In 1952, Fulgencio Batista, a pro-US army sergeant, proclaimed himself dictator and, being extremely corrupt, ran Cuba for his own profit and that of the US. Many rebels opposed this, hence the Cuban Revolution began.
Los Barbudos, as the rebels came to be known, was lead by Fidel Castro, with the help of Ernst Che Guevara (pictured), an Argentian doctor who later died in 1967 after being captured and executed by Bolivian soldiers. Che has become a cult hero ever since and is iconic of the Cuban Revolution.
In 1959, Castro overthrew Batista by force, and has retained all government powers ever since.
The first thing that strikes you as you enter Havana, or Habana as it is known, are the very old, crumbling buildings and the classic American cars, some in desperate need of some TLC whilst others being proudly polished by their owners.
The second thing that strikes you is the physique of the Cuban people. Perfectly groomed, these 
people take pride in their appearance. Size-0 is not a concept here, far from it, but honed, toned and sculpted to perfection is! But it is easy to see why. Cuban's are so active. If they are not shaking their booty to the Salsa they are running around on the streets playing basketball, baseball, and not a MacDonalds or any other fast food outlet in sight...how refreshing!
Yet despite these characteristics befitting Cuba's identity, once you scratch beneath the surface you soon realise how poor and controlled Cuban`s lives really are. Despite the fact that Fidel overthrew one dictator for the "good" of the country, it seems he has become a dictator himself, having absolute control over every aspect of Cuban life, freezing Cuba into what feels like a time-warp. The only difference between himself and Batista is that he opposes all things American. If I could describe Cuba in one word, it would be "surreal". But more on this later...
Our first stop in Havana was the old town, La Habana Vieja. Currently, UNESCO are donating millions towards the restoration of this area, as Havana has become a world heritage centre, yet given the situation with the govenment, it is impossible to know how much of this money is actually being invested and how much is going straight into Fidel`s pocket! As you approach the old town you pass buildings near collapse, forgetting that some of these are actually peoples homes.
La Habana Vieja is the tourist hub of Havana and comes alive from around 11am when the day tours turn up in abundance. The main areas of interest are Plaza de San Francisco and Plaza de Armas, the latter of which is particularly pictureseque and the perfect spot for a mojito or two; live and extremely talented Cuban bands play the Cha-Cha-Cha in the bars (expect to pay a tip at every interval), Cuban women dressed in their garb perch on doorsteps, happily posing with oversized cigars for that Kodak moment (pay 1CUC to take photos), and children lark about in the lush, green garden at the centre of the Plaza.
We took a horse and cart tour of the old town (10CUC pp), not only because we wanted to travel in style to mark the start of our travels, but also as it is good way to get your bearings! Our tour guide Mike, (I can`t actually remember his name but hey, he looked like a Mike) gave us an insight into the current situation with Castro in that he believed (or maybe hoped?) that he was dead already.
On the recommendation of Mike, we ate at Balturra [Lesson #367...always ask to look at the menu first before being seated]. This was not a restaurant for the budget traveller! However, being typically British, we were too polite to get up and leave thus ate there anyway...albeit that we had to share a meal due to lack of cash (perhaps leaving would have been the less embarrassing option!).
Cuban food is notoriously 'bad', although I feel 'limited' is a more apt definition. However, much is made of the staple foods that they have, namingly chicken, rice and frijoles (black beans). Sounds unappealing but tastes good. Very, very good!
Whilst we were in Havana, we learnt the hard way how easy it is to get hustled. On our second day we were approached by a Cuban couple who seemed over friendly and over keen to show us around. "Where are you from?" they asked. "England" we replied, at which point they both saidm in unison, "Ali G...Aiiiiii". Alarm bells should have started to ring! Against our better judgement we followed them, although Steve and I both admitted after that we thought we were going to be robbed! Anyway, eventually we settled in a bar for some Mojito´s, which we had expected to pay for anyway, but the bill came to CUC 24!!! Extremely expensive considering that we were paying CUC 1.75 for a mojito the previous day!! We only had CUC 11 so left a pair of cheap sunglasses on the pretence that we would return with the remainder of the money. Of course we never did! Whilst in the bar the couple also tried to ask us for money to buy food for their children. The woman even claimed she was pregnant, despite smoking and drinking at 9.30 in the morning! This couple blatantly were not poor, evidently by their clothes and copious amount of bling!
That same afternoon we were approached by a second couple, over eager to make conversation. "Where are you from?" they asked and then, almost predictably, in perfectly rehearsed unison, they quipped, "Ali G....Aiiii".
