My 3AM start to the day came about because I was sharing a transfe service with both Andrea (an Advertising Exec from Melbourne, Australia) and Gretta (Sports Science professional from Mildura, Australia) who were on the 7:30 AM flight to Toronto, Canada.
I actually had an 8:30 AM departure for Panama City and then on to Guatemala City, but waiting at the casa or at the airport is still killing time by any measure.
It took ½ an hour to get to the airport, then a 2 hour long Copa Airlines queue to get checked in and a mad dash though Customs & Immigration to say goodbye to Gretta and Andrea whose flight was in final boarding.
With having a little bit of time and similar to my leaving Mexico on this trip – what did I think of Cuba?
Cuba is an interesting mix of unique historical activities, elements, political & religious interference as well as armed incursions, that have shaped the country into what it is today. It’s a mix of failed Communism ideals, that have morphed into semi-Socialism with a dollop of fast spreading capitalism to spice up the mix.
Whilst people who are used the government either providing or heavily subsidising everything, the prevailing government recognizes they cannot afford to continue that way. Having said that, the ruling elements have identified tourism as the catalyst for getting the country back on its feet, but they are fast realising they have to relinquish their control of everything – hence the two local currencies as well as the free, grey and black market economies.
A couple of interesting observations:
- Not every Cuban has a stogie or Cohiba hanging from their lips. Whilst there looks to be proportionately more cigar smokers than you’re used to, it’s simply too expensive for the local to buy the top grade cigars.
- There is a tremendous amount of rice consumed in Cuban dishes. Similarly, there is a lot of plantains on the table as well.
- Alcohol is cheap: Decent local cervezas run you $0.90 to $1.25 USD for a can or stubby. Rum can be had for $3 USD for a litre of what I call cocktail starter, with the decent rums $5-15 USD a litre for your smooth sipping pleasure.
- Water on the other hand can cost you anywhere from $1.00 – $3.00 USD for a 1.5 litre bottle, depending on which government run un-super market or local owner kiosk you purchase it from.
- It is expected that you pay $0.25 to $1.00 USD for every visit to the toilet in any public area – even your own hotel, and best you bring “Poo Tickets” as that can be scarce in many places.
- If it has wheels and moves in Cuba, then it’s a human transport device and potential revenue generating facilitator. Horse, cart, bicycle, bus, truck car or tractor – it doesn’t matter how you travel, as long as you’re not walking by the looks of it.
- Female government workers and school girls uniforms looked to have been designed by a male adolescent schoolboy – the skirts and shorts are seriously length deficient.
- Local casa stays are awesome. You get to hang with the locals and get an instate to how their housing and daily life goes.
- Communication for me in Cuba was not a major issue as with hand signals, “SpanGlish”, pointing and the fun game of “chatting with charades”, we seemed to sort out what was needed
I have to say that regardless of where I went throughout the island, the people were warm, friendly and very accommodating, which speaks volumes considering the adversity the nation has been through and continues as part of everyday life.
