La Habana Cuba

[Marielle]

Re: La Habana Cuba

Oh, I can't edit any more....never mind.

The architecture really reminds me of Spain and Portugal and especially Pelourinho in Salvador, Bahia in Brasil.....

Have to laugh at the advert for the bright new shiny cars ready to be imported into the Caribbean......every Cuban owner of these beaut old cars is just dying!! to exchange them for one of those!!!!

[Marielle]

Re: La Habana Cuba

I was told of a Cuban joke about the woman who dumps her doctor husband for a taxi driver, cos the doktor works for the govt, and only earns 20 $ a month (standard wage there, whether you're a doctor or a waiter....) whereas the taxi driver works for himself and earns a lot more through tourism....

yea, curious country.......

I also noticed people are not really motivated because there is no incentive to earn more money (= impossible), they get everything for free - housing, education, medical costs, etc.

Everywhere you go people are standing around waiting and queueing, what for, I dunno......

A girlfriend of mine who was there 2 years ago, travelling the whole country for a month said to me, "honestly, marielle, all they do all day is drink, dance and have sex. there's nothing else to do". (sounds fun to me!! )

I was surprised there is much more in the shops than I thought there would be, basically you can get anything and everything except they can't afford it. Well, same in most countries, I think.
I even stumbled across a cuban shopping mall!!! full of sports wear shops like adidas etc. I guess anything non-american(?) is allowed into the country.

If you do go to Cuba, and you can go via Canada or Cancun Mexico (or Jamaica!), do NOT take dollars with you cos they charge an extra 12% commission on top of the exchange rate, and any american credit cards are not accepted, only visa and mastercard. Also you cannot use your bank card at the ATM. Best is to take cash, every hotel room has a safe, rentable for 2 or 3 CUC per day.
There's two currencies there too. Cuban peso - CUP - and tourist peso - CUC - and the exchange rate is huge....
CUP is worth 0,03 cents euro, and CUC is worth 0,78 cents euro.
Everyone is on the make for CUCs......

Also the whole place is crawling with jineteros and jineteras
(prostitutes, basically....)

[Marielle]

Re: La Habana Cuba

fusion of jamaican and cuban music -

http://www.skacubano.com/hisbio.html

[Nanook]

Re: La Habana Cuba

Wonderful photos as always Marielle! Very interesting! I do love the old cars even though they are pollution vessels.

[rufian]

Re: La Habana Cuba

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marielle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">love this one! and love her necklace. have actually entered this in a photo competition.....first prize is 2 flights!!!!!!


</div></div>
Very nice, lovely colours.

[Magician]

Re: La Habana Cuba

Excellent pictures!

Makes me want to go this month.
I have some time off. Hmmmm.

[Diplomat]

Re: La Habana Cuba

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marielle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Also the whole place is crawling with jineteros and jineteras
(prostitutes, basically....) </div></div>
Oh dear...

[SistahD]

Re: La Habana Cuba

Lovely photos and enjoyed the narrative! Love the architecture and the charm.

[Laurel]

Re: La Habana Cuba

very very KOOL ... thanks so much for sharing ~

[Bizzy]

Re: La Habana Cuba

Beautiful photo
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marielle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">love this one! and love her necklace. have actually entered this in a photo competition.....first prize is 2 flights!!!!!!


</div></div>

[halfwaytree]

Re: La Habana Cuba

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lovely pics (though a bit of narrative would have been great!) I sure would love to go to Cuba, but that have to wait until the US govt lifts the travel restrictions for its citizens.

BTW, those cigars are massive and seem fairly common! </div></div>

Hey CEW, no problem at all!!!

As long as you fly out of Canada you are good. Cuban immigration will not stamp your passport, instead they have devised a temporary visa which is the only thing they will stamp to show that you visited Cuba. I know some folks were concerned about the airlines providing the U.S. government with a passenger list for all flights crossing over U.S. airspace and some were worried that it would be a way to link them to traveling to Cuba. <span style="font-weight: bold">This does not seem to be the case.</span> I meet quite a few Americans in Cuba when I go that have used Canada as a gateway without issues. Some have been visiting Cuba on a yearly basis for over a decade. Then there is always the routes via Nassau, Mexico or Jamaica, which is great because your name will not be filed in any way with the U.S. authorities.

I encourage everyone to go now rather than later if you truly want to experience the Cuba we have all read about because it won't stay this way forever.

[Diplomat]

Re: La Habana Cuba

<span style="font-weight: bold">Milo:</span> Good to know, and thanks I'll definitely look into that aspect of it.

<span style="font-weight: bold">ETA:</span> A little blurb from an article that was sent to me:

<span style="font-style: italic"> <span style="color: #000099"> An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Americans travel illegally to Cuba each year, on trips that were not approved by the U.S. government. <span style="font-weight: bold">Many do so without any trouble, but those who are caught face penalties of up to $250,000, though $3,000 to $10,000 is more the norm. The fines loom for up to five years after the trip.</span>

Jail time is possible, but no U.S. traveler appears to have been incarcerated for making the journey.

Still, most are reluctant to talk publicly about their trips.

The Supreme Court struck down outright bans on American travel to Cuba, but it upheld Treasury Department restrictions on Americans spending money on travel to the country, and fines are based on how much the traveler spends.</span></span>

Then there's this loophole:

<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #000099">...there’s an exception for American travelers who have their expenses paid by someone in another country.</span></span>

SOURCE

Methinks they should just scrap the restrictions bit and allow free/unrestricted travel.

[Marielle]

Re: La Habana Cuba

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Methinks they should just scrap the restrictions bit and allow free/unrestricted travel. </div></div>

Yea, really!! reading all the trouble americans could get into for going there, sounds like a &quot;repressive regime&quot; to me...

hopefully, more fotos coming later in the day.....

[Magician]

Re: La Habana Cuba

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marielle</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Methinks they should just scrap the restrictions bit and allow free/unrestricted travel. </div></div>

Yea, really!! reading all the trouble americans could get into for going there, sounds like a &quot;repressive regime&quot; to me...
</div></div>

It is. It's one of my tests for Obama, his relationship with Cuba.

[Marielle]

Re: La Habana Cuba

Yea, me too.....