"I Come From Everywhere" - Havana, October 9, 2013

"I come from everywhere

And I am going toward everywhere;

Among the arts, I am art

In the mountains, I am a mountain."

- Jose Marti (1853-1895) : the most revered figure in Cuban history.

A friend once asked me if I intended to go to every country an American shouldn't. More specifically, he asked if I knew what the Axis of Evil was. This was, of course, on the heels of my Iran trip and when I was considering trips to Cuba, Myanmar, and some Middle East destinations. I conceded that I am interested in places where I "shouldn't" go. 

So where should we not go?
Who determines that?

I respect rules, I play by them, I understand that laws are the key to a civilized society.
But I also realize that some rules are bunk. Especially rules that tell me where I shouldn't go.

So I went to Iran and then I went to Cuba.

The day began in Miami and ended in Havana. At check in, there were many Cuban-Americans flying back to visit - all loaded with a incredible amount of stuff. Small appliances, toys and stuffed animals (and one freaky looking life sized doll with her head wrapped in bubble wrap). One man had two soccer balls, seven hats, and a suitcase full of vitamins. He had the two soccer balls slung around his shoulders and he was doing a little dancing for those of us who were waiting for the flight. The families bring in things that are hard to find in Cuba. Or things that are too expensive there.

Arrival in Cuba is a pretty simple affair. If, that is, you have two copies of your visa, your passport, your medical certification, your customs form, your return ticket, and a copy of the license permitting you to be in Cuba for a People to People Education Mission.

The People to People Education Mission license allows Americans to travel to Cuba legally.  It does require that you stick with your tour group, adhere to the itinerary and keep track of what it is you are doing each day. The itinerary is set up to connect Americans with teachers, business people, community projects, health initiatives, and school kids. It is supposed to provide structure and make sure Americans don't just use the island as another Caribbean resort destination….and we shouldn't, because our history complicates matters.

We started in the Plaza San Francisco and walked to our lunch destination. There is a life-size bronze statue of El Caballero de Paris outside the Basilica Menor de San Francisco. He was a well known tramp who was imprisoned and then went crazy and he roamed Havana talking about Paris in his long black cape. Touching his beard and his finger bring good luck.

After lunch, we walked to the Plaza de Armas. Laid out in 1519, booksellers often line the square, along with the elegant Hotel Santa Isabel - a former palace, and El Templete - the site where the first mass and town council meeting were held in 1519, beside a massive ceiba tree.

Our hotel, the Hotel Telegrafo, melds what the guide book called "classical elements" and contemporary style - with a mixed result. It is a state run hotel, so the elegant looking lobby was off set by the couch with springs poking my ass, the interesting painting on the restaurant wall offset by the cockroach crawling on the service cart. You might be getting the picture. The upside was location, location, location. Right on Havana's Parque Central. 

I was within walking distance of everything. I could walk down the Paseo de Marti - known as the Prado - straight to the sea. Former mansions of aristocratic families line each side. It was remodeled in 1929 by a French landscape artist and it still retains a dramatic and communal feel.