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Quick facts
| Capital: |
Havana |
| Area km2 : |
109,884 |
| Population: |
11.217.000 |
| Lenguage: |
Spanish |
| Average temperature: |
º25,5 º C |
| Humidity: |
78% |
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is the largest island in the Caribbean and consists, besides the main island, of the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos.
The name Cuba derives from the Taíno language, the language of the native people who inhabited Cuba before the arrival of the Spanish. The exact meaning of the name is ambiguous; it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant (cubao), or great place (coabana). Some, those who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese, claim that Columbus named it after the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal.
Cuba is a country of contrasts. Even though Cuba clearly is a developing country, it was stated to be the only country in the world that met the Worl Wildlife Fund's definition of sustainable development, with an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita and a Human Development Index of over 0.8 for 2007 (United Nations, 2006). Also considering its developing status, Cuba has a high life expectancy and a high literacy rate (Cuba provides free health care and free education to its people).
When in Cuba you will be stricken with the ambivalence and the mix of contrasting factors and influences. Its people, culture, architecture and customs all draw from diverse sources, such as the native Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the Spanish colonizers, the African slaves as well as the nearby Americans (only 150kms away!). Apart from that there is the time capsule effect of the socialist policy and the US embargo clearly noticeable in today´s life with its 21st century influences due to recent international investments.
To us, the team of www.casahostalcuba.com Cuba is a fascinating country for a wide variety of reasons and one of the best ways to discover Cuba is by means of travelling and staying in casas particulares as this allows you to live with the Cubans and to get as close to them as possible, and so to get a human feel of Cuba.
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