Thursday, January 30, 2014

Adding Cuba Into the Mix

With the Cuban portion of the journey complete, lets see how it stacked up against Sucre and Veracruz.

Food: Contrary to its reputation, Cuban food is actually pretty good. It is simple - essentially a variation of some sort of meat, rice, beans, and plantains - but it is done well. I had some amazing home-cooked meals with the families I stayed with, and even though they started to get repetitive the lunches of street pizza and ham and cheese sandwiches were always tasty. I have a hard time believing anything will top my love for Mexican food, but Cuba was definitely a step up from Bolivia.
Snack: A haiku about the churro:
Fried deliciousness
a crescendo of sugars
one is not enough

Paired together with Bolivia's salteña these two morsels form the Beyoncé and Jay Z of on the go delectables. It doesn't feel right choosing one or the other, for now they both occupy top honors.


Climate: Mid 80s during the day, high 60s at night with decent humidity. It was uncomfortable to wear long-pants during the day and during salsa classes I conceded to shorts, but for the most part I relaxed reading during the hottest hours of the day. There was one night where it dipped into the low 50s in the countryside and a jacket was needed, and that was honestly fun to feel chilly again. Unfortunately, with a slightly warmer and more humid climate than Mexico, Cuba finds itself in last place. I realize the above description might sound like a paradise and my preference absurd to all currently dealing with the sub-arctic temperatures of winter. Nothing is stopping you from writing your own blog proclaiming your love for the heat.

Music: Cuba takes this one. You can find live salsa music at pretty much every restaurant in Cuba, and if you didn't hear it while eating there are clubs everywhere with salsa groups. There are a few songs that do get repeated over and over but that is my only criticism of the Cuban music scene.


Drinks: Another one in the W column for Cuba. Mojitos are delicious, and even though I'm a bit burned out on them as a national drink they trounce what Sucre and Veracruz had to offer. Bottles of rum are one of the few truly inexpensive items... a nice one goes for around $7, and there are so many delicious flavors to choose from. My favorite was Legendario, an incredibly sweet nectar that tasted more like candy than spirits.


Bars/Clubs: In theory, Cuba should win this with salsa dancing everywhere. I probably just got unlucky but the places that I went to involved a plethora of Cuban dudes looking to pick up women tourists. I'm sure not every place is like that, but since I wasn't able to make friends with any of the locals to discover local venues I was resigned to the predominantly touristy clubs. There was an
awesome discoteca in a cave, but that wasn't enough to push Cuba ahead of Veracruz and Sucre.


Spanish: I covered this in the last post, but to reemphasize: Cuban Spanish is impossible. Unique pronunciation coupled with blazing speed is a brutal combination. I didn't have enough conversations with locals my age to pick up on any regional slang, but I was very happy to return to the calm shores of Colombian Spanish.

Adventure: I wouldn't say that I did anything incredibly adventurous but the volume of activities gives Cuba the edge over the other two. These included: hiking through tobacco farms, mountain biking to caves, discovering hidden beaches, and dodging a bombardment of Christmas Eve fireworks.

Something Random: I'm going to go with the flood of Apple logos. I suppose it could be some some subtle symbol against communism a-la Catniss's mockingjay, but more likely it is just a sticker that has become vogue to slap on your car. Still, I did not expect to see Steve Job's legacy on the windows of many Cuban vehicles. The backyard crocodile and Zebra crossing guards were definitely more random.

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