Cuba

Overview

Banished for many from the community of the western world by the American boycott, Cuba is slowly coming back. And in fact there are many good reasons to visit the Island. Cuba offers not only some of the world's finest beaches but also a rich cultural heritage and vibrant, passionate approach to life that has been enticing visitors throughout the ages. With a population of 11 million - the largest in the Caribbean - 20% of Cubans live in Havana.

Situated between Jamaica and the Bahamas, Cuba has a delightful tropical climate with year round sunshine, a daytime temperature that rarely falls below 26°C and warm, clear waters that gently lap against idyllic beaches of fine white sand and shady palm trees.

Further out to sea this fine sand gives way to some of the most exquisite coral reef to be found anywhere in the Caribbean, providing a perfect natural habitat for a wide array of underwater life... a mesmerising spectacle which no visitor should miss.

Yet if you do manage to drag yourself away from the sea, you'll find a fascinating country, one that beguiles it's visitors with a heady combination of Spanish, African and Caribbean influences, evident wherever you go, in its sights, sounds and tastes. Most of all though, you will remember Cuba for the people. Naturally open and friendly, you are assured the warmest welcome in the Caribbean, a welcome that lasts from the day you arrive till the day you leave... awaiting your return.

Another side of...more

History

The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule was severe and exploitative and occasional rebellions were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 1,498 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in 2004. Before the 1959 Revolution, Cuba was a popular tourist destination for United States citizens. Since the...more