created: 2007-06-10

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Cuba 2007 — travel diary

life / cuba2007

Foreword

Für alle, die erwarten, dass ich das hier auf Deutsch schreibe: Ich habe es deshalb auf Englisch verfasst, weil auch einige der Menschen, die wir in Cuba getroffen haben, daran teilhaben wollten.

These are excerpts from my travel diary that I wrote on my trip to Cuba in 2007. It's only personal notes and impressions that go along with some facts that our tour guide told us. If they're facts after all.

So my father took me and both my cousins Martin and David to Cuba in April. It was a long standing wish that we visited this country as long as Fidel Castro was still its leader. By the time of this writing, he has not been seen in public since the surgery he underwent in July 2006. He did not even attend the celebrations that mark the 1st of May.

Hint for reading: As mentioned, the whole page is a subjective view to Cuba. But there are sections that are facts I gathered during the trip. Those are denoted just as this paragraph here.

Some parts are layouted like this one. This means that I weave some thoughts into the text that are normally not part of a report, that do not relate closely to the scenery or that I had later.

Many images have comments in them: You can either read them when hovering the image (provided your web browser is smart enough) or by clicking the image and thus seeing the larger version of the image.

The galleries were of course created using my thumbnail generator TNGen.

People

That's us on this picture above. My father on the right, then Martin, David and myself on the left. Tourists…

The diary

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

Prologue: Tuesday, 2007-04-10

We leave Vienna and drive to Munich by car. Pre-travel mood. Some drinks at the bar, some playing cards. Manchester United beats AS Roma 7:1 in the Champions League. We discover a jukebox where we play STS (I bin aus Österreich) and other Austrian artists. Martin and David empty the mini bar back in their room. I feel a queasy because I don't like flying.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

Wednesday, 2007-04-11

Getting up at 0630 and having an expensive breakfast — which is of course not included :/. We finish cheking in at the Airport 2 hours before the flight leaves. Killing time.

Our airplane is an Airbus A330-200. A quite small plane for a transatlantic flight. The flight takes 11 hours and we have ugly turbulences when landing in Varadero. We burned 73000 litres (!) of kerosene.

Touch down at the airport Juan Gualberto Gomez in Varadero at about 1600 hours local time. It is raining cats and dogs. And it's colder than in Munich. My first impression of the landscape: mediterranean. But palm trees

The passport controls are quite strict. But the officers there are in no hurry at all. They double check any letter in the passport. Through the controls, we experience our first power failure. The only light that is still available is coming from the computer screens in the money exchange office. And from my small torch that Papa made fun of before :)

The rain has ceased. We are taken to the hotel in Varadero where we will stay after our trip through the country. There's not much going through my head. I am just wondering why there are so many people walking on the highways. Some houses are very decayed.

We arrive at the hotel, which looks like a palace compared to some surrounding private homes. After meal at the buffet, we explore the bar in the lounge. One of the things you notice first: They pour much more rum into the drinks.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

Thursday, 2007-04-12

Going to the beach for the first time reveals a very clear and clean water. Something that you cannot see in the Adria.

There's a language that obviously anyone understands: €. The guy at the luggage deposit told us that it was impossible to leave our large cases there for a week. We told him that we'd return in 8 days to this hotel. Still he refused. When we gave him some Euros, he suddenly didn't see any problem in keeping our luggage for a week.

Off to Habana

We are fetched for our tour and are driving to Habana. On the bus we meet the only other two Austrians on this trip: Bimbo (this may be politically incorrect, but he says he's been called like that since he was a boy) and Gü. The rest of the group are 23 Germans.

The highways are really strange: On the slower lane, there are lots of road holes. Not too deep but also not too healthy for the cars. One can see not only cars on the highway. Anything that can move is there: Cars, horse-drawn carriages, cyclists. Even pedestrians. And there's another thing that you can see: Lots of hitchhikers. We experience one really hard rain storm. Many cars get stuck on the highway. Minutes later it's over and the cars move on again.

About cars

The transport system is not very well established. That's why people with certain types of cars are obliged to take hitchhikers with them.

There are several types of cars. Each of those types has different number plates:

• red: rented cars. They should be returned to special parking places over night.
• yellow: private cars
• blue: state cars. The people who drive those may keep the cars at ome over night.
• white: for the press
• black: diplomats
• flavours of green: military
• orange/brown: foreigners

Petrol can be bought only for CUC. (see below). Private people simply can't fuel their cars unless they get CUC from somewhere. Currently, Diesel costs around 35 Cent, petrol 85.

