I need to live there............has this been moderator approved , there seems to be a good deal of bikini in it , dont want to get offended...........
Nice view of Cuba today....
- Thread starter TRIIICK
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rocketjohn
Top Fuel
I'd like to visit, but until the embargo is utterly gone, I am an American and loyal so will have to make do with Cuban cuisine when I visit South Florida. The Cubans there don't want me to go to Cuba in it's current state and I am sure they'd like to have my shekels for a Cuban sandwich....which are delish!
Navigator
Living Legend
I'm on both sides of the fence on this one. Having been stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in the early 80s I flew around the island many times and well understood why it is called the Pearl of the Antilles. It is lush and beautiful with a minimum of roads. It also appears to have hundreds of miles of pristine beaches around the perimeter of the island. I also navigated a ship several times over the Grand Bahama Bank which provided a good view of the northern coast of Cuba.
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Cuba-called-as-Pearl-of-Antilles
With that said, I saw the very dark side of Cuba too. Because I was the XO of an intelligence site in the highest point on Guantanamo, I had many Spanish Linguists assigned. Frontier Guards defectors who came through the wire seeking asylum and freedom were brought to my command for debriefing. These guys were in terrible shape, many not even having shoes and generally carried three rounds of ammunition for their rifles. On one occasion, one of them tried to get through the minefield on the Cuban side to get to the fence. He stepped on a mine, was horribly injured and screamed out in agony all day. Our Marines guards on the fence were beside themselves with anguish and rage over this, many volunteering to risk death to bring him in. They had to be ordered not to venture into the Cuban minefield to give him aid though. When he finally died an agonizing death after about 8 hours, the Cubans came to retrieve his body.
Below is a video of the brother of a good friend of mine who was imprisoned in the most notorious of Cuban prisons for 11 years until released a couple of years ago. His name is Douglas Moore. I rode to the Arctic Circle with his brother Dan, a retired deep water hard hat diver, the summer of 2015. Doug's crime was his boat breaking down while transiting the Straits of Florida. He pulled into Hemingway Marina and while awaiting parts, was arrested along with about 10 other Americans and Europeans in the Harbor. He was initially charged with trying to smuggle Jamaicans into Cuba (really) but when that didn't hold up, a host of other charges. He refused to admit to any crime and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Below is the video of an interview that was finally permitted by one of the human rights activists. When his brother sent me the video, he was certain that they'd kill him for what his "hard headed" brother had said.
One last, there was an interesting news report not to long ago that many of the travel agents are backing out of Cuba tours because of the corruption in the Cuban travel industry, and other issues.
I'd still like to go one day but only under the proper circumstances.
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Cuba-called-as-Pearl-of-Antilles
With that said, I saw the very dark side of Cuba too. Because I was the XO of an intelligence site in the highest point on Guantanamo, I had many Spanish Linguists assigned. Frontier Guards defectors who came through the wire seeking asylum and freedom were brought to my command for debriefing. These guys were in terrible shape, many not even having shoes and generally carried three rounds of ammunition for their rifles. On one occasion, one of them tried to get through the minefield on the Cuban side to get to the fence. He stepped on a mine, was horribly injured and screamed out in agony all day. Our Marines guards on the fence were beside themselves with anguish and rage over this, many volunteering to risk death to bring him in. They had to be ordered not to venture into the Cuban minefield to give him aid though. When he finally died an agonizing death after about 8 hours, the Cubans came to retrieve his body.
Below is a video of the brother of a good friend of mine who was imprisoned in the most notorious of Cuban prisons for 11 years until released a couple of years ago. His name is Douglas Moore. I rode to the Arctic Circle with his brother Dan, a retired deep water hard hat diver, the summer of 2015. Doug's crime was his boat breaking down while transiting the Straits of Florida. He pulled into Hemingway Marina and while awaiting parts, was arrested along with about 10 other Americans and Europeans in the Harbor. He was initially charged with trying to smuggle Jamaicans into Cuba (really) but when that didn't hold up, a host of other charges. He refused to admit to any crime and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Below is the video of an interview that was finally permitted by one of the human rights activists. When his brother sent me the video, he was certain that they'd kill him for what his "hard headed" brother had said.
One last, there was an interesting news report not to long ago that many of the travel agents are backing out of Cuba tours because of the corruption in the Cuban travel industry, and other issues.
I'd still like to go one day but only under the proper circumstances.
Last edited:
1olbull
Riding Motor Since 1950
@Navigator Mike,
Appreciate the info.
