It is remarkable to leave Miami and land in another country that had been a prohibited location, in 30 minutes! In the time of a suburban commute, a journey begins.

We landed in the Jose Marti airport, and the very first thing we saw was a billboard with Che Guevara’s image recalling the revolution. Throughout our stay, billboards and signage reminded us that what was once a predominantly Catholic country, had a new religion: the revolution. Fidel and Che were everywhere.

A bus brought us to our hotel in the heart of downtown Havana. This hotel, part of an international chain, was clean and more than adequate, but certainly not posh. For example, the elevators did not always work.

We were required to change our US dollars for pesos, and as I recall Canadian dollars were also acceptable in exchange. Canada had supplied many of the tourism dollars for several years. Unlike our tour group, Canadians could enter Cuba freely and stay at beach resorts and travel throughout the country. A Cuban peso converted to .04 US dollars.

Our tour was carefully planned to the minute, with every day organized and always conducted by our US guide, who was joined in Havana by a Cuban guide, a young woman who was highly educated, fluent in Russian and English, who had been a Russian translator, and had applied eagerly for the guide position for American tours. She was warm and friendly, and in time, became cautiously open with us about life in Cuba. Once we got to know her better, we understood that the Cuban tour guides were always tipped by American tourists in US dollars, and with those dollars, these young people could buy the goods they otherwise could not afford. Our guide had a washer and dryer and a TV thanks to American dollars.

Our tour took us through historic Havana, introduced us to Cuban judges, architects, lawyers and doctors, each at their professional organization’s houses. Meetings were always followed by lunch. These meals were typically rice and beans and a small protein, usually pork. We had lunches on the water with government officials, while we were serenaded by Cuban musicians, setting the stage for dance with the speakers. Sometimes the view from the restaurant was straight across to Florida.