It was a short but intense journey. This island located in the middle of the Caribbean Sea not only offers its warm tropical weather and exotic landscapes, but also the great hospitality of its inhabitants - specially if they are paraglider pilots! Cuban pilots are so passionate about flying that they endure all the difficulties for this sport in the country with the best of the spirits.
The objective of our trip was not to fly, but since long ago we seem unable to travel without our gliders... so we managed to move a couple of times to flying sites and to meet the local pilots, who gave us the warmest possible welcome. What most amazed us about paragliding in Cuba was that it’s extremely hard to be a PG pilot there, because many of them cannot afford to have a car and therefore have to get up at 4 or 5 am to take “botella” (bottle, the Cuban name for hitch-hiking) and if they’re lucky they can arrive at the flying site (100km far from Havana city) by midday. Add to this that the standard of life is so low that it’s practically unthinkable to buy a new PG gear at the cost of about 3 thousand euros.
How do they fly then? Well, they do the best with what they can have. Recycling is vital in a country with almost no importation, where the cars are mostly models of the 50s, repaired and re-repaired, and the same applies to paragliders. The gliders you see in Cuba would have been discharged years ago in any European country, but here they are treasures! The pilots buy them cheap from foreign pilots who visit the island, or receive them as donations every now and then from clubs or schools from other countries, like the Spanish club “De Madrid al Cielo” that have brought gliders more than once for the Cuban clubs. The most difficult part about buying a piece of gear for Cubans, apart from making the money, is the transport into the country, due to the island’s restrictions. For this reason, the best way is by hand of a pilot coming from other country.
After visiting Cuba, we just can’t think of a better destiny for a glider that’s still flyable but you won’t use again, than taking it to Cuba –where you’ll also enjoy some of the best holidays of your life.

The best flying sites are in the East of the country, but there are also good places in the centre of the island and in Isla de la Juventud, an area that boast a well conformed community of PG pilots, well organized in a club that manages the use of the gears so that all the pilots have their turn to fly. A good example of the socialism or solidarity in the island!

We were only in Havana city and surroundings, where we had a couple of fun flights and met many friends of the PG community in Cuba. We can only thank them for showing us the sites and taking the time to tell us a lot about their lives and their flights. Oh, and the beaches are superb; the mojitos, unbeatable; rum is always available, and there’s a lot of music, party, and dancing... Really worth the trip!

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