Some Cubans genuinely do want to talk and take a genuine interest in you, however, most Cuban's do not expect something for nothing. Any help or kind gesture on their part warrants financial reward, and some can become rude and aggressive when you fail to meet their demands. All the hassle became tiresome after a while and, by day 3, I couldn't wait to leave! Two days in Havana is plenty!
We hired a car to drive to Trinidad....this was certainly an experience! Signposts are few and far between and what is sign posted tends not to be on the map! After eventually finding a road which could have passed for a motorway and which we were hoping to be the autopiste, we drove for around 2 hours only to end up......the other side of Havana! We didn´t know whether to laugh or cry! So we went back to where we started and in the end admitted defeat. Eventually a fluent English speaking Cuban appeared from nowhere and offered to show us the way...by jumping in our car. We were a bit dubious at first but Steve had been driving in circles for so long we were past caring. The guy was actually very helpful and it was lucky he was there to help as the autopiste was 20km away and not sign posted. We gave him some money and he hitch-hiked back, which all Cuban´s do, even school children. Can you imagine hitch-hiking in England?!?
The best way to describe the Autopiste is this...picture the M25, minus any traffic, a distinct lack of road signs, with huge pot holes, cows grazing casually on the central reservation, hitch-hikers in abundance and random cyclists where there are no towns for miles!
After 7 hours or so driving we eventually made it to Trinidad which was well worth the wait! We stayed at Hotel Finca Ma Dolores, a site of pristine cabanas set in lush banana and mango groves, almost resembling a farm with farmyard animals skulking around and cockerals waking us up at the crack of dawn.
Trinidad town is the most surreal place ever. A medieval town with laws to protect conservation, Trinidad is extremely pictureseque in an 'olde-worlde' way, with cobbled streets and the horse the most common form of transport! The people are very friendly, much more so than in Havana.
Whilst in Trinidad, we took a drive down to Playa Ancon and had a swim in the beautifully warm waters of the Caribbean - life doesnt get any better! After Trinidad we then drove up to Jibacoa, which again became a mission as again there were very few signs, so more a case of trial and error...with more of the latter!
As mentioned previously, Cuba is stuck in time. A supermarket is not how we know a supermarket to be, but merely a small room selling twenty or so of the most basic, staple items; almost like a war-time store selling rations. An uncomfortable silence can be felt if any questions are raised regarding Castro, almost as if sworn to secrecy and their lives depend on it! I sensed that Havana in particular was more anti-Fidel, whilst the south was more pro, undoubtedly due to the excessive amount of propaganda forced down their necks (noteably by the vast quantities of anti-US propaganda on the billboards the further south you drive). In fact, thoroughout the whole of Cuba there is no advertising, only propaganda and brand Castro!. You can almost feel the frustration and resentment of the people as they try to make ends meet, little wonder that they will try anything to earn some extra cash.
The "official" currency is the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) which is allegedly equivalent to $1US, however, is really equivalent to about $0.80 due to the commission you are charged on the dollar. Due to this currency, Cuba is particularly expensive for tourists. In fact, the CUC is the tourist currency! The real Cuban currency, or the national currency, is the non-convertible peso, with 1CUC equivalent to 25 national peso! All prices published on menus, in shops etc are actually the national currency but naturally, as tourists, we pay with the currency we have been given...25 times more than the actual value!
Steve and I stayed in the Saratoga whilst in Havana and The Breezes, Jibacoa, hardly the backpackers experience but purely as Steve got agents rates due to working within the industry. However, now that I have a better understanding of the situation in Cuba, I would not do this again out of principal. The Cuban government owns the vast majority of hotels in Cuba, including car hire. On those Cuban's who work in the hotels are allowed on the premises, everyone else prohibited. Imagine being treated second-class to tourists, in your own country! If I was to revisit Cuba again I would stay with a family or in a Casa Particulares, a private home with lodgings, with all money going direct to the families. THis was a tax free, private enterprise initiative introduced by Castro, however, rumour has it that since 2004, the government has been trying to force theses to close due to loss of revenue.
Cuba is an extremely repressed nation living under the toughest dictatorship. Fidel's obsession with the US has cost his country the chance to progress and move forward, ironic considering his oppostion of the US was to protect Cuba. Cuban's are some of the most talented singers, dancers and athletes (noteably boxers) in the world, however, they cannot leave to develop their career. If they do, they are treated as Cuban exiles, only allowed to return to Cuba once every 3 years. As Cuban´s have strong family values, this is a huge sacrifice to make.
Who knows what the future holds for Cuba but, with Castro´s eventual demise, I hope, for the sake of all future generations, that things can only get better.
[Photos: 1 - Che Guevara, icon of the Cuban Revolution; 2 - Sign in Havana; 3 - Trinidad, Cuba; 4 - Playa Ancon near Trinidad]
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