Destination Cuba on board the Levant (Documentary, Discovery, History)

[Music] when christopher columbus discovered america in 1492 he first landed in the antilles for centuries powerful european countries battled each other for control of this chain of islands which stretches over four thousand kilometers from north to south spanish conquerors quickly surrendered the lesser antilles to the french and english in favor of the richer islands of the north the greater antilles our crews will take us from the lesser to the greater antilles destination cuba the 100 meter level french flag waving approaches the coast of saint bart in spite of its modest size and high maneuverability the approach is difficult and there's tension on the bridge [Music] it's easier if you've already been through here because you know the ropes it takes a little of the pressure off if you don't know the area you read up on it in advance as sailors we always have nautical instructions maps advice given to us by other captains we prepare for it religiously you might say the levon is now at anchor crew members in charge of organizing the passengers disembarkation set out by robot for the port of gustavia capital of st bart it's said that st bart was named after christopher columbus's brother bartholomew originally inhabited by caribbean indians this 25 square kilometer patch of greenery was a former pirates haunt then populated by french peasants in the 16th century louis xvi saw the island to sweden at which point the port city of carrinage was renamed gustavia returned to the french in 1876 for 320 000 francs saint bart is a fashionable destination today attracting wealthy tourists to its luxurious hotels while the rest of the antilles represent a cultural crossroads between africa and europe st bart's population is 95 white mostly originating from western france particularly [Music] brittany though not as grand as carnivals in trinidad or martinique st bart's carnival is an attempt to bring the island out of its torpor some find the island dull and lifeless others consider it calm and elegant but gone are the days when expert sailing was necessary to negotiate the reeves protecting gustavia and when saint barts turned out some of the caribbean's best navigators when we navigated the caribbean islands some bats guadeloupe martinique even santo domingo we carried many different things salt animals and salt cured fish we spoke french english some of us spoke spanish so it was pretty easy for us to in the last 20 years st bart's economy has become entirely dependent on tourism it's easy to understand the local old-timers sense of nostalgia when we learn that as recently as 1970 horses were the only form of transportation [Applause] here the levon leaves saint bart for the greater antilles and the dominican [Music] republic escorted by dancing dolphins the level enters samana bay in the northeast corner of the dominican republic [Music] cabin crew cooks sailors secretaries everyone rushes to the front of the ship to see the show [Music] moving further into the bay the captain carefully navigates his ship into a zone where whales have recently been cited in late december every year dozens of cetaceans leave the cold waters of canada and iceland to spend the winter months in the bay's warm waters [Music] when christopher columbus arrived in samana bay in january of 1493 he didn't mention seeing any whales but he did describe the lush shores covered with coconut groves as the most beautiful place after paradise however he was greeted with arrows fired by the seguayo indians so he decided not to come ashore [Music] [Music] the levon drops anchor but until custom officials and police come aboard to check papers no one's allowed to disembark this is routine procedure [Music] while the passengers have breakfast audrey gets back to work in the cabins every morning when we're working someone always comes by and says hello how are you it puts us in a good mood no one ever says hello like that on land in the street it's a family atmosphere you're never alone the dolphins and the whales were wonderful everyone came out to see them it was my first time so it was a powerful moment i put the crew in a good mood for the rest of the day in good spirits the authorities finally arrive cruise ships are rare in this region so curiosity has undoubtedly augmented the size of this official delegation [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] uh founded in the 18th century by families from the canary islands santa barbara de samana is an unassuming village in the heart of an agricultural province the town's highlight is its marketplace where bananas chili peppers and yams line the ground in keeping with african tradition people come here to make jokes and bargain the market is a microcosm of life [Laughter] hey [Music] when the conquistadors arrived eight million arawak indians lived in cuiscue the indian name for the island an outdated obelisk entitled homage to our aboriginal population with its chipped and weather-worn paintings serves as a naive reminder that in less than a century of colonization the majority of arawak and tahino indians were massacred or died of diseases introduced to the island by the spanish [Music] leaving santa barbara we head for the national park of los aithesis which stretches 60 kilometers along san luis obi [Music] after passing strange car stick formations rising from the sea we approach a zone where sea and land merge this is the mangrove slowly we enter a forest of mangroves with amazing tangled aerial roots in the heart of this humid virgin forest the last of the taino indians sought refuge as they fled the conquistadors [Applause] here on the walls of these marine grottos amidst the shadows the taino artists recreated a lost world a world where man lived in harmony with nature surrounded by animals [Applause] only the initiatory rights of the shamans held the secrets of this world the national