This being my second-to-last day in Cuba, I really have to start writing down all those random observations that are floating around in my mind.
First, I'd like to shed some light on Cuban money. There are two kinds of money in use: Cuban pesos, or moneda nacional, which is what Cubans earn and spend, and convertible pesos, which are used by tourists and for luxury goods. The exchange rate is fixed at 24 Cuban pesos for one convertible. Cuban doctors earn about 500 pesos a month, police about 1000, and regular workers less than that. Now compare this to the price of a pizza at a street stall: 10 Cuban pesos. Or the price of one night in a casa particular: around 20 convertibles, equivalent to 240 Cuban pesos. Of course, for most services, only tourists pay the convertible rates, while Cubans sometimes pay as little as the same amount in Cuban pesos - 24 times less! So, while it's evident that the average Cuban is poor, at least in comparison to the average European, and can really use the money tourists bring in, it's also often hard not to feel like a cow that only exists to be milked for cash as much as possible. And it's also clear why so many Cubans have taken to hustling tourists: if they make as little as one convertible a day, for 20 days a month, they have already earned as much as a doctor - with much less work, and much less education needed.
What has really been getting on my nerves is the lack of Internet access in Cuba. I don't think that this is due to some kind of Internet addiction, however. It's more the reliance on the Internet as a means of communication and information, and the fact that I've been pretty much cut off from both in the past four weeks. No way to quickly look up the bus schedule, or to get the latest news of the world, or of family and friends; no way to share my thoughts or check facts from Cuban history. It made me really aware how much of a digital citizen I've become. This is one of the reasons I'm itching to get to Argentina soon...
Another thing that I found weird in Cuba is the public transportation system. Aside from the long distance buses, which are excellent, I haven't been able to figure out how to use public transport. Apparently, there IS public transportation. I see crowded buses all the time. What is missing, however, is accessible information about it. Which buses are there? Which routes do they serve? What are the timetables, even if only approximately? Public transport clearly involves more than just providing the means of transportation - something that I've only just realized. I wonder how the Cubans know about it. Maybe it's handed down from generation to generation?
What I really miss when shopping is variety. Every shop has exactly the same selection of goods; for example, there is one brand of soda, one type of cheese, and three types of toothpaste. Big supermarkets differ from small ones only in the quantity of items that are displayed for each type. In addition, supermarkets are not really supermarkets in the sense that they offer all types of goods. For example, they don't sell eggs, bread, fruits or vegetables. For these, you have to find specialized shops or farmers markets. I have to say, I look forward to being blown away by capitalist supermarkets in Buenos Aires ;-)
Now, enough with the things-that-are-weird-in-Cuba rant. In the morning, I hopped on to the open-top tourist bus that covers most of Habana's areas of interest. In particular, I wanted to visit the Necrópolis de Cristóbal Colón - allegedly the biggest cemetery in the Americas. The cemetery is a huge sea of white marble tombs, and contains several monuments relating to the Cuban revolution or its fight for independence.
The one I liked best was this monument to firefighters:
In the afternoon I visited the Museo de Chocolate - which is just a euphemism for saying I went to a cafe and feasted on hot chocolate. They did have a few exhibits related to chocolate-making, but the term museum was hardly deserved. The chocolate was really amazing though, rich and creamy and delicious - no wonder there was a queue of people waiting to be seated outside :-)
First, I'd like to shed some light on Cuban money. There are two kinds of money in use: Cuban pesos, or moneda nacional, which is what Cubans earn and spend, and convertible pesos, which are used by tourists and for luxury goods. The exchange rate is fixed at 24 Cuban pesos for one convertible. Cuban doctors earn about 500 pesos a month, police about 1000, and regular workers less than that. Now compare this to the price of a pizza at a street stall: 10 Cuban pesos. Or the price of one night in a casa particular: around 20 convertibles, equivalent to 240 Cuban pesos. Of course, for most services, only tourists pay the convertible rates, while Cubans sometimes pay as little as the same amount in Cuban pesos - 24 times less! So, while it's evident that the average Cuban is poor, at least in comparison to the average European, and can really use the money tourists bring in, it's also often hard not to feel like a cow that only exists to be milked for cash as much as possible. And it's also clear why so many Cubans have taken to hustling tourists: if they make as little as one convertible a day, for 20 days a month, they have already earned as much as a doctor - with much less work, and much less education needed.
What has really been getting on my nerves is the lack of Internet access in Cuba. I don't think that this is due to some kind of Internet addiction, however. It's more the reliance on the Internet as a means of communication and information, and the fact that I've been pretty much cut off from both in the past four weeks. No way to quickly look up the bus schedule, or to get the latest news of the world, or of family and friends; no way to share my thoughts or check facts from Cuban history. It made me really aware how much of a digital citizen I've become. This is one of the reasons I'm itching to get to Argentina soon...
Another thing that I found weird in Cuba is the public transportation system. Aside from the long distance buses, which are excellent, I haven't been able to figure out how to use public transport. Apparently, there IS public transportation. I see crowded buses all the time. What is missing, however, is accessible information about it. Which buses are there? Which routes do they serve? What are the timetables, even if only approximately? Public transport clearly involves more than just providing the means of transportation - something that I've only just realized. I wonder how the Cubans know about it. Maybe it's handed down from generation to generation?
What I really miss when shopping is variety. Every shop has exactly the same selection of goods; for example, there is one brand of soda, one type of cheese, and three types of toothpaste. Big supermarkets differ from small ones only in the quantity of items that are displayed for each type. In addition, supermarkets are not really supermarkets in the sense that they offer all types of goods. For example, they don't sell eggs, bread, fruits or vegetables. For these, you have to find specialized shops or farmers markets. I have to say, I look forward to being blown away by capitalist supermarkets in Buenos Aires ;-)
Now, enough with the things-that-are-weird-in-Cuba rant. In the morning, I hopped on to the open-top tourist bus that covers most of Habana's areas of interest. In particular, I wanted to visit the Necrópolis de Cristóbal Colón - allegedly the biggest cemetery in the Americas. The cemetery is a huge sea of white marble tombs, and contains several monuments relating to the Cuban revolution or its fight for independence.
The one I liked best was this monument to firefighters:
In the afternoon I visited the Museo de Chocolate - which is just a euphemism for saying I went to a cafe and feasted on hot chocolate. They did have a few exhibits related to chocolate-making, but the term museum was hardly deserved. The chocolate was really amazing though, rich and creamy and delicious - no wonder there was a queue of people waiting to be seated outside :-)
