Yes, it's an island, but it is huge!
You won't see much of it. Also, they have an interesting currency situation.
You can't buy local pesos. Only the citizens can.
For you they will have what they call convertible pesos. You can spend those but the locals can't
Convertible pesos are on par with the US dollar 1:1
The way it works is you convert your dollars once you arrive ( most hotels and banks, although you might get a black market deal on them from the people roaming the airport who buy from those leaving and sell to those arriving.
(The official app booths are at the airport as well)
Since everyone in Cuba is supposed to have the same relative lifestyle, if someone is enterprising they can make a few extra pesos from you by being entrerpreneurial ( you can't kill capitalism)
The rub is that they then have to take convertible pesos and trade them in for real pesos that they can spend. The conversation rate they pay essentially accounts for a gov tax so they can spread the wealth. Apparently the little bit the entrepreneur gets to keep still makes it worth it to them.
This explains why they prefer products as tips rather than pesos.
There is a huge market in the selling of products to other Cubans.
Those who sell them become wealthy enough to then be able to help out their other relatives with a few extra pesos raising the standard for everyone ( either through gov wealth spreading or family wealth spreading.)
Interestingly, the propaganda has been such that many younger Cubans believe that Castro was a great man for protecting them from the Americans all those years.
As a Canadian it left me wondering about US vs Cuban propaganda
