![]() ![]() The “ish” side of this comes from the fact that I felt like there were few opportunities for me to really set off and explore. I just wish more of the experience had been like that. The peso was our ticket into the other side of Cuba, and on the other side of Cuba the interactions were less constrained. I wish we had changed some money into the peso on the very first day because we were welcomed a bit more warmly at the establishments that dealt in pesos. With my passable Spanish, (much better now but merely passable at the time) I convinced a pizza vendor at one of the street-side hole-in-the-wall shops (literally a hole in the wall looking out over the cobblestone street) to deliver my change in pesos instead of the initial CUC he had handed to me.Ĭuba got a whole lot cheaper on the peso, and a lot more fun. Which we got our hands on some pesos a few days into traveling within the country. The local currency, on the other hand, the Cuban peso, is remarkably cheaper and works outside the tourist channels. Beautiful architecture in Havana leaves a strong impression on travelers exploring Cuba. On the beaten path tourist travel in Cuba is tightly controlled by the government and when you hand a local a CUC it is then given back to the government in the way of hefty licensing fees to operate a tourist-centric business (cabbies, busses, guesthouses, restaurants). The CUC, the convertible peso, is the tourist currency in Cuba and main currency non-Cubans are encouraged to use it’s stronger than the US dollar and the vast majority of tourist transactions and money exchanges use the CUC. I feel like I could have done Cuba better, that there is another side to this country that I just couldn’t see and touch because I was a CUC-carrying tourist. The police keep tabs on the tourists, the tourist restaurants, the tourist taxis and the locals fear getting overly friendly because of the possible harsh repercussions. The touristy areas of Havana and other city centers are closely monitored and all of my interactions were, well, orchestrated. They were very friendly but not always open.Īnd that’s out of fear. We were there with the locals, and yet so clearly on the tourist path controlled by the government.Īt times I felt like the experience was a well orchestrated government-run show where so many of the locals were smiling and friendly but they were cautious too, watching their words and keeping a physical distance. I wasn’t going to a resort so Louise and I stayed at casa particulares, family run guesthouses, throughout our stay. And I really thought I would before I left. I had just dropped nearly a thousand dollars in Cuba and yet never felt like I was able to get under the country’s superficial tourist exterior. I was sitting in the cramped, nearly antique airplane with a mere foot of legroom, my head cocked sideways because of the planes curvature, and it struck me that I felt relatively ho-hum about it all. I didn’t absolutely love sum total whole of my experiences as I sorted through the memories on the flight out of Cuba. I abide by the rules, so Cuba was huge for me.Īnd I’d love to say government restrictions is the reason I don’t plan to go back to Cuba, but that’s only part of it. ![]() I’m a tiny bit of a goody-goody deep inside. There’s no denying that Trinidad holds a certain charm.īut that was all just the fear of my government, repercussions, fines, lying, people being angry with me. For me, an American, it was a bit trickier and I felt some general malaise and anxiety for the several weeks leading up to my trip. And if I did, it would probably be on an educational Cuba tour where someone helped guide me through the best experiences.Įarlier in the year I met my travel buddy, Louise, in Cuba for a week of fun-it was totally legit for her to go, she’s South African. So hear me out, because a lot of people might not agree with this, but I will probably not travel back to Cuba-and definitely not while the US embargo is in place. And I steer clear of overtly negative posts on a country or city because travel is so very personal, and I’d hate to steer someone away from visiting Cuba because of a mediocre review from me. I have a confession to make about why I rarely mention the eight days I spent in Cuba a year ago … I stayed mum because much of it’s lukewarm. (Story from a trip to Cuba in January 2010) ![]()
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