Playa Giron--site of the Bay of Pigs invasion and debacle

Playa Giron, Bay of Pigs landing site

It’s always valuable to get a different perspective on history, particularly when it’s one so radically different from Americans’ view.  Playa Giron, one of the Bay of Pigs’ landing sites, is just such a place.  Today, the beach is peaceful, with a rundown hotel, beach palapas and swimmers enjoying the warm, shallow water.  The museum shows Cuba’s view of the ill-fated landing that embarrassed the United States and infuriated the Cubans.

Che and Fidel marching with victorious army

During the last years of the Eisenhower administration, Cuban exiles, mostly in Florida, were enraged over Fidel Castro’s nationalization of their businesses and property.  A group of them persuaded the administration that, with US support, they could foment an uprising of the Cuban people against Castro and return the island to an anti-communist bulwark in the Caribbean.  Given the fear of Communism in the U.S., and particularly, the ardent anti-communism of Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, and his brother, Alan Dulles, head of the CIA, both the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations supported what turned out to be a hare-brained idea.

Cuban plane used during Bay of Pigs invasion

Trained in Central America, the Cuban exile commandos expected to land at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Giron) and Play Largo, farther up the south coast of Cuba, and set up an alternative government that would encourage the people to rise up against Castro and gain the recognition of the U.S. government.  They also expected American air support, which didn’t materialize as President Kennedy got cold feet and decided to reduce the U.S. exposure to this plan.  If the idea were to have been secret, that soon got lost in a series of leaks from the CIA and aerial bombing of Cuban airfields and towns.  Fidel Castro was well-prepared, the Cuban people did, indeed, rise up, but against the exile commandos and for Castro and the entire debacle lasted only a few days.

Russian tank at Giron museum

From the Cuban perspective, as laid out in photos in the museum, the Cuban-Americans were invaders bent on overthrowing a regime that had lifted Cubans out of desperate poverty, redistributed land to poor farmers from rich landowners, and created a society of equals.  The Cubans triumphantly captured over 1100 of the commandos, killed several hundred, and imprisoned their POW’s until they were freed months later in a trade for food and medical goods.

Part of the museum shows photos of the swamp dwellers, truly desperate people who lived in the swamps between the Caribbean and higher ground miles inland, who survived by making charcoal.  Photos of naked, horribly malnourished children—and adults—and the filthy hovels where they lived provide the “before” of this particular revolutionary story.  The “after” is children going to school, families using new government health centers and collective farms taking over some of the swampland (though plenty still exists). 

Fidel celebrating vistory

The Cubans are very proud of stopping the American invasion and besting their huge neighbor and former colonial master.

The French city of Cienfuegos

restored French colonial buildings, Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos is the only Cuban city founded by the French, in 1813.  This city on the Caribbean has lovely neoclassical buildings in its historic center, broad boulevards and pedestrian streets, and large plazas filled with trees, flowers and people enjoying the shade on a sticky day.  In its main plaza, the theater has been restored to its former glamour.  Photos of some of the world-famous entertainers who were featured here, including Enrique Caruso, line the loggia.

inside the opera house

This city is too far from Havana to attract day tourists, as Trinidad does, but it is well worth a visit because of its history, architecture and charm.  Its hotels are mostly small, but several are more than acceptable, particularly since they’re located on one of the city’s bays.  Villa Largo is an excellent restaurant that also has a couple of basic rooms for rent, right on the tip of the peninsula separating these two bodies of water.

Also on that peninsula is a rather strange building, a Moorish-style palace built for the daughter of one of Cienfuegos’ wealthy sugar magnates when she married.  She only lived in the palace for two years, but today there is a restaurant and a roof-top bar with beautiful views of the city and the bays on both sides.  What is remarkable is the architecture and the beautiful plaster carving, Moorish-style, like the Alhambra, in miniature, graceful archways and stained glass windows.

