Cuba - an EXPERIENCE never to be repeated! - Havana, Cuba
Havana, Cuba
Where I stayed
Zoe and Victor's Casa Particular
Cuba 30 January to 27 February 2016
Apologies for the length of this blog - it was impossible to post anything in Cuba.
Before starting I think it might be useful to say a few words about the recent history of Cuba. I remembered the names of these things but had not really understood what they were about as like some of you I was very young when, for example, the Bay of Pigs Fiasco occurred, and many of you were not born. Most of this is from the Lonely Planet so any inaccuracies are theirs! If you are not interested in history skip to the end of the bold text.
The Fight for Independence
Cuba suffered many years of attacks by Privateers from European countries and was eventually colonised by the Spanish. They fought for independence from Spain for over a hundred years from the late 1700s and were still fighting when the US entered the fray in 1898 and fought Spain for the possession of Cuba. They even tried to buy Cuba from Spain for US$300 million. Three different Presidents tried to buy Cuba. In theory Independence was granted to Cuba in 1902 but no Cuban representatives were invited to the peace talks between the US and Spain in Paris, where independence had been promised to Cuba. The US imposed an amendment to the Cuban constitution, the Platt Amendment, which gave them the right to intervene militarily in Cuba whenever they saw fit. So it could not be considered true independence. The US also secured itself a military base in Guantanamo to protect it's interests in the Panama Canal region. For Cuban patriots the US had simply replaced Spain as the new colonizer.
Batista, Corruption and the Mafia
From the start of Prohibition in the US Cuba became an off shore haven where Americans could live the good life without the restraints endured at home. The rich and powerful including criminals bought land and built grand estates. In 1940 Fulgencio Batista came to power and set about drafting the most liberal and democratic constitution to date. After this surprisingly altruistic start he seems to have had a personality change for the worse. He stepped down at the next election which resulted in a short chaotic period of corruption and inefficiency. Batista knew he could return to power whenever he wanted but before he did, he agreed a deal with the American Mafia giving them carte blanche in Cuba in return for a cut of their gambling profits being channelled into his private accounts. He then staged a coup and quickly made it clear that he was not going to govern in his previously enlightened way when he suspended several constitutional rights including the right to strike.
In December 1946 the Mafia convened the biggest ever gathering of mobsters at the Hotel Nacional in Havana under the pretence of attending a Frank Sinatra concert. Cuba by this time was a playground for Americans, many involved in criminal activity, while the Cuban population was largely living in poverty, with high illiteracy rates, high infant mortality and low life expectancy. This ensured a low cost of living for US subjects and a good supply of servants.
Start of the Revolution
It was at this time that a young lawyer, Fidel Castro, began to grow in importance as an opposition leader. He was imprisoned for some time but the opposition gradually grew stronger despite Batista's best efforts to eradicate it. Eventually, aided by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (who incidentally traces his family line back to a Patrick Lynch who emigrated from Ireland to Buenos Aires in 1749) Fidel and his revolutionary army defeated Batista in 1958 and established the revolutionary government on New Year's Day in 1959.
Bay of Pigs Fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Under the Eisenhower Administration in 1959 the CIA planned an invasion of Cuba as they did not want a Communist state on their doorstep and they also wanted their property restored that had been confiscated and nationalised by Castro. This invasion did not take place until 1961, after Kennedy became President and it is generally referred to as the Bay of Pigs Fiasco. After bombing raids on 3 Cuban cities, some 1400 CIA trained Cuban mercenaries staged a disastrous invasion and ended up stranded ashore at Playa Giron. It failed for a number of reasons. The CIA over estimated both Kennedy's commitment to the plan and the strength of the opposition to Castro within Cuba, the CIA had been infiltrated by Cuban intelligence so with advance warning Castro was able to move the airforce out of harm's way, they all underestimated Castro's political and military skills and finally they chose a swamp area for the landing! 114 men were killed in skirmishes and 1189 were taken prisoner. The prisoners were returned to the US a year later in return for US $53 million worth of food and medicine.
The Playa Giron Museum holds much of the artillery used by both sides during the invasion together with photographs and personal possessions. It states that most of the mercenaries were members of the elite families which had benefitted from Batista's corrupt involvement with the US and the Mafia.
