CUBA!

Where do i start...So much to say about this little place. This has been so different from my experience in Guatemala.

Simplistically, Guatemala was like a poorer version of life in the developed world. Makes sense - it's a developing country and therefore everything is adjusted accordingly. For instance, whereas the norm is that you can flush your toilet paper down the loo in Europe or the US, you can't do that in Guatemala. Or whereas the norm is that everyone has a washing machine in our world, people still handwash their clothes or goto laundrettes. Cuba on the other hand was like a completely different planet...The politics, the people, the atmosphere - so so different than anything i've ever experienced before.

Over the last couple of weeks, we travelled around a few cities and each city had a different feel. I didn't really know very much about Cuba before visiting it except that we can't fly there from the US but,ironically, the first thing I saw when we landed was the American flag hanging right next to the Cuban flag in the airport lounge...! Els said that it's maybe cos they set it on fire every nite - funny:-)
Continued...

We went to a beach resort type place on our travels but that didn't work out at all cos the weather sucked so we were indoors the full 2 days. It was one of those places that the only thing you can do is lie on the beach and so when it's raining outside, you have to sit in ur room or in the bar. On one hand, that was ok cos i got to take a bath which i THOROUGHLY enjoyed and wash the crap that seems to be engraved in my big toenail from months of walking ALOT! But on the other hand, it seemed unnatural cos the whole hotel was in the lobby or in the bar - like there was a national emergency or that we were held hostage and were waiting for the army to come rescue us! We quickly decided to cut our stay short and move on to another city.


A few things about Cuba...the food SUCKED!!!!!! i've always been in love with Cuban food - but I have come to realise that I'm in love with the the American version of Cuban food. Kind of like how Chipotle has nothing to do with Mexican cuisine and is something you would never find in Mexico?

In Cuba, there is a clear distinction between tourists and locals - in many ways - to the point that there is even 2 different currencies. Until recently, the locals were not allowed to talk to tourists - in fact, we flagged a taxi down once and asked him to take us to the bus station. He asked if we were tourists and we said "yes" so he said he could not take us and drove off, leaving us standing in the middle of the street with our 5 bags. It was so so rude - but i guess I need to remember it's not personal...I, more so than Els, got very frustrated about this. Luckily she stayed focussed and held me back when i was about to phsyically assault them:-) The locals have this mentality of "oh, you're a tourist so therefore i can rip you off" and are very blatant about it. For example, a trip which costs a local $3 would cost us $25 for the same trip...They even travel in different buses..

Having said that, I understand why the locals have this sense of entitlement to rip the tourists off. A doctor, who you would expect to have one of the top money making professions, makes $20 a month...You would think that the cost of living is adjusted down accordingly but actually it's not...One toilet roll costs $0.45. An apple costs $0.50...And after you've paid your bills, you are literally left with nothing so the only source of income is from tourism. One of the people we met is a mechanical engineer but gave up his job to drive people around all day cos he was simply not making ends meet. He now makes $90 a month - almost 5 times as much as a doctor...

The general feel of the place is that of despair...It's actually quite sad. I understand the system, in theory, but in practice it does not work. The government gives the people monthly food coupons, which is supposed to take care of the everyday basic needs but it absolutely doesnt...Their allocation is that quarter of a tube of toothpaste should last one person for a month (that explains the fact that alot of people literally have no teeth). Or 10 cups of rice is supposed to be enough for one person for a whole month. On the flipside though, you don't see any homeless people on the street - everyone looks out for everyone and the coupons ensure that you will always be fed and will never starve to death. Quote of this trip: " You will never die from hunger, but you will not really live either" and that's so so true.

We met some kind people but we met some idiots too to be fair. The guys harrass you on the street like CRAZY and are SOOO in your face and, for some reason, no means yes to them! But again, we are "touristas" and they're gonna try as hard as they can so fine - i can at least place their behaviour now better than I could when I first arrived...

All in all, it was an incredible experience and a great time -  i absolutely recommend it! The flight back was pretty crappy as we flew in the middle of the blizzard and got stuck at Frankfurt airport for hours but we managed to entertain ourselves. Well actually, i just kept falling asleep at every opportunity - in the cafe, at the gate, in the line - while Els watched me excel this skill. By the time we got home at 4am, i was ready to rock and roll as i'd but she wanted to sleep - such a party pooper, huh?:-)Since Cuba doesnt have the US's support, I expected to see a very poor country but that was not my first impression. Beautiful buildings, cars from the 50's, character and ambience beyond belief, music absolutely everywhere. If I had to describe Havana I would say it's the city of music. Very talented musicians wander the streets with their band members and their equipment, popping into hotels and bars, playing for about 30 mins in the lobby before picking up and disappearing to their next destination. All this, just hoping for a tip from the audience. They sing live, with no microphone and have the most amazing booming voices - so much musical talent is in this city, it's unreal. You'll see people dancing whenever, wherever: if you feel like dancing in a petrol station because a nice song popped on the radio then go for it. Or if you fancy dancing in the middle of a courtyard suddenly then why not. Not caring about anyone or anything - as if this is the norm. The dancing is very simple - left to right, back to front- but it's a beautiful expression of what they are feeling at that moment in time and is actually very nice to see.