done with mojitos

im so tanned i look like a different person. damn. but in a few months ill be back to my old self, or close.

i put photos of the trip in flickr, as usual.

we stayed in a bed&breakfast type of place, as Cuba now allows private people to rent rooms (max. 2 rooms). no worry of them getting rich though, they pay big sums for the license. the family was friends with Maria's relatives so we were in good hands. would have been anyway, they were quite awesome and made our stay enjoyable. in fact id go as far as to say that Caridad, the hostess, was one of the most importabnt aspects of making this trip so successful. with her translator background in the Un and Vuban politics, and 3 degrees, shed seen much more of the world than the average european. and her knowledge of the history and politics were astounding, not only of Cuba, but the latin america and world in general. i had great discussions with her and getting into the Cuban mindset and culture was great for me, more than sightseeing i like to just hang out and talk with locals. also my history knowledge is not as strong as it could be, but face to face its always interesting. while there, i also read Che Guevara's second book from his travels in latin america (the first is the one the movie is based on), based solely on his diary and letters to close ones. so i got some more insight on him as well. some good, some bad.

the Cuban people really love their Fidel though, and the future without him is not looking super bright. Raoul does not enjoy full trust, as he has a military background, whereas Fidel is a romantic humanist.

anyway, it was abnormally hot for the time of the year, i was told, it was 30C daily, or more, and naturally the humidity added its nuisence too, just cos im not used to such conditions. being sweaty for 12 days in a row...yes im quite happy sitting here all dry. our room had air conditioning, so all good, but it was too noisy to keep on 24/7. also of course i wanted to try survive the heat, but its hard to get used to the skin being soaked all the time. but yes, i would not travwel to such places if i didnt want to feel different things. i wish someday to go experience the cold too, to antarctic or northern siberia maybe.

as our travel guide (which Arttu gave me) said, the food was (sorry to say) unbelievably bad. i was curious about the claim, as i am known to eat anything and everything and rarely complain. snackfood from the kiosk, pies from the indian streets, brain, blood sausage, or the other high-end; caviar...i eat it all and im less likely to complain than others. but cuban food was horrible in general. at best, it was okay/good, and that would be at our b&b (Casa Vera), Elio, the man of the house, cooks pretty well, perhaps to suite the western tastes. we were always happy to eat dinner at the house. also, i had a decent seafood pasta in the restaurant of an expensive hotel, and the price was about10 fold compared to average pasta meal. not that many places would have it, anyway. there is a lack of ingredients, among other things...so most restaurants only offer a couple dishes, and the other might be half a chicken, with somke burned crisps on the side, and the other a fish filler, also with burned crisps. no sauce or anything in that direction. one restaurant we had to queue for, only had hot dogs. corn bread and a sausage. ketchup available if asked. well it was moderately priced, but i dont think the average cuban was still gonna afford to eat the hod dog.

soft drinks are bad too. and you will not go to a