There are people called amarillos (The yellow ones). Their uniforms are not yellow any more but their job is to stop cars with blue number plates so that they take hitchhikers with them.

There are several people who pimped the horns of their cars. Some play music, some whistle, some resemble an ACME type of horn because they're so loud. One even had the type of whistle that you make to whistle after a beautifuly woman. And he used it exactly for that purpose. We saw a wedding convoy and the leading vehicle had Richard Wagner's wedding march honking out of its horn. The beeps that lorries emit when they drive backwards have been replaced by some Cuban music in one of them.

Arriving in Habana. The contrasts between the places where tourists are expected and anywhere else is really big. The first thing we do after checking in at the hotel is walk through the streets a bit. Papa is quite communicative and we end up in the home of a family.

All the 16 days we spent in Cuba we realized that people aside from tourist routes and resorts hardly speak anything but Spanish. I never imagined that so few people speak English there. Especially since the Americans were quite present in Cuba until the revolution was kicked off. And there have been times when the climate between the U.S. and Cuba were not as icy as they were/are under George Bush (sen. and jr.) or Ronald Reagan.

Walking on, we come to a bar where we drink some beer — gosh, how I hate beer. But they don't serve rum and I was too slow to order some alcohol free drink (Slides 30 through 34).

Back at the hotel, we have some strong drinks which we are not used to. After the dinner, we do what a guy we met in the city told us: go to the casa de la musica in Miramar.
What an experience. We take a taxi to Miramar, not knowing at all where this would be. We drop off in front of the club and people are streaming out: The club closes at 2100 hours. But people tell us that at 2300 music begins again. There are immediately some guys around us who want to take us to many different places. We decide to go into the bar next to the club. It turns out that the bar belongs to the club. Several Cubans are circling around us. We talk to some of them. Bimbo, Gü, Bimbo and Papa are quickly involved in talks with two guys and two girls. Martin, David and I are sitting on another table talking to the Cubans. It's of course mostly small talk but suddenly there's a plate with bread, sausage and cheese on our table. David's to pay it which he graciously does. This plate is followed by another one.
When Bimbo comes over to our table, we suddenly realize that Gü and Papa are missing. And there is nowhere to go within the bar, as there is only the free area, no rooms. The girls that have been sitting at their table are gone as well.
Interestingly, one of them comes back a short time later and looks quite pissed off. She doesn't answer when we asked where Gü and Papa were. It becomes uncomfortable and we decide to leave the bar: In the middle of a foreign city in a foreign country where you don't speak the language. And Papa is missing.

Outside, there are at once some guys asking if we need a taxi. We take one but unlike the taxi that brought us here the price is fixed beforehand. Entering the old Lada is an experience. No regular interiour lights but coloured neon lamps. No interior carpeting but excessive music devices; which the driver makes use of. Very loud but good music. He is a large guy who certainly weighs 120kg. He uses much darker roads and alleys than the other one which makes me feel a little more uneasy. We have one blurred photograph as impression. Martin later told me that he was quite afraid from the beginning. David was so loaded that he didn't realize anything.

He stops a block away from the hotel. When we get off we realize that this was a private driver who obviously had to avoid roads that may be observed for legal taxis. That's why he took the detour and didn't stop in front of the hotel. I am sure the driver is the nicest guy imaginable, but still it felt weird.

Money & prostitution

There are two official currencies in Cuba: The Peso Cubano and the Peso Convertible (CUC). 24 Pesos = 1 CUC ≈ 1 U.S.Dollar ≈ 0,80 € (at the time of this writing)

When tourists change their own currencies to Cuban currency, they get CUC. And only CUC. Cubans get their salaries in Pesos Cubanos. If they achieve 8 hours of work per day, they are awarded 200 pesos. No matter what they do. The problem is that you cannot buy several things with those pesos. For beef, biros, petrol some kinds of clothing and many many other things, you need foreign currencies. Or CUC.

So what do you do when you like to have such luxury goods? Right, you work in the tourist industry because the tips there are in foreign currencies. Thus when you get 10€ you have earned more in foreign currency than in Pesos Cubanos. And you can make yourself a living. Many people on the streets try to sell things they made: chains, carvings, embroidery and things like these. And many women try to sell themselves. Or have their buddies sell them: The boys often present the girls as their girlfriends. Maybe to make the whole thing sound less condemnable or professional.