A year later in 1962 it was discovered that medium range nuclear missiles had been installed in Cuba by the USSR and this brought the world to the brink of nuclear war in what was called the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The 'Special Period'
After the revolution Castro's government made huge improvements in the education system, more or less irradicating illiteracy, and in health care, housing and social security. Largely thanks to Soviet subsidies Cubans were well off from the 60s until the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. Then almost overnight the Cuban economy collapsed, with more than half the country's industrial factories coming to a standstill and transport grinding to a halt. Fidel Castro battened down the hatches and declared it was "A Special Period in a Time of Peace", bringing in a range of extreme austerity measures to cope with the crisis. People worked together and shared what they had to survive but an indicator of the severity of the 'Special Period' is that in the 3 years 1991-1994 the population as a whole lost a third of it's body weight! It was then that the government started to ease restrictions on tourism to generate income and allowed some private enterprise such as the establishment of Casas Particulares so people could start to help themselves out of crisis by renting rooms to tourists.
Havana 30th January - 2nd February 2016
Arriving at Havana airport, the cosy cocoon we had lived within in Colombia was rapidly torn to shreds and we were exposed to the realities of present day Cuba. We queued to go through immigration, where they failed to ask for any of the numerous bits of paper we had been warned to bring with us. Then we queued to change money. Everyone arriving by plane has to queue for money as you cannot purchase Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC) outside the country. After 2 1/2 hours queueing time we met our 'driver' (who was just our greeter, not a driver) and it was half an hour later before we climbed into our taxi.
Eventually we arrived at Zoe and Victor's Casa Particular. They are a little older than us, Zoe was a chemistry teacher and Victor an organic chemistry researcher. Their home on the ground floor of a rather grim Soviet style building is one room about 5 metres long by 2 1/2 metres wide, with open plan kitchen, dining and sitting areas and with their bedroom at the back. Upstairs are 2 rooms for guests, each with it's own tiny bathroom. After breakfast on our first morning Victor gave us an hour long lesson on avoiding scams.
The first problem is that there are 2 currencies in use, CUCs (the convertible currency, pronounced kooks) and Moneda Nacional or CUPs. One peso CUC is worth approximately 25 pesos MN. Yes, they are both called pesos. Victor spread out the notes side by side in lines, the 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 pesos notes. They look similar as both sets are the same colour, ie the 10 peso notes, CUCs and MN are both brown, the 3 CUCs and 3 MN pesos pink etc. People fold the note in half with the back showing and the MN can then be passed off as a CUC, only the front is different with CUCs having monuments on and the MN having famous people.
Although they say the CUCs are not a tourist currency, the reality is that they are. In theory, more expensive items have to be bought with CUCs by both tourists and locals. However, we quickly found that most shops will only serve tourists in CUCs so for example, I bought a small bottle of water for which I was charged 1 1/2 CUCs, about £1.25. A local would pay in MN about 10 pence.
If you take a taxi into Old Havana they charge 5 - 7 CUCs per person. If you can get a colectivo to stop for you it is only the equivalent of half a CUC each. So prepared by Victor to avoid all scams we ventured into the city. Within a few minutes Jim had been told off twice (for moving out of his seat in the Money Exchange shop) and we were both whistled at fiercely for walking where we shouldn't even though there was no sign to indicate that the path was prohibited. Welcome to the Socialist State.
We caught the Hop On, Hop Off bus and went all the way to the west of Havana and back, then out to the beaches in the east. The area reminded us of the holiday camp era of the 50s in the UK, the same style box shaped concrete buildings brightly coloured but all looking rather the worse for wear with peeling paint and cracks. The beaches are small unspoiled coves and of course the tropical vegetation does make it look more attractive than Bognor or Skegness! We enjoyed getting an overview of the city then walked around the Old Town. It is as people describe, lots of old cars, some in superb condition with chrome shining brightly, others appear to consist almost entirely of body filler and look as if they are about to fall apart, but they all churn out thick black smoke. When traffic lights change to green you have to stay well back otherwise you disappear in the clouds of oily smoke. The pollution is appalling but no-one seems to notice.
Some of the buildings are superb, with all styles from Baroque, through Neo-Classicism and Art Nouveaux to Art Deco. However, many more are in a dreadful state, especially along the Malecon and into the suburbs. Block after block is covered in mildew and mould and literally collapsing to the ground. In the Old Town and Centro many are being restored (some with funds from the EU - why?) and almost every other building is being renovated. However it will take years for these renovations to spread out across the city.
