How we found ourselves travelling to Cuba

It all started one evening in early December.  My husband and I were having dinner and discussing the events of the day.  He casually mentioned “ I had an opportunity come in my e-mail today to go to Cuba but I dismissed it since we’re going on a big trip to Peru later in the year.  Didn’t think we could do two trips. Just thought I should mention it though.”  “You did what?” I asked!   “Tell me more.  Send me the e-mail.”  He did and by the next day we were booked.  We felt this was an opportunity that would truly be once in a lifetime. Americans still weren’t in Cuba in large numbers.  We felt that either the restrictions will be put back in place or Americans will help to bring about enough change that it will no longer truly be Cuba – Starbucks may arrive.  This was something we had to do.

We would be travelling on a people to people exchange with the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association.  Travel restrictions from the U.S. to Cuba still require an American citizen to qualify for travel under twelve purposes – ours was the people to people exchange which falls into an educational program. Our trip was being arranged with Carlson Maritime Travel.  This company was one of the first to start travelling to Cuba once Americans were legally allowed to go there so we felt very comfortable.  Carlson would secure our visas, airfare, accommodations, and itinerary.

We waited patiently to learn when we could book our flights to and from Florida.  Everything was on hold until our return charter information from Cuba was known.  It seemed like that was a long time coming as we were ready to secure airfare. Once we had that information we could book airfare to Tampa.  We were sent a folder with our itinerary, visas, and necessary travel documents.  We were given regular updates on our trip via e-mail.  This was clearly going to be a well planned trip.  And most importantly we were continually told to be prepared for changes.  We were advised travelling to Cuba meant you must be ready to adjust to change.

I was surprised by the responses I received when I told people we would be travelling to Cuba.  One person asked, “Why would you go there?”  Several people seemed genuinely concerned for our safety.  I think in reality they were thinking we had lost our minds and if they were lucky we might turn up on the evening news in an international hostage situation.  And then there were those people who thought like us and were excited that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, a great living history lesson, or a place they had always dreamed of visiting but believed Americans would never have the opportunity to go to legally again.

Everything I read about Cuba talked about how safe it is as a destination.  I really was not concerned about my safety travelling there until people behaved as though I should be.  My reply seemed to become, “I feel safer travelling to Cuba than I do about my daughter travelling to Paris and Brussels this summer!”  But I don’t think it would be fair to say there were no nerves about the trip.  I think nervous anticipation of the unknown might have described the occasional feeling.  When I was a child communism was the huge fear in my world.  I had signed up for a pen pal service and desperately wanted a pen pal from Russia.  I didn’t understand why I couldn’t have that wish granted.  I did know that my fear was of some unknown soldier in our country or theirs pushing a button that would effectively end the world for all of us.  In 1980 I was on a Caribbean cruise with my parents.  We were caught in Hurricane Allen, which was a class 5 hurricane.  The crew was doing all they could to keep us safe.  Our trip was rerouted and some ports cancelled due to islands being damaged by the hurricane.  During the worst night of the storm at sea we were forced to dock one mile off the coast of Cuba in an effort to hide from the dangerous sea.  I remember my parents and many others on the ship being seemingly more frightened by our proximity to Cuba than by the crashing waves and high winds tossing us around that night.  They really did not breathe easy until they knew we were leaving the precarious safety of the Cuban coast.  So how cool to think that I would now be facing down this childhood demon of communism.

I hope you find my next posts enlightening.  I tried to journal our daily activities while we were there and that is what I will be sharing with you.  Whenever I travel abroad experiencing culture is such a large part of my enjoyment.  This trip was different though. I think culture was the primary thing I learned from this experience.  And I don’t know how to adequately share it.  One of the women on the trip with us commented in line at the airport in Florida that she felt this would be a difficult trip to share because she believed it was going to be something that had to be experienced.  And I believe she was right.  I imagine if you spoke to anyone in our group we probably each came away with something slightly different but many things that are the same.  I will tell you I am more grateful than ever that I do not live in a communist country.  And I know I was shown the beauty of the country and not the complete truth.  I have been asked if I would go back.  Absolutely.  There is still so much I didn’t get to see and experience and so much I want to learn about Cuba and her people.  I don’t know what the future has in store for Cuba.  I will touch in my journal entries on things she needs, desperately.  But how do you bring about the sweeping changes necessary after 50 years of communist rule without collapsing?  But how do you not bring about change without eventual collapse?  There are no easy answers for Cuba’s future.  But for now I will say the beauty of the past is evident in Cuba’s present.  There is beauty there now as well but so much work to be done.

I hope you enjoy my journal.