A few final thoughts about my recent trip to Cuba.

First, my mistakes:
On the airplane to Miami I wore a long-sleeved shirt, but carried no jacket because I was going to a warm tropical place, yes? What I didn’t realize was that I was going to freeze on the airplane. When I asked the American Airlines stewardess for a blanket she rather sharply said, “We don’t have any.” (I had just seen a bunch of first-class people bundled in blankets, so I gave her a look.) The stewardess then added, “We haven’t had blankets in coach for five years.” Oh. So I told her again that I was cold hoping maybe the air conditioning could be adjusted. No such luck. I told my seat mates I was cold. When I left the plane I told the pilot standing in the doorway that I was cold. Nobody cared. I think my thin Las Vegas blood helped me to be cold, but I learned a BIG lesson. Take a jacket on the airplane…no matter your destination.

Mistake No 2: In packing shoes, I had brought my cute sandals and my not-so-cute tennis shoes. I wore the tennis shoes on the airplane which was good because I had lots of walking to do at the Las Vegas and Miami airports. But for our first day of touring (and the weather was beautiful) I decided to wear my sandals. However, we walked a great deal in Old Havana which has cobblestone streets. My cute sandals did not negotiate the streets well, and I had really sort feet at the end of day one. The cute sandals made only rare appearances after Day One.

Observations:
*** Although the Cuban hotels chosen for us were fine and offered us sample shampoo and lotion bottles along with modern plumbing and TVs, our group was encouraged to bring along toiletries such as shaving cream, soap, paper towels, etc. that could be given as gifts to the groups we visited. Our tour guide collected all the gifts at the beginning of the trip and doled them out as he thought appropriate. I don’t remember seeing gift shops in our hotels carrying any of these items, so yes, Cuba is a country of shortages.

*** I took ten Spanish lessons before my trip, but I didn’t need my new limited vocabulary because so many people we met spoke English. One of our group did try out her Spanish whenever she could, and I give her credit. I made a mental note to stick close to her should we ever get stranded without our tour guides.

*** Our tour included three verbal presentations regarding Cuban history. On our last night, we were privileged to meet a famous Cuban baseball player, Pedro Medina, and hear about the history of baseball in Cuba. Because I have friends and a brother who are baseball fans, I recorded most of the baseball presentation, and that video is included with this column. Orestes “Minnie” Minoso is mentioned in the history and that name is well known to us former Chicagoans.

*** We were advised to bring somewhere between $300 and $600 in cash for our week in Cuba. We were able to exchange money at the airport and at our hotels, and we could change our money back at the end of the trip. Credit cards are not usable. I bought a number of inexpensive souvenirs during the trip and paid for my meals not included with our tour. I spent about $350.

*** Most of our hotel rooms used both American and Cuban electrical outlets, but bringing a travel adapter for a Cuban outlet is still a good idea. My friend Mary had three such adapters with her. Mary also brought ear plugs. She had asked me before the trip if I snored and I told her I think I do. With those ear plugs, Mary slept right through my evening of making more than the usual number of trips to the rest room. At the movies, back in Las Vegas, my movie mate tapped me on the shoulder last Tuesday — I guess I had dozed off and I didn’t do so silently. Not my finest quality I guess.

Farewell to Cuba memories and to embarrassing moments. Next week, this column will return to Vegas.