Moorish palace, Cienfuegos

As in Havana, ‘50’s and ‘60’s American cars are popular, some in beautiful condition, even with their original engines.  One proud owner showed us his 6 cylinder motor, pointing out that the cylinders were all in a single line.  For a couple of pesos (CUC—foreigners’ currency), you can take a photo of yourself on the perfectly-maintained white leather seats of the pink 1955 Plymouth.  Since all of us in our group remember these cars as similar to ones our families owned when we were kids, there was lots of interest in those photos.   

Santeria woman

1955 plymouth

Moorish carved archways in palacio 

Trinidad--prettiest city in Cuba

View across Trinidad to the mountains beyond

We arrived in Trinidad, another 500 year old colonial city, late in the afternoon, with light rain to cool us off a bit.  On our way, we visited Manaca Iznaga, an old sugar plantation in a valley that used to be filled with sugar plantations.  It is a big tourist stop now, so there are hordes of hawkers selling embroidered table cloths, cheap jewelry and photo opportunities with “baby” falcons.  It’s an interesting place whose prime attraction is a tall tower that was formerly used to keep track of the slaves who worked the plantation, especially those who might consider trying to escape to the mountains surrounding the valley and the city of Trinidad.

Manaca Iznaga tower

Cuba had 4 million slaves over the course of its colonial history.  Today, the culture throbs with African rhythms in its music and dance.  Drums, cymbals, and other percussion instruments are key elements of the music.  The population is very diverse and the largest religion is Santeria, a melding of Catholicism and spirit worship the slaves brought from Africa.

Girls singing at Casa de Cultura

This morning as we walked the cobblestone streets of Trinidad, we stopped to listen to very talented children playing instruments, dancing and singing at the Casa de Cultura.  Every town has its Casa de Cultura, which provides music, dancing and art programs for the children.  Two young girls sang with beautiful voices that seemed way too powerful for their ages.  This is a regular Saturday activity for kids.  In the next room, an Afro-Cuban music and dance program was underway while a third room had children working hard on art projects.  Cuba’s culture is lively and exciting.  You hear music everywhere, with so many talented musicians.  Artists fill canvases and walls with brilliant colors and themes.  In Trinidad, there are lots of handicrafts for sale, far more than we’ve seen elsewhere.

child mesmerized by dancers

The tourist areas of Trinidad are clean and pretty with charming plazas full of flowers and trees and surrounded by shops and restaurants.  On a late afternoon walk, I found a still charming but less prosperous part of the town, where the plazas are dirt and rocks with perhaps a bedraggled tree in the middle.  Trash and manure from the many horses pulling carts covered the streets.  While most homes were tiny, dark and in poor condition, many had nice wooden furniture, courtyards behind the front rooms and flowers on tables next to the small TV sets showing Cuban government programs. 

horse and buggy in Trinidad

These areas, too, have shops and restaurants, but with fewer goods for sale and rudimentary menus.  They were busy, though, with Trinidadians enjoying beer along with black beans and rice, two staples.

Trinidad has one of the 2 best hotels in Cuba, a country with a real dearth of comfortable, much less luxurious, hotels.  The Iberostar in Trinidad is beautiful and small, providing good service and food.  But, the Iberostar is an outlier in a country where little has been invested in a tourist infrastructure and the demand for hotels is very high.  Most hotels are very basic and often not as clean we we’d like, so go with the expectation of seeing a beautiful country with a lively cultural life, but not much in the way of amenities for anyone, Cubans and tourists alike.

Plaza Mayor with church

The area around Trinidad was a major sugar-producing region until the fall of the Soviet Union, when the major market for Cuban sugar, particularly given the US trade embargo, disappeared.  Venezuela took up a bit of the slack, but not nearly enough.  This period was called the “special time”, one of great hardship and even starvation for Cubans.  Venezuela bought much of the sugar-processing equipment, leaving Cuba with little ability to rebuild its sugar industry.  Today, there are still large fields of sugar cane, but much more acreage dedicated to cattle and fallow fields.

