Viva Cuba

October-November 2002

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Jacqueline Goldsby

Beach near Holguin, Holguin Province. Photo: Jacqueline Robinson

Cuba - the name conjures up so many images to so many people. Congas, rumbas, salsa, laughter, Fidel, beaches, reefs, islands, history and passion, to name a few. Sea kayaking may not be the first image to occur to you, but Cuba is also an ideal kayaking destination.

Arrivals in Cuba seem to be fraught with bureaucratic regulations carried out by uniformed men and women who take themselves too seriously. However, the dogs that sniff your bags are cocker spaniels and there are four older men playing Guantanamera with flowers around their necks just on the other side of the barrier. Just give your story straight and you and your kayak are in.

Officially you have entered, let the unofficialdom begin! On the 30 minute taxi ride from the airport to the city of Havana, you will start to notice the contrasts. There you are in your '90s Lada, grey vinyl seats, air-conditioning, uniformed driver and his foreign cologne. Up beside you pulls a turquoise '57 Chevy with all the windows down and a carfull of Cubans on their way to play music on the Malecon.

This crumbling, freeway-sized lovers' lane leads you past the pounding Gulf of Mexico to the Old Havana harbour. Here there are cobblestone streets, Cuban music (a fruitful marriage of African and Spanish traditions), renovated 15th century architecture at every corner, a church where Christopher Columbus is said to be buried, and in the courtyard, an old black woman dressed in the garb of a Santerian priestess puffing away on a Cohiba.

In Havana you will meet people from all over the country, and they are all proud and confident in telling you that the islands and cayes in their province would offer the best kayaking destination.

And there are lots of islands to choose from in Cuba, approximately 1,600 of them. So let's fantasize for a moment. The Archipelago de los Canarreos is a good place to start as it is on the south side of the big island, making these waters somewhat protected from the northerly winds.

Picture an early morning flight taking you to Cayo Largo where your modern jet might be followed in by an elderly biplane. This easternmost island of the archipelago barely clears the surface of the emerald sea with its gleaming white sands and royal palms. It's a resort destination where international flights land direct from Europe and pale, white-skinned people cross paths briefly with their beach-tanned brethren. But you're looking for the marina and a mothership sailing vessel harboured here among yachts from all over the world.

Once on board, your ship takes a westerly heading towards Cayo Rico. You anchor off the island and finally get into your kayak and paddle out through transparent turquoise waters to the reef. Anchoring your kayak in the sand, you don snorkel and mask and dive into that other world beneath the waves. The reef is rich here and you see giant spiny lobsters, nassau groupers, yellowtail snappers and big jacks coming out of the deep, all surrounded by the rainbow hues of pristine coral. Needless to say, your meals on board consist of a variety of fresh seafood. It's no wonder Hemingway loved to fish in Cuban waters as the nutrient- rich ocean currents ensure the presence of beautiful deep sea fish such as marlin and dorado.

The paddling here is good because there are little groups of cayes close enough to each other to explore by kayak. The cayes have abundant wildlife such as iguanas, green monkeys, flamingos, cranes, sea turtles, and bee hummingbirds (known as zunzuncito - the smallest bird in the world; the male is about the size of a grasshopper). On Cayo Largo there is Playa Tortuga where if you come in the right season you could possibly see turtles laying their eggs in the sand.

But there is also much to explore inland in Cuba, from historic cities and towns to an enthralling natural landscape. In the countryside, for example, you can bike or horseride through the cave-rich karst landscape of Pinar del Rio with its distant views of fertile valleys growing tobacco. Here old men paint the landscape using their own blood in the colours to show the red earth.

In Cuba many things are in the blood, from the music, to confidence and pride in the face of much difficulty. Street corners with horsedrawn carts and people gathered on ancient bicycles are a stark contrast to the gleaming dollar stores with their out of- reach modern goods. In Cuba, the old mixes with the new and through it all, the Cubans' island spirit lives on.

Cuba isn't just a fantasy, of course. It's not far away, and the range of holiday opportunities means it's within reach of most holiday budgets.

© Jacqueline Golsby is with Global Adventures, a Canadian company which offers tours to Cuba and other tropical destinations. E-mail: info@GlobalAdventures.ca Web: www.GlobalAdventures.ca Ph: 1-800-781-226