Travel > Articles

Why travel to Cuba

By: David Stanley
To read more travel articles, visit http://travel.fyicenter.com/

Why travel to Cuba?

Why travel to Cuba? While that question might provoke a smile on the face of anyone who has actually visited the country in recent years, it is a country about which many people have only limited information, and much of that misleading or out of date. My first visit to Cuba was in 1975, followed by a period of working in resorts there in the late 1970s. My most recent visit to the country was in 2004. This article offers ten reasons to consider traveling to Cuba now.

Cuba is unlike any place you've ever been before. The intermingling of European and African peoples and cultures has made Cuba innovative, be it in music, art, politics, or religion. The attributes of traditional West African deities have been superimposed on Catholic saints to create a new religion, santería or Cuban voodoo. Cuba is a world of its own.

In Cuba you have a unique chance to relive 20th century history. Walk along any Cuban street and you'll feel you're back in the 1950s as long-tailed Chevys and Buicks glide past. Glance at the billboards extolling the revolution or note the many busy schools and clinics and you'll see socialism in action. Cuba is the last true Communist country outside of Asia.

Cuba's museums and art galleries offer a rich feast of Spanish colonial art and architecture. The contemporary art of the revolution is striking, but it is those old palaces, churches, and cobblestone streets that attract visitors the most. Havana is ringed by powerful Spanish colonial fortresses, most of them well preserved and open to the public. Havana is the largest and most remarkable city in the Caribbean. The Plaza de la Catedral dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, while the Paseo del Prado is a classical 19th century Spanish promenade. In the hotel district of Vedado, it's the 1950s all over again. Plaza de la Revolución is the heart of Fidel Castro's Cuba. The ambience of Cuba's second city, Santiago, is comparable.

Havana is the largest and most remarkable city in the Caribbean. The Plaza de la Catedral dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, while the Paseo del Prado is a classical 19th century Spanish promenade. In the hotel district of Vedado, it's the 1950s all over again. Plaza de la Revolución is the heart of Fidel Castro's Cuba. The ambience of Cuba's second city, Santiago, is comparable.

Aside from Havana, the Spanish left a string of charming colonial towns along the length of the island. Of these the unquestioned jewel is Trinidad, unchanged in over a century. Many of Trinidad's stately colonial mansions have been converted into guesthouses or museums, and the music in the town's nightspots will move your feet.

The Cubans are world-class baseball players and boxers. Yet for active vacationers, the sports of choice are snorkelling, hiking and scuba diving, be it a dive on a black coral wall at Maria la Gorda or a hike across the Sierra Maestra via Cuba's highest peak.

The Caribbean island of Isla de la Juventud to the south of Havana is Cuba in miniature. Here both the national hero Jose Marti and Cuba's president Fidel Castro spent periods in exile. It is a largely agricultural island with secondary boarding schools built by the revolution dotting the countryside.

Cuba's culture is rich, especially the delightful musical melange of African rhythms and Spanish melodies. You'll be enveloped in a salsa beat that is truly Cuban. The country's film industry is also first class, and movies like Guantanamera and La Vida es Silbar convey Cuba's atmosphere with unexpected brilliance. Graphic art is everywhere.

Cuba is a good place to acquire new skills. Students of all ages are welcome in the Spanish language classes offered at most universities. More informally, private Spanish tutors can be hired, though you'll need to bring your own dictionary and textbooks. Many visitors arrange dancing lessons at cultural centers or even in nightclubs, and painting, engraving, and drumming can be studied here.

Cuba is one of the safest places in the world to visit and inexpensive for the Caribbean [though rather expensive for Latin America]. Tourism is Cuba's largest source of income and foreign visitors are carefully sheltered from all evil, perhaps sheltered too much. The experienced traveler will find it easy to escape the resorts, and the Cuban people are sincerely friendly. It only takes one visit to realize that.

Source: http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/Cuba.htm


Other Resource

... to read more travel articles, visit http://travel.fyicenter.com/article/

Time Zones and World ClockTime Zones and World Clock - Current local date and time of world's major cities and time zone information.

Top Travel Deals - Hand-selected top travel deals available from the Hotwire Group's Travel Ticker service.

Travel Hotspots - Best places in the world to visit: Hawaii, Rome, Paris...

Travel Articles - Collection of travel articles, guides, and tips.

Currency Converter and Exchange RatesCurrency Exchanges - Free currency converter using latest foreign exchange (forex) market rates.

Countries of the World - Currencies, time zones and phone codes of all countries and territories.

Travel Photo GalleryTravel Photo Gallery - photographs taken on travels to most beautiful places around the world like Grand Canyon, Hawaii.

Copyright © 2011 FYIcenter.com. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: The FYIcenter travel team maintains this website to provide you general travel information. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. However FYIcenter.com accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information on this site.