Cuba: Havana & Colonial Trinidad 
                                                                                      Feb 25 - Mar 5, 2013 (9 days / 8 nights)                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                            

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If we had to use one noun to describe Cuba, it would be Music!  Music was everywhere on street corners, in lunch and dinner restaurants, in neighborhood centers, in clubs--a delightful assortment of Afro-Cuban, jazz, folk son, rumba, salsa, classical and more.  This was the spice that flavored all our experiences here. 

Our small group was part of a people-to-people itinerary in which we had the opportunity to interact with Cubans from various walks of life. 

There were visits to various community centers---for seniors, artisans, young aspiring artists, musicians and actors.  We visited schools, interacted with students and teachers and learned about the education system.  At the literacy museum we learned how the country attained essentially a 100% literacy rate in a short amount of time.  At a clinic, the healthcare system was explained to us and we gained an understanding of why it's so effective.

We were treated to performances by ballet students, a children's theatre company, musicians at the Afro-Cuban Art Project, young guitar students, the Folkloric Ballet and the Concert Chamber Orchestra.  We learned about architecture from a professor who's a stand-out in her field and we later toured an architecture museum.

We met with young college graduates to learn their views on their country.  We were welcomed into homes where the residents explained what their day-to-day lives were like and how things are changing in Cuba. 

While the health and education systems are "first" world, the low salaries make this country third world.  There's a rationing system for some basic foods, a percentage of which can be purchased at low prices, thanks to a dual currency system.  Residents can use one currency to buy basic goods in limited quantities at very low prices.  Other items need to be purchased in the more expensive currency.

Alongside all the interactions with the locals, we toured a good portion of this island with its 11 million-plus residents.  In Havana we spent time in various neighborhoods, including Old Havana, where Cubans were engaging in their daily lives.  We saw places of business and peoples' homes.  On the street, stilt-dancers might show up for impromptu performances at any time. There were thousands of old American cars from the '40's and '50's

On the other side of the island, we spent time in the beautiful colonial towns of Trinidad and Cienfuegos.

We found happy, optimistic and proud people here.  We came to realize how important children are to this society and how much elders are respected.  Perhaps most importantly, we found a nation that cares for its own in a true sense of community.  All too soon we had to bid tearful farewells to our wonderful guide, Abel.