With America’s current engagement with the Cuban government, I figured while the topic of ‘travel in Cuba’ is all in the hype, why not share my sustainable travel experience in Cienfuegos, Cuba with my readers?
I’m not going to lie, politics in my mind have always been too much to handle. Though I’m not saying it’s the right approach to take (especially as a world traveller), it gives me some sense of relief to travel through the world oblivious to the social politics going on around me. Though as luck isn’t always on my side, I could end up in the middle of a demonstration or political rally and be caught completely off guard. However, chances are this won’t happen. Just look at this excerpt from the Yahoo News,
“We write to commend you on the historic actions you are taking to update America’s policy toward Cuba and Cuban citizens,” the new letter says, titled ‘Support for a new course on Cuba.’
“Our new posture of engagement will advance our national interests and our values by empowering the Cuban people’s capacity to work toward a more democratic and prosperous country – conditions that are very much in the U.S. interests,” it adds. – (Writing by David Adams; Editing by James Dalgleish and Chizu Nomiyama)
Though to the naked eye this might sound simple, but something always tells me there is more to be said… that isn’t.
Call me stupid, I know it isn’t safe what I do, pretending everything is okay. Don’t get me wrong, I watch the news and I know what is happening around me (courtesy of BBC – a traveller’s channel), but unless there is something I can do to make a change, I stay far away from the problems. There is too much shit going on in this world, if I studied up on all the commotion that is going on around me, I would be locking myself up in a safe house.
I write about philanthropic and sustainable travel because it is what I do best. I study up on countries before I visit, I figure out what issues are in the works of being solved and what needs to be implemented further. Though I wish I could fix every problem in the world, it’s not humanly possibly and many are way out of our control as global citizens.
So what did I do in Cienfuegos, Cuba?
Not much. I drank some Cuban beers, relaxed on the beach and experienced the city like a local.
Not everything you do as a sustainable traveller needs to be ‘volunteering with elephants’ or ‘feeding starving children’. I get that many people enjoy doing this just for a new Facebook display picture, but there is much more to sustainable travel than people may think.
Sustainable Travel
I was lying on the beach and was approach by a Cuban man who clearly knew the area too well. He was approaching everyone in clear sight and in hiding, and asking if they would like a massage for 10$ USD. Not a bad price for a massage on the beach, but I told him that the only one I wanted massaging me was my man.
It was astonishing to see the way that some people were treating this man, who I now know as Iban. The funniest part about it was that we had purchased a 3 star resort package via www.redtag.ca and we among some of Canada’s most filthy and bummy people. Let me put it into perspective for you… a incredibly large man, about 55 years of age, half naked and pissed drunk swearing at the Cuban locals who had generously carried him home from the bar.
This my friends is what I like to call white trash. Something North America does not lack.
So we carried him back to his hotel room after he had royally pissed off the locals and accused them of stealing his wallet (which was conveniently located in his back pocket untouched).
So Iban, back to my story…
We shared some laughs and he didn’t push us too hard into accepting a 10$ massage but then kindly told us to enjoy the rest of our day and moved along.
The following day my boyfriend and I ventured off into the city centre of Cienfuegos, Cuba only to find Iban at a local bar with some fairly large men – who we later figured out were country champions for boxing in Cuba. We sat down with them in the bar around 12:00pm, drank a couple beers and a few shots of Cuban rum and then continued onward with Iban as he had invited us to meet his wife who owned a nail studio outside of their house.
5$ for a manicure, but they graciously offered it to me for free, a tour of their home, teachings of cooking with a Cuban mama and then a cruise around the city in an old Ford!
This was by far one of the best tours I have ever been taken on and it was FREE, from a local, and completely unplanned.
At the end of a fun filled day we said our goodbye’s and I graciously slipped Iban a $20 bill. By no means was this ‘charity’ I was simply paying him back for the expense of the day which I had added up in my head to be much more:
- Go Carting – $10
- Ford Tour – $30
- Manicure – $5
- Beers – $10
- Rum – $5
- Lunch – $5
- Total – $65 for which I offered him $20
He was appalled at the amount I had given him and insisted I take it back. Mind you, the currency for Cuba is of a lot less value than the foreign currency and he had likely spent no more than $3 on the day trip where we would have spent more than $60.
Instead of renting a cabana and purchasing international beers from the bar, we ventured into the city to live like locals and met some wonderful friends all-in-all while helping support their local community. No one ever said sustainable travel had to be hard!
I would love to hear if you have had Cuban adventures which are geared toward sustainable travel as well! Unique, original or out of this world crazy sustainable travel adventures? I want to hear your stories!
