Cuba was anticlimactic in the fact that we just did Belize and Cuba isn't all that far off as far as cuisine goes. Typical with a lot of the islands of course- this wasn't our first go 'round with rice and beans. Fortunately, I love both rice and beans, so it doesn't hurt my feelings. We had traditional rope vieja, rice and beans and a guava pastry for dessert. It was all pretty tasty.
Cuba is a Caribbean island nation under communist rule. It has sugar-white beaches and is dotted with tobacco fields, which play a part in the production of the country's legendary cigars. The capital, Havana, is lined with pastel houses, 1950s-era cars and Spanish-colonial architecture in the 16th-century core, Old Havana. Salsa music plays in the dance clubs and cabaret shows are performed at the famed Tropicana.
- Cuba is the 17th largest island in the World by land area and holds a population of 11.3 million people.
- Cuba has a literacy rate of 99.8%.
- In 1886, after 350 years, Cuba becomes the second to last country in the Americas to abolish slavery.
- From 1991-1994, with a few years to follow, Cuba underwent a ‘Special Period’ in which the citizens of the country were put on a ration system and every day conveniences disappeared overnight.
- The Daiquiri was invented in the now very popular, La Floridita bar in Old Havana. Ernest Hemingway is said to have helped in dreaming up the now popular concoction.
- Cuba has 70,000 qualified doctors. The whole of Africa has only 50,000.
- Approximately 2% of Cuba’s arable land is given over to coffee production and the industry supports a workforce of 265,000 workers.
- An average of at least 150,000 licensed US travelers visit Cuba legally each year.
- An average of at least 50,000 illegal US tourists visit Cuba each year.
- On March 12, 1857, it snowed in Cuba. It is the only time in history that the island has seen snow.
- The United States pays Cuba $4,085 each month for rent of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Cuba has never cashed the checks. It is rumored Fidel Castro kept them in his top desk drawer
- John F. Kennedy bought 1,200 Cuban cigars just hours before he ordered the US trade embargo that is still in place today.
- There is a statue of John Lennon in Havana’s John Lennon Park. The glasses have been stolen so many times that there is now a guard to hold them. They only get placed when tourists arrive for photos.
- Cuba did not officially recognize Christmas as a holiday until 1997.
- Cuba has over 200 bays and 250 beaches to explore, making it arguably the best beach destination in the Caribbean.
- Bacardi Rum was originally manufactured in Cuba, however production was moved to Puerto Rico after Fidel Castro took power.
- Until 2011, there was an import ban on cars in Cuba. Until this time and even still today, a majority of the cars on the road are classic cars from the 1950’s.
- There are no animals or plants in Cuba that are poisonous or lethal to humans.
- Cubans were not allowed to own a cell phone until 2008, when the ban was lifted by President Raul Castro’s government.
- Out of the 38,000 miles of roadways in Cuba, half are unpaved.
- Voting in Cuba is legally mandatory.
- The world smallest frog and smallest hummingbird are found in Cuba.
- 90% of Cubans have homes under their ownership.
