Chat Transcripts from Travel & Leisure
THE HEART AND SOUL OF CUBA
A Chat with Heidi Sherman, Associate Editor of Travel + Leisure Magazine, September 26, 2000
TL_Host: Our topic
for today's TravelandLeisure.com chat is Cuba. We're here with
Heidi
Sherman, Associate Editor of Travel + Leisure
magazine. Thanks for joining us Heidi
Sherman!
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Good to be here!
TL_Host: We'll jump right into the questions.
grandmoskin57
asks: How did you get to Cuba as an American?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: I went twice. The first
time I went through Cancun, though you can go
just as easily through Mexico City. Once
there, you purchase a ticket with U.S. dollars or credit
cards for your flight on to Havana. The
second time I went through Jamaica leaving from New
York. That was great because they could
check our luggage right through to Havana. Funny,
since it's not really that legal to go
to Cuba in the first place.
TL_Host: Did you
have any problems getting back because of your passport?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: The Cuban government
recognizes that 300,000 Americans visit their
country every year. So they're smart enough
to stamp a separate piece of paper with the entry
and exit visa. When you get back into the
States, you never know -- I was questioned at length
about where I'd been, but I just said I
was in Montego Bay for 10 days and that's what my
baggage tags said (although they'd been
checked from Havana.)
lynnettemay asks:
What is the food like? What were your favorite local specialties?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Surprisingly although
it's an island, the food isn't spicy or fishy.
Actually, both me and my travelling partner
lost a bit of weight both times. Mostly the food is
cod and some french fries. Remember that
food is rationed, so you have to eat at state-run
eateries, or at someone's house with any
extra food they've gotten their hands on. However that
can mean delicious, fresh and cheap lobster!
Mostly, though, the food is nothing terribly like
what we eat at Cuban restaurants in the
states.
TL_Host: How expensive
is the fresh seafood?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Food is incredibly pricey,
since it's all government regulated. Shrimp is
$6, lobster is $30, which is even expensive
by US standards.
TL_Host: Interesting...
I thought it would be inexpensive.
TL_Heidi_Sherman: If you eat at a paladare
- someone's home with a legal restaurant then it's
much cheaper - about $10 for three courses,
including shrimp or lobster sometimes. It's also
better cooking and company to eat at someone's
home paladare.
brisketnyou asks:
Can you visit the old colonial plantations? Have any of them been
turned into hotels?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Sure. A few have become
government-run hotels and some are run by
foreign companies. There is a fantastic
one in in Vinales, Hotel Las Jasmines. The view of the
valley is breathtaking and you get balconies
with your $60 night rooms.
honey_crash asks:
Have you seen the Buena Vista Social Club- do you think it will
inspire travel to Cuba?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: The film came out a while
age ago and it has increased awareness of art
in Cuba. However, the buzz of the film
has died down considerably; still, there has to be
something to account for the increase in
Americans going to Cuba. One statistic said that it
increased 28% in the last year.
meltansheer asks:
Can you use credit cards in Cuba? How hard is it to exchange
money?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: You can only use a credit
card if it's issued by a non-American bank.
You cannot get cash from anywhere - no
ATMs, no Western Union, no credit cards, no cash
advances. If you lose your money, or run
out you either have to get on the next flight out or you
have to find someone in Canada to wire
you money. It makes it difficult, but some see that as an
adventure.
When I left Cuba
the first time, I had $6 left and that was after maxing out my
companion's
Scottish credit card and after spending
our $2000 in 10 days. The whole trip, including airfare,
was $3500 for two people for 10 days. But
we did rent a car, which is incredibly expensive --
about $75 per day and gas ain't cheap.
harmonia70 asks:
What's the best way to get around Cuba? Is it hard to rent a car?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Renting a car is a great
way to cover a lot of ground. It's pricey, but
public transportation barely exists. You'll
find yourself picking up hitchhikers along the way and
that makes for a fun and unique travel
experience. The first time I went, I rented a car and we met
wonderful people and were singing Cuban
songs en route to Trinidad.
The second time,
we didn't cover as much ground but we stayed in places for longer
periods and
got to meet the locals that way. We hired
cabbies to take us from point A to B, or met other
travelers with a car. Now you can rent
the old cars from the 50s, which is really cool. You
couldn't do that a year ago. The company
is called Grancar. They're the real deal - from the 50s
and not restored, just maintained. We rented
a Japanese car, though. More reliable.
Navarrete7 asks:
Why do you visit a communist dictatorship that does not even allow
their own people basic human liberties?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: A lot of people have
that reaction and it's certainly valid. I think that Cuba
gets a lot of bad press, and having visited
it twice, and met people who love and hate the Castro
regime, I really feel it's worth visiting.
From what I saw, human rights were not as badly violated
as they are even here in America in many
ways. Sure, they are not really allowed to speak against
the government, but everyone has education,
health care, food and shelter. Everyone works.
Farmers get to keep whatever surplus they
have. Before, under colonial rule and after the rural
folks were basically indentured servants.
Of course, I'm
not Cuban, so my view is from what I saw and learned from people
I met. Others
certainly have differing opinions. But
one cowboy/farmer I met in Vinales was very happy to be
able to work on the land that used to be
owned by big plantations, and he was proud to be
supplying his countrymen with food. Granted,
he didn't live in a palace, but he seemed to like his
life better than before. He was about 70
years old.
TL_Host: Did you
ever feel that Cuba was unsafe for you as an American?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: I was worried before
I went, but because everything is rationed it would
seem that crime is almost non-existent.