guards who currently live on the site watch over the vestiges of indian culture and the animals who make their home on the bay's numerous small islands as the sun sets the lavon leaves semana bay passengers and crew members prepare to party [Music] heading due west the lavon steers towards the bahamas the captain and the bahaman pilot look for a point of anchor that is convenient for the passengers and safe for the ships certain meteorological conditions affect the depth of the water like yesterday or here where everything is sand so even slight changes in the currents create ravines the levels go up and down so the maps are never 100 accurate it's a question of experience when you've navigated through here a few times you get a feeling for whether the water is deep enough or not corresponds the ship is safely anchored so disembarkation can begin me gliding along the surface of an extremely limped turquoise sea we birth in great inagua in spanish inagua means surrounded by water an appropriate name for this southernmost bahaman island from the lighthouse tower the island looks like a huge flat disk floating on the surface of the ocean unlike new providence in nassau capital of the bahamas or lutheran great in agua doesn't depend on tourism duty-free shops or offshore banking it's a peaceful island and its inhabitants present it with pride and a sense of humor great inaugural man it's only tree great great god great britain and great inaugural [Music] although the bahamas gained independence in 1973 there are still traces of british culture for example children wear school uniforms at the school here we have 247 students all together and that's from grades 1 through 12. on the island itself is just about a thousand persons from here they will go on to the city in nassau or one of the colleges in the us with cuba in the hands of revolutionaries american tourists turned their attention to the bahamas the tourist industry grew to startling speed as did the illegal drug trade the thousands of tiny islands in the area are an ally to the drug smugglers the american coast guard's mission is to combat the drug smugglers and stand guard against cuban immigrants my name is lieutenant junior grade james knapp i'm with the united states coast guard and i'm here in great inaugural at the request of the bahamian government to assist them to find illegal drug traffickers uh recently within the last week we had found about a thousand pounds of cocaine in uh crooked ackland islands on occasion we also see migrants coming in from several different caribbean nations that are either making their way into the bahamas or making their way into the united states we have to pay special attention to our navigation because we still respect the territorial seas and the territorial airspace of cuba and we are not allowed to fly into cuban waters or airspace so we do have to maintain that separation let me congratulate you on an almost successful test flight thanks thanks so it didn't work out as well as expected several rare pink flamingos fly over lake windsor in spring which is their mating season the flamingos will congregate here in the tens of thousands this living painting this masterpiece of abstract art this clash of white and gray is the world's largest open-air salt flat representing one percent of the gross national product salt production is way behind the 40 percent generated by the tourist trade but salt production has the honor of being one of the bahamas rare local industries oh we should be shipped all parts of the world [Music] [Music] before it arrives on the frozen roads of canada or on the tables of parisian restaurants great inaguas salt piles up near the sea creating the highest peaks in the bahamas [Music] the dishes i create are made with ingredients from the islands like sweet potatoes and yams i meet local women who share their recipes and give me tips we invent new dishes by adding a french touch to regional specialities usually quite successfully [Music] after a night sailing the lava approaches the cuban coast to dawn once again thanks to the levon's three and a half meter draft the ship is able to drop anchor close to [Music] shore we're in the northeastern part of the country this region around bahrai bay remains untouched by cuba's growing tourist industry recently reactivated by havana in order to boost the country's ailing economy the musicians who greet us undoubtedly hope to earn several pesos which is understandable considering the average monthly salary in cuba is about two dollars but they play mostly for the joy of it it's said that cuba is the land of music and it's true from the smallest village to santiago and havana music fills the air we [Music] breathe [Music] foreign bahrai's activities center entirely around agriculture and fishing with an insolent variation oyster farming which was brought here in the 1950s by chinese comrades i'm in charge of the oyster farming here now they're coming back with the boat which is filled with today's harvest we have to come back now because after a certain time the current is too strong and they can't work the oyster beds correctly [Applause] most of these agricultural workers were farmers who could no longer support their families they no longer resemble the guajiros cuban peasants riding proudly through the village [Applause] fond of his land the guajiro lives with his family in a little thatched house with chickens and pigs running loose outside it's a simple but fiercely independent life [Music] workers the people here are humble we're all in the same family that's what we say around here we live like cuban farmers in the fields [Music] we spend the whole day in the fields and we watch television in the evening the children go to school they have a normal life it's impossible to look at the islands of the antilles without seeing traces of christopher columbus we're following aliani jorge and adriana three young school children to a