Quote:
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
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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.