I expected the opposite, but I guess if someone stole my
CD player, it would be pretty obvious to
their neighbors - and you get points with el Jefe for
reporting misconduct. All in all, nothing
ever happened to me or anyone I know who went there.
prehellni asks:
Is Cuba really all that different than Puerto Rico or the Dominican
Republic?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Cuba is different from
everywhere else on earth. It has no McDonald's,
there's no Hollywood influence, it's not
American at all. These days, we're so global, you can get
a Big Mac at the Coliseum in Rome. Not
so in Cuba. You can't even buy a Gloria Estefan album
there.
malodorant2000
asks: Are there any relics in Havana relating to Desi Arnaz or
any
other of my favorite Cuban performers:
Andy Garcia, Gloria Estefan, etc. etc. etc.?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Funny you ask. Actually,
those people are Cuban-Americans. I don't
even know if people there know who Andy
Garcia is. I didn't see any relics, for sure. But I think
that Castro would be reluctant to allow
such idolatry of those who chose to leave, rather than
stay.
carolynkizer asks:
Is it possible to visit Elian Gonzalez over there?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: While I was there last,
Elian was returned home. So I thought it would be
fun to go to Miramar, where he's from and
see if I could see him. No go. There were military
men on every corner for a ten block radius
around his home. I think the government is trying to
bring him back into normal society there,
so no reporters - either foreign or Cuban - have access
to him. And, so you know, there is news
there of the propaganda sort, though CNN now has a
bureau in the Havana Libre hotel in Havana.
so real news does come out of Cuba, not just what
the government says.
ozlike_likian
asks: What's the nightlife like in Havana?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Music is pouring out
of every door it's so festive. You can walk down the
Calle Obispo in Havana and see live music
in every bar. Outside, near Miramar suburb, you can
go to the famous Tropicana. It's expensive,
but worth it. It's like going to one of those shows in
Vegas that you'd think Desi and Lucy would
perform at. 200-plus dancers in full feather regalia.
under the stars.
rosettblu asks:
Any good seaside resort towns that you'd recommend? Have you been
to
Bayamo?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Caya Coco is absolutely
incredible, if you can stand the mosquitoes.
Private, quiet from there you can drive
to Caya Guillermo which is even more spectacular though
there's no accommodations there. Pure,
ice-blue waters. No tourists, no waves. And you can see
out to some of the other 4000 islands.
You can even swim to one Caya Levisa is also amazing,
and we had lovely huts with TVs right on
the sand. A great guy brought us lunch everyday, and
you could go scuba diving there. If the
casitas are full, though, you've got to leave which makes
the adventure more exciting. It's never
full, anyway! Very romantic at $60 night.
suicido2000 asks:
Are people really hungry there and if so, are there many street
beggars?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Not that I saw. I only
encountered about 3 beggars. But it is quite sad,
since once you've been labeled a dissident,
you cannot get a job, and no one wants to be
associated with you so then you must resort
to begging. We met a fantastic, educated couple in
Havana who had lost their jobs for speaking
against the regime. They weren't begging, but they
would take us to restaurants and then get
some sort of commission for bringing us there. That
seems to be what a lot of people resort
to, and they make a meager, though livable income form
that of course, we also gave them some
money, but I would not call this couple beggars. They
were resourceful.
Navarrete7 asks:
Cuba is a very beautiful country but Fidel Castro is a murderer.
I am
a Cuban born and breed, I thank this country
for giving me the opportunity to have
freedom. In Cuba we all live like slaves,
not even my own child belongs to me under
Castro's system. They belong to the revolution.
What do you say about that? Why do
you support it?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: I don't support the regime.
However, I happen to know that with more
Americans and other foreigners visiting,
more information is out there for Cubans. They see
how the other side lives, and perhaps that
might invoke some sort of uprising. There is no access
to the internet or to free news there,
so Cubans only get information from the government. I
think it's horrible that it's so impoverished,
but I think so much of that is because of our
American policies. Open up Cuba, and more
tourists will go. Castro has nothing to do but give
his people freedom. He cannot ignore all
the things that his countryfolk see and hear and learn
support the government.
guidonatzo asks:
What are good gifts to bring home from Cuba, or are you allowed
to
bring anything?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: If you are going legally
(through an educational or humanitarian
organization) than you can bring back up
to $100 worth of goods. However, that does not
include Cigars. Sorry, Chuck. I would say
that there is nothing really to bring back, except some
Havana Club rum, or a T-shirt, or maybe
some old photos. They take photos on the plaza in
front of the capitol building in Havana
with those old Kodak cameras from the turn of the
century. They come out quite beautifully,
and you look like a time-traveler, not just an illegal
visitor!
kfoiler asks:
What are some interesting places to visit outside of Havana?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: If you go for more than
three days, try to visit Trinidad, which is a
UNESCO historical site. It's a perfectly
preserved colonial town. Vinales is about as pretty as a
place gets, in the Pinare del Rio state.
Veradero, though not my favorite beach, has nice history,
since Al Capone and other famous Americans
used to party it up there in the 50s. Cienfuegos
and Santiago are also wonderful.
TL_Host: Heidi,
what are you planning for your next trip to Cuba?
TL_Heidi_Sherman: Next time, I'd like to
go with a human rights organization or some sort of
educational group. As one chatter mentioned,
there are problems with the country, and it would
be best for me to travel with more knowledge
of the place I'm visiting.
TL_Host: Thank you chatting with us today, Heidi
TL_Heidi_Sherman:
Thanks, it was fun. Your questions were intriguing.
Copyright ©
American Express Company. All Rights Reserved. Users of this site
agree to
be bound by the terms of the American Express
Web Site Rules and Regulations. View Web
Site Rules and Regulations and trademarks
and privacy statement of American Express
Publishing.