TRAVEL
Terry recalls his Cuba travels
By Terence
Willey
L
ying south of
the tropic of
Cancer, Cuba
is the largest of the
Caribbean Islands
and enjoying the waters of the Gulf of
Mexico on one side and the Caribbean
on the other. Its history is formidable
and was first inhabited pre-Columbian
times and was later conquered by the
Spanish who ruled the Country for
four centuries until the Island gained
independence in 1899, thereafter
coming under the control of the USA
with the help of dictators Machado and
Batista. Revolution followed headed
by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara who
defeated Batista on the January 1, 1959,
which effectively was a turning point for
the country.
This changed the politics for Cuba
with major results and the Island finally
emerged from decades of isolation.
It is this very political isolation that
prevented a tourist flood and with the
Americans still unable to visit the Island
represented an element of intrigue
and fascination for my family and I to
explore.
The capital of Havana would for
most people represent the natural
destination but having researched
the country more fully it seemed a
more exciting prospect to travel to the
far south and in an area where cars
and particularly old Cadillac’s were
replaced by horses and carts.
Our flight from London first took
us to Havana for a ‘drop off ’ and then
onwards to Holguin over 400 miles to
the south. I recall that during the flight
between the two destinations a Cornish
cream tea was delivered on board to
perhaps remind us that what was to
follow was to be far from English!
Holguin was an interesting airport and
clear to observe that it was controlled
by the Cuban Military. I learnt to my
peril that a small error in completing
my immigration card was to cost me
50 dollars for a duplicate! Our planned
stay was to be in Guardalavaca some
35 miles to the east of Holguin. As we
travelled through the countryside it was
clear to see that it was rugged, unspoilt,
quite hilly and with a definite feeling of
remoteness.
The hotel was very isolated but very
extravagant and had been funded by
the Spanish covering several hundreds
of acres including their own horse
riding stables. It did not take us long to
appreciate that Cuba offered the most
warm and friendly of people who were
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