Enduring Cuba
2018 | Habana > Viñales > Trinidad > Holguin 🇨🇺
The first time that I thought about going to Cuba was when my friend Dio invited me to be his research project assistant (as a Spanish-Cantonese translator) back in 2014/2015, but I was unable to at the time. During that period, I was also auditing a Spanish Literature course taught by Profesor Granados, who’s a kindhearted and humorous Cuban–one who inspired me to keep learning the Spanish language through out my college years..
It was the year 2018, I just came out a long period of loss and grief. AKC and I were chatting at a coffee shop one day and randomly decided to go on a kind-of-last-minute trip to Cuba. Little did we know, this expedition became a “raw adventure” of overcoming hardships of sorts, emotionally, mentally, and physically speaking.
La Habana Linda
We flew into La Habana and started off with local dishes (fish), piña colada, and live piano flows. The first day was a relaxing one without itinerary; we had beer and walked along the waters. We discovered an abandoned stadium on the way that overlooked Havana. In the evening we accidentally came across a local spot where they played live salsa music. The host came by and asked me what song I’d like to hear.. without hesitation I said “Chan Chan, by Buena Vista Social Club.” There were some older folks who were teaching us how to dance Salsa, the Cuban way!
The next day we went beach bumming at Varadero (and I had more piña colada)! AKC asked me if I wanted to sail out into middle of the ocean and snorkel. The guy there said that the winds and waves were too rough, my YOLO mind was like “let’s do it.” This was my first time ever snorkeling and I was fighting for my life out in the middle of no where, especially since the conditions weren’t stable. But I survived! We spent the evening having dinner and watching a movie on the laptop on the rooftop.
It was necessary to check out Chinatown in Cuba. We ate at a “fake” Chinese restaurant and was pretty disappointed. There were almost no Chinese people around and also there’s no dimsum! Just a dragon gate. We explored Plaza Vieja, San Severino Castle Museum, and Calle de Jon de Hamel. When it got dark, we started looking for this one shishkabob spot we saw earlier, which does not exist on the maps.. We risked it and found it somehow, but we walked way too much that evening! I was able to pack some rice to go for tomorrow’s long bus ride.
Journey to the West: Viñales
That morning, we found out that the Viazul bus was not dependable–they might sell you out even if you reserved and purchased a ticket in advance. This was what happened to us.. We looked for taxi services nearby; these taxi drivers were just fighting, negotiating, and hustling people out here. I had a coffee with butter (is this the Cuban way?) while waiting for our selected taxi to “arrive.”
Most taxi drivers will tell you that they know English but they actually don’t. I ended up having long conversations with the drivers in Spanish.. what a good way to practice! I heard some new phrases like “pila cosa contigo”, “que bola”, “simplio”. We arrived to Viñales, the countryside in the West of Cuba. Here we rolled Cuban cigars, dipped them in honey, and smoked them (my first time!). We looked at black bees from Spain, how rum is made, and coffee beans! Mmm.
We went for a horse ride with Merengue and Caramelo (they’re enemies, haha!) My horse Merengue was totally like me–hungry and anxious. AKC was riding his horse in front of me and his hat suddenly fell off, scaring Merengue.. I fell off, onto my back and hit my head. It all happened too fast. Luckily, I was okay–I just had a huge bruise on my inner thigh and pulled my neck a bit. Sunset on the roof that evening was beautiful though.. Our host Marisol was so motherly and loving–we had deep talks here and there. Knowing the language definitely makes all the difference in how you experience the culture and connect with people here.
We woke up around 6:30 for sunrise and yoga on the roof. The day ahead was a lot of outdoor adventures: playing music with our hands inside Cave Santo Tomas and climbing up an unknown mountain route on Mural de la Prehistoria.
We suddenly realized that we were short of money. The problem is that we could only exchange cash, from USD to CUC; it was not possible to use a debit or credit card to withdraw money. Well, I guess it is time to be creative then! We relaxed on the porch back in Marisol’s home and had snacks with soda (mixed with water), haha! As I rocked on the porch chair, I thought about how nice it was to be with no phone service–there is not bothering, no expectations, and no distractions from the present moment
“Be around those who are willing to suffer with you. To suffer is to learn and live.”
The Struggles in Trinidad
My period arrived in the morning before we got on our 10-hour ride to Trinidad. I had to ask Marisol for “íntimos de Cuba”. We were off on our journey to Trinidad–I was looking for sunflower fields but there were none. The smells, sounds, and roads here reminded me of Puebla, Mexico. I hit my head many many times while falling asleep on the bus and my cramps were killing me. Looks like there are wifi areas all around town where everyone has their phones out and buys hour-long internet cards for 5 CUC each.
We tried to go to Nicho Falls but couldn’t find our way there. This taxi took us to a different waterfall that was “recommended.” No Cubano and no Nicho. There was a lot of upwards hiking and the day was a bit too hot/dry. We didn’t have enough water, overly dehydrated, and almost didn’t make it. Pushing my body to my limit, we finally reached the nice waterfall. A guy greeted us as champions at the finish line back up the hill. Back at the stay, there were time periods of no water nor electricity.
Holguín
On our way to Holguín, I was listening to a Dalai Lama audio book and thinking about the idea of compassion over purpose. When I got to Holguín, they told me “Tienes color de cuba”. There was an older guy on the streets that came up to me and said “Cubanos y Chinos, somos amigos. Chinese are welcomed in Cuba.”
I had to use the bathroom so bad after breakfast coffee, and when I was done I realized that there was no toilet paper. The only choices I had were my socks or the stack of newspaper in the bathroom. Yup, I used my sock. We also had to exchange our last bit of cash on the streets with these guys who offered. Kind of sus, but that was the only way in the area we were at.
I woke up to shocking news, when I had a sudden bar of service on my phone. I received a late tetx message that Paulina (my 17yo Pomeranian) was hospitalized and will be put to sleep. My mother told me that Paulina stayed outside my bedroom door to wait for my return but she couldn’t wait anymore and had to “go.” I bursted into tears and cried all day. I kept thinking about how animals usually leave home when they know they’re going to die. Did Paulina do it while I was away so I wouldn’t be sad? I feel bad for not being able to say my last goodbye.
Perhaps this happened so I won’t keep taking things in my life for granted. AKC comforted me the whole way back from Cuba to Florida, back to New York..
