I love cuba, but I was also pissed off by the system that works on tourists.
I can briefly say that the weird things which are happening in Cuba nowadays is mainly because of the imperialism of the US since the start of the 20th century. As US failed to annexed Cuba to its terriory, and also afraid of the new communist government initiated by Fidel Castro, the trade embargo that began in the 1960s create the society of Cuba which I experienced in the past 12 days.
First, I have to talk about the accomodation system for tourists. For backpackers, Cuba is a very difficult country to backpack, because there are only expensive hotels and Casa particulars(like a home stay, it is a family house which rents out rooms for tourists). Unlike other countries, there are no cheap hostels, not to say dormitories.
The garden of my Casa particular in Vinales.
The super nice lady of my Casa particular in Remedios.
For a backpacker travel alone, he or she has to pay the complete fee for the whole room, even though the room is for 2 people. So the fee of the room has already occupied almost half of my daily budget. As each house normally only has one or two rooms, so it is difficult for me to meet other backpackers also.
Second, it is the currency system. A few years ago, Cuba imposed a heavy commission for people who exchange USD with Cuban currency. So every 100USD exchanged, 10USD will be charged as commission. And they also createred the 'Convertibles' or 'CUC' currency for the tourists to use. 1 CUC is around 1.18Euro or 0.9USD. While the local people are using the 'National' currency, which is 1CUC to 25 Nationals.
The 5 pesos at top and the 20 pesos are CUC, the others are for example, the one with the face of 'Che' are nationals.
Thanks for the embargo, this box of chips costs 3.55CUC, isn't it crazy?
But this beautiful hand-made basket with about 20mangos which I bought from a child on the road only cost 1CUC. Unluckily, the mangos made me allergy again. No more mango ever after!
They don't have Coca Cola, but they have the Cuban brand, Tu Kola.
Under this weird monetary system, tourists have to pay a lot for all the services. For example, one night of Casa particular in La Havana costs 25CUC. One day of car rental costs 60CUC, one litre of gasoline costs 1CUC. So you have a rough idea that Cuba can be as expensive as Europe.
But if you can 'find' the National currency and spend it in local restaurants, the food is incredibly cheap. For example, one cone of ice-cream is 2 nationals. A dinner with rice, bean, meat, a soft drink, a salad is around 20 nationals. But on the contrary, if you are willing to pay a price of 8 to 10CUC in Casa particular, you can eat very good food also.
This meal of lobster with soup, salad, french fries, rice and dessert costs 10CUC.
This time we ate a lobster as big as a man's palm, with soup, salad, french fries, juice, curry, rice and dessert also costed around 10CUC.
Because of the accomodation, the car rental and the gasoline had already totally occupied my tight budget, so I didn't indulge myself very often. On the contrary, I was in the stage of hunger most of the time. And I reduced my meals from three to two, so as to save some money. The expenses in Cuba can really make a poor backpacker feels more misery.
And the people here earn incredibly little amount of money per month, and also because they have free ration food, free house, free education and free medical system. For the old generation, as the hope of changing is fading, they always lead a very relaxing lifestyle.
Every month, Cuban people can get certain amount of free food from the market for free.
A very talkactive 68 years old man.
Sitting in the armchair. It is the favourite pastime of the people here.
Besides armchairs, balcony is also a place where they spend their spare time.
Younger people perfer to chit chat in the doorway during the heat of the day.
To smoke a cigar is really one of the favourite activities too.
In additional to football and volleyball, Cuban people also love baseball.
What makes Cuba famous? Music and dance are certainly two of the most important elements. Cuban people are very charming, they can sing anytime and dance everywhere.
We met 2 musicians in a convenient store on the road. When they saw me, they started to sing,'Chinita, te quiero...' and came to perform in fornt of us, just for fun, but not for tips. Cuban people are so happy all the time!
The funny guy even gave us a kiss.
Playing music whenever and wherever they want.
There are also many street musicians, aiming at selling their CDs or get some tips.
Even though there were no people watching, they just kept playing, enjoying themselves a lot.
Steet musicians in Trindad.
And from people as old as 65 to people as young as 10, they can all dance excellent salsa. The people dancing in the disco in La Havana impressed me the most, my jaw were always dropping when I saw how the women could shake their hips. Unluckily, I didn't bring my camera with me.
The people dancing salsa on the street in Trindad are equally impressive.
Salsa dancing in a bar in Trindad. Except a few Cuban men, they are all tourists.
The cocktail, 'Mojito' mixed with Rum and leaves of mint is a must-drink in Cuba.
On the 1st of May, the Labour Day, there were big parades in almost every city in Cuba. People could even get free beer on the day.
Cuban people decorated their house with flag and also patriotic slogans.
The people mainly dress themselves in red, with the face of 'Che' or Castro on the 1st of May to show they are patriotic.
As it is a very important festival for them, all the people dress well.
They also eat well on that day.
Without knowing the outside world, the children can still live happily in this lost country...
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