For lunch we visited a lovely traditional style restaurant but soon appreciated that service was socialist style. We walked in, but were not acknowledged by any of the 6 -8 waiters standing around. After 10 minutes one brought a menu, 20 minutes later another took our order. When food was ready a bell rang but none of the waiters moved, it could be 5 - 15 minutes later that one would make an effort and take the food to a table. Two hours later we managed to get the bill. This seems to be the norm in state restaurants. We have not experienced such poor service since we visited Moscow in the late 70s. The next day we lunched in a private restaurant where prices were higher but service much better. More private or part private restaurants are being established thankfully and some are very good.
Our first day went well but day 2 took a downturn and by lunchtime I would have given anything to board a plane back to Colombia!. First we queued again to change more money, half an hour this time. Victor and Zoe had warned us in advance to only change the minimum at the airport as the exchange rate there is poor. Queueing here is not as simple as standing in line. When you arrive you have to ask, "El Ultimo?" In other words, who is last. Someone points that person out and then you become El Ultimo but you know the person who is before you. However, as the wait can be long people wander away so the number of people standing around is not a good indicator of how many people are ahead of you. As the guard opens the door to admit another customer someone materialises out of nowhere and goes in. You can't tell if they are queue jumping or have just been 'walkabout' until their turn.
After changing money we decided we needed to check emails. There are basically 3 areas in the city where there is public wifi access, just on the street. But first you need to buy a card with password etc. No problem, we went to the Etecsa office, the Government Communications provider. The queue was short but it still took 45 minutes before we were allowed access into the office. Only about 12 people went in ahead of us but it takes the sole cashier 5-10 minutes per person as they record all your identity details by hand. All queueing is done on the street and you are only allowed inside 1 or 2 at a time. Eventually I had purchased the maximum allowed per person of 3 hours worth of tickets. We had only brought my iPad as it was lighter to carry around the town but soon discovered that we could not get online with it. Jim thought there were just too many people trying.
Back we went to Victor's and returned later, thankfully with both devices, as Jim could not get on with his either, but he was able to identify the router number with my iPad and then feed this number into his PC and it eventually connected. This was 9pm on the main road in the city with literally hundreds of people standing on both sides of the road. Standing space to lean against the wall was highly prized. Not surprisingly, the connection was unbelievably slow, but we did manage to read emails and send 3 replies in just under an hour.
Trying to 'Think Positive', we were looking forward to moving to Vinales the next day, an idyllic rural retreat according to the guide books, where we hoped the atmosphere might be less oppressive. Our taxi turned up on time, having brought 2 passengers to Victor's from Vinales. We climbed aboard and there were still 2 German people in the taxi waiting to be dropped off in Old Havana. All these arrangements are made by the Casa Particulares hosts, using the free telephone system. We only just managed to fit our bags in. Then it took over an hour to find their accommodation, few streets are named in Havana and the driver could not find the property. As they left us we spread out a little but then the driver said we were picking up 2 other people to take to Vinales and we drove around for another hour or so. He was constantly receiving phone calls which must have been changing his instructions as next he said we were going for tomatoes and potatoes. Then he stopped at an outdoor market, put our bags on the backseat with me and waited for four sacks of potatoes and 2 of tomatoes to be delivered. They would not fit in the boot in sacks so he opened a couple so the potatoes could be squeezed in the corners. We had been in the vehicle for 2 1/2 hours and were within a mile of where we started. Luckily the vegetables were in place of passengers and we set off for Vinales in reasonable comfort.
Vinales 2nd - 7th February 2016
Victor had arranged our accommodation in Vinales by phone as with the limited wifi it is difficult to make your own arrangements in advance. The accommodation was reasonable but we soon realised that Vinales is even more expensive than Havana as they basically have a captive market. We saw signs in the small understocked shop saying CUCs only and the prices being charged are exorbitant, despite there being very few items on the shelves. This seems to be the norm, lots of empty shelves and very little food. There are odd things such as the 4 different kinds of salad dressing taking up a whole shelf, Caesar Salad, Ranch, Mayonnaise etc and the price for each was the equivalent of £4.50! There are usually a few crackers, tins of tuna and ham, sacks of rice and beans, water, beer and soft drinks and that is about it.
