LARK GOULD: Visit Cuba, time travel in the Caribbean

But therein lies Cuba’s charm. Cuba is what it is, what it was. It does not put on airs for tourists. Rough around the edges, it presents itself in bold honesty – from 19th century buildings in disrepair, beans and rice dishes made with a mother’s devotion, paintings telling of sordid history and hope, and cities, villages, mountain retreats and beach culture all mired in time that seems to have disappeared.

Any visit to Cuba comes with caveats and counsel. But having fun, getting into the beat of the surroundings and immersing in Cuba’s unprocessed beauty hover at the top of the do’s.

To start, consider six must-see regions and pare down from there

Havana, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Camaguey, Matanzas and Pinar del Rio are all on this list for their varying reasons of “musts.”

Havana
Havana Vieja is the epicenter of what is most intriguing about Cuba. The port was founded in 1519 under the Spanish Crown but the city is a swirl of influences that ensure it does not resemble any other Caribbean metropolis. Buildings tower in a collage of Cuban Baroque, Neoclassical and even Moorish touches. The Old City is compact and walkable, centering on four main plazas full character and charm: Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de Armas, Plaza Vieja and Plaza de San Francisco de Asis. Calle Obispo and Calle Mercaderes are the key streets that flow through Old Havana. They pass odd colored gardens, shopping bazaars selling Che hats, museums of what-nots, heady bars moving the mojotos and Cuba Libres and paladar bistros putting out plates of fresh seafood and plantains.

Not far from Havana along the Atlantic Coast find the historic center of Matanzas, known for fine colonial dwellings embellished with wrought ironwork. The boom days are now gone but the city still maintains enough lure to be labeled the Venice of Cuba – especially owing to its location on the sea with two rivers running through it.

Pinar del Rio

At the Western end of the island, Cuba’s capital of tobacco and, well, the exotic elixir called guayabita (a rough-hewn spirit derived from the fruits of midget guava trees), Pinar del Río presents a casual Cuban laid-back essence, charming in compact streets lined with little colonial, pastel-colored houses. Check out the Museo de Ciencias Naturales Sandalio de Noda for odd stuffed specimens and head to the Casa del Habano for top choices in cigars.

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