Cuba - Scenes from last week

[imcarthur]

From our trip to attend my son's wedding . . .

Pristine beach - Cayo Saetia

Cayo Saetia (a game reserve) again

The Countryside

The mighty steed awaits

A bus & bus stop in Holguin, Cuba

Street scene downtown Holguin, Cuba

A fine old car

La Cohiba cigar store Holguin, Cuba


Ian

[Seahawk]

I have always wanted to go to Cuba. I did my graduate thesis on the Cuban economy, linking the transition from Batista to Castro.

More pics!

[imcarthur]

For more pics see:

Cayo Saetia

Town of Holguin

Province of Holguin

The Province pics include a map of our travels. We drove 300+ kms. It was an adventure. Beautiful country, beautiful people.

For a blow by blow of our Drug Drop off (no, not that kind of drug, it was medical supplies) see Not Just Tourists Drop Off

Ian

[masraum]

Seeing the old cars is pretty cool. It's too bad there aren't more people in the states that maintain and drive them as well.

It's like an automotive time capsule.

[Jims5543]

Really cool pics. Thanks for sharing. There seems to be a big contrast between the haves and have nots.

[scottmandue]

I would like to visit Cuba someday also, is there much to the process?
Just get a passport and some airplane tickets?

[Hugh R]

My government says I can't go there. I guess they know what's best for me.

[HardDrive]

Originally posted by scottmandue
I would like to visit Cuba someday also, is there much to the process?
Just get a passport and some airplane tickets?

Just book it through a travel agent in Toronto. We went in 1994.

Stayed at the Melia Cohiba. Awesome.

http://www.solmelia.com/solNew/hoteles/jsp/C_Hotel_Description.jsp?codigoHotel=5882

So when the imigration officer asks you where you went, you say, "T-O-R-O-N-T-O, eh?"

[vash]

that is fantastic! so are the cost really low over there?

i wanna go, but i really have alot of land to cover. i need to make a priority list.

[Christien]

Hey Ian, great pics, and what a story! Not only do you get to experience a side of Cuba most foreigners would never see, but you do some good in the process. Stef and I are talking about doing something similar in Africa.

Chris

[jkarolyi]

>>There seems to be a big contrast between the haves and have nots.

But how can this be? It's Communism!

I really want to go to Cuba before that #$(*@#% Castro dies just so I can experience the culture there before it turns into a modern tourist haven like the other islands.

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by HardDrive
Just book it through a travel agent in Toronto. We went in 1994.

Stayed at the Melia Cohiba. Awesome.

http://www.solmelia.com/solNew/hoteles/jsp/C_Hotel_Description.jsp?codigoHotel=5882

So when the imigration officer asks you where you went, you say, "T-O-R-O-N-T-O, eh?"

Seriously? They don't check your passport?
Sorry I have never traveled outside the U.S.A, Canada, or Mexico so I know nothing of such matters.

[imcarthur]

This was our second trip to Cuba. We went in '99 to an All Inclusive 1 week sit & drink holiday & we saw nothing of the real Cuba. This time we were determined to see some of Cuba.

We stayed 1 night in Holguin in a Soviet-era hotel for 43 CUC per night (about $48 US). Then we rented a Vitara, filled it with rum & cigars & drove to an isolated resort - Cayo Saetia. Just 12 cabins on a peninsula that doubled as a game reserve. We stayed 4 nights on this slice of paradise.

We did drive into town & around for the drug drop. No tourists visible & none of the sullen attitude that you'd feel in Jamaica or other Caribbean islands. Everybody we asked in our very broken Spanish were happy to give directions & hitchhikers helped immensely to get around & find places. A cop in Mayari even hopped on his motorcycle & guided us to a missed cutoff & refused a tip! I had a hoot driving around.

We then meandered up to Guadalavaca (over a seriously bad road - 4WD came in handy here) where we spent the last 2 nights at an All Inclusive. The difference between the resort towns & non-touristed towns was very visible in attitude & visible wealth.

On the whole trip through countryside & several larger towns, we never felt threatened or even the slightest bit unsafe. It is a country that in many ways is 50 years behind the rest of the world. And it has some of the friendliest people in the world. Virtually no real crime & a great education & medical system - although they lack many basic supplies.

As jkarolyi noted, go before it gets spoiled. But make sure you get out beyond the gates of the resorts.

Ian

[imcarthur]

Passport control is a no different than anywhere. You have to have a Tourist Card which your airline gives you. You have to have a return ticket. They did not stamp our passports entering or leaving.