strange monument surrounded by coconut trees what did they teach you in school about christopher columbus in total um [Music] was built 500 years after christopher columbus landed here and i presume that is why this land is so sought after it symbolizes the penetration of european culture with its neoclassical style into is an exact replica of objects made by aboriginal people that were found here statues of their gods amulets and animal figurines you'll notice that the aboriginal part is shaped like a half circle this is because the aboriginal houses were shaped this way dances and religious ceremonies took place in the center of the village for the aboriginal people after five centuries of tumultuous history like ocean waves the dreams of the cuban people came crashing up against the hard laws of the modern world never mind a revolutionary nostalgia and the name of che guevara in the song what the passengers like is the emotion in the voice [Music] is foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] oh rounding the eastern tip of cuba the levon leaves the atlantic ocean and enters the caribbean sea i'm doing a year-long work experience to get an idea of what my working life will be like later you've got to be on the ball keep an eye on everything that's happening on board when you're on bridge watch duty make sure the instruments are working keep the alarms from going off it's quite strict on that level i thought the officers would keep to themselves not mixed with the passengers but there's a lot of camaraderie among crew members much more than i imagined there would be [Music] the level now crosses the stretch of sea leading to santiago de cuba a cuban pilot came on board at dawn with the pilot by his side the captain carefully supervises the ship's maneuvers the two men communicate in english but misunderstandings are always possible [Music] everyone counts on the pilot that's for sure because he's the one who knows the area this is especially true when you come to a place for the first time but the captain controls everything when the pilot gives a helm order like this the captain listens and repeats the order he relays the message from the pilot to the helmsman the captain is always responsible for the ship even when the pilot is present with a population of 400 000 santiago de cuba is the second largest city of the island located at its most eastern part more than one thousand kilometers from havana the capital santiago maintains a difference made of african roots and more surprisingly french origins is the reason for our trip because my family has lots of history here my mother was born here my grandfather had a plantation and was involved in the insurrection during the war of independence so it's interesting for me to discover this country that my grandmother always talked about [Music] french africans indians and spanish this ethnic mosaic gave birth to a rich cultural diversity santiago is the birthplace of cuban [Music] music [Music] so founded in 1515 by the spanish conquistador diego velazquez santiago de cuba is the oldest town in the americas santiago prospered as the first capital of the spanish empire in the new world some examples of this golden age include the cathedral erected in 1522 and rebuilt five times and the magnificent casa velazquez erected in 1516 by hernan cortes with its moorish balconies it's said to be the oldest residents in latin america [Music] left behind by spanish masters in favor of havana santiago spent several centuries in anonymity but in 1791 27 000 french settlers arrived in santiago seeking refuge after the slave rebellion in haiti elegant dances brought over by the french became all the rage the quadri was the most popular the first authentically cuban music was born when these french dances were infused with african rhythms the house with a poet and patriot jose maria heredia was born dates from this period heredia fought for the independence of his country yesterday welcoming today heroic tomorrow santiago's motto leaves no doubt as to the town's participation in the various struggles marking cuba's history santiago honors its heroes carlos manuel cespedes father of the homeland and fidel castro [Music] the fort was attacked on july 26 1953 by fidel castro and a group of young revolutionaries seeking to start the armed struggle against batista when the museum was opened in 1967 the holes were opened up again so that the present and future generations and all the people who visit the museum could see exactly where the attack took place the fort moncada attack is unsuccessful castro's arrested but amidst the unrest batista frees him the epic of barbudos che guevara and the revolution can begin here we see fidel as he prepares for the monkava attack with a group of young men who belong to the generation it was in that year 1953 the cuba celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the birth of jose marti our national hero and the sultry air of early evening light years away from the dogmas of the revolution santiago's neighborhoods come to life like so many little villages in the middle of the city time stands still and leisure takes over [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay [Music] when cuban music went universal it was distorted and sterilized but in the sumptuous surroundings of an ancient colonial mansion the kokoya dancers bring tradition back to life the roomba is a sensual dance expressing through its african roots a man's desire for a woman santiago is unique in this country beyond the fact that we are the only ones who know how to dance [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] uh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey [Music] you must remember that our culture is a it is those influences which gave me the idea of creating a movement of music and dance that corresponds to our culture and customs along with spain and africa there is also a fundamental french influence