Our first morning in Vinales we had a good breakfast in our Casa Particular and set out to catch the 9am circular bus around the valley. It does the circuit 6 times a day. When the second one due at 10.30am had not turned up we gave up and went home. Maybe tomorrow? We have been told that in Vinales over 700 homes are Casas Particulares, that is they are allowed to let rooms to visitors so the number of tourists here is huge for what is basically an overgrown village. The casa owners tell you not to eat in the Paladares, the private restaurants, as you will be ill, but it is a way of getting you to eat in the Casa where they charge more than the restaurants.
From what I have said so far you have probably guessed that we are not impressed with Cuba. It has much in common with Vietnam, a communist country that started to allow people to become entrepreneurs as is happening here. There the people are notorious for the constant attempts to con tourists and generally part them from their money in any way possible. I don't understand why (and maybe there are very good reasons?) but as soon as free enterprise is allowed in communist countries many people turn ultra greedy and grasping. The sad part is that under Fidel there has been a very good education, healthcare and social security system. There have been very difficult times here (see the Special Period note above) but people have been proud of their culture and the Revolution and shared whatever they had. Now this is likely to break down as those who are taking money from tourists are doing very well but in other areas where tourists don't visit, there is no change. Suddenly there are huge financial gaps growing between people for the first time since the revolution.
We wanted to visit here before it changed as a result of closer connections to the US. However, it is already too late. For some reason (I need to check the history but of course can't do that here) there are close ties between Cuba and Canada and the influx of Canadians in particular has been happening for some time and has brought about lots of changes, especially a huge increase in prices. Since the Lonely Planet guide to Cuba was published in 2015 many prices have increased fourfold or more. We met a German man who has spent every winter here for 7 years but he said he will not return. The room he usually books in Havana has increased in price from 27 CUC two years ago to 254 CUCs this year! In the tourist towns such as Havana, Vinales and Trinidad numerous groups of usually elderly Canadians are being shepherded about by guides.
As prices are being pushed so high it is hard to see the increase in tourists continuing unless other things change too. Why pay over the odds to suffer such discomfort here when other countries are more welcoming, enjoyable and pleasant to be in? I really cannot recommend Cuba to independent travellers. There are a number of infrastructure problems apart from the currency issue. In the past Cubans have not been allowed to travel outside their locality so there is no transport network as you find in most countries. The government established the Viazul coach network specifically for tourists and this is more expensive than coach travel in other Latin American countries and much less efficient. They use Chinese made buses which are in poor condition. On most of the buses at least 50% of the seats are broken and fall backwards. On one journey the young man in front of me was really embarrassed as every time he sat back his head ended up under my chin!
As there is very little wifi to assist with the booking of Casas Particulares once you are in the country what happens is that your first host then books ahead for you. The downside of this system is that you have no control over who you choose to stay with and usually your host has never seen the accommodation they are recommending. It feels very restrictive as there is no opportunity for flexibility - your itinerary is mapped out in advance. You can try finding yourself a Casa Particular when you arrive somewhere but then it is hard work carrying bags and you are constantly hassled by touts who get commission if they take you to a Casa.
I am sure package tourists in the international beach resorts will escape these problems as they are protected from the real Cuba inside their all inclusive resorts and if they venture out their transport is arranged for them. I think the large travel companies ensure international standards are maintained. Perhaps they provide hygiene and customer service training for people working there. We have met people who say how wonderful Cuba is. We cannot understand this yet but keep hoping that something will start to impress us.
Having said all that our second day in Vinales was good. The Hop On/Off bus turned up at 9am on time. I asked the driver what had happened the day before and he said he was ill so no bus! We toured the countryside and saw fields of tobacco, tobacco leaves stored in thatched drying sheds, oxen ploughing steadily across the fields, horse drawn carts and old tractors. The scenery consists of deep red earth, rich vegetation and mogotes, limestone outcrops that rise up steeply from the valley floor. We stopped off at Hotel Jazmines and enjoyed a few hours by their pool. Again the building was a little run down and the pool needs some TLC but it was a pleasant place to swim and enjoy the view across the valley to the mogotes. Vinales is picturesque with very few cars but lots of animals being used as part of everyday life for transport as well as tobacco growing. The tobacco farmer we spoke to told us that he has to sell 90% of his crop to the government and he can sell the other 10%.