You have to pay 25 CUC (convertible pesos) per person when leaving. 1 CUC = $1 USD + 8%. US cash is not accepted anywhere but at the airport money exchanges & banks. In fact, porters & cabbies at the airport will try to sell you Euros, CAN & US money (tip money) that they can't use in Cuba. US Bank credit cards are not accepted anywhere.

Ian

[HardDrive]

As above, they don't stamp your, especially if you are an American, because they know the deal. They want US tourists to come. Unless your a fool and try and come over the border with 12 cases of cigars, no problemo.

My buddy in Detroit has went every year at least once for 12 years. Never an issue.

Everyone we met there was SO friendly. They are not morons. They understand their situation. If you get talking to your waiter in a restaurant, you may discover he is a guy with a PHD in physics. Many very educated people end up working in the tourist trade because they can make so much more $$$. We spent New Years with a waiter from our hotel and his family. Got to go to a catillion (SP? A coming out party for a 15 year old girl) for one of his nieces. Amazing experience.

I agree with those above. Go before it opens up and gets turned into another caribean pina coloda nightmare.

[imcarthur]

There is also a local currency called the Cuban Peso which is Cuba's everyday money. The Convertible Peso (CUC) is a tourist-only currency & is useless outside the country. 25 Cuba Pesos = 1 CUC (I think).

We should have bought some Cuban Pesos because a few things we paid for we felt were overpriced. We bought gas & water & strange snack crap on the road.

Really weird, you cannot buy Coke anywhere but at the airport outdoor snack stand (and it's Mexican bottled). And forget potato chips & Cheeto's & Mars bars. Another weird thing is that there are no billboards on the highways. The odd socialist exhortation & some martyr's paintings but that was it & even it was low key.

No beggars. None. Only a few hustlers & that was on bicycle when we were in the car. People walking everywhere. Even in the rural areas & particularly in the towns & villages, you'd see people walking or sitting on the side of the road.

And hitchhikers everywhere. We picked up a grandmother & her 9 yr old grandson, 10 yr old schoolgirls, 16 yr old giggly ones too, young couples, day workers. Perfectly safe & acceptable & a necessary means of transportation. They have traffic wardens at crossroads in the rural areas to stop & load trucks & buses with the people who would always be there waiting.

It is an amazing place. So innocent at the moment. Go if you can. And take some stuff to give to the people you meet. They are a proud people & don't expect it but quietly appreciate it.

Ian

[Joeaksa]

As well always wanted to go there. My Mother went there on a tramp steamer in the 1930's and always talked about how nice the people were there.

Sitting here with a Partega in my hand and wishing I had some more. When in the hell are we going to wake up and end this frigging embargo!

Joe A

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by imcarthur
There is also a local currency called the Cuban Peso which is Cuba's everyday money. The Convertible Peso (CUC) is a tourist-only currency & is useless outside the country. 25 Cuba Pesos = 1 CUC (I think).

We should have bought some Cuban Pesos because a few things we paid for we felt were overpriced. We bought gas & water & strange snack crap on the road.

Really weird, you cannot buy Coke anywhere but at the airport outdoor snack stand (and it's Mexican bottled). And forget potato chips & Cheeto's & Mars bars. Another weird thing is that there are no billboards on the highways. The odd socialist exhortation & some martyr's paintings but that was it & even it was low key.

No beggars. None. Only a few hustlers & that was on bicycle when we were in the car. People walking everywhere. Even in the rural areas & particularly in the towns & villages, you'd see people walking or sitting on the side of the road.

And hitchhikers everywhere. We picked up a grandmother & her 9 yr old son, 10 yr old schoolgirls, 16 yr old giggly ones too, young couples, day workers. Perfectly safe & acceptable & a necessary means of transportation. They have traffic wardens at crossroads in the rural areas to stop & load trucks & buses with the people who would always be there waiting.

It is an amazing place. So innocent at the moment. Go if you can. And take some stuff to give to the people you meet. They are a proud people & don't expect it but quietly appreciate it.

Ian

Ian,

What a great thread. I have been lucky enough to travel the world...your trip is one of the few I envy. Well done in all respects.

[imcarthur]

One last image. Our favorite & it sums up Cuba to us.

[HardDrive]

GREAT photo. A well worn building, with a child looking into the future.

Originally posted by imcarthur
One last image. Our favorite & it sums up Cuba to us.