and it is this that allowed us to create our own musical style [Music] our cruise has ended in santiago as the lavon heads back towards the lesser antilles we continue our voyage to havana [Music] in havana the gigantic plaza of the revolution is filled with the ghosts of che guevara jose marti and the cuban revolution the anniversary of which is still celebrated here every year near the city center some signs still lambaste the abominable yankee enemy but anti-american fervor has died down considerably abandoned by the russians who no longer supply petrol strangled by the american embargo havana residents sink deeper into economic crisis to combat the problem the country has opened its doors to tourism amidst the kaleidoscope of cliches boasting havana's attractions like music and cigars it's amusing to find old american cars but we want to offer service to tourists and that's why they chose me to drive the old american cars nearly 100 000 old american cars drive through the streets of havana chevrolet bel airs buicks and ford thunderbirds make up an impressive collection of american cars from the 40s and 50s these cars are carefully looked after and repaired in inventive ways in order to push their lifespan to the maximum cubans love their american cars which often hide less romantic japanese engines under their hoods taxis await their passengers but competition is fierce now that bicycle taxis have hit the scene havana possesses a unique architectural heritage in the antilles since the country opened its doors to tourism in 1991 there's been an attempt to make up for 30 years of neglect and abandonment beautiful colonial residences from the 17th and 18th centuries are just waiting to be revived but whether it's just official propaganda or economic reality the snail's pace of the work is blamed on the embargo well it's a shame but they're in this condition because of the imperialist embargo and the lack of materials to repent the embargo has blocked us now for a number of years school children stroll along the shitty lanes of prado which are lined with elegant homes this is the place to come to if you want to change your home and i want to go to havana so i came here personally and i've written down my alpha on a piece of cardboard in spite of scars caused by time and human and gratitude the malecon still offers its long row of pastel colored column houses to the sea winds this neighborhood is a moving tribute to the 1950s when havana intoxicated with money and drugs was the decadent capital of a world living on the edge there have always been problems because of the sea and the salty air it's been very difficult to get the interior renovated so for all of these reasons it remains in its current state we've never been able to get the necessary work done on the malacanan but today eusebio leo's project to classify the area as a patrimony of humanity will allow it to be renovated like old havana was the end of the malecon heavily guarded opens on to havana bay the first conquistadors chose this naturally protected site as their base because of its location cuba has occupied a very important place in spanish history ever since christopher columbus discovered it in 1492 and diego velasquez began colonizing it in 1510 and havana is known as the capital of the new world like its cathedral old havana has been carefully restored making it one of the most authentic town centers in the new world it's also a vibrant musical mecca teeming with invariably excellent cuban [Music] bands [Music] [Applause] i'm the famous bodeguita del medio is just several meters from the plaza de armas this old grocery store opened in 1942 rapidly became a meeting place for artists hemingway would come to listen to music and drink mojitos a cocktail of white ramen lemon and mint leaves [Music] the composer of this song honoring che guevara was also a regular at the bodegita del medio the song is covered by every band in cuba and has become a veritable national hymn but what story does this song tell tells the true story of the chase relation with the people of cuba when she died carlos pueblo the author said he wanted to pay tribute to the chai passing away and how sad the cuban people were left so he wrote this song to say that even dead he was still present in their memory [Music] in memory of the chief and the cuban [Music] people [Music] the walls are covered with thousands of autographs and photos of illustrious visitors though there are more tourists than artists coming here today bodegueta del medio retains a highly authentic [Music] atmosphere [Music] oh it's impossible to mention havana without thinking of its famous cigars [Music] tobacco is important to cubans not only for political and historical reasons but also economically production is high and a tobacco industry represents a model in the cuban economy a cuban who doesn't smoke is only half cuban salute our tour of havana ends with its most famous cabaret founded in 1931 the tropicana is the only establishment that has stayed open since the revolution the tropicana show is kitsch but high quality it reunites all of cuba's paradoxes and fantasies it's a world of glitter and glamour in a country eroded by recession a link to the wild pre-revolutionary years is the tropicana simply a nostalgic look at days gone by or is it a glimpse into cuba's future [Music] okay [Music] hello

Channel: Stop Over - Documentary, Discovery, History

Views: 93,169

Rating: 4.5591836 out of 5

Keywords: TravelChannelTV, 601ProductionLTD, travel, adventure, boat, sail, trip, ocean, sea, river, sailboat, cruise, stopover, stop, over, Queen Elizabeth 2, Royal Clipper, Le France, Le Norway, Sun Boat II, Classica, Vat Phou, Bolero, Wind Song, Grigoriy Mikheev icebreaker, Silver Cloud, destination, voyage, Stopovertv, Discover, Travel, travels, explore, Stop Over, History

Id: JFUK_c3Bu4E

Length: 53min 41sec (3221 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 25 2013