Interlachen Travelers: CUBA: Finally Within Our Grasp
Giving From Our Hearts, We Saw a Remarkable Land
By Ann Gray

What struck me most about my recent trip to Cuba was the seeming contradiction between the pride and dignity that Cubans radiate and their dire need for the basics of life. As a participant in a humanitarian trip to the island, I was in a position – admittedly small – to do something about their needs. As everyone knows, Cuba is off-limits to just about all Americans except those with immediate family on the island. There is one category, though, that is still permissible under U.S. Treasury Department regulations: travel under a humanitarian license, something Ya’lla Tours USA is uniquely qualified to arrange.

We fortunate few were treated to wonderful hospitality and given a first-hand look at what has become a taboo and politically-charged country, and at the same time, feel gratified that we have helped out with our donations of vitamins, cosmetics, hygiene products, and other necessities of daily life.

I’ve visited other Caribbean countries, but Cuba stands out for its upfront cultural and spiritual life. We were warmly welcomed in churches and Havana’s Jewish community center; at each we donated jumbo-sized bags of desperately needed items. I brought toothpaste and dental floss, yes, but also crayons and colored pencils, small flashlights, hair scrunchies for little girls and matchbook cars for their brothers. And – finally! – a place to unload hotel shampoos, lotions and sewing kits!

Here was a rare opportunity to see Cuba at this particular historic moment, totally lacking in commercial advertising and chain outlets. I felt as though we were on a preserved Ozzie & Harriet set, with all those old Chevys and Oldsmobiles plying the streets. Some have been spruced up to collector standards. Let me tell you: it will be a long time before I experience something as thrilling as riding shotgun in a candy-apple red ’57 Ford convertible cruising the broad, mist-sprayed seaside boulevard known as the Malecón.

We dined at enjoyable restaurants, many near our entirely comfortable and modern seaside hotel, The Meliá Cohiba. Meliá is a Spanish chain, and Cohiba? It’s a brand of cigars. Cuba’s best tobacco grows in the western province of Pinar del Río, and we were afforded a day in that rural province of tobacco farms and cigar factories.

You’d think that in the countryside things would be tranquil, but in Cuba, music is everywhere: whether in the tobacco sheds where radios serenade the leaf counters, or in the teeming streets of Old Havana, where music seems to pour forth from every window. In one block I heard traditional salsa, new wave reggaetón, old-fashioned boleros, and, a student practicing his oboe. At our hotel, musicians played Cuban standards such as “Guantanamera” and “Dos Gardenias.”

Havana was full of international visitors, mainly from European countries who, like us, were curious about this land whose people have survived hardships for so much of its history. Tourists tend to opt for sand & surf snowbird packages. They are missing the country’s unique qualities!

Trinidad, a wonderfully UNESCO-preserved colonial city on the island’s south coast, charmed us with a pace far slower than Havana’s. The cobblestone streets, the regional drinks, the churches dating back into the 18th century – we could have stayed another day or two and not tired of its allure.

An experience I will never forget was visiting a senior citizen center, where more than a hundred Cubans rose and applauded as we were introduced as visitors from the States, there to express our friendship and gain some understanding of their needs and triumphs. One by one, they came up to us afterward to thank us for coming.

Travel is my addiction and volunteerism my passion. The combination of the two made our Cuba trip a truly extraordinary experience.

To learn more about enjoying humanitarian journeys in Cuba through Ya’lla Tours, contact us.