Day 7 - still in Camagüey

In the morning, I visit the Plaza de la Revolución and the monument to Ignacio Agramonte next to it. Agramonte was a revolutionary who tried to rid Cuba of the Spanish in the 19th century. The plaza is vast but deserted.



The monument has speakers dispensing socialist propaganda. It's in that moment that I am suddenly aware that just about everything in Cuba reminds me of the computer game Tropico. So if you'd like to get a feel of Cuba (from the government's point of view...), go ahead and spend a few hours playing Tropico :-)



After that, I made a crappy decision and visited the local zoo. The funny part about it was that they keep animals that are considered very ordinary in Europe, like pigeons or chickens. The not-so-fun part was how they keep the animals. The cages are way too small and offer next to nothing for the animals to do or hide in. In addition, most of the animals don't even have a companion and are left to sit alone in their own piss. Just have a look at this:



Very sad, and very depressing. Sometime soon I'll have to learn that visiting zoos and aquariums does not improve my mental wellbeing...

Day 6 - Camagüey

About three years ago, the historical center of Camagüey was made a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. Whether it deserves that title or not - Camagüey definitely is a charming city.





I spent most of the day just walking around and looking at the historic (read: old) houses, churches and plazas. I even got a glimpse of Cuba's railway - suddenly I'm not so sure anymore I want to make a part of my journey with the train...



Goosebump moment of the day: I was walking along a pedestrian zone when I heard - very faintly at first - the whistling at the beginning of "Wind of Change" by the Scorpions. I followed the sound and found that the song was playing over a speaker mounted in the street. I wonder who was responsible for playing that song - and whether they knew what meaning it held?

Day 5: Santiago to Camagüey

After all I've read about jineteros in my guidebook - and after yesterday's incident - I'm in a constant fear of being ripped off when anyone quotes a price.

I'm always wondering if someone is trying to con me when an offer sounds too good or too unbureaucratic, or if the price will suddenly jump up because there are some hidden charges silently added to it.

I can't distinguish if people are really helpful or if they are out to make a quick buck off the stupid tourist... But maybe I'll learn that before I leave Cuba :-)

My journey from Santiago to Camagüey is a very good example of just that: I arrive at the Santiago bus station and immediately somebody (official-looking at first, but lacking a name tag and therefore definitely not an employee of one of the bus companies) asks where I want to go and then sets off to ask for a seat on some tour bus. When that bus is full he tells me that there is another departing about three hours before the departure time of the "official" bus, and that I could buy my ticket in the bus. When his bus finally arrives (about an hour too late), everything has to be quick-quick all of a sudden. In the bus, I wonder for a long time if I made the right decision trusting this guy... but when I arrive in Camagüey, the journey was about two hours faster than on the official bus, and because it left two hours earlier, I arrive four hours ahead of schedule. So in the end, it was the right decision - but I would've liked to know that before I even got on the bus...

So, apart from all the hustling, one thing I noticed about Cuba is that at times it can be very noisy (mostly due to the loud engines in all the old cars), and smelly (cigar smoke is everywhere, and the cars and motorcycles don't smell too good either). Makes me really appreciate all the environmental laws and regulations we have back home...

And since I'm already ranting, here's another thing I could do without: the men's behavior. There's no end to the amount of whistles, kissing sounds, and calls of "hey lady", "beautiful" or "my friend" I've had to ignore. At first they might make you feel appreciated, but when you still hear them when you're sweaty, stinky and desperately in need of a shower, you realize that it's all fake. The only requirement seems to be a pair of boobs...

But despite all that, it's been a very fascinating journey so far. The only thing that's really driving me crazy is the lack of internet ;-)

Day 4 - behold the jineteros

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?

Day 3

Weird fact of the day: In all of Holguín, I found exactly two traffic lights.

Now I'm on my way to Santiago de Cuba using a Viazul bus. It was supposed to leave at 9am (though I only heard that from two people, and never saw a written timetable). It finally arrived at short past ten... But well, as long as it gets me to Santiago, I'm not complaining ;-)

In Santiago, my previous host Gustavo arranged a casa for me that is run by his niece. He also said they would pick me up from the bus station - which they did, but of course it cost extra which he didn't care to mention...

Apart from that, the casa is really nice with a great view and a rooftop terrace. I spent some time there reading - finally finishing the latest part of the Game of Thrones series, Dance of Dragons (I have to say, I am a little disappointed by this one - there is way too much text for the amount of story in it... But maybe the next one will be better again)

Day 2 (still in Holguín)

After breakfast, I pack up and walk to the center again - I have to find a new place to stay! I check out one place that was mentioned in my guide book, but they are already full. They refer me to another casa just around the corner - and it turns out that the host there speaks perfect English!

After that, I check out the parks in the city center - apparently Holguin is called the city of parks.

In one of the parks I found this church. Have a close look:



Can you see the bent cross at the top? And the general state the church is in? This is how most of Holguin looks - and I guess it is at least partly due to the US embargoes against Cuba.

After that I went to find the train station and bus terminal - just so I know where to go when I leave for Santiago de Cuba (probably tomorrow).

Finally, I went to climb the many stairs to La Loma de la Cruz - a hill just outside of town offering a nice view of Holguin and its surroundings.



I also made my first visit to a supermarket today. I found a few shops that all basically have the same stuff: an assortment of rum, pasta, mayonnaise and soft drinks. Strangely enough, each shop also has a section for household items such as fridges, plates and pots. And all this in the space of maybe a fifth German Aldi market. After you pay, you have to take the receipt to the person guarding the exit door. He checks that you only take what you actually paid for (and then opens the door for you).

One big problem that I still have is that I don't easily recognize shops from the outside. There are no big neon signs, no shopping carts, and everything looks somewhat alike. I guess this will improve with time, but right now I'm sure I overlook most shops.

Another thing I noticed today - and this is again with regard to the general state of Cuba - is the amount of tiny shops offering to repair watches, glasses or shoes. Apparently Cuba is not yet a society where everything is thrown away the instant it doesn't work anymore, but rather one where everything is kept and repaired as long as possible.

First impressions

Day 1: Holguín, Cuba

My first impression of Cuba is the view from the airplane: everything looks very nice and green.

When I first step outside the airplane, I cherish the warm wind, but soon after I realize how hot it really is. I'm not quite sure yet how well I will adjust to this climate - but I definitely like heat better than cold!

The Holguín airport is tiny, and there are long queues for immigration, security screening, and money exchange - but nobody seems to be in a hurry, so it takes quite some time until I'm finally out of the airport.

The taxi I take to the hotel is very old and looks as if it might fall apart at any second. None of the instruments in the taxi work - speed, gas, battery level - all of them are either dead or oscillate wildly. There is one crank for all windows in the car and it has to be removed and plugged in manually for each window.

On the way to the hotel I notice that there are lots of horse carriages sharing the road - even when the road appears to be a highway with two lanes for each direction.

Phone cards are available neither at the airport nor at the hotel, only at one shop in the town center - so it's really late (back in germany) when I finally get to call home to say I've arrived safely. Why on earth didn't I get a german prepaid card with a carrier that has a roaming agreement with cuba?

On my way to the town center I notice that there are quite a few stray cats and dogs roaming around.

I'm pretty nervous that night because I don't know where I'm gonna sleep the next day and because I fear I won't be able to communicate...