My friend Louise, aka. Weezie, and I leave on Saturday to bicycle nearly the length of Cuba, from just west of Havana, east to Santiago de Cuba, or beyond. Over 1,000 miles, over 25 days. I am in that fluttery-feeling time when I am split between a burning excitement about the my next adventure and the stomach churning anxiety about leaving home. The yin and the yang.
Luckily, I have become familiar with this feeling and understand its patterns. I am even grateful for it. Now is the time that I look the most soulfully into my dog’s eyes, hold my granddaughter a little longer and linger over all the options found in my refrigerator. These are things that I know I will miss terribly. Cornily, I feel like I am oozing love for everything around me. It also makes me feel still, and I am happy to sit inside this morning and watch the snow swirling down from a leaden sky without feeling the need to charge out into it quite yet. Instead, I spend my time learning a bit about where this adventure might take me from the comfort of my couch.
True to form, I know shockingly little about where I am going, so I try to cram some Cuban history and cultural awareness in on the days leading up to the trip. I am shocked by what I find.
I learn that 88 % of all Cubans are living in extreme poverty and that due to the food shortages, tourists are asked not to shop in supermarkets, but rather to buy prepared food in eateries or peoples homes. We will pack 40 energy bars and the same number of instant coffee packs, just in case.
I learn that we need to bring enough cash for the duration of our stay. There are no ATM’s and people often can’t make change. That is going to be quite wad of bills tucked in here and there in our travel kits.
I learn that it is currently, illegal to kill your cow, in fact you can get several years jail time because they are trying to preserve the dairy industry. Eggs are also in short supply due to lack of feed for the chickens.
I learn that one shouldn’t drink the water without boiling or filtering it first. We will bring Noom electrolyte tablets to offset the taste and give us some oomph on the big hills.
There are frequent power outages. The national energy grid has gone down five times in the last year and Wifi is spotty or often nonexistent.
I also learned that it is considered very rude to blow your nose in public.
All of that sounds challenging, but 74% of the nations revenue comes from the service industry and they need tourists there more than ever. Besides, I also read a lot about the people, how kindness and warmth are part of the national heritage, as well as, music, art and humor. And, I read that Cuba is incredibly diverse; biologically culturally, and geologically, and that they are working hard to preserve that.
I look forward to traveling to Cuba in this time of political uncertainty in the United States. Not just to take a break from the barrage of craziness that is being spouted by this administration, but also to share a little kindness and connection, one-on-one.
Soon, my nerves will ratchet up again, because they always do, I will probably even cry a little. But for now the visions of Cuba, the richness of the life described there and the lure of the colorful landscape and people fill me with warmth, despite the blustery day outside. Three more days.