We stopped having our evening meal in the Casa and went to restaurants. It was cheaper, the food much more varied and the atmosphere more congenial.
In a few days we are going to a small rural seaside area where the snorkelling is meant to be good. Perhaps that will improve our view of Cuba.
Playa Giron aka the Bay of Pigs 7 - 12th February 2016
As the weather was changeable when we arrived we went to the Museum on our first day. We watched a film from 1961 about the Bay of Pigs attempted invasion by "Yankee Imperialist lackeys", ie the Cuban mercenaries. It was propaganda but very interesting and was accompanied by stirring military music combined with jazz. I had not realised how much bombing of civilian areas by the US had taken place before the attempted invasion.
Our Casa room in Playa Giron is a definite improvement on Vinales, cleaner and larger with a spacious modern bathroom. The road here runs for about 42 kilometres along the unspoiled coast from Playa Larga through Playa Giron to Caleta Buena. At several points there is access to the sea and offshore reefs. It is very quite and, although there are tourists about, the numbers are small. We like the peace here so are staying longer than we planned despite the fact that there is no wifi at all in the area and very few items can be purchased in the couple of tiny shops. Our hosts Jose and Lucy are friendly and a little more helpful than in those in Vinales. We had originally planned to venture further East but decided that it was not worth the effort. As we enjoyed Playa Giron and liked the Casa with Jose and Lucy we decided to return there for another 6 days after Trinidad.
Trinidad 12 - 17th February 2016
Jose made a bus reservation for us the day before we were due to leave for Trinidad, a UNESCO World Hereitage Site further east, near the middle of the island on the south coast. We went for the 10.30 bus, arriving at the Viazul check in point at 9.30am. Yes, we had a reservation but they do not sell tickets until 10am. Then we realised why. The bus is coming from Havana via Playa Larga and until it reaches Playa Larga at 10am, from where someone telephones to the desk in Playa Giron, no-one knows how many people are aboard and therefore how many seats are vacant. Once told, they start selling tickets. So the 'reservation' only means you are on the list, it does not guarantee a seat. We managed to get the only double seat available and another 5 or 6 people squeezed on. Then the Viazul person started finding colectivo taxies for the remaining 8 - 10 people in the queue. Total chaos! And this is repeated every day.
Trinidad is a busy small town where the centre area around the Plaza Mayor has changed little since the 1850s. The street furniture of ceramic urns and wrought iron seats is quaint and the single storey buildings are topped by red clay tiles. The view from the curch tower looks across the town down to the sea. Just a few kilometres from the town lies Playa Ancon, the best beach of the south coast where we spent a couple of days relaxing. Again there were huge numbers of tourists around. The second day we went to take the circular bus to the beach but it did not turn up. Both times this has happened to us it was a Monday so we are not sure if it is just that the drivers have a heavy night on the Sunday and don't go to work or whether it is a way of making extra money. Both times the taxi drivers turned up very quickly to take their pickings from the bus queue. They seem to have advance knowledge that the bus will not run. They then charge double the bus fare.
There is wifi in the nearby square. We have used it three times so far, the first time it took 30 minutes of constantly re-clicking before we managed to connect, the second time miraculously only two minutes, and 45 minutes the third time. We try to connect with both machines to double our chance. It is totally random and seems to be a matter of luck if you click the second someone else signs off. It is virtual queueing I suppose, slightly more comfortable as you can sit down, but what really annoys Jim is that often it will not allow you to log off so you lose any time remaining on your ticket.
It was at this point that Jim picked up a stomach bug - the first bad one since we started travelling. It took him a couple of days to get over the violent phase and then we took the bus to Playa Giron.
Playa Giron Again 17 - 23 February
When we arrived I explained that Jim had been ill and was still feeling fragile and did not want much for dinner but I would have chicken. An hour later I cancelled my order as the same bug struck me and I spent the next 24 hours near the bathroom. Thank goodness it did not start until we arrived in Playa Giron, travelling in that state would have been horrendous
Once recovered, we settled down for our second stay and finally started to feel more positive about Cuba. Jose and Lucy looked after us well and we really enjoyed the snorkelling sites along the coast. We began to recognise people and they us, and gradually they started to communicate a little. We went on an excursion in a horse drawn cart to bat caves and the forest for birdwatching.
