How to Get Off the Tourist Track in Cuba

Going to Cuba hasn’t been this easy since 1961. The U.S. Transportation Department just approved six commercial airlines to begin flying to the island as early as this fall. The carriers -- American, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver, Southwest, and Sun Country – will fly between five U.S. cities and nine Cuban cities.

That means you no longer have to fly through Cancún or the Bahamas, lie to multiple customs officials (a felony, by the way), and book your ticket with a shady Caribbean airline that holds your ticket for you behind the counter of the airport souvenir shop in an unmarked envelope.

I’ve done all those things. I lived in Cuba for a year and a half as I led the only kind of trips that were legal for U.S. citizens to make at the time – structured educational tours. President Obama has eased travel restrictions, but not the educational requirement.

You’re still supposed to make the case that your trip is educational, but you don’t have to produce a license, show that you’re going to publish your findings, or travel with an organized group. You can just keep a log of the museums you went to and the sites you saw. The administration has made it clear they don’t plan to scrutinize anyone’s travel too closely.

So go. Now. You’ve probably never been to a gorgeous Caribbean island that also happens to be one of the last remaining experiments in Communism and has evolved for the past six decades outside of the influence of the U.S. There is no place like it.

So, here’s a hot tip: You can find pretty beaches anywhere. Sure, spend a day at Varadero or Playas del Este – but then soak up all of Cuba’s eccentricities. It won’t be like this forever.

Here are my top six recommendations:

Visit an urban farm. Cuba depended on the Soviet Union for money, fuel, machinery – everything – until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Cuba plummeted into what’s known as the Special Period, in which the country had to make its way without the beneficial trading relationship they had with the world’s second superpower. Cubans had to learn to make do – and one way they did that was by taking up the kind of farming that’s now all the rage in wealthy countries.

They brought farms closer to the populations that needed to eat the produce, because they didn’t have enough fuel or spare vehicle parts to get produce from far-flung farms to the cities. They started using animals instead of machines again. They stopped using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, because they couldn’t get them, and went back to old farming methods.

There are still many of those farms in operation. They’re worth a visit. You’ll get a lesson in Cuban history -- and some delicious fruits and veggies.

Learn Spanish. Guatemala is better known for its Spanish schools, but Cuba has them too. And if you can learn Cuban Spanish, with all its dropped d’s and silent s’s, you can speak Spanish with anyone. Some programs include a homestay with a Cuban family – by far the best way to learn a language, and also the best way to learn the real Cuba. And if you can’t speak the language, how will you…

Talk politics. Don’t be shy. Cubans have lots of opinions about what goes on in the U.S., and they’re better informed than you’d think they would be, watching state-sponsored television news. And people aren’t shy about discussing the pros and cons of their system, either, or the myriad changes it’s undergoing as we speak. Even those who say the government is repressive don’t have any qualms about airing their grievances at top volume in the middle of the Plaza Vieja. (By the way: Go to the Plaza Vieja. It's beautiful.)

Try to shop for groceries. Cubans get a ration book, but the rations aren’t like wartime rations in the United States. They’re a floor, not a ceiling. They guarantee that everyone gets enough. Ask a Cuban to take you when they do their shopping. They stop by the bodega for the staples – beans, rice, oil – but they’ll tell you that what they get with their ration book won’t last the month, or even close. Then they’ll supplement at the farmer’s markets, and when necessary (and possible), the dollar stores, which sell goods in U.S. dollars or their Cuban equivalent. (Cuba has two currencies – long story.) Sometimes you just have to know when the potatoes come in or when the eggs are fresh and show up at the right window at the right time.

Go to church. Slaves in Cuba were supposedly Christianized, but they kept worshipping their Yoruba gods behind the Catholic saints, making for a fascinating mix of religions that’s still practiced to this day. If you can, take in a dance performance featuring all the orishas – the Yoruba gods and goddesses, each doing their own signature dance. Also, at church you can learn about the Communist government’s uncomfortable relationship with the Catholic Church, and how it’s changed throughout the years.

Travel like a Cuban. Instead of taking the dollar cabs, flag down a collective taxi. Yes, they’re often the old 1950’s-era American cars you’ve been itching to ride in. It’s a good thing too – it’s hard to fit eight people in a small Russian Lada (though they do). The collective taxis run on fixed routes, so there’s a bit of a learning curve, but they’re much cheaper and much more fun – the driver continues to pick people up until there’s no more room (and that will be two or three passengers after you think there’s no more room).

OK, if you must, go to a cigar factory. And don’t miss the Museum of the Revolution. Spend a long evening on the seafront wall in Havana, the famous Malecón. Valle de Viñales is my happy place, so don’t miss that. And oh my god, go dancing. A lot.

OK, the tourist beat is pretty great, too.

Photos: Taxi from Wikimedia, all others from the author.