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The US claims to be the greatest success story of the modern world - a nation fashioned from an incredibly disparate population who, with little in common apart from a desire to choose their own paths to wealth or heaven, rallied around the ennobling ideals of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to forge the richest, most inventive and most powerful country on earth.
Despite polemicists who justly cite the destruction of Native American cultures, racism and imperialism at the top of a long list of wrongdoings, half the world remains in love with the idea of America. This is, after all, the country that introduced the world to the right to the pursuit of happiness, free speech, electric light, airplanes, assembly-line automobiles, the space shuttle, computers, blues, jazz, rock & roll and movies that climax at the high-school prom.
On a short trip, it can be hard work dismantling your preconceptions. So much of the country has been filmed, photographed, painted and written about that you need to peel back layers of representation to stop it from looking like a stage setting. This worldwide representation can make the country seem strangely familiar when you first encounter novelties like 24-hour shopping, bottomless cups of coffee, 'Have a nice day,' drive-thru banks, TV evangelists, cheap gasoline and newspapers tossed onto lawns. But you'd be foolish to read too much into this surface familiarity, since you only have to watch Oprah for half an hour to realize that the rituals and currents of American life are as complex, seductive and bewildering as the most alien of cultures.
Come prepared to explore the USA's unique brand of 'foreignness' rather than stay in the comfort zone of the familiar. You'll discover several of the world's most exciting cities, some truly mind-blowing landscapes, a strong sense of regionalism, a trenchant mythology, more history than the country gives itself credit for and, arguably, some of the most approachable natives in the world.
Americans love parades and pageantry, so there's no shortage of events and festivities. Half the country comes to a standstill during the Super Bowl, the roving American-football finale held in late January. New Orleans' Mardi Gras, in February or March, is a rowdy, touristy, bacchanalian knees-up. St Patrick's Day, in mid-March is celebrated with parades and pitchers of green beer; it's especially fervent in New York and Chicago. The Kentucky Derby is raced in Louisville in May.
Independence Day (the Fourth of July) is celebrated with lots of flag-waving patriotism, fireworks and the odd beverage. Inveterate travelers should drop into the National Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa, in August. Halloween (October 31st) is a big deal for kids, who go trick-or-treating around their neighborhood in even worse clothes than they normally wear; in Greenwich Village, West Hollywood and San Francisco the holiday is subversively celebrated with glam parades. Americans go home to mom and pop for a big feed on Thanksgiving, the last Thursday of November.
The legacy of this short-lived sugar-boom wealth can be seen in the town's baroque church towers. The most impressive of all Trinidad's many museums must be Museo Histórico Municipal.
Baracoa sits on a headland between two picturesque bays near Cuba's easternmost point, Cabo Maisí. Founded in 1512 by Diego Velázquez, this is Cuba's oldest European settlement. The town was accessible only by sea until the 1960s when a road finally connected it to the outside world. Things are pretty laid back in Baracoa and the abundance of palm trees along this coast give it a South Pacific feel. Go see the three impressive forts which evidence the fact that this was an important Spanish outpost: Fuerte Matachín, Fuerte de la Punta and El Castillo de Seboruco.
Camagüey, in the centre of the island, was founded in the early 16th century and suffered many attacks by pirates. As a result, the inhabitants designed it differently. Where most colonial towns work on a grid system, in Camagüey no two roads run parallel, with the aim of confusing intruders in a maze of streets.
Naturalists will love Pinar del Río Province with two UNESCO biosphere reserves with some of the country's loveliest landscapes, including parts of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico, a hiker's paradise. The province's limestone bedrock has been carved into the surreal and beautiful pincushion hills for which Viñales is famous, while the entire area is riddled with caves carved by underground rivers, some of which make for great diving. Soothe your sore muscles at San Diego de los Baños, a century-old Spanish spa and natural hot spring. After a relaxing soak, you just want to smoke a fine cigar under a palm tree. The province's pride and joy: the finest cigar tobacco in Cuba, hence the world, is grown with the sort of love and attention most people reserve for their own children.
Cuba is famous for Varadero and offshore Cayos Largo and Coco, a spit of land stretching for miles with a sandy beach all along one side, which has attracted tourists since the beginning of the 20th century. However, visitors come away with the feeling that they have not seen Cuba. Some of Cuba's finest beaches are just outside Trinidad. Try also to the places where Cubans are not excluded, such as Guanabo, near Havana, or the beaches east of Santiago de Cuba.
The little-visited Zapata Peninsula or the Bahia de Naranjo Nature Park offer the chance to swim with the dolphins.
The coral is in excellent condition, and there are also turtles, dolphins, grouper, whale sharks, moray eels, rays, barracuda and other large creatures to be seen Go scuba diving, deep sea fishing, bonefishing, windsurfing, sailing etc..
Wherever you go in Cuba you will be accompanied by music. There are musicians playing live in nearly every hotel or restaurant and their rhythms will leave a lasting impression. In nearly every town there is a Casa de la Trova, where you can hear the different styles of Cuban music for the price of a rum. The Cuban jazz, salsa and the son, the mamba and the rumba are internationally famous.You'll soon be swinging, swaying and a swishing to the sounds of Cuba.
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