Cuba

This has to be the most random and confusing country I have ever been to and after being there for nearly a month I still have no idea what I think about the place!

So Cuba was never really one of those places that really appealed to me, but after meeting quite a few people who had been there or wanted to go there I became a bit intrigued and figured seeing as I was in Mexico anyway it would be rude not to pop over there and see what all the fuss is about! But after I had booked my ticket and got my tourist visa I started hearing horror stories and started to wonder if I had made a slight error in judgement, especially as I was going there by myself and was likely to encounter a lot more problems than if I were travelling with someone... Fortunately Vive and Tracy who I met in S America were going over at around the same time so I changed my return flight to come back the same time as them and felt slightly more positive about the experience I was about to have...!

Some interesting things you need to know first...

Currency

There is a bit of an issue with the currency in Cuba - basically there are two currencies! CUCs or Pesos Convertibles for tourists (about 1.80ish to the pound) and then Pesos or Cubanos or Moneda Nacional for the locals (1 CUC is equal to 24 cubanos). So anything vaguely touristy (include in this accommodation, transport and food!) is in CUCs and then everything for the locals (e.g. accommodation, transport and food!) and anything they can get their hands on is in cubanos. As you can imagine it's quite confusing and also the two currencies are just completely incomparable which just blows your mind! For example tourists and locals can eat at the same restaurants and there will be two different menus and two different price lists, or you can go to a peso restaurant where the locals eat and the menu by the door is in cubanos and then they try to charge you the same amount in CUCs, i.e. if a plate of rice and beans is 3 cubanos they will try to charge you 3 CUCs (which is equal to 72 cubanos!)!

Buses

There are two bus companies - Viazul and Astro. Viazul is for tourists and Astro is for locals. So even if there is no Viazul bus going to where you want to go to you can't take the Astro. And obviously Astro is cheaper as it's for locals but no one will sell you tickets! So basically you can only go where they want you to go, unless you're willing to pay a lot of money (potentially to illegal taxis!) to go off the beaten track. They like to keep locals and tourists separate so I guess this is another way of ensuring that happens.

Then when you do take the bus people at the terminals tag your bag and expect you to give them money for doing this! An amazing number of tourists cough up a CUC, not really knowing why, although the three of us refused (to which they can do nothing as they're not supposed to ask for money in the first place!)! And surprisingly enough, they never ask locals for a tip...!

The buses are pretty comfortable though, although generally freezing cold as the air con is on full blast and then occassionally they have dubbed films on. So even though the majority of people on the buses are tourists and generally their Spanish isn't excellent, they still put Spanish films on! So nice to see we get value for money on all these journeys!

On the flip side though, there are places in Cuba, such as the Varadero all inclusive beach resorts where Cubans aren't allowed to go (apart from the people who work there). As it's their country it seems a bit unfair that they are restricted in where they can and can't go, and it makes the local/tourist divide even bigger which is awful. But then I have met a few people who, after a few weeks of travelling around Cuba, have been so fed up with being hassled all the time they have gone to Varadero on an al inclusive package just to get away from all the hassle!!!! And then on the other hand there are tourists who only go to these all inclusive places and don't get to see the 'real' Cuba, which is maybe what the government wants to happen...

Casa Particulars

The way it works is that people rent out rooms in their houses and it's a lot cheaper to stay in houses than stay in hotels (there's no hostels). It's a good way to meet the locals and generally they are quite nice people... Although some people are just money grabbing and as soon as you walk through the door they are offering breakfast and dinner in order to get as much money out of you as possible. But other people have been lovely and very welcoming and friendly. However, the people we stay with have nice homes (and generally relatives in Miami!) and don't seem short of a bob or two and so it is questionable whether or not it is better to stay with these people, or others that probably need the money a lot more. Although there is a casa network around the country and where ever you stay they will know someone in the next town who you can stay with and they will meet you at the bus terminal (or get their friend to!) etc etc, so you are never short of a roof over your head!

There are lots of laws relating to these casas (like only two adults are allowed to stay in a room and all sorts of paperwork has to be filled out as soon as you get there and then they have to take your tourist card somewhere to show someone) but I guess it's good to stay in licenced places so you don't have to worry about anything and they are clean and spacious so it's all good! On the down side I always had to have a room to myself and they charge the same rate regardless of how many people in it so it was quite expensive...

Food

Generally a bit shit! The breakfasts at the casas are normally great - fruit, eggs, bread, coffee, juice, so that can keep you going for most of the day. But unless you eat dinner in the casas aswell (which can get quite expensive) then you are a bit limited on options. The favourites are fried chicken, rice and beans, spaguetti and pizza. But generally regardless of how much you pay the quality and size of the portion is a bit crap, so we tried to eat cheaply most of the time, although there were a few occassions when we gave in and went upmarket for an evening, with good and bad results!!

There was the option of getting peso food when it was available to us, mainly in the form of pizza (out of holes in the wall!) and ice cream, although in some of the smaller towns we were allowed in peso restaurants and were charged in pesos which was a bonus!

You also always have to be on your toes as everone thinks it's their right to overcharge you or short change you, regardless of how nice the person is to you! So after yet another uninteresting and small meal, you then have to quibble over the bill to pay what you were supposed to! It makes us look a bit tight but it's an expensive country for backpackers and we just got pissed off with people trying it on all the time so got used to arguing about it!

The People

There is such a mix of people over here, and after a while it seems like everyone is trying to fleece you somehow so it's quite hard to believe that anyone is genuine. Although obviously some people are, which took us by complete surprise and was really lovely to see! But then after being hissed at by 90% of the men that walk down the street or they make that lovely kissing noise at you it starts to get a bit wearing. And then there's people offering taxis, bici-taxis, casas, day trips, restaurants, pretty much anything you can think of really, so you either have to ignore them or just say NO all the time!

I can understand why they try it on all the time and in a way I don't blame them. But it just seems that a lot of people are greedy and just want more, regardless of however much they have in the first place. But after a month of saying no and trying to be polite about it did get slightly annoying!!

I did expect people living under Communism to be really miserable, not sure why! But they weren't at all, they were generally really happy people, with a great sense of community spirit and family - always looking out for one another which was nice to see. They might not have always been overly friendly to us but at least they were to each other, and sometimes a smile did make a difference and even the most surliest lady smiled back!