Looking back: Whenever we were identified as tourists separated from our crowd, there were immediately some women (or boys with their girlfriends) trying to attract us. This made me very sad.
They're quite quick with their proposals: First go somewhere and have a drink (and food), then they tell you they love you and only cost 10 pesos.

There are people, mainly tourists but also tour guides and some brochures, who claim that the Cubans have anything they need and that they're happy. But when I consider the frequency of how often we're addressed for women, cigars or other things that we should pay in CUC, I seriously doubt that.

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Friday, 2007-04-13

We should start our trip from Habana through the country. There is a complete chaos when it comes to grouping the tourists. Nobody really knows, which tour guide is responsible for whom. It finally happens, that we leave a Frau Huebel behind, because the tour guide thinks she was with us. Huber and Huebel are the same for him and he only asked us if our family is complete.

One of the first things that Mandi, our tour guide, tells us is not to walk the streets alone. And not to go to places, where tourists aren't. In other words: exactly not to do what we did yesterday.

We then take a tour through the capital Habana.

In the city, we visit a rum factory. It's one of the oldest rum factories there. The guide tells us about rum production. One thing I didn't know is that the label 3-year-old and 7-year-old, … doesn't mean that this specific rum was maturing for 3 or 7 or … years. The rum is always a mixture and the rum masters' art is to mix it properly so that the average rum in the bottle is 3 or 7, … years old. I buy an extremely expensive Habana Club T-shirt. (Comment: …which I immediately decorated with a stain of Balsamico vinegar).

We return to the Castillo de la Fuerza in the ancient city of Habana. Next to it, there's a post card shop. Well, shop is too much a word for this small wooden box where one woman fits in. The tour guide tells us that it's good and cheap to buy post cards here. And at first we all obey. But then we (Papa and I) realize that there's a market across the square and we go there. The people there don't understand anything but Spanish. But the post cards there are cheaper and have much nicer motives on them. We must be quick, as our group has already moved on into a hotel. In the hotel, we're presented with typical (I say touristical) music. And Mojitos. And Cuba Libre.

We visit a pharmacy and then cross the street, passing a university and a cool facade (slides 69 ff.).

Out of the pharmacy, Papa is suddenly gone. No way to contact him, as we don't have our mobile phones with us. After searching for him, we give up. But I was mistaken for a Cuban by two Spanish tourists; maybe because I didn't wear a watch, or any other signs or tourism. And a dirty shirt. We return to Mandi and he calls the bus driver who says that one of the guys has returned and is currently defeating some Mojitos in a bar. Yes, Papa. I buy a straw hat at the market where we wait for the others from our group to return to the meeting point.

After returning to the hotel, we go shopping. Mandi showed us a shopping mall before. On the way there, we meet some guys who immediately want to sell us their girlfriends. We politely decline but they still orbit us. We decline less politely and they give in.

In the afternoon, David and I walk to the Plaza de la Revolución (Slides 82 to 92 ). After some 100 metres, we meet the same guys who still want to sell women. Disgusting.

Traffic lights are hardly to be seen. Neither for cars nor for pedestrians. Thus, you should look in all directions at the same time before crossing a street. But people take care when driving. And there's a lot of space. At least on the Paseo, the street we're taking. It must be one of the busiest streets in Habana. Still you can hardly see cars, compared to western cities.

The smell is awful. The cars have no catalytic converter, the air smells like petrol or Diesel. But it's not that bad since there are not many cars. And if there are, you smell them before you can hear then :)

The Paseo itself is a really broad street. With grass in the middle. The alleys that lead away from it are quite small and often completely decaying. Those are the alleys where you meet people who want to sell anything.

We take some photographs and I write some post cards at the Plaza. When returning, we're completely exhausted.

Speed and other things

The elevators seem to have adapted to the speed of life there. When you call one in a 7 storey building, you can probably wait as long as it would take to walk. Downstairs or upstairs. In general, the speed of life is quite slow in Cuba. Nobody is in a hurry. We did not find out the conversion factor between a Cuban minute and a European minute.

When we were passing a playground that was under construction, our tour guide Mandi told us that his father had promised him that he'd be able to play there soon. That was about 35 years ago. Now Mandi tells his kids the same story.

