Among Friends: Travels in Cuba

by Heather Murray

Overview

Among Friends: Travels in Cuba is a lively account of one person’s discovery of Cuba and Cubans over a decade-long series of visits. Murray falls in love with the country but never stops asking questions as her radius of exploration widens.

With an eye for the telling details of daily life, Murray first savors the mixture of timeless beauty and decrepitude that defines Havana and then sets out for provinces to the west and east of the capital. We get to know Julian, her Cuban guide and friend; Magdalena, protective landlady and outspoken critic of the Castro regime; Ernesto, taxi driver and mountain guide, as well as a multitude of naïve North American tourists, Cuban English teachers, variously motivated tourist guides, octogenarian salsa dancers and perspiring bicitaxi drivers. Besides probing the Cuban psyche and describing its hardships, Murray’s explorations also highlight the unique scenery of Cuba, from the elegant center of old Havana to the mogotes of the Vinales valley, and from the pristine beaches of the northern keys to historic Trinidad and Cienfuegos and the Escambray mountains with their lakes, waterfalls and jungles. The book is accompanied by a website full of illustrative photographs and a travel blog (travelsincuba.weebly.com).

A humorous and candid portrait of Cuba as it emerges from over half a century of privation and isolation, this book will appeal to armchair travelers, long-time Cuba fans and those who have yet to discover the island.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783033057661
Publisher:	Heather Murray
Publication date:	10/06/2016
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Heather Murray was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, but grew up in the United States, where she attended Harvard University. She has spent most of her adult life in Switzerland, lecturing at the universities of Bern and Zurich, training English teachers and doing research in applied linguistics. An avid traveler, Murray sometimes hikes or cycles long distances within the countries she visits. She first traveled to Cuba as part of her work, but has returned several times since to explore the country and meet its people.

Table of Contents

Preface

1 Why Cuba?

2 Arrival in Havana

3 Meeting Magdalena

4 First impressions

5 Miracles and civil society

6 The Cuban English teachers’ conference

7 Hasta la vista

8 Looking for cowboys in Vinales

9 Finding Che in Santa Clara

10 Central Cuba: Trinidad and Cienfuegos

11 Alone in Havana

12 The last of the mojitos

13 Between visits

14 Counting change

15 Those who leave and those who stay

16 Cuban heroes

17 Santa Clara at last

18 Strangers in paradise

19 Exploring Santa Clara

20 From tocororos to Trinidad

21 Lake Hanabanilla and friendship

22 Santa Clara in 2015

Editorial Reviews

Other travelogues about Cuba offer different approaches; but what makes this one so engaging is the fact that it was produced over a number of years and several journeys to the country, not just one or two, and so holds the ability to contrast past and present worlds as well as capture and comment on the future of Cuba's people. The book features an online photo album of images from those worlds. D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

Her accounts of her two later trips to the Cuban countryside to visit Julian's family and small towns and cities remote from Havana eloquently describe life seldom seen by outside visitors. Her descriptions of both the land and the people are vivid. Her accounts are personal and often touching. …. By the end, you feel as if you too know the individual Cubans she has come to know. … You are with her "among friends.". M.J. Santo Pietro, Ph.D.

I was charmed by author Heather Murray’s story… Descriptions effortlessly capture the magic of special moments but Murray doesn’t shy away from presenting both sides of her explorations of Cuba – the side you could easily fall in love with and the side that keeps you wary. Observations are light-hearted and, though they often point out poignant truths, they avoid the pitfalls of the overly sentimental traveller’s account. Anita Nasr

This is a very good book. The writing is almost flawless …. a wonderful, warm-hearted view of a much neglected and sometimes maligned nation - its countryside, its architecture, its institutions - but mostly its people. It is very clear the author has an ongoing love affair with Cuba and after reading her book I understand why and would love to go visit myself. Alara /Goodreads review

Fantastic travel writing about a complex country! Amazon review

From the Publisher