Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 29, 2017 7A
Cuba: ‘go see it now before it changes’
Continued from Page 1A
While many residents are
too poor to maintain their
homes, the buildings and
streets are clean.
“It’s clean, and there is ab-
solutely no graffiti. No graffi-
ti,” Wheeler said. “Isn’t that
wonderful? They have their
morals.”
As ambassadors, people
on the trip were asked to
bring gifts for the people
they visited in Cuba, Wheel-
er said.
“The average Cuban citi-
zen makes between $250
and $300 per month, so out
of that, they have to pay for
their transportation, food
and their clothing,” Wheel-
er said. “They don’t have
freezers and they don’t
have refrigerators because
they are too expensive for
them to have, so they have
to go to the market every
day.”
But so are the tourists,
and here is one place that
Wheeler sees an emerging
conflict. She said the mar-
ket owners see an opportu-
nity to make more money
off tourists and mark up
prices. The tourists buy the
best produce.
“What is left is inferior
product, and who buys it?
The local people,” she ex-
plained. “And what happens
to the price? The price goes
up, so that is the problem
that they have.”
She added that govern-
ment-run stores are often
depleted or have just a few
items for sale.
Cubans may be resource
poor, but they are culture
rich. Wheeler said she was
impressed many times over
with the art, music and food.
“Music is all around. Peo-
p l e a re w h i s t l i n g a n d
singing. There’s always
music,” she said.
She said Cubans seeming-
ly can turn anything into art.
People make art of recycled
coffee pots, build sculptures
covered in bright tile, and
p a i n t g i g a n t i c m u ra l s,
Wheeler said.
Then there is the rum —
Wheeler said it’s referred to
as “Vitamin R” — and she
couldn’t resist indulging in a
daiquiri on occasion. On
one of her free afternoons,
she went to Ernest Heming-
way’s favorite bar, La Floridi-
ta, for lunch.
The American writer is
something of a national hero
to Cubans. His estate has
been turned into a museum,
at which visitors can get a
glimpse of how he lived his
life there, complete with his
library and typewriter.
The frosty U.S.-Cuban re-
lationship reaching back
decades didn’t seem to influ-
ence how Wheeler and her
travel companions were
treated.
“One man came up to a
woman in our group and
grabbed her by the arm and
started singing our national
anthem, in English,” Wheel-
er said. “That’s their attitude
towards America. They are
very open to Americans. I
didn’t see hostility.”
What she experienced in-
stead was incredible kind-
ness.
“I just truly love the
Cubans. Their music is just
unbelievable,” Wheeler said.
“The history is so rich. The
people and the food. I can’t
say enough. It’s a wonderful
place to visit.”
Wheeler recommends
people interested in travel-
ing there learn as much as
they can about Cuba and its
history before going. She
said she wants to go back in
about five years to see how
it’s changed, but for those
who haven’t seen it, the time
is now.
“It’s just a place that peo-
ple need to go see, and go
see now before it changes,”
Wheeler said.
JANET WHEELER /for the Itemizer-Observer
Modern tour buses share the roads with colorful classic cars.
JANET WHEELER /for the Itemizer-Observer
The ocean view from Janet Wheeler’s hotel room in Havana.
JANET WHEELER /for the Itemizer-Observer
Ernest Hemingway’s typewriter is on display at his farm, now a museum.
JANET WHEELER /for the Itemizer-Observer
Men gather to play dominos on the street. They are sur-
rounded by beautifully designed and painted buildings
that have fallen into disrepair.
JANET WHEELER /for the Itemizer-Observer
People line up outside La Floridita. Ernest Hemingway’s signature is shown on the outside of the bar. This was
one of the author’s favorite places in Cuba. Inside is a statue of him next to a photo of him and Fidel Castro.
JANET WHEELER /for the Itemizer
JANET WHEELER /for the Itemizer-Observer
Besides classic cars, another form of transportation on the Cuban streets are “coconut
cabs” or “coco cabs,” named for their shape.
Boats docked at a harbor in Cuba. Wheeler’s time was split between planned group
trips and sightseeing on her own or with friends.