Cuba

            Southern Cuba was bound to be my next destination. It has been, with the rest of the country, ruled by a communist dictatorship for more than 50 years. Despite its natural beauty, its foreign policy has largely kept the influences of “Western” industrialization out. This lack of development has helped Cuba to be fairly heavily inhabited, yet largely preserved. Unfortunately, this also has made my route into the country (US citizens are not meant to enter Cuba) very circuitous. For legal reasons, I must not disclose it here.

            Once in the country, I had a great time. Even though it’s on a transform fault, there have luckily been rather few, and un-menacing earthquakes as of late. This kind of fault can cause earthquakes as the plates slide along each other, but the most recent quake was only a 5.6.

I had a very peaceful adventure, in which I just hiked & biked from one small town to another, living a brief life in the countryside, and feeling like humanity was truly at peace with nature.

             In a typical day, for example, I would eat a quaint little meal at the local inn, then pack a small bag for a day trip to some waterfall or nearby beach. Setting out a leisurely pace, I would soon get horribly lost, end up in some random meadow, and get chased around by a cow until I climbed a low-branched tree and ate my picnic there. 

After a brief nap, I would puzzle over my map until someone came along, who would give me directions. Once back at the hotel, I’d just go on a brief jog by the river, then go to bed.

                        Did you notice anything? For one trip, I used no GPS, cell phone, or laptop. I ate no packaged food, and didn’t ride a single bus, car, or train. Most shockingly, I was fine without them, because it was a different world out there. Maybe a better one.