Tuesday, December 19, 2017, Caribbean Cold War History

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Travel back to the mid-20th century and cold war tensions with a visit to the Bay of Pigs Museum at Playa Girón. Have a friendly dialogue with the museum staff and gain a new perspective on history. Step inside and investigate the photos and artifacts that tell the story of the failed incursion by CIA-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. Learn how Cuba’s victory solidified Castro’s power and increased his popularity with the Cuban people, while further deteriorating the already strained relationship between Cuba and the United States—ramifications of which continue to be felt to this day. 

                                                              Caribbean Cold War Museum


Old US Air Force fighter


Soviet T-55 Tank



                                                                "Cuba Live Free........" propaganda

US Air Force cargo plane that was shot down by Castro troops.


Bay of Pigs is an very old name for the area south side of Cuba about 1/3 of the way from its western end.  The bay was selected by CIA because they felt a foot hold could be made due to its terrain and condition of Castro's troops at the time.  It took only 72 hours for the CIA trained Cuban exiles from the US to be defeated.

US 4.2 inch (foreground) and 81 mm (background) mortars

The wreck of a plane shot down by Cuban troops greets you outside the museum, which was used by Fidel Castro as his base of operations during the April 1961 attack. 



 Co-located with the museum is the Playa Giron hotel located on the Bay of Pigs.  It is very modern (upscale and clean for Cuba) and a popular tourist stop.



 Behind the photos above and below is the beach at Bay of Pigs that the exiled Cubans landed on to make their attack.



Guess what we saw/found on the road on the way back to cruise ship?  Make a guess!





If you guessed rice for drying on the roadway you are correct!  The Cuban rice is high quality; it is exported so the government has money to by a greater quantity of lower quality so it can go further among the population.  Who would have thought?!

We pulled anchor at 2 PM and are on our way to Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  Looking forward to an exciting day tomorrow.

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