Cuba?

[VivaCaribe]

DIVING IN CUBA
Recommended: 1. ) Maria la Gorda in the far west. 4 hr drive from Havana. Xlnt diving. Isolated area. 2). Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth). Short hop via air from Havana. Good wall diving. A little far from hotel to the sites. Cuba's #1 dive spot, but I think Maria la Gorda is better. There are reviews of both on undercurrent.org

 

[cappyjon431]

Thoroughly enjoyed your trip report on Facebook. Hope that the Obama admin opens up Cuba for tourist travel from the US soon. I really want to make a visit without the hassle and possible legal problems associated with getting there from here.

I am a native Miamian (very familiar with Cuban-American politics), I'm married to a Cuban-American, I've been to Cuba twice (once invited, once "off the record") and I wrote my Master's thesis on the Cuban diaspora. While I also wish the embargo would end soon, simply lifting the travel embargo is not something that will automatically make travel to Cuba desirable.

Please remember, there are hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans living in South Florida who believe that once the embargo is lifted, they will simply waltz back to Cuba and reclaim property that was seized from them by the Castro government. These returnees will be in direct conflict with Cubans who have lived on/in these properties for 50-plus years through the problems associated with the communist regime. I don't think this is going to have a peaceful or easy resolution. While I dream of the day when Cuba becomes free, a simple lifting of the embargo without addressing these issues will lead to bloodshed, and cuba might not be a desirable travel destination for quite some time.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[CaptRam]

I went on a dive trip to Marea Del Portillo in October. For a full review, look here:Cuba trip report | Facebook

In short, super fun place. The dive staff great, the gear was rubbish, The dive sites were pretty good, though a tropical storm just before our arrival had the viz kinda mucked up. No large pelagics whatsoever. The Cristophe Colombe wreck is one of the best wrecks I ever dove.

I'd definitely go again just because the destination was such a riot, and the people were totally great.

R

nice read!

 

[Gilldiver]

The American tourist industry has been waiting for years for Cuba to be opened up. Some have told me that when it eventually occurs there will be a flushing sound in Porto Rico and the US VI’s as all the money heads to Cuba.

For wildlife and marine wild life in particular I hope that the opening will include the designation of Guantanamo Bay as a nature preserve. The cold war between the US and Cuba has resulted in the area of the base and a buffer zone around the base, which includes a lot of the bay, being frozen to development and large scale fishing/poaching since 1961.

The result is that the Guantanamo Bay area is a reservoir for nature and you will find animals and plants that are severely threatened or extinct elsewhere thriving nicely.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090403-guantanamo-bay.html

 

[CaptRam]

I am a native Miamian (very familiar with Cuban-American politics), I'm married to a Cuban-American, I've been to Cuba twice (once invited, once "off the record") and I wrote my Master's thesis on the Cuban diaspora. While I also wish the embargo would end soon, simply lifting the travel embargo is not something that will automatically make travel to Cuba desirable.

Please remember, there are hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans living in South Florida who believe that once the embargo is lifted, they will simply waltz back to Cuba and reclaim property that was seized from them by the Castro government. These returnees will be in direct conflict with Cubans who have lived on/in these properties for 50-plus years through the problems associated with the communist regime. I don't think this is going to have a peaceful or easy resolution. While I dream of the day when Cuba becomes free, a simple lifting of the embargo without addressing these issues will lead to bloodshed, and cuba might not be a desirable travel destination for quite some time.

Just my humble opinion.

I think you have forgot that those people who left there 50 years ago -most have already died of old age or something and I don’t think there’s going to be much fight in them-for several reasons-1 there too old-2 they will have the US government also to fight, not to mention the Cuban Government- and then the people who live there for 50 years- No I think the old guard is just about gone -like Castro-IMHO

 

[Gilldiver]

I think you have forgot that those people who left there 50 years ago -most have already died of old age or something and I don’t think there’s going to be much fight in them-for several reasons-1 there too old-2 they will have the US government also to fight, not to mention the Cuban Government- and then the people who live there for 50 years- No I think the old guard is just about gone -like Castro-IMHO

The children of the "Old Guard" are in the 25-50 year old range and they have not forgoten. I have a dive buddy married to a women born in Cuba and left with her family when she was 2 years old, we do not bring up the "return" at dinner much. What you will have is about what Germany needed to do in the 90's for land expropriated by the East Germans - it was not all that nice and cost a lot.

 

[cappyjon431]

I think you have forgot that those people who left there 50 years ago -most have already died of old age or something and I don’t think there’s going to be much fight in them-for several reasons-1 there too old-2 they will have the US government also to fight, not to mention the Cuban Government- and then the people who live there for 50 years- No I think the old guard is just about gone -like Castro-IMHO

I have not forgotten, but either have the children of those who fled 50 years ago (my wife is one of those). Walk the streets of Little Havana, dine at Versailles or La Carreta and you will here the same thing...they believe they have a rightful claim to property that was taken from them (from their parents). The Cuban National committee is as strong as ever and while the younger generation of Cuban-Americans is not as hostile/violent towards the Castro regime, they still strongly believe they are entitled to the property stolen from their families.

 

[VivaCaribe]

CUBA DIVE and TRAVEL
If you go there, you will see "off the record" Americans most places. You will find wonderful people in a beautiful country -- and folks who enjoy a good time, too. You can stay in private homes -- casas particulares -- cheaply. Cuban version of a B&B. Diving is excellent, at least in the best areas. Try Maria la Gorda.
Dont know if the discussion about giving it back the rich and gangsters who owned it pre-Castro is relevant here. Post-Castro, there will be a surge of money and tourists from the USA, bet on it. Beat the rush.

 

[CaptRam]

I have not forgotten, but either have the children of those who fled 50 years ago (my wife is one of those). Walk the streets of Little Havana, dine at Versailles or La Carreta and you will here the same thing...they believe they have a rightful claim to property that was taken from them (from their parents). The Cuban National committee is as strong as ever and while the younger generation of Cuban-Americans is not as hostile/violent towards the Castro regime, they still strongly believe they are entitled to the property stolen from their families.

I wish them luck!

 

[gb_williams]

I wish them luck!

Thinking that one generation is long enough time to forget what their families lost and "not have much fight left in them," is like thinking the next generation of Palestinians and Israelis will gather together on the banks of the Jordan to hold hands and sing "Kum-bay-yah."

In the meantime, my idea of a dream dive trip is to go to Santiago and dive among the wrecks of the Spanish fleet that was sunk in 1898. Has anyone done this? I'd love to read the details of your trip -- how you got there from José Martí ... how long it took ... where to stay in Santiago ... what the diving was like. Will US regulators fit Cuban steel tanks ... or have they gone to aluminum like the rest of the world?