Es Cuba...had the phrase gone from being comic to being a cop out?

My companions during my looong wait at the airport...my book and Ipod (if you look closely enough you can see I was listening to "El Chan Chan").

On my last day I experienced Cuba at its most frustrating.  After eating a delicious Cuban breakfast at our casa and saying our sad goodbyes to Sergio, Miriam, and their daughter, we departed for the airport.  We checked in with the airline and got through customs with no problem.  I wanted to get rid of as much evidence as I could of me being in Cuba before returning to the U.S., so I spent my last few CUC$’s on a book (Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Year's of Solitude" in Spanish) and a salsa DVD, only to find out 5 minutes later that our flight was going to be delayed for 7 hours.  Now, I was stuck at the airport with no money for food or drink and I was going to miss my connection in Cancun.  Normally I would not have been too distraught over a delayed flight, since I am a seasoned traveler and have accepted that this is a part of traveling, however, I had my final exams of the semester scheduled for the next day and they could not be missed under any circumstances.  I excused myself from Kristin and some other Americans that we had befriended and went to sit alone for a while to regain my composure.  I calmed myself down by listening to Buena Vista Social Club on my i-pod and reading my book of the trip that was fittingly named, "Es Cuba: Life and Love on the Illegal Island,” written by Lea Aschkenas.  Travel did not protect you from the dark side as I had wished it would.  It merely allowed you to experience everything, the good and the bad, more fully and deeply.

After a while I came to terms with the fact that there was nothing I could do about the situation and I did not want to let it ruin my wonderful time in Cuba.  Those 7 hours in the airport afforded me a long time to reflect on my trip.  The island was full of life and desperation at the same time.  Surrounded by tropical heat, the beat of salsa music, dilapidated architecture, and the constant presence of political unease; in Cuba I had the constant feeling that something was just about to occur, because in a places so full of uncertainty the only thing that was for sure was that something inevitably would happen. 

As we were finally boarding our flight we discovered that the reason for the flight delay was due to the wheels of the plane catching on fire upon landing and they desperately had to search for new wheels to replace the charred ones.  If you find yourself on a Cubana flight in the future all I can say is buena suerte!

Prior to our trip, Kristin and I researched how to avoid getting our passport stamped twice.  We both came to the conclusion from everything we had read and heard first-hand that the customs agents in Mexico would see our U.S. passports and know not to stamp them again.  Wow, were we wrong!  Apparently, you need to place at least 20USD$ in your passport when you hand it over to the agent as a bribe.  Neither of us had any money left and begged the agent to mercifully let us pass through without the stamp, but to her we were just two rich gringas that deserved a little lesson.  She did, however, let us choose which page the stamp would go on and we both chose pages that were covered in stamps in hope that the second stamp would go unnoticed by U.S. agents.

The U.S. State Department's official policy has been that the embargo we have against Cuba is purely economic.  Therefore, it is not exactly illegal to visit the country; it is only illegal to spend money there, which of course we did.  There is a hefty fine and possible jail time for those caught.  I was convinced though that everything would work out in the end and I tried my best to convince Kristen’s troubled mind as well.

Unfortunately, the Jetblue counter was closed by the time we reached Cancun.  Thus, we would have to wait until the morning to try and get on the next possible flight.  I was determined to have Cubana pay for our hotel room and although it took over an hour to get my wish, not only did Cubana pay for our hotel room, but they also paid for our dinner and breakfast the next day!