Cuba, a journey through time. Scattered impressions, part two

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:00:42 +0000

Maria la Gorda - Photo by Simona Forti

Thinking that Cuba can be covered in just two articles is absolutely impossible, but in this second “instalment” I will try to give you all those useful tips for planning your first trip to “Monkey Island”. Yes, because Cuba is practically Monkey Island, the game that accompanied the adolescence of so many of us! :-) As I mentioned in the previous post, it is important to plan your trip well; to decide what kind of itinerary to follow, which cities to visit, and above all how much time you have. To truly experience Cuba the best way is to rent a car. Don’t expect, however, to find yourself on comfortable paved roads ready to take you around the whole island in two weeks. Cuba has this great problem: it essentially has only two “roads” that can more or less be called such — the Autopista Nacional and the Carretera Central. The Autopista Nacional is the motorway, though not quite what we understand by the term. There are no tolls to pay; don’t expect large service stations or rest areas. It is simply a large two-lane road that crosses the island from West to East, from Pinar del Río all the way to Sancti Spíritus, passing through Havana. Together with the Carretera Central it is in the best condition for travelling. But the peculiarity of the Autopista lies in what you may encounter along the way. Street vendors of mango paste or guayaba on foot between the two carriageways; horse-drawn carts crossing from one direction to the other, simply passing over the Autopista with all the unhurried calm that characterises this island; groups of people standing under bridges waiting for “people-carrier” trucks to take them to the cities; farmers driving their animals to pasture.

Cuba, a journey through time. Scattered impressions, part one

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:24:36 +0000

During my travels in Cuba I always kept a diary of everything I saw and experienced, with the intention of writing about it on the blog.

But condensing into a few posts everything that Marcello and I lived through on two long trips is practically impossible; which is why a small ebook has been in the works for some time, which sooner or later I will finish and publish :)

Cuban Flag - Photo by Simona Forti

Cuba is an island that lets itself be loved. It captivates you completely but allows no middle ground; there are no great compromises. And it is not the way it is portrayed on television or in the papers: all salsa and cuba libre. It is so much more. It is like travelling back in time, where time in reality does not exist. It is as though it had stopped at some “space-time intersection” of parallel universes. You cannot discover it through a tourist guide: you have to live it. However many books you may read about Cuba, they will never be able to make you fully understand its richness. I am obviously starting from the assumption that you have no intention of doing the classic resort-only holiday with sad little souvenir shops. For that there is Varadero, for instance, but know that it has nothing to do with what Cuba really is. It is a country that knows how to enchant with its beaches, its music, its enormously lush nature, its mountains, its breathtaking sunsets, but above all with its people. Tireless inventors, always smiling and helpful. A people capable of conjuring the most absurd riquimbili to take you around the city.

Cuba on nhaima

Cuba, a journey through time. Scattered impressions, part two

Cuba, a journey through time. Scattered impressions, part one