ABSTRACT
Cuba is a country on everyone‧s ‘to do list‧, teetering on the edge of change, as the world holds its breath waiting for Fidel Castro and his 50-year regime to pass into the realms of history. Cuba is the largest of the Caribbean islands, and has the broadest racial mix. It lies only 90 miles off the Florida Coast, yet despite its enduring, crippling relationship with the US, boasts one of the world‧s best health and education systems. Havana, its capital city, is characterized by its classic American cars and old colonial buildings, many now being given a new lease of life in an innovative restoration programme. Poverty, prostitution and corruption are communist Cuba‧s inheritance, and as part of an attempt to challenge its isolation and to bring in foreign currency, there has been massive development of the tourism industry. The capital, with its faded grandeur and intoxicating mix of heady Afro-Caribbean music and dance, is the first stop for most tourists, yet there are many opportunities for interesting experiences elsewhere in this vibrant and colourful country. Beach resorts sweep the length and breadth of the country and picturesque towns and colonial cities abound. Cuba vibrates with an energy and charisma not anticipated of a communist state. With characters like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro dominating the historic landscape of Cuba and the revolution still seeming to be current, it‧s not surprising to find this a country of passionate, intelligent and resilient people, with a fiery culture to match.