A perfect example for the slowliness are the waiters. I saw it several times that they were carrying glasses from one table to another. And back again. Just to look busy. Although, busy is not the right word. The movements were like in slow motion. Or the barkeepers: They talk to each other, completely ignoring the people who'd like to order something to drink. I am sure that this is no intentional offence, it's just the way it is.

Another interesting thing is that there are some things that you simply have to accept. I remember several occasions similar to this one: I wanted to buy a hat. I went to the souvenir shop (which was basically a lockable table) and asked the woman there for the hat that was locked in the glass table. She shook her head and said: Not possible today. Only Tuesday and Thursday. She had the key. She had other souvenirs there. She didn't even accept one CUC extra.
I went there the next day (which was Tuesday) and the same lady gave me the hat I wanted.

---

I notice, that energy-saving lamps are installed nearly everywhere (where tourists are).

About rum and cigars: You cannot buy rum everywhere. There are lots of small bars and restaurants which are privatly run. Those aren't allowed to have more than I think 12 seats and must not serve rum. Only state-owned shops and bars may do so. The same applies for cigars. Only state-owned shops may sell them — if you want to take some of them back home. When you buy cigars on the street, they're much cheaper but also less original. And some may be of bad quality. I bought two packets of false ones (see day 9) and some said, they became sick when smoking them.

Volume: People are loud in Cuba. In Austria, children are tought to be silent all the time. In Cuba this is not the case, people are loud everywhere and any time.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

Saturday, 2007-04-14

This day takes us to Pinar del Rio which is quite a bit outside of Habana. We are driving through a very luxurious quarter of the city. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to stop there, but there are villas with parks around them. They are meant for the crème de la crème. Or heads of states.

Daily costs

If a worker in Cuba works 8 hours a day, he's granted the income of 200 Pesos Cubanos per month (see section about money). That's not much, but you have to see this in several contexts.

Firstly, there are many things that you can't buy with Pesos Cubanos anyway: biros, T-shirts, beef, … So when you can't spend your money on those luxurious things, why earn more?

Secondly, many people have their own houses for which they don't have to pay anything. Those who don't own the house they live in have to pay fees of 12% of their monthly family income. But these are only people who were given their houses after the revolution. In the 1970s, many people could decide whether they wanted to continue renting the houses or whether to work it off. So even more people now own their houses themselves.

Thirdly, some things are quite cheap there:

• electric power is 9 Centavos/kWh (for the first 100 kWh, then the price rises to 20c).
• Water costs 1 Peso, wastewater 50c. Both per month and person.
• Gas supply costs 3 Pesos per month per person.
• Food is given away via food cards. They cost 10 Pesos per person per month and include basic nutrition plus some extras. This is: pork, milk for babies, 5 lbs of sugar per month and person (!), bread, … What you don't get is beef. That's where you need CUC again.
  Fun fact: Fidel decided that people should have chocolate as well after a physician once prescribed chocolate for him to recover from an injury.

On the other hand, you have to pay 2 Pesos for a banana or 10 Pesos for an ananas. So here's the big difference. And the cause for maybe most of the problems that are there in Cuba.

If you have a little child, you get 1 litre of milk per day and child. Old people get milk as well. Otherwise, one litre costs 20 cents. Butter, cheese and other milk produce is available only for CUC. Some farmers sell cheese illegally on the streets.

Once a month, people get chopped beef with soy. Pork can be bought and sold freely.

First stop: tobacco factory in Pinar del Rio. The workers are there because of us. Normally this was their free Saturday. The workers get 10 CUC extra money. Maybe to prevent the illegal sale of cigars?

The hospital that can be seen on slides 33 to 35 is the biggest one in the area.

We move on to the caves in Viñales. They look just like Star Trek coulisses. Unfortunately, the photographs are not very impressive or simply too bad (slides 21 and following).

We have lunch (pork with potatoes) in a reproduction of a hiding place as it was used in the years of the independence war. This is a cavern. Its entry lies in a narrow deep. Opposite of it there's another mountain. So you can't see anything from above or far away. You have to know it's there. Many cats are there, eagerly waiting for us to share our meal with them. There are masses of tourists there, but the countryside is very nice. Mandi joins us for the meal again and ansers some questions about the society that we have:

People get unemployment compenstaion after 4 months of work. Who doesn't want to work, gets nothing. Many people (even doctors, scientists, …) thus sell handmade things to get some CUC. Or their bodies. Or those of their women.

