What I Didn’t Know About Cuba

It’s easy to write about other people’s fears and misconceptions about Cuba (see post, “You’re Going to Cuba?!”) It’s considerably harder to cop to my own ignorance. My three years in Cuba as a child did not immunize me against the omnipresent cultural messaging in our good old US of A. I experienced a multitude of surprises during my preparatory reading for my upcoming trip, and I'm sharing some below. See if you can answer the following questions. Go ahead! You don't have to tell me. (Answers to all questions at the bottom of this post.)

1. How many cities are there in Cuba with more than 100,000 inhabitants? How many can you name? I will confess that I could name only one big city other than Havana, only because I read up when my youngest son landed there a few years ago. What was I thinking? That Cuba was composed of Havana at one end, a US navy base at the other, and peasants pulling plows in between? Truly, I shudder at my ignorance!
2. How many tourists enjoy Cuba each year?
3. How many international airports are there in Cuba?
4. How many UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) sites are there in Cuba?
5. Okay, let's just say you own a yacht and you want to cruise on down to Cuba. How many international customs docks do you have to choose from?
6. What is Cuba's infant mortality rate and how does it compare to the United States?
7. What is life expectancy in Cuba and the United States?

Valle de Viñales, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Tobacco farming in the Valle de Viñales

1 Thirteen cities of more than 100,000 people: Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Holguín, Guantánamo, Santa Clara, Las Tunas, Bayamo, Cienfuegos, Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila, Sancti Spíritus

2. More than four million.

3. Ten, according to the October 2017 edition of Lonely Planet, the biggest by far being José Martí International Airport near Havana.

4. Nine!  Read all about them on Wikipedia:                                                 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Cuba

5. There are seven! Count em'--- seven ports of entry in Cuba. As a northwest boater, this one blew my mind. The dominant cultural image is desperate Cuban refugees braving perilous seas between Havana and Miami, not cruising yachts radioing in on the VHF: "Hello, This is Knot So Fast. 34 feet. Do you have a slip for the night? Over."

6. Infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths in the first year for every 1,000 live births. It is widely used as an indicator of maternal and infant health, and is an important marker of the overall health of a society. Lack of access to health care, poor maternal health, and prenatal and postnatal care all contribute to infant mortality. The World Factbook, a publication of the US CIA, reports that Cuba's infant mortality rate was 4.4 in 2017. The rate is the USA was 5.8, a number which masks huge state-level variation. Go ahead, check it out! 
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html

7. Life expectancy in Cuba and the United States have been nearly identical for a very long time, but Cuban longevity comes at a much lower cost. According to a 2016 article in The Atlantic, Cuba spent just $813 per person per year, while the United States spent $9,403 per person per year. Gulp!

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/11/cuba-health/508859/

I admit, what I don't know about Cuba would fill several volumes, but I'm ready to learn. My trip will be full of surprises! Eleven days until departure from Ft. Lauderdale. I can't wait!