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90 Miles,
CUBA

BUT A WORLD AWAY…

by Ron McGinty
P eople here in the USA say they want

to go to Cuba before it changes
because of the American impact on
tourism. To that, I would say you
are eight years too late. In 2008
Fidel signed over the presidency to his brother
Raul Castro. Raul started immediately to ease
up the restrictions of building permits and
tourist restrictions. I last visited Cuba in 2007
and Havana was a city of broken windows and
almost every building in need of paint. During
my recent visit over Thanksgiving 2016, the
transition was colossal from new construction
to the expansion of restaurants. The country was
100 percent occupied with people from every
continent, but miniscule United States citizens
visible. Of course, this is high season, but the five
star hotels were over $450 per night. Once we
left Havana we stayed in private homes. This was
a unique experience, but not my idea of a first
class trip, “C’est la vie”. Understand, I was there
for the photography, not comfort, and the photo
opportunities were around every corner.