This beta site is under construction and may not always work the way you expect.

End the Cuba travel ban!

Moon

Here comes Cuba!

 

Click here to support the ‘Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act’ Click here to support OpenCuba.org Are you ready for Cuba? © Christopher P Baker Travelers visiting Cuba today do so at a fascinating historical moment. President Obama’s victory, and the Democratic takeover of Congress in 2006, has emboldened anti-embargo forces. In January 2009, a bipartisan bill was introduced to end existing travel restrictions to Cuba. In September 2009, the bill had garnered almost enough supporters in Congress to pass. And then there's Raúl Castro, who has already extended an olive branch to Uncle Sam. Possibility hangs in the air like intoxicating aromas of añejo rum. After more than a decade of traveling to, and reporting on, Cuba, I'm suddenly feeling quite giddy. While authorities in Florida prepare for a possible flood of emigré’s fleeing Cuba after Fidel's demise, the island is preparing for a tidal wave in the other direction. A recent study predicts that five years after restrictions are lifted, three million U.S. citizens annually could be laying their towels on Cuba's sugar-fine sands. Unbeknown to most U.S. citizens, tourism to Cuba is already huge. More than 2.3 millions visitors arrived in 2006, second in the Caribbean only to the Dominican Republic’s 3.6 million tally. Canadians overwhelmingly lead the charge, followed by Brits. Visits by U.S. citizens, however, are currently restricted to Cuban-American visiting family (but limited to one visit every three years), plus journalists, sports figures, and a handful of other categories that qualify for licensed travel. Meanwhile, thousands of U.S. citizens end-run the restrictions by hopping planes to Cuba via Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, or Costa Rica. What those millions of visitors find leaves them spellbound. With all the hoopla about politics, it's easy to overlook the sheer beauty of the place. The talcum beaches shelving into bathtub-warm waters of Maxfield Parrish hues. The bottle-green mountains and emerald valleys full of dramatic formations. The ancient cities, with their flower-bedecked balconies, rococo churches, and palaces and castles evocative of the once mighty power of Spain. And, not least, the yank tanks of yesteryear–Edsels, Hudsons and Kaisers–on every block conjure up the decadent decades of martinis and mafiosi.” Read Christopher P. Baker’s recent stories on Cuba...  Cuba on the Horizon Caribbean Travel & Life  Chasing Che’s Chevy National Geographic Traveler