cuba

Hi Friends,

Its been almost a year since a went to Cuba, and as i'm heading off again in 3 days I thought i'd better get this out of the way first. When I left for Central America I never considered going to cuba (or getting my scuba ticket), but met heaps of people who loved it. luckily i had a small amount of cash which allowed me to grab a ticket and head over for 10 days...The Cuban experience begins at the airport. All other airlines have nice, orderly queues...Cubana airlines has people, boxes, luggage EVERYWHERE. There is always at least 5 people at each check-in desk. Most people have more luggage then people moving house. I was about 20th in line when the checkouts opened, it still took me more than 2 hours to check in...The fun was just beginning...

Cuba was amazing, here are just a few fun experiences that are burned into my memory from a year ago:

1) I really like sport, and I especially like watching it live, in a stadium were passionate local fans go crazy. Cubanos go crazy for baseball. When I was at the bus station buying a ticket (which takes about 2 hours, as opposed to the standard 1 minute everywhere else in the world) I started chatting to a guy reading the newspaper. He told me there was a game on at the stadium just down the road. SWEET! After walking to the stadium, via the bbq'd corn stand, i found out that the game was at another stadium across the other side of Havana. I found out where and which bus to catch but not where the closest bus station could be found. I found two local workmen unloading their truck and asked them if they knew where the closest bus stop was, they didnt know...but told me to jump in their oldschool truck. End result: they drove me right across town in their spluttery old beast, went really far out of their way to drop me off right out the front of the stadium. At the end I wanted to give them a couple of bucks (just to buy a cold drink) but they wouldn't accept it...they just wanted to help out. So cool! I had many similar experiences where the local people were so kind and friendly...ace! The game was cool - entry was 4 cents (Au). Has to be the cheapest admission to any sporting event anywhere, ever!

2) Food in Cuba is dodgey. Tourists can eat in super expensive restaurants OR in local hangouts which serve mainly pizza, burgers, sandwiches (< all with very limited toppings), bread or fruit. Was getting hungry one evening and spied some old fella selling bananas, so a snagged a bunch and some bread from the local hole in the wall and made some banana sangas in the park. Whilst eating and enjoying my dinner a homeless guy came along and looked at my gourmet meal. I offered him a 'banana burger' and he sat down for a chat. He had a lot of misfortune in his life. His most recent case was sitting down on some steps after hurting his leg. while sitting there he noticed a plastic bag full of money in the gutter, He reckons there was about 10,000 euros in the bag...Enough to become one of the richest cubanos overnight. Sadly, he somehow lost the bag straight away and is still living on the streets. He still seemed upbeat and enjoyed life and had many good friends in the park. A cool little experience of meeting another local person, and finding out what life (reality) is like for that person. This, for me, is one of the greatest joys of traveling- meeting the people and hearing their stories.

3) There are no buses to the airport for tourists. You have to take a taxi ($25). But i got some tips from locals about how to get there for cheap (30c). Firstly, you have to take a bus to near the airport. The buses have a cool system in Cuba, instead of waiting in line when you get to bus stop you call out 'el ultimo' (the last) and the person who is last in 'the line' (they could be anywhere) will raise their hand and you know when the bus finally comes and you line up you will be behind that person. When the next person comes along after you and calls out 'el ultimo' you then signal to that person and they are behind you. So then if a bus comes every 20 mins people can go to a cafe, read the paper under a tree...then form a orderly line when the bus arrives. The system works so well! (except if you dont know about the system (like me, 1st time) and you think there is no line and just wait at the bus stop - and when the bus arrives you find youself being swarmed by, and eventually at the end of a line of 60 people). So I was waiting for the bus and a local fella started chatting to me about baseball, life, politics. He said if I wore different clothes I could pass as a local (even with a massive moustache (I had been growing one for 3 months by this point)...He even said "para mí, me gusta el bigote mucho"( "for me, I like the moustache very much")...the best compliment I have ever recieved. We jumped on the same bus and he told me he would signal when i needed to jump off. When I got off at an intersection my new moustache loving friend called out to another guy who worked at the airport to help me get there. We hitchhiked right into the terminal...he was a gardener there and invited me to the workers coffee room for lunch. I couldnt due to my plane leaving, but gave him the rest of my cubano pesos and told him to enjoy a cigar for me.
Such a cool experience mixing with the locals, such nice, friendly people...and so much better exploring local transport options, and traveling as a local rather than just jumping in a taxi (easier option- unless you are in a similar finiancial position to myself!)

This is just a snapshot of my experiences with the local people (I realise I havn't really talked at all about the country itself...but the country is the people!). Cuba really is AMAZING and I would recommend that YOU visit if given the chance...

Andy update: I have finished uni and as of next monday I will be in Cambodia for a year interning for these guys - www.adra.org. Should be a really cool experience and I'm looking forward to gaining some practical skills in the humanitarian field and traveling with a bit more purpose. Fun times ahead!

Hope this note finds you well.

Take it easy,

:) andy