Trinidad has become a day trip for tourists staying in Havana, though a long one.  While tourism certainly has not replaced the sugar industry, it has provided jobs and opportunities for local citizens. We think this is a "must" visit when you come to Cuba.

one of Trinidad's cobblestone streets

kids dancing at Casa de Cultura

food cart on Trinidad street

Nightmare of Nights--thanks to Cubana Airlines

Morro Castle from the Hotel Nacional, where we finally found refuge after our long day at the airport

I knew we didn’t want to fly internally in Cuba, but our itinerary was such that we didn’t have a choice.  So, book our flight on Cubana from Miami to Santiago de Cuba we did.

We arrived at the domestic terminal in Havana at 1:30 in the afternoon for our 3:30 flight—plenty of time.  But, we hadn’t properly reckoned on an airline system without internet access and minimal computerization.  After an hour, we were checked in and on to the security line, which was backed up behind a closed door in a claustrophobic and suffocating hallway.  Security personnel allowed about 7 or 8 people through the door at a time, slamming it in the face of the next woebegone traveler.  Next was the usual x-ray of both carry-on bags and humans.  But, that wasn’t enough.  Any little thing that caught the officer’s eye required a thorough search of each bag.  In my case, it was a tiny nail clipper with an equally tiny nail file folded inside.  The examiner plowed through my bag, seized the offending instrument, then told me I could take it on the plane but not open it once on the plane. 

Don waiting in airport departure lounge

We reached the stifling departure hall just as our flight was supposed to leave.  Except that it was late.  A mechanical problem, someone said (which is always a red flag for me, leading me to book myself on the next available flight—but that’s not possible in Cuba because there isn’t a next available flight).  We waited—and waited—and waited.  Several hours went by before an airline official announced that the plane was being fixed and would leave in about an hour.  Relief. 

But, not yet.  Hours more went by.  Then we were told that our plane wasn’t fit to fly, but a plane coming in from Haiti would take us to Santiago.  Finally, it pulled into the gate.  Another 1 ½ hours to unload bags and load our luggage and we were told we could board.  By this time, we had been waiting 8 hours in a departure area where the windows had been sealed so we couldn’t look out and a woman insisted on chain smoking in the ladies’ room, filling the entire area with smoke.

Finally, our flight took off and we all fell asleep.  Soon, I felt the plane sink and bank.  The flight attendant announced softly that we were returning to Havana because of mechanical problems.  When we landed in Havana, several of our sleepy group insisted that we had to be in Santiago, but I pointed to the name on the airport terminal—Havana.

Havana from Morro Castle--not the view we got at 1:30 a.m.

Off we trundled to wait some more.  The problem would be fixed shortly, we were told.  I told our guide to start calling hotels to get us rooms for the rest of the night (it was now past midnight).  He, being used to taking orders and relying on someone—anyone—else to solve his problems, insisted that the airline would find us hotel rooms and that I should be patient.  I do know better than that, so dragged him outside security, downstairs to the airline office, where no one was in charge, but someone did say that there were no hotel rooms in Havana that night and we’d have to stay in the airport and take a flight in the morning (the only 2 Cubana planes in Havana were both “broken”).  Our guide mourned that we didn’t have any options and needed to stay in the airport—over my dead body!

view of the Malecon from our Hotel Nacional hotel room

Shortly, all the passengers were informed to get comfy on the hard metal chairs for the rest of the night.  I had already started dialing hotels, but Havana was, indeed, full up.  After about an hour and calls to 15 hotels, we were able to get 3 two-bedroom suites for an exorbitant price.  It now being about 1:30 in the morning, we straggled downstairs to the airline counter, demanded our luggage, waited another half hour to get it, and snagged 3 taxis to take us to the Hotel Nacional, where we arrived just before 3 a.m.

Puente Yayabo in Sancti Spiritus, our charming substitute colonial city for Santiago

Next day, I instructed our guide and travel agent to get us hotel rooms somewhere between Havana and Camaguey, our next stop since we weren’t going to make it to Santiago after all, a large bus and driver, and late check-outs.  That afternoon, we rolled out of the Nacional on our way to Sancti Spiritus, a pretty colonial town between Havana and Camaguey, somewhat the worse for wear, but happy to be on our way and not on a Cubana airplane.  DON’T fly internally in Cuba unless you have absolutely no other choice.