Many of you have contacted us in recent months asking if we were open. As you might know, we had to suspend our volunteering program when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
For all of us on the island, it has been a huge challenge, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, the loss of loved ones, and “post-pandemic” stress. Some have family abroad and haven’t been able to see each other since then. And, to top it all off, Cuba has been and is still facing one of its worst economic and health crises since the Special Period.
But this has not stopped us, nor has it stopped many Cuban families from finding ways to cope with this long closure, including their small family businesses, looking to generate income and support each other. I particularly observed an explosion of small businesses and entrepreneurs during this period: admirable, resilient, tenacious – how to describe them? Finding the right words to fully describe how we all dealt with (and are still dealing with) these difficulties might be premature or even naive. We can all agree on one fact: we are just ready for reopening. We’ve been waiting for it for so long; we all need it; we’ve all missed everyone so much.
Already, some cafés, coffee-bookstores, and paladar restaurants are back in business, trying to find their rhythm, figuring out how to be responsible with their teams, employees, and customers, while still staying cool and offering a relaxed atmosphere. After all, that’s what we all want when we leave our homes and ‘risk being out’ to ‘breathe a little’ or ‘have a change of air.’
We are currently enjoying a short ‘sabbatical period’ from the farm (as I decided to call it after realizing this is our 8th ongoing year here!). Luckily for us, this period has allowed us to share what we’ve been doing at Tungasuk over the past seven years with some amazing people in Europe, visit family, and solidify a great collaboration with Eminente Rhum that began eight months ago.
But we are back and ready for reopening by the end of November (normally! If this pandemic has taught us anything, especially to parents, it’s to take a deep breath, be flexible, be ready for changes, not stress about it, do your best, and make peace with it—and with yourself).
We will keep you posted! See you all soon!
Find some articles related to travel protocols on the island and what we’ve been doing these past two months outside the farm.
P.S. Please excuse any imperfections in my English; it’s been a while since my last post! For any questions or inquiries about traveling to the island or volunteering, please follow us on Facebook or send us an email at tungasuk@gmail.com.
https://www.mintur.gob.cu/protocolos/
https://www.mintur.gob.cu/protocolos-sanitarios-para-viajeros-a-partir-del-7-de-noviembre/
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/traveling-to-cuba-during-covid
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2021/10/eminente-launches-cuban-experience-in-the-heart-of-paris/
http://www.the7exclusivejournal.com/2021/07/16/hotel-eminente-un-cuba-sauvage-en-plein-paris/
