I, too, have visited Cuba in 2001- till then Id been in a time warp, as it seemed to me, following the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a curtain had descended upon Cuba, and our only source of news about it was through the rather jaundiced eyes of those Miamians who had money to flee the country. I was on a 3 week, 300 mile bike ride around el corazon de Cuba (the heartland of the island) and had no expectations of what Id find and was completely and pleasantly delighted with the situation that I experienced- very friendly people who loved us yanks; universal long distance education for all children; an income level quite similar to folks on other Caribbean islands; music everywhere; no uniformed soldiers or police; an excellent work ethic; and cruise ships from every country except the U.S. in the harbors. The island produces all its own food; has oil derricks to produce its own petroleum products; and produces 1/4 of the worlds sugar- exported through the city of Matanzos. At the time I went, it was necessary to have a reason to go there, so ours was educational and we brought cartons of school supplies, which we distributed to rural schools as we traveled around. My great learning from this, as has happened so many times in my life, was not to rely upon the U.S. doctrinaire b.s., but to experience the situation myself, and to get an objective view of what that situation actually is!!
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 22:02:21 +0000
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