total dump. About an
hour flight from Cancun. I waited 2 hours for a tiny suitcase. I took the bus to my hotel which was beautiful, Hotel Plaza. However the ride from
the airport was totally shocking. I was completely overwhelmed by sadness at the neglect of the parks, and the buildings. They were all falling
apart. It looked like a war zone. Posters of Fidel were occasionally posted along the route, in Spanish, saying Fidel is with us still. There was
garbage strewn along the entire route. The main city of Havana had some beautiful old Spanish type architecture buildings, but were in need of paint
and repair. They all looked closed. My room was $150 for the night, and it had mold in the ceiling and the toilet was leaking around the base. I sat
down in the Hotel Lobby, and asked for a menu. Everyone around me seemed to be talking Russian. There was of course the Cuban sandwich, which was
lousy. The cheese was stinky and old, and there was a slice of tasteless pork and ham. This was a heart attack sandwich. However, their brand of
Diet Coke was actually quite good!! I could not eat the sandwich. I went to my room took a nap, and about 10 pm wandered across the street to
another hotel, which was $700 dollars a night. I sat in the lobby and had to buy a card for $5 (each Cuban dollar is approximately .85 American) to
use the Wifi for an hour. Wifi is not widely available in Cuba. The hotel lobby was beautiful, and there was a very handsome Cuban security guard in
a nice suit in the lobby. A man walked in with a very pretty woman, and the security guard told him the woman was not allowed in the hotel. I
couldn't believe it, at $700 a night and he couldn't even bring a woman to his room!! I then left the lobby and went to a restaurant. I asked what
they had for dinner. $25 Cuban dollars for pork chops. They were huge and grilled nicely, but had no flavor. The rice and beans were extra, about
$5 an order each. I ordered my Cuban diet coke which I really liked. There was a movie on the screen projector black and white which had a movie
about 50 years old about an old man being beat up. I couldn't believe a nice restaurant would be showing such a movie. I went back to my room and
turned on the TV which was showing Robert De Niro in a new movie which was the only redeeming event of the evening. The next morning I went to the
rooftop breakfast buffet, which was very nice, but the view was depressing. The buildings were all horrible as far as you could see. I wondered how
the government of this country could let things get so bad. Didn't they have any pride? I met a very nice couple from Prince Edward Island Canada
while eating breakfast. They told me they went to Varadero Beach, I had also heard was beautiful. They said the service at that resort was horrible,
and the beach in Cancun was nicer. The town they said was crumbling just like Havana. They were happy I was leaving that day as they had to stay two
more days. I opted to take the bus back to the airport, which was packed like sardines. However, I must say the Cuban people are very clean which
helped in a situation so close!!! I have never been so happy to say Adios in my life. As I looked out the window, I saw the fleet of Aeroflot jets.
I joked with a man behind me going through customs before I left, and said now we are friends, Trump and Putin. He laughed!! |
