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I’m a sheep – and I like it
By Julie Brannigan
Rome – 1992
“Look at those poor suckers,” I said to my friend Jen. A tour guide was blowing her whistle and rushing tourists back onto a bus. “They actually paid someone to herd them around this city like sheep.”
We were relaxing on a park bench somewhere near Rome’s Pantheon, sipping a bottle of wine and trying to decide where to go next.
“I bet I could live for a week on what it cost them to get on that bus,” Jen laughed.
Nineteen-years-old, half-cut and a world away from our parents, we were determined to travel Europe for as long as possible on our meager savings.
I learned how to order beer, bread and cheese, and find shelter and a bathroom in a multitude of languages. I saw 15 countries in six months before stumbling home flat broke and full of stories and confidence.
Cuba – 2015
My motion sick 10-year-old daughter is in the front of a Cuban tour bus trying not to vomit on the driver. My eight-year-old is chattering non-stop about the crocodile she just held and my husband is in the back having a beer with his sister Mary.
We are on our way back to our Cayo Coco all-inclusive resort with a group of 30 friends after an action packed day.
I am a sheep.
And it’s not all bad.
The decision to join the herd was a tough one for Tom and I. Until last week our girls had never been on a plane. We knew this was the winter to get them airborne, but were torn between a family adventure in Costa Rica or a Cuban all-inclusive with friends.
Eventually peer pressure and the ease of an all-inclusive won us over. Having someone cook and clean for me was appealing and the girls figured they would have more fun with a group.
It was the right decision.
Our two girls and their friend Hannah asserted their independence to the fullest. They ate when they were hungry or when they spotted ice cream. They played tag and hide and seek and pretended to be spies. They never once complained of being bored.
As for that darned tour bus, I admit we saw more that day than we would have on our own, but it didn’t allow us to see the ‘real Cuba.’ The country is renowned for its friendly people, but many at the tourist markets had learned to expect handouts in return for small favours.
An elderly lady insisted on putting a flower in my hat, then demanded a peso when I left the market. I gave her back the flower instead.
Mary and I were determined to experience the country, so we rented a cab to take us to Ciego de Avila, the provincial capital located 1.5 hours from our resort.
Horse carts, three wheeled bicycle taxis, buses and ancient cars shared the roads, and open doors off tiled promenades gave us a glimpse of a culture very different from our own.
Nurses set off their traditional white uniforms with high heels and fancy stockings and the men took pride in their carefully cut hair and trimmed sideburns.
We had coffee at a roadside stand and pizza and chocolate ice cream in a small restaurant. In both cases our tourist pesos were given back to us. The vendors didn’t want anything but our smiles.
The Cubans’ deep faith in one another and value of community was evident in the open doors, the way the road was shared and by small acts of cooperation – one bag being carried by two people was a common sight. Daily life is a shared event.
I’m sure there’s another all-inclusive holiday in my future and even another tour bus, but you can bet I’ll ditch the herd for a day or two and be a traveler again!
Lead image: I ordered a coffee from this fellow and he gave me my money back. Vendors in Ciego de Avila didn’t want anything to do with our tourist money.
– Julie Brannigan thinks the East Kootenay is the best place on earth and wants everyone to know it! She blogs for River’s Crossing and submits photos to local media when the spirit moves her. Playing hockey, hiking, and rafting are a few of the things that keep Julie sane when her full-time job threatens to throw her over the edge. Oh – wine helps too! Follow Julie on: riverscrossing.ca/blog as well as…
