Wanderlusting: Cuba

I have a friend who visited East Germany while it was still behind the iron curtain.  He tells the story of feeling like he was in a world transformed… and he was.  What

I read a story earlier this week about how Cuba has begun loosening regulations on the sale and transfer of homes and vehicles… something that has been highly regulated under the communist system of government which has been in place since the revolution in 1959.  The proposal still won’t allow Cubans to own more than one home, but it will enable them to own more than one vehicle and to freely buy and sell post-1959 vehicles.

I’m intrigued by this idea of visiting a place that has a radically different system of government.  As I’ve mentioned before, my travels have concentrated on Central America, and in some regards, I could expect a trip to Cuba not to be much different.  Yet, when you consider that they’ve been living in a Communist system for more than half a century with a stiff American trade embargo, I can imagine that it would be a stark contrast to the rest of the Carribbean and Central America.

I suppose it’s naive to want to visit a place that people are literally dying to get out of.  A couple of years ago, my parents were on a cruise ship in the Carribbean when their captain spotted someone floating aimlessly on a piece of styrofoam… when they rescued him, they found that he was one of the many Cubans who’ve cast their lot to the see in hopes that they’ll wash up on American shores.

As I understand it, my best chance of making a trip like this happen would be to enter Cuba via Mexico, specifically, Cancun.  When we were there a few years ago, we noticed that trips to Cuba were being marketed.

If you have any interest in going to Cuba, or if you’ve been or know more about it, please contact us.  In the meantime, I’ll continue wanderlusting.