First let me start off by saying I am glad you enjoyed your trip to Cuba. From what I have heard it is a beautiful place that resembles the island of Puerto Rico where my family is from. I doubt if I will ever visit since I have this thing about visiting any country outside of the US where a passport is required and Americans are not usually welcome. How was the food BTW? I heard Cuban Cuisine is delicious, I have tried Cuban food here in Florida and it taste great but have been told it's even better in Cuba.

Now, I have to say that I am quite disappointed that you could not keep your political thoughts out of what started off as a good read and ended as a good one as well.

I am curious, how long were you in Cuba? I'm not too sure that a short trip to a country who's tourist industry caters to outsiders and their money would show the evils that have the people of Cuba willing to risk life and limb on makeshift boats trying to reach American soil. I may not have been to Cuba, but I have many Cuban friends who came here legally and illegally that would spite in your face for that comment above. You say crime rate in Cuba is low but apart from most people having very little to steal, most people would rather not have to deal with the local police and military from Cuba since they are aware of the penalties for crimes. I have been told horror stories of people who have done things you would think a spanking would be overboard.

The fact that you saw so many poor people makes me wonder just how much you understand poverty seeing as you are one who cries often about the poor in the US who by comparison are rich. One thing most Cubans I have spoken to say that you mentioned here is that they do have an excellent education system and a decent medical system. But then Fidel is not that dumb either, what would be the purpose of controlling a country full of sick people and uneducated people? It's not like the guy hates his people, he just has different beliefs as to how to run a country. Still, the constant wave of Cubans making to Florida shores shows not everyone is OK with free education and medicine. I am curious as to how you were willing to ignore this part of Cuban life just because you spoke to a few people and saw very little that could convince you of something you had already accepted as BS?

I can only imagine you were not in the rough areas of Cuba, unless you are some type of dare devil looking for danger I doubt you made it your business to actually seek out these areas where people fear speaking out against Fidel. One to many times I heard about people who were taken away and never seen again because of such things. But I believe that you did not go to Cuba searching for all these evil people and those who suffered at their hands. You found exactly what you were looking for, some kind of proof that would say to the contrary of what everyone in this country was "indoctrinated to believe in".

I don't know about you artysim, but even though I have never set foot in Cuba, I have met, known and spoken to enough Cubans to know that while Cuba is not hell on Earth, it sure as hell is not paradise or even Las Vegas. Most Cubans I know would love to go back and want their country to be more like Puerto Rico. Not in the sense of being part of the US but in a sense of more freedom with less tyranny.

I believe things in Cuba are not as bad as they were 20 or 30 years ago. Fidel is old, his brother is not horrifying as he is, times have changed and Cubans are not as terrified as before. So there is a chance Cuba may someday immerge to be a more democratic country, hopefully soon.

I think this was essentially Arty's point. this Cuba isn't the Cuba of the 1960's or even the Cuba of 2000.  Partial capitalism is already a fait accompli and the point of the economic sanctions has long passed.

I am no particular fan of President Obama or a lover of Fidel Castro but the time has in fact come no matter who is in office. I won't simply say that we should stay the course with Cuba (despite it's changes) just because the guy I backed for President didn't win.

Charles, you make good points. I will respond to them in turn-

First off, it's pretty hard to hide these evils for a very simple reason. Cuba is a small country, it's population is just shy of 12 million and each year, close to 2 million people visit Cuba as tourists. So, each year the equivalent of 16% of the entire population of the island comes for a look-see. Now, if there were say only a few thousand tourists per year and they kept everyone bottled up on a locked away beach, that would indeed be one thing.

However, they actively promote tourism across the island. We went to Havana and the Bay of Pigs, both of which involved traversing a good portion of the island, going through a good number of towns along the way. Also, tourists are encouraged to rent autos and toodle around. No one follows you or makes sure that you won't see anything nasty. You're free to explore.

As to the number of Cubans living in the U.S, Cuba's history has definitely not been pretty -and- there is a very significant incentive for Cubans to go to the U.S. Yes, I too have heard horror stories from the Soviet days, and after the collapse in 1990 many more folks left because of economics- with their main benefactor gone (Soviet Union) Cuba was pretty much on it's own for a few years meaning a lot of the basic amenities were pretty threadbare.

On the other side of the coin, any Cuban who enters the U.S has a host of incentives and is very easy to get permanent residency granted (The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 as well as a host of other Congressional acts make financial, healthcare and education assistance freely available to many newly arrived Cubans), so facing a life of uncertain privation thanks to economic isolation -or- getting a big leg up in another country, I can definitely understand why many folks would make this choice

Well, in this case poverty has to be defined. Cuba in general is a poor country, meaning that the average joe doesn't have a six bedroom house, two cars and a big screen T.V. This is complicated by the fact that until recently many imports and goods Cubans could not get. On the flipside, as I mentioned, everyone is guaranteed food, shelter education and universal healthcare. 'Shelter' may not be the Taj Mahal, but it's a lot better than living on the streets.

Also, because it's a communist country, most folks are still employed by the government and paid in a wage that is enough to perhaps buy a pair of shoes once per month. So, while monetarily the average citizen does not have the means to go out and purchase a big screen TV or pickup truck, they also have food, shelter, education and transportation provided.

Thanks greywar, bingo!

I'll be the first to admit that Cuba's past is no bed of roses. When I was there less than a week ago however, I found a nation of mostly happy, hopeful folks who've been through some tough times and are pretty resilient because of it!

I know what you mean, but he did not make it seems like he was talking about comparing Cuba today to Cuba 20 years ago. Had he said something in the form of "the Gov't in Cuba seems to have changed for the better" then it would make sense, but his comments pointed towards the idea that Cuba's Govt is not as bad as we are lead to believe whn to this date it still is, it's just not as violent as before.

Cuba is small, but I am from Puerto Rico and as you can see below Puerto Rico is much smaller yet it's a pretty big island to me. People are not kept locked up, but most are smart enough to steer clear of certain areas. The people in Cuba are not miserable as they may have been decades ago, after all they have lived like this for so long, it's a lifestyle to them now. But they still want to be able to live with less fear, more freedom and better opportunities and so far Fidel is not willing to provide it.

As I said, being the leader of a bunch of sick, dying people is not beneficial to Fidels rule. It would force countries like the US to become more directly involved and Fidel does not want that. But you can't say that just because they get enough to survive, that this is OK. They deserve the same chances we have here. It's clear that Fidel achieved that which he aimed for with free education, helthcare and food, he has people convinced he is not as bad as some portray him. To ignore the truth of this man just because of these minor things is wrong, plain and simple.

Cuba today is obviously not the disaster it was decades ago, but people are still leaving the island, stories still continue today and Fidel still has no rivals that can replace him thru any kind of election. Cuba today is OK compared to before, but OK is still not good enough and stating something like "the "evil communist" regime that we've been indoctrinated to believe in" is a smack in the face to all of those who have suffered in the past and who still suffer today.

It's a wonderful to visit so long as you're not earning what the average local earns. Probably a great place to live if your needs are modest and you agree with the government.

Well, please provide your evidence for this Charles!

This shows your lack of understanding of Cuban history my good fellow! If you go back and study it, you'll find that a big reason why the revolution was so succesful was particularly because of massive American meddling from 1898 all the way  up until 1959 when Batista fled the country. All throughout this time, life for the average Cuban was not pretty while a very small number of mobsters made off with the wealth of the nation