This was the best thing we had done in Cuba. Our guide was well trained (surprisingly by a government organisation) and competent and the area fascinating. Millions of years ago the whole area was a coral reef under the sea. The movement of tectonic plates lifted the reef so the land is made up of ancient reef washed by rain and underground rivers. Trees have grown, they are old but not tall as it is such a struggle to survive on what is now basically limestone rock. The rivers run underground and form caves, then eventually the roofs of some caves collapse leaving pools exposed and bridges across the river. I took a photograph of one of these bridges with trees growing on it. The birding was good with at least 5 endemics including the Cuban Pygmy Owl (only 27 cms tall), 2 barn owls and the bat cave which was exciting as we like bats. Some people stayed outside.
Other days we went to the snorkelling spots of Caleta Buena and Punta Perdiz where I saw a wonderful line of 11 squid who moved along in formation like the chorus line of the ballet, their delicate rainbow coloured fins rippling along their bodies like gossamer skirts, and gliding with grace that ballerinas could only dream of. It ranks in my top 10 underwater sights. We were happy that we decided to spend so much time there and it did improve our feelings towards Cuba.
Staying in the Bay of Pigs area enabled us to live in the midst of the neighbourhood, to sit and rock on the porch (a favourite activity here - all houses have rockers at the front), to watch the neighbours coming and going in each other's houses, hear them chat in the street, see the odd street vendor walk along selling a small bag of fruit and vegetables, towels or second hand clothing, bread or chicken. There is so little available people are always keen to buy. It helped us understand their lives a little better but there is so much more that is impossible to grasp. For instance, a 'Controller', a stern looking lady on a bike with a clipboard in hand, came every day to visit Jose and check his paperwork.
Havana 25 - 27th February 2016
We returned to Victor & Zoe's for 2 nights as we wanted to visit some museums that had been closed when we were here last. We went straight into the centre to get online. We did connect immediately but for 20 minutes it would neither download emails or let us close down and exit to save the time on the ticket and start again. Luckily I eventually managed to send a couple of essential emails so we will not try again until we reach Mexico. I am sure it damages Jim's health every time we try here. However, just going into the town reminded us of the dirt, pollution and depressing decay, so we returned to Victor's and will only emerge tomorrow for the museums.
Cuba is a time warp, visiting it is like stepping back to the 1950s, and in some places to other periods, eg in Trinidad it is the 1850s. The cars on the road have been held together since before the Revolution and are fascinating as are the various styles of vehicle used to transport Cubans, from horse and carts to what are basically cattle trucks. There are few cars on the roads outside Havana and horses, oxen and donkeys are used everywhere and are common sights in towns and countryside. The sense of stepping back in time is the real benefit of visiting.
The Revolution is evident in posters, street art and the numerous museums celebrating the Socialist Victory. Each neighbourhood has it's CDR (Committe for the Defence of the Revolution) office, often in a house. It is their job to enforce good practice in their community and they put up signs exhorting people to be good socialists. They also run community activities.
The organisation managing tourist hotel puts much of it's profit into restoration work in Havana but it also incorporates social programes such as facilities for the elderley, nurseries, and training programmes. This is ensuring that the restored buildings remain an integral part of the community and not just a tourist shell in the city centre.
Cubans are warm toward each other, close knit and supportive. Sharing everything is the norm. One way you see this is the way anyone in any kind of vehicle will give a lift to people standing by the roadside. On the main roads people gather under bridges where there is shade to wait for lifts. This willingness to share has helped them cope with difficult times. Whenever they meet they kiss, and interestingly men kiss men, often on the neck or under the chin which is a surprisingly intimate gesture.
However, there is a down side. The restrictions, inefficiencies, queueing, wifi problems, lack of information and deliberate misinformation make independent travel a pain. We were beginning to think it was a sign of our age or that we had been travelling for too long but then we met a couple of young men in their mid 20s from London. They are only here for 11 days but are used to travelling as backpackers in various places. One had walked across to the local shop (see picture) while the other held their 2 bikes and we started chatting to him. His friend returned and said in exasperation, "They don't have water! Why does everything here have to be SO difficult?" It was such a relief to hear him, perhaps it isn't us after all! They have had to curtail their original plans because of the difficulty travelling and have settled for visiting only 3 places. Since then we have met others expressing the same views. It is only the people in organised groups that fare a little better as their transport is usually pre-arranged but even they complain about not being able to buy snacks, water, tissues, - well, anything. We have been told that bottled water shortages occur frequently.
