LIFESTYLES | LUXURY TRAVEL
'9&% 7M Despite a tourism ban, recent policy changes have made it easier than ever for Americans to travel to Cuba ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY JOHN ARUNDEL
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ohn F. Kennedy’s press secretary, Pierre Salinger, once recalled that in February, 1962, months before the Cuban Missile Crisis, his boss summoned him to the Oval Office. “I really need some help,” Kennedy told him. “I need you to get your hands on 1,000 Cuban cigars.” By the next morning, Salinger had procured 1,200 Upmann Petits, JFK’s favorite. “Good,” Kennedy said before reaching for a pen to sign Proclamation 3447, an embargo that forbade all Cuban goods - including its world-famous cigars - from reaching U.S. shores. Fifty-three years later, with President Obama’s recent relaxation of the trade embargo and the easing of restrictions on American travel to Cuba, it’s suddenly a lot easier for American tourists to pick up and strike up a true Habana in Cuba. That is where I found myself in August, with five other journalists watching, as third generation tobacco farmer Luis Suarez handrolled Cohibas in Cuba’s abundantly fertile Viñales Valley. “We have some of the richest soil anywhere,” Suarez said, noting proudly that “additives are not permitted on any of the farms here.” As most everything in Cuba is owned or
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controlled by its Communist government, the country’s cultivadors de tabaco are permitted to sell 10 percent of their crops, and it was here that we purchased Cohibas and Montecristos for about $4 apiece. Under new customs rules, Americans may now carry $400 in Cuban goods back home – including $100 of those long sought-after cigars. This is a long-awaited break for Cubans, who, two weeks before our visit, converted their Interests Section in Washington into full embassy status, and then a week later watched as three former U.S. Marines, at the direction of Secretary of State John Kerry, hoisted the Stars and Stripes at the U.S. Embassy on Havana’s famed Malecon. One of the Americans present was former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who had not been to Cuba since he was seven. “My trip to Havana exceeded all expectations,” Gutierrez said. “The city retains its beauty, the rich natural environment is stunning and the people are welcoming.” In March, Cuban President Raul Castro, former leader Fidel Castro’s brother, launched a Twitter account, with his first Tweets inviting Obama for a state visit. “In Cuba, change is already here,” said Potato Lopez, a former
Physics teacher who now works as a guide for Western tourists. “With the easing of travel restrictions in February, we’re seeing twice as many tourists coming from the United States.” To be sure, Cuba is still a country trapped in time, with its weathered buildings,and ’50s-era American cars still chugging down Havana’s dusty streets. While ultra-luxe beachfront hotels, new cars (the last dealership closed here in 1959), and modern conveniences still elude its grasp, Cuba is arguably one of the most culturallyrich and ruggedly charming places to visit on the planet right now. Cubans are unfailingly polite and helpful, and crime here is virtually non-existent. American tourists visiting Havana for the first time, will find a city steeped in history and Caribbean culture and enjoy a warm embrace of frozen rum drinks, cool ocean breezes and the ever-present soundtrack of jazz licks coming from bars and street corners. ATM’s, Internet and cellular service are tough to find, and credit cards are rarely accepted, so be sure to bring plenty of American dollars. We converted our U.S. curerency into
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