At the end of a wonderful, relaxing week at the lovely and
well-appointed Marea del Portillo Resort, I moved off campus, one could
say. Or, as I like to say, I went rogue! But, it wasn’t a “girl’s gone
wild” type of thing; it was a carefully planned shift in lifestyle.
Well, it was planned as carefully as one can plan anything in Cuba these
days! When not staying at a resort, plans must be flexible and should
always include a willingness to go with the flow.
During the off-resort flow of my March trip to Cuba, I spent two weeks
at the home of an amiga in Pilón. Her son was away at university, so I
took over his room and was very graciously taken care of by my host and
other friends. But, in the small town that is less than 15 km away from
the resort, life is quite different from a tourist compound. Frequent
power outages were the biggest challenge, as they continue to be in most
parts of the country. The resort is on a different part of the local
electrical grid, so their supply is more consistent.
While I was in Pilón, the power generally came and went at intervals of
roughly 5-6 hours at a stretch. However, the times of outage were not
according to a set schedule; they were maddeningly and inexplicably
variable. At some points, the electricity was off for as much as 10-12
hours. Over all, during that two-week period, the power was off more
than it was on.
The unpredictability was (and is) extremely frustrating and makes everything
more difficult. It can create cascading problems since many daily tasks
require electricity, both at home and at work, from charging one’s
phone to cooking. There’s an ever-present concern that the food in one’s
fridge or freezer will go bad. And, it's hard to sleep when the power's
off, the heat rises and the mosquitoes are hungry.
People have become necessarily creative when it comes to cooking. My host likes to say she “invents” solutions to cooking or other problems, and she’s a very good inventor! Given the randomness of the electrical supply and the unavailability of gas for cooking, she sometimes made do with an alcohol-based fuel. Many people use wood or charcoal to cook, but the latter has become a bit expensive.
An article I read recently says that Cuban pork production fell by 91% in the past few years, going from 149,400 tons in 2018 to only 13,300 in 2023. Similarly, rice production declined from 273,800 tons to 27,900, which is a drop of 90%. That means more rice than ever must be imported, since it is an essential part of the national diet. Paying for imported products of any kind, however, is increasingly difficult for the Cuban government.
Meanwhile, the people struggle on, inventing as best they can. Although they didn’t originate in Cuba, I was very glad for inventions like rechargeable fans, lights and battery packs! If you’re planning a trip to Cuba, I would encourage you to take solar lights and fans that can be recharged when the power is on – as well as basic medicine cabinet supplies (especially acetaminophen and ibuprofen) and any types of protein you can fit into your luggage. Cured and canned meats are “kosher,” according to current customs regulations. To cut down on weight, I also took tuna that I had dehydrated.
On a few occasions, I was able to take my friends out for meals at private restaurants like “Kocha’s Place,” which is a few blocks away from Pilón’s main square. You can find it on Google maps. Since Kocha had supplied his family’s café/bar with a generator, they could serve hot food when the power was off… as long as there was fuel to run it, of course.
For my final week in Cuba, I planned to attend the annual book fair in Bayamo, which is about 145 km from Pilón. A small bus had been arranged for attendees from more distant towns and, since I was included on the passenger list as a guest of one of the local writers, I felt confident that I would have transportation. I did, but it was not without a hitch or two!
On the day we were supposed to meet our “Diana,” the brand name of that type of little bus, I loaded my luggage into a horse cart and went to the designated meeting place, close to the town’s only gas station, at the appointed hour of 8 a.m. I seated myself on a nice rock beside the road and waited. My travelling companion arrived poetically late, since he had to walk from his home in a more distant part of town, carrying his assorted bags. We began to wait, and wait, and wait.
As the morning bled into afternoon, ZZ Top’s classic song, “Waitin’ For the Bus,” was playing on endless loop in my mind. We eventually received word that the bus was on its way from Bayamo to pick us up, but progress was slow because it had to make a lot of stops. By this time, we had shifted our butts to a bench in the yard of an adjacent home, where a bathroom was also available. Then it started to rain.
Once aboard the Diana bus with the other authors, we settled in for a long ride – protracted by the requirement to pick up anyone and everyone who was waiting at a bus stop, and to let them off wherever necessary. That’s how it goes in Cuba. If a bus or truck isn’t full, the doors will be opened for people needing transportation.
Eventually, we made it to Bayamo and pulled into a gas station but, after refuelling, Diana remained immobile. Another problem had arisen – the location of my casa particular (Cuban B&B) was not conducive to bus traffic. Little Diana was too big to navigate the narrow street where I would be staying. After some discussion, my friend and I agreed to jump off at the nearest intersection and haul our luggage the half-block to the casa. Thank goodness for suitcases with sturdy wheels!
While in Pilón, I had not been able to take a long, hot shower, due to the electricity woes. The primary water tank for my friend’s apartment is located on the roof of the building and, in that town, the municipal water supply is only turned on every three days. Unfortunately, for the entire two weeks I was there, the timing didn’t jive for us to have water and electricity simultaneously. Therefore, we madly rationed water, since we didn’t really know how much remained in the rooftop tank.
On the day I left town, my friend reported that she finally had both water and power at the same time, which meant she was able to use her electric pump to refill the tank. I was greatly relieved to learn that she could finally do laundry, have a longer shower and not have to worry so much.
Once ensconced in Bayamo, all went remarkably well. The casa was located near the heart of town, so it was an easy walk to most of the main book fair activities and, in that quadrant, the electricity supply was more stable. In fact, there was barely a hiccup in power that week, which was nice. In addition to hot showers, I quite enjoyed hanging out with the literati of Granma and playing tourist in the province’s capital.
Since I had more leisure time on this trip, I was finally able to go to
the wax museum in it’s new location on the city’s charming pedestrian
street. Believe it or not, this is the only wax museum in all of Cuba!
Although the bird exhibit, which I had fondly recalled from a previous
tour, was being refurbished, the other displays have been updated and
expanded. It’s certainly worth a visit, if you’re in town.
I could wax philosophical about Cuba’s current woes but, at this point, I
think it’s time to sign off. I’ve given you plenty to read for now!
Keep smiling,
Jenny
BONUS PHOTOS!!!
