Frommer cuba pdf

They are easy to carry, quick to use, and sold for less than other competing guidebooks. Included are useful in-chapter maps plus a fold-out map to take on the go.

Get Inspired for Your Next Vacation. In sleepy Trinidad, pastel-colored buildings line cobbled streets, where cigar-smoking locals draw you into conversations about economics, or turn up the music and invite you to dance. To find a secluded beach, drive to the small rocky coves, transparent sea and palm tree-lined beaches of the Bay of Pigs. Beautifully restored Old Havana is home to the propaganda-heavy Museum of the Revolution , the perfect introduction to Cuba's contradictions.

The lack of signage outside of the capital is more than compensated for by roadside wanderers eager to provide directions in exchange for a ride home. After dark, head to Havana's swanky Vedado district for jazz accentuated by the lingering smell of cigar smoke. The Buena Vista Social Club 's world-famous tunes, and those of its imitators, blare from windows in every town across the island. The normally quiet U. Former President Jimmy Carter made a historic visit to Cuba in the spring of , voicing support for Castro's call for an end to the trade embargo and travel restrictions while also criticizing the Cuban government's lack of democracy.

Carter met with dissidents and gave an uncensored and at times harshly critical speech in front of Castro that was broadcast on Cuban television. However, Carter's visit had little lasting effect. In , Castro jailed some 75 prominent dissidents and government critics, imposing stiff sentences following abbreviated trials. In early and again in , the Bush administration tightened the screws on U.

In July , Fidel Castro fell ill and withdrew from public life. This was followed by a move to decentralize the state-run agricultural economy, including allowing farmers to till fallow land and to buy their own equipment. This move was aimed at boosting agricultural production and reducing the amount of food that Cuba imports. However, freedom to travel abroad is still restricted and access to the Internet is also heavily restricted. Like much of the world, Cuba suffered from the effects of the global recession: tourism was down and oil imports were limited because of a lack of cash.

At the same time, Cuba was still reeling from spending millions of dollars that were needed to restore parts of the country battered by three hurricanes in autumn Cuba's economy has become so strained that in a rare nod to private property development, Cuba signaled that it would allow foreign companies to develop golf and leisure developments with year leases.

One of those companies celebrating this news is Britain's Esencia www. On January 1, , Cuba celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Revolution, and after this low-key celebration, government officials announced that Cubans with the financial means could build their own homes -- a huge advance. Later that year, Castro leased millions of acres of uncultivated fertile state land to private farmers; this was followed, in April , with news that barber shops and beauty salons could trade privately, joining private restaurants paladares and bed and breakfasts casas particulares as means of self-employment.

Since fall , Cubans have been permitted to sell home-grown products from their homes and kiosks; this signals the end of Cuba's roadside sellers, who would illicitly flag traffic down on the highway to sell items like cheese or fruit. Also in fall , the Cuban government announced it would lay off more than a million state workers in the next few years. Some Cubans hoped that these unemployed state workers would be allowed to run small, private businesses -- and indeed, the government soon after announced proposals to allow forms of self-employment cuenta propia , including casa particulares, paladares, some forms of transportation, and guiding services.

As of November , only the punitive tax codes had been issued; licenses to launch the new forms of self-employments were expected soon after. The Communist Party's media, Granma www.

Unfortunately, infrastructure issues, like electricity blackouts, transportation problems, food shortages, and rationing of air-conditioning and supplies still persist. Cuba's economy is on its knees, pilfering from the state is widespread, and many Cubans are eagerly awaiting the prospect of self-employment licenses so that they can earn a decent living. However, it remains to be seen how these workers, who have only ever known state employment under the Castros, will manage and survive in private and self-employment.

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