Travelling out of Cuba is difficult for Cubans. They are allowed to but it is very expensive. It is best for a Cuban to be officially invited to another Country and have all his expenses paid there. Otherwise, a Cuban could hardly afford the fees he has to pay when leaving the country. Mandi said something about approximately 5000 €.

Mandi is a convinced communist but even he doubts that there will be anyone after Fidel Castro who will be only half as admired as Fidel. One of the party members will take over power when Fidel has passed away.

Side note: I found it remarkable that there are many many Viva Fidel posters throughout the couuntry. But hardly any others. We saw a simple card with the letters Viva Raúl somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

In the afternoon, we visit the mural that can be seen on slides 62 ff.

Back in Habana, we simply hang around at the hotel pool and decide to walk the Malecon to see the memorial site for several killed Cubans. Those photographs are really worth seeing: slides 96 ff..

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Sunday, 2007-04-15

We leave Habana today for Santiago de Cuba. When checking out from the hotel, the personnel had radio contact with the room maids to check that we left the rooms in a good condition. Before leaving the town, I went out and shot a contrast photo.

I have never ever been controlled twice with metal detectors at an airport: Once before entering the duty free zone, which is basically a large room with two shops and one cafeteria. As we leave this room (which has no other entrances), we were controlled again. Funny sidenote: At the first control, the security guy took away my water bottle: prohibido! 10 minutes later he was looking for me and returning the bottle again.

Outside, we are taken to our plane by bus. You can see how far it was on one of the slides. We have already boarded the plane when we have to get off again: one piece of luggage could not be identified.

The flight itself is calm.

The first trip before we get into the city of Santiago de Cuba takes us to El Castillo del Morro. Ernesto Bacardi has been held captive here. It's an ancient defence facility that has never been taken. The view there is awesome. I took some acacia seeds with me from there.

Arriving in the city in the Hotel Las Americas in the afternoon. We're just sitting by the pool, exhausted, and enjoying some Mojitos. Or Cuba Libres.

Evening. Pool bar. Mandi comes over and we talk about the differences between here and there.

Mandi explains: His parents are already retired. they get 500 Pesos cubanos as pension. Minimum pensions are 180 Pesos. Women can retire at the age of 55, men at 60. He himself is divorced but doesn't pay support payments to his wife, as she earns good money. She's a university instructor. But that's not where she earns the money. For that, she has a second job as a charlady.

In Cuba, there's no guilty part when it comes to divorces. It's just accepted that a marriage didn't work out.

Mandi says that Cubans are a critical folk. They say what they don't like and don't have to be afraid. Honestly, I believe him. the point is that nobody cares when somebody complains about anything…

After Mandi leaves, a young girl comes and chats with us. At first we don't notice that she's a prostitute as well — it is unusual that you have prostitutes in the hotels. She then draws a photo album and shows us pictures of her when she was younger. It seems to be some kind of initiation ceremony: she got a white dress from her mother. It must be something like the confirmation. Afterwards she tries to get one of us to pay her for the night and her services. We flee to a bar outside the hotel.

Of course, there are some other women who want just the same.

Did I already mention that this makes me feel quite depressed? I guess so.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

Monday, 2007-04-16

We visit the Escolar de 26 Julio. This has been one of the barracks of Batista's army. And it was attacked in 1953 when the revolution began. Or should begin. Several attackers were executed but the group around Fidel was arrested. The bullet holes of the fights can still be seen in the walls. The barracks have been turned into a school after Fidel has taken over the country.

Quick start to the Revolution

In 1953, the first attempt to remove Batista from office failed. Fidel was imprisoned while several of his comrades were executed. Batista had to release the prisoners one after the other because of rising pressure, especially by the U.S.

Fidel fled to Mexico, where he met Ernesto Che Guevara. With him he returned to Cuba and started the revolution anew with 12 people in the beginning. Their spirit spread quickly throughout the island and after 2 years of Guerillia fighting, Batista fled the country on Janunary 1st 1959.