Tourists are kept apart from Cuban life because in most places they cannot use the same facilities either because tourists don't have CUPs or don't know how or where to access the bus or shop or because they are deliberately kept separate. For example in the bus station there is one ticket office for 'Nationals' and another for foreigners and of course different vehicles. Shops, where they exist, are very difficult to spot and don't usually display goods so it is impossible to know what they have for sale. The only place we managed to break through this barrier was in Playa Giron as it is small and quiet enough for people to interact with visitors a little more and the longer we stayed the more people began to talk. We did enjoy our time there and it helped balance our view of Cubans. In Playa Giron we lived amongst people going about their daily life whereas in the towns it feels as if they see tourists as mobile cash dispensers and shake hands simply to activate the flow of CUCs.
Hygiene is basic which surprised me in a country with good education and health services. Tissues and handkerchiefs seem unknown. It is impossible to buy them. Everyone seems to have a cold and many people blow their noses with their fingers and then wipe their fingers on their clothes. I never look in kitchens as I know I won't want to eat if I do. The bug Jim and I (and many of the people we came across) contracted was nasty. You don't need unpleasant details but just to say that it took each of us at least 10 days to recover. Food is rarely covered. I have seen two 'butcher's' which were simply a hatch in a wall with a piece of meat hanging over the hatch. At the end of the day they threw bones out onto the ground and closed the hatch which was covered in flies. The dogs came for the bones. As I said earlier, I am sure holidaymakers in the all inclusive resorts receive a more international standard of care.
People employed in government jobs barely manage to be civil to customers and many are just rude. We were behind a lady in the queue to buy bus tickets and she asked for seats on the bus to Havana the next day. "No", the clerk said "Full!". "Is there another bus?", she asked. "No" he said again even louder, turned away from her and beckoned us forward. One time I changed money the clerk examined my euros intently, flattening each with his hand, then looking closely with a magnifying glass and under a machine. He put a note to one side and called his supervisor who checked it out, said there was no problem and gave it back to him. He did the paperwork for the transaction then suddenly he handed me back the 'suspect' note and only changed the others. I asked him what the problem was with that note and he said there was no problem, change it in Cienfuegos, the next town. When I did change it with some other notes the lady accepted them all without a second glance. It seems people in official jobs have a tendency to become, well, officious. Even in state run bars and restaurants the behaviour is the same, we have come to accept it as the norm to have a can of beer slammed down on the table, as if to provide a service is demeaning.
In Havana all this, plus the pollution, decay and neglect, can be quite dispiriting and as we were warned, the food is repetitive and tasteless. It is definitely fuel, not something to be enjoyed. Given the lack of vegetables I looked to see if we could spot anyone growing their own. Even in clearly fertile areas we did not see one garden with vegetables or any kind of kitchen garden. We asked Victor who said that there is no way people can obtain seeds. The government keeps them all for communal farms but they do not grow enough nor do they have the facilities to transport food. As we drove back into Havana we were amazed by the lack of haulage vehicles. There are few vehicles on the roads anyway outside the town centres but we saw only 2 trucks carrying food on our whole journey. Imagine driving into any British city and not seeing one Tesco, Sainsbury or any other food distributors fleets. It is unthinkable.
So Cuba has certainly been an experience, it is a place of inconsistency and contradictions. For example, there is a permanent shortage of toilet seats but many homes are covered inside by a rash of stickers, everything from butterflies and hearts to 2 metre tall flowers - where do they all come from?. There are some beautiful modern bathroom fittings but they rarely work. Building work is being carried out in at least 50% of homes as they expand to create more letting rooms, but the work is never finished off so half built walls are the norm. There is so much that does not make sense to us because we can't understand the controls and constraints that people experience. It has given us a lot to think about but we can't wait to leave! We have been dreaming of Mexican food, and the thought of curry makes us delirious. I hope to post this blog as soon as we reach Cancun tomorrow but we both have this sneaking fear that they won't let us leave.