Today I was ripped off by a jinetero - tout or hustler - who are basically people trying to sell overpriced services (tours, taxi, or help of any kind) to tourists who don't really need them.
So what happened? Well, I was standing at the corner of a plaza thinking about which way to take, when some cuban guy starts to chat with me. His english is quite good, and he offers to show me some parts of real cuban daily life. So I tag along for a while, listening to his explanations - which are very interesting, by the way. Then, after an hour or so, he offers to take me to two sights that are a little outside of town, the cemetery Santa Ifigenia and the Castillo del Morro. I agree to go to the cemetery because I wanted to see it anyway, so we take a bici-taxi to go there and return. From my guidebook I had the impression that bici-taxis are dead cheap, but when we return out suddenly costs 6 CUC - nearly 6 US dollars - for a trip of only 4 km in total! So before the trip to Castillo del Morro I make sure to ask for the price and agree to go only because it sounds reasonable. When we return, however, the price has suddenly doubled: he insists the quote had been for one way only. This was the point where I suddenly felt ripped off... Luckily, I didn't have that much money with me, so I got away with paying only about 50% more than I originally intended - and a lesson learned.
But at least I got a tour of some less touristy spots in town, as well as explanations about many aspects of daily cuban life. So I guess it was almost worth it ;-)
Here are some of the bits he shared with me:
One half of all Cubans hates tourists, the other half lives off them. Why all the hate? Because apparently Cuban police apply a double standard and treat Cubans differently (worse, of course) than tourists.
Many things I missed in the "tourist" supermarkets (like eggs, fruit and vegetables, bread,...) are available to Cubans in ration card shops. Apparently, the rations only last for about half of the time they're supposed to cover. For the other half people have to go to markets or buy stuff from tiny street stalls.
Cubans even have to get an official permit, the transitorio, to travel to another part of Cuba. If they're caught without one, they're sent to jail for a few weeks and then have to pay a hefty fine to get back to their own city.
And judging by this guy's words, everybody hates the government and the revolution and socialism. This made me wonder - if everybody hates the revolution so much, are there any plans for counter-revolution?
So what happened? Well, I was standing at the corner of a plaza thinking about which way to take, when some cuban guy starts to chat with me. His english is quite good, and he offers to show me some parts of real cuban daily life. So I tag along for a while, listening to his explanations - which are very interesting, by the way. Then, after an hour or so, he offers to take me to two sights that are a little outside of town, the cemetery Santa Ifigenia and the Castillo del Morro. I agree to go to the cemetery because I wanted to see it anyway, so we take a bici-taxi to go there and return. From my guidebook I had the impression that bici-taxis are dead cheap, but when we return out suddenly costs 6 CUC - nearly 6 US dollars - for a trip of only 4 km in total! So before the trip to Castillo del Morro I make sure to ask for the price and agree to go only because it sounds reasonable. When we return, however, the price has suddenly doubled: he insists the quote had been for one way only. This was the point where I suddenly felt ripped off... Luckily, I didn't have that much money with me, so I got away with paying only about 50% more than I originally intended - and a lesson learned.
But at least I got a tour of some less touristy spots in town, as well as explanations about many aspects of daily cuban life. So I guess it was almost worth it ;-)
Here are some of the bits he shared with me:
One half of all Cubans hates tourists, the other half lives off them. Why all the hate? Because apparently Cuban police apply a double standard and treat Cubans differently (worse, of course) than tourists.
Many things I missed in the "tourist" supermarkets (like eggs, fruit and vegetables, bread,...) are available to Cubans in ration card shops. Apparently, the rations only last for about half of the time they're supposed to cover. For the other half people have to go to markets or buy stuff from tiny street stalls.
Cubans even have to get an official permit, the transitorio, to travel to another part of Cuba. If they're caught without one, they're sent to jail for a few weeks and then have to pay a hefty fine to get back to their own city.
And judging by this guy's words, everybody hates the government and the revolution and socialism. This made me wonder - if everybody hates the revolution so much, are there any plans for counter-revolution?