For a more elaborate history, visit any history website you like. Maybe even Wikipedia :)

We move on to the cementry Santa Ifigenia. José Marti's mausoleum is there. In his original poem Guantanamera (which became famous through various interpretations as a song) he wishes for light, flowers and the Cuban flag over his grave. This wish has been grandly fulfilled (slides 14ff.). The cementry looks quite beautiful. It strikes me only after several minutes that there are merely graves made of stone. Hardly any ones with grass.

We have lunch just below the Castillo we visited yesterday.

In the afternoon, David and I try to walk into the town again. Just in front of the hotel door, we're intercepted by a local called Romero. He speaks English and tells us a bit about Cuba. Mainly the same things that we already herdy from Mandi. But he doesn't refrain from admitting that the two currencies are a very stupid idea and that this is one of the factors that are ruining the country and the people. I ask him what he thinks will happen when Fidel is no longer. He doesn't know and refuses to think about that. But after some time he says he's totally confident that the PCC (the communist party) will care for some new leader who will lead the country in Fidel's spirit. Well. Remore wants to accompany us. Suddenly, it starts raining. Heavily. We're soaked wet, waiting under a tree for the rain to cease.
While returning to the hotel, Romero tells us that he has little children and that he can't buy clothes for them. As we believe him, we decide to give him some of our T-Shirts. He's really grateful and leaves the scene. OK, now there's a Mölltaler Raftcamp T-Shirt somewhere in Cuba :)

We spend the evening at the pool again. I am beginning to feel a little bit sated with all the impressions of the last days.

Later, a guitarist joins us and sings at our table. That is nice, since he wants us to join in and we try (It must have sounded horrible). He asks us to send him nylon guitar strings because he can't buy those in Cuba. And he wants my shoes which I can't give him, since these are the only ones I have with me. Apart from my sandals which I plan to give away on the last day.

Funny sidenote: In the dining hall there was a machine labelled agua. We all drank of it, although it didn't look prepared for masses of people. Mandi later asks us why we drank the unfiltered tap water from this machine. The personnel was a little bit irritated by that. I just wonder why nobody told us before…
But it seems that nobody carried away amoebic dysentery.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

Tuesday, 2007-04-17

We leave Santiago for Camagüey. On the road we stop at the Basilica del Cobre and put down flowers for my Mutti. This is very moving, I don't listen to the history of this Basilica.

Religion

Cuba is mainly Catholic after the Spanish conquistadores exstinguished the Indios. Of course. But it is a flavour of Catholicism that seems to be unique. I didn't get the point of this uniqueness, though. All I know is that the churches are open to anyone. You can practice your own religion there as well, if you like.

And there's some sort of Voodoism, called Bruheria.

We have lunch in Bayamo. There's a really beautiful central place but around it, it looks like in the rest of Cuba. On this place, there's a monument with Cuba's anthem cast in bronze. What would one expect?

I will tell only one anecdote about the relationship between Mandi, the tour guide, and the Germans in our group: Mandi said, before leaving, that the air condition in the bus is broken and everyone should take a pullover with him. Some Germans didn't and then complained that Mandi has to repair the air condition. There was some shouting over this issue. I wonder how you handle this mentally as a tour guide because he said that on every tour he has people like those.
Of course, there were also nice Germans among the group.
I found it astonishing, though, that after the lunch break, the air condition worked again. Mandi said that he asked all the bus drivers he could find to help him and they somehow managed to temporarily stick the whole thing together.

We drive through a little village. Unfortunately, the bus doesn't stop. This is one of the villages I'd really like to spend some time in: No asphalt on the roads, only some local people, no tourists. It's a shame that we don't speak Spanish.
There is a cockfight going on in the street. Some kids are cheering for their fighters. This is a strange view.

Arrival in the Gran Hotel in Camagüey. This is a really luxurious hotel. But I don't care, I want to walk the streets again. And we do. Within minutes, you have the same people around you trying to sell their women or cigars. Again.

Papa, Gü and Bimbo are dragged into a bar again. David and I sit outside and watch the whole scene (slide 0). Somehow it's funny and calculable: Guys talk friendly. Girls sit on the opposite table, looking good but uninvolved. Guys address girls. Girls come over and want to be invited. Girls offer themselves for some CUC.

We're sitting at the pavement corner in the sun, without watch, wasted sandals and a dirty shirt, looking slow. Still, we're almost immediately recognized as tourists and two young (but really good looking this time) girls come and want to take us to their houses. It's really unbelievable.

