Donald MacLeod: Trump musn’t get in the way of Cuba’s march to modernity

AFTER 18 hours and 5000 miles, knackered and looking like Worzel Gummidge & Aunt Sally in a wind tunnel, my wife and I finally made it to our luxury Caribbean destination.

Varadero’s 5-star Paradisus Del Mar resort, Cuba!

And I immediately wished I had stayed in Scotland.

Hundreds of rum-addled Canadians, steaming and howling to a rotten samba version of The Village People’s YMCA, was not the quiet, luxurious, first-class royal welcome we expected.

All was soon put right, but only after I informed the manager he was about to receive a right royal kick in the maracas unless he pulled his finger out of his mojito, and so our holiday began in earnest.

Lying, bladdered, by the pool as hippo-sized holidaymakers struggled to keep their bits secreted inside their creaking, straining lycra swim suits might be someone’s idea of fun, but not mine.

No way, Jose!

Now that its communist doors are slowly creaking open Cuba, the revolutionary island of Castro, Che Guevara and the near apocalyptic Missile Crisis was the Cuba we wanted to experience.

We wanted to make sense and understand, first-hand, Cuba’s turbulent past and its place in the modern world.

I wanted to meet some of its amazing, talented people, especially the younger generation, to ask about their views of the world and the changes taking place in Cuba.

Did they still think America was the great Satan, a country to be feared, or could they now do business with it?

The answer was a resounding: yes, they could.

Like many nations who have a turbulent and violent past, Cubans love their history and celebrate it.

They beam with pride that Castro stuck two fingers up at the US and, despite sanctions, embargoes and the constant threat of invasion, they are still here.

Not many countries can make that boast.

The Cuban revolution of 1959 didn’t bring the world crashing down around them. Indeed, over the years, it has improved almost every aspect of their daily lives.

The people I met were warm, eager to please, very eager to sell, bright and, in the main, happy.

Not dour, resentful, and wary as I once thought they would be.

Yes, they have a long way to go – a lot of their colonial-era buildings need demolished or overhauled.

As do large swathes of their industrial infrastructure and transport services.

And, yes, they are paid too little for the work they do and their government takes too much in tax, but which government doesn’t?

Yes, paranoid restrictions on travel still exist for its citizens, as does the ability to set up their own business. And their two-tiered restrictive currencies – one for the Cubans, another for the tourists – beggars belief.

But with Castro gone and the old guard fading, Cuba has embarked on a march to modernise and change.

They should be given a chance to succeed as this generation of Cubans wants to be part of the modern world.

Coconuts, beaches, salsa, cigars, Fedoras, rum, and classic cars by the thousand – Cuba may be different, but it manages to be a very nice holiday destination, with some of the world’s most delightful, inspiring people.

I can only hope President Trump sees it the same way . . .