3/25 - final thoughts

I've been home for a week now and getting ready for my next trip. In a couple of days I got to Ft. Worth for a conference and a visit with Bob (my best man and grad school buddy) and Carol, and then on to Provo for a visit with Cardell (an office-mate at Central Michigan) and Rosanne (one of my Michigan moms). The next bike trip is to Greece in June.

I suggested this trip to Cuba and I am not sure it would have been Mike and Walter's first choices. I am not disappointed that I lobbied for this destination. It is by far the most interesting trip I have been on, even if it may not have been at the top of the list on the typical metrics (food, cycling, creature comforts). I was fine with that and I think most people who select a trip to Cuba recognize that too.

For me, the opportunities to interact with Cubans, both official (our tour guides) and unofficial were the highlight of the trip. Sure, the cycling was good (and challenging!) and the food interesting even if not Michelin-ranked. I am glad I have the most elementary command of Spanish, just enough to make a fool of myself. I think that opens many doors and I can now embarrass myself in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Croatian. And of course, Mandarin and Cantonese.

I had a few moments of interacting with everyday Cubans that usually went like this: someone (usually one or more kids) would yell "hola". If we were on bikes, I would yell "hola" back. 

Since we had racks and gear bags on our bikes, I usually had small packages of trail mix or granola bars with me, and on day 6, I passed a small rural elementary school (not the one where we stopped), and since I was not trying to keep up with anyone, I stopped and turned around. The kids were amazed that they could actually produce results like getting an adult cyclist to stop and pay attention to them, and they were pretty excited. I asked them where their teacher was and I wanted to speak with her. (They giggled, probably because my Spanish was so bad.) A young 20-something came out and looked at me suspiciously. I asked her if it was OK to give these to her students and when I handed three bags of trail mix to her, the kids knew immediately that it was something for them and I got a lot of "gracias". I probably made the next five minutes of that teacher's life a little more chaotic than her original lesson plan.

Another moment came when the three of us we were walking in Havana. Three high-school age girls (on the right in the picture below) said "chino" (Chinese) in a stage whisper as we walked by. I stopped and explained that I was from the United States and my mother and my father's father were from China. I didn't have the vocabulary to continue the conversation any further.

I documented another example in my post for Day 8 when I had a conversation with the Psychology student at the University of Havana. We started in Spanish and he mercifully switched to very good English. 

There were others, but these were the most memorable.

During our last dinner, one of the other BRers suggested we go around the table and note the high points and low points. Most of the comments for high points focused on specific meals or activities like the ride in the classic cars. I talked about stopping at the school and chatting with the kids. 

In 2023, travelers to Cuba need to choose one of a half dozen or so pre-defined reasons for visiting in order to get a visa. BR calls the trip "cultural exchange". These interactions, while not likely to produce major social change or changes in foreign policy, exemplify what I think BR and the Cuban government are hoping for. 

I do like Rick Steves' approach to travel in general and I especially like his take on travel to Cuba and a few other non-European destinations. He tries to walk the fine line between pointing out the political and economic policies of first-world countries that make travel to certain destinations what it is and not alienating his white, upper-middle class base. I think he does a good job of it.

Here's a video of his lecture about his trip to Cuba. I watched this video before our trip and I watched it again this week after coming home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GYOUawe5wg&ab_channel=RickStevesTravelTalks

OK - I think I'm done!

Just kidding! Adria sent us an email today with a picture of the whole group at a rest stop before one kids (Max) had to leave for a family emergency.

He also included a lot of links to some of the groups we met during the trip. I will embed them in the appropriate posts as well as list them below.

El Cuajaní (Chef José Luis) - Day 1 delicious lunch

World Central Kitchen - The NGO founded by the Spanish chef José Andrés that helped El Cuajaní to provide 300 meals per day after the Hurricane Ian

Finca Agroecógica Paraiso (Rachel and Wilfredo) - Day 1 hearty and bottomless dinner!

Cuban Masters!! Elier and José Ramón (Ramoncito) triatletadjose@gmail.com

Fusterlandia - Colorful art/community project in Jaimanitas neighborhood 

Marc Frank - Our journalist friend who shared his insight about Cuba reality. 

Author of "Cuban Revelations":

Habana Compás Dance - Percussion and dance group, fusion of African and flamenco rhythms: 

Eduardo Cordova Reyes (Musical Director and Percussionist): 

OK - now I really think I'm done. 

Thanks for reading!

 


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