Appreciate the info.
TriumPhil
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Supposedly, the finest SCUBA diving in the entire Caribbean and possibly in the Western Hemisphere is to be had here, Rick...Jardines de la Reina National Park, Cuba | Our projects | Global Conservation... very restricted and highly protected.
Add to that great food, awesome rums, the finest cigars in the world, awesome weather and bountiful, pretty señoritas - what in the world could be bad, other than getting rolled in a third world country?
I would love to accompany you on an adventure there, but don't see that in the cards or really feasible, especially if you want to bring our own R3s, for some years to come, mi amigo.
27 Cuba Travel Tips -Things to Know Before You Visit
Add to that great food, awesome rums, the finest cigars in the world, awesome weather and bountiful, pretty señoritas - what in the world could be bad, other than getting rolled in a third world country?
I would love to accompany you on an adventure there, but don't see that in the cards or really feasible, especially if you want to bring our own R3s, for some years to come, mi amigo.
27 Cuba Travel Tips -Things to Know Before You Visit
Navigator
Living Legend
I got my PADI certification there, although I'd scuba dived in Hawaii without certification in the late 60s. The waters of SE Cuba, and I assume all around the island, were clear, beautiful and heavily populated with fish. I got my deep dive certification, diving to 160 ft off of "the wall" east of the entry to the bay.
Jamaica is different, still beautiful but having been fished out by the locals using fish traps decades ago.
With all that is very bad about Cuba with respect to civil rights, political prisoners and assorted human rights outrages, etc., I have always hoped to travel there one day.
I have an old friend who runs a tugboat company on the east coast who has visited many times over the years and has showed me pics of he in Havana as far back of the 80s.
We can't take our Rockets Phil but that bike rental place looks intriguing. As I get closer to my end than to my beginning, I become less dogmatic about countries I will to visit. I know much more about Doug's trial and imprisonment, a horrific affair, then I mentioned above. Also about his physical condition when finally released.
Still, touring Cuba is up near #1 on my bucket list. And BTW, that is an excellent travel reference for the adventuresome. The travel warnings were for those who are used to good to excellent travel accommodations and those who recoil in horror that toilet paper and potable water are not readily available. Still, when visiting a totalitarian country, one must always be mindful that the rule of law and due process does not apply, especially when relations with one's country are unfriendly.
Jamaica is different, still beautiful but having been fished out by the locals using fish traps decades ago.
With all that is very bad about Cuba with respect to civil rights, political prisoners and assorted human rights outrages, etc., I have always hoped to travel there one day.
I have an old friend who runs a tugboat company on the east coast who has visited many times over the years and has showed me pics of he in Havana as far back of the 80s.
We can't take our Rockets Phil but that bike rental place looks intriguing. As I get closer to my end than to my beginning, I become less dogmatic about countries I will to visit. I know much more about Doug's trial and imprisonment, a horrific affair, then I mentioned above. Also about his physical condition when finally released.
Still, touring Cuba is up near #1 on my bucket list. And BTW, that is an excellent travel reference for the adventuresome. The travel warnings were for those who are used to good to excellent travel accommodations and those who recoil in horror that toilet paper and potable water are not readily available. Still, when visiting a totalitarian country, one must always be mindful that the rule of law and due process does not apply, especially when relations with one's country are unfriendly.
TriumPhil
Living Legend
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Boy, I'd like to make that sojourn, Mike and I have a sense that you'd not only be great company, but a welcomed strategic advantage, as well.
dandiego
Turbocharged
There’s nuthin’ to it but to do it! Sounds like you’ve made your mind up and it’s pretty easy to cross this off your bucket list.
The rest of the world (except the USA) has been visiting Cuba for decades during the embargo, so if you want to go before it’s really opened up and completely changed into a tourist hell, now would be the time.
Several friends have gone for pleasure. And I passed up an opportunity to join my dad on a business trip there. All of them reported that it was very expensive, though the people were nice. Having said that, it’s still a typical dictator-run communist nation rife with corruption and abject poverty.
Let us know how it goes.
The rest of the world (except the USA) has been visiting Cuba for decades during the embargo, so if you want to go before it’s really opened up and completely changed into a tourist hell, now would be the time.
Several friends have gone for pleasure. And I passed up an opportunity to join my dad on a business trip there. All of them reported that it was very expensive, though the people were nice. Having said that, it’s still a typical dictator-run communist nation rife with corruption and abject poverty.
Let us know how it goes.
