Editor’s Note: Freeline Media editor Michael Freeman reports back from his recent visit to Cuba, and has some advice to his fellow Americans: Book your flight to Havana as soon as possible!

HAVANA, CUBA — The Cubans are a very good looking people — very handsome men, very pretty women. Unlike in the U.S., you don’t see many obese people here. I suppose here in Cuba, as the island continues to face U.S. economic sanctions and the ongoing embargo, no one can afford to eat to excess here. The Cubans are remarkably lean and trim.

They also make exceptionally strong coffee. I couldn’t have made it through the day without good coffee, and fortunately the bar at our hotel served me a cup this Friday morning that was so strong I could drive a car on it. It was going to be a great day!

The bar also gave us a complimentary early breakfast made for folks on the run (the hotel’s breakfast buffet opened at 7 a.m. but we had a rendezvous with our tour guide before that), consisting of a ham and cheese sandwich, a sugary cookie, and a red apple. It felt very European. And it hit the spot.

What Was The Day’s Tour Like?

We walked down to the scheduled meeting place for our tour, Plaza de San Francisco de Asís in Old Havana, a stroll that took us a long the Caribbean Ocean – and let me tell you, it’s a truly spectacular view as the sun is coming up. Even in the darkness, people were out and about, no doubt the ones lucky enough to have a good job to go to. We had no trouble finding our meeting place: the state of Frederic Chopin sitting on a park bench. I joined him there.

Unlike the previous afternoon, the morning was delightfully mild, with a strong, cool breeze coming off the ocean. Sitting at that Chopin bench in the cobble stone square was enormously pleasurable, to say the least, and I could have sat there for an hour watching the world go by.

It’s unbelievable how ancient the cars are. It’s like watching an episode of Father Knows Best, with these 1950s vehicles that only pop up in the U.S. at vintage car shows. I’d sit there and watch them drive by, and wonder how the owners have kept them running so well all these decades later. Keep swapping out the engines?

Our tour guide Abel was late, and at first we thought there might have been a mix-up – maybe there was no tour and we were on our own for the day. But as we walked back to our hotel, we noticed Abel and our taxi driver Carlos waiting for us there. Mix-up over – we were on the road!

We spent about two hours on the highway — four lanes, two in each direction, and what was most amusing was to see our lanes being shared with tons of people on scooters and even on horse-drawn carriages. As Abel noted, in Cuba, the highways are to be shared by everyone, regardless of their mode of transportation. And due to their appealing price, scooters were everywhere.

It was nearly three hours before we reached the picturesque mountain town of Viñales. The region is strikingly beautiful, and Viñales is a gorgeous place, so radically different from big city Havana. This is a community of old narrow roads, farms all around us, and much smaller homes, but enticingly charming ones. First stop was a family-run tobacco farm up in the hills, where we got a tour of how they run the facility. That included how they prepare tobacco leaves to be made into the country’s rich Cuban cigars (widely available in Central Florida at the factories in tourist-friendly Ybor City). The owner who conducted the tour offered us free cigars, but Mel and I both had to decline since we don’t smoke (although I thought of my father, who on special occasions enjoyed a fine cigar.)

The owner took us inside their home, where they thanked us for stopping by and offered us a choice of a complimentary drink: rich Cuban coffee, or some Cuban Rum. Mel not being a consumer of either caffeinated drinks or alcohol, he declined both, but for me, I couldn’t resist trying the rum. Suffice to say it went down very smoothly and I was wishing I could take home several fine bottle of strong Cuban rum – yum!

Our tobacco farm host had something else quite fun to show us: a giant black pig that was his brother’s “pet” – and looked like it would make a great feast some day. The fact that our guide had named the pig “December 24” — yes, that was the pig’s name — suggested to me it would eventually end up on the holiday dinner plate, ham for everybody!

The owner also has his own pet in a cage, a “tree rat” that looked like a hybrid between a rat and a hamster. Living in that cage and seemingly quite affectionate, we were informed that the locals would catch these critters and have them for dinner, but this one seemed so adorable that it became a pet instead.

We also learned that the farmers train chickens for cockfighting. On this morning, their two chickens were tied up so they couldn’t attach one another. As Abel noted with a sly grin, it’s illegal to gamble on cockfights in Cuba, so hush hush (and wink wink!)

Next was a rendezvous to a factory where women sit inside a spacious — and hot — building without air conditioning, and under their tin roof, they would sort and package tobacco leaves and crops so they can be made into cigars. I had a feeling that in the dead of summer it got mighty uncomfortable sitting in that stuffy room all day, although I bet the women here were quite happy to have a paying job.

Next up: Lunch. Our guide and driver took us to a spectacular restaurant out in the countryside, with a breathtaking view of the mountains around us. A villa with outdoor seating, our travel company has prearranged a meal for the four of that was nothing if not generous: vegetable soup, raw veggies dripped in olive oil, and then servings of chicken, beef and lobster – yes, lobster!

Once again I got the attention of an adorable stray cat who enjoyed sampling my chicken and beef (the lobster seemed a bit too spicy for the little darling).

What a meal! And what a view!

I had ordered a special drink, sort of like a milk shake, which we had to pay for ($5 U.S.). When I handed our host a $20 bill, she told us (in Spanish) that we had given her too much money, although Abel quickly informed her that the rest was her tip. She lit up with excitement like a Christmas tree.

While we were at that restaurant, we noticed there were Japanese and German tourists nearby. Abel noted that Canadians, French and Russian tourists also love Cuba. Asked the difference between American and Canadian tourists, Abel said Canadians typically flock to Cuba’s beach resorts in the winter, while Americans (like us) tend to prefer tours of the countryside.

How Did the First Day’s Tour End?

We then made the nearly 3 hour drive back to Havana; on the highway we noticed men standing on the side holding up a large block of fresh cheese, which Abel said was quite popular with the locals. We didn’t stop to sample any, though.

This was a 9 hour tour that day, a very long day indeed, but quite a rewarding one. After Carlos dropped us off at our hotel, it was past 5 p.m. so we decided to try the restaurant at the hotel for dinner.

We got a big surprise when we first walked into the lobby. There was a massive group of Americans checking in, including three sets of parents and a bunch of high-energy and unruly teenagers. Girls on their smartphones – yikes! Turns out they were all from Kentucky, here to see Havana.

Small world.

We were the only ones in the restaurant. Good meal!

Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book A Christmas Eve Story. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.

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