In the evening, we have an excellent dinner in the restaurant on the roof of the hotel. Afterwards a tourist attraction show at the pool. Yes, all inclusive tourism is sometimes strange. One incident strikes me: One tourist — we didn't see which one — lost his sun glasses. They were lying on the floor. Martin discovered a Cuban eyeing them for minutes. After he thought that nobody missed them, he walked there, picked them up and went away. Things that are lying around, unattended, seem to be considered public property. It definitely is that way on the beach as the beach belongs to the people.

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

Wednesday, 2007-04-18

Before leaving Camagüey, we visit a big local market. Strangely enoough, nobody buys anything. Not even I do. Mandi was hurrying through the market and telling people stories about theft. Which is of course not very encouraging. When you stop somewhere, the group is already gone.

The military service is compulsory. Young men have to server for two years. If they do not want to join the army, they are recruited for some kind of civil protection service. One of their tasks is to prevent the spread of the Dengue fever. For this purpose they check houses for cut flowers standing in old water. This is a breeding place for the mosquitoes who in turn carry the Dengue fever agent.

To let rooms is allowed. You have to pay 250 CUC (!) to the city if you do.

After a long bus travel (I bought a large Cuban flag in the middle of nowhere) we arrive in Trinidad. According to Mandi, this is one of the poorest towns in Cuba. There's only one asphalted road. The main square is neither square nor asphalted. As a sign of luxury, it is covered with cobblestone. The houses bordering the main square look really nice. But the rest of the town looks like a bunch of walls with holes and maybe roofs to me.

We visit the home and manufactury of family Santander. They are (obviously) famous for their pottery. I'd love to buy some of their bigger statues but how would I transport them back? So I go out and buy some hand mande necklaces made of various seeds from a woman on the street.

I discover a small market but the group moves on quickly. Some streets later, Mandi tells the group that the market we're standing in front of is safe to buy things. I decide to leave the group and go back to the other market I saw. I want to buy a linen shirt but as soon as I enter the market, there's a guy who wants to sell cigars. Knowing that these are illegal ones, I agree. He only talks French or Spanish. He knocks at a door, we enter the house. He presents me a box of 50 cigars. I tell him I only have 20 CUC and cannot buy that much. He looks around and comes back with 10 cigars. I give him 20 CUC and a sip of my Obstler (some schnaps) out of my pocket flask. He immediately returns 5 CUC because he seemed to like the Obstler :) Of course, normally one cigar costs about 8 CUC.

The hotel is again a real contrast: It's situated above the city, local people are not allowed unless they work there.

In the evening, a magician joins our table before delivering his show on stage. His girlfriend and assistant was there as well. She is also good looking but guess what. Yes, she tells anyone of us that she loved us and if we loved her too and that she wanted to spend the night with us for some CUC…
I go to bed early because I can't cope with the Cuba Libres.

Martin, David and Papa go down into Trinidad and visit the discothek La Cueva where they meet some other tourists. And the magician's girlfriend. I am fast asleep as they return.

Mandi tells us that in Trinidad people go for a walk not with dogs but with their birds in cages. We never saw one.

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Thursday, 2007-04-19. And what came afterwards.

We leave Trinidad on our way back to Varadero. This is mainly a bus travel day.

Schooling

Fidel introduced compulsory education. At the age of 5, children attend some kind of Kindergarten where they are tought lessons about the revolution. Pupils have to wear school uniforms.

After the 9th grade, one can decide to stay in the towns and learn a job or to go to the country and take something like the A-levels. On the country the pupils have to work in agriculture as well.

There are no university fees and most of the books are available for free. Students have to give the books back after using them. After graduating, the universities have to find a job for the students where they can work for at least 2 years.

Fidel introduced so called Canales Educativos so that pupils from far off villages can learn via television (there are some public houses that offer TV to local people).

We arrive at our hotel early in the afternoon and that's where the all inclusve holidays begin. I'll just leave you with some pictures from the hotel. We met a couple of nice people there. All of them from Canada. And we had a really good time there.

I must say that I was glad that we took this trip. But concluding I must say that it is utterly discontenting not to speak a common language with the local people. Thus you completely depend on the tour guide and the preset routes.
If you actually read the whole story until down here and took a look at all the photographs, you definitely earn some award: The Red Eye ribbon or something :)

Adiós a todos!

Go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 10 ff | top

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Created: 2007-06-10 — last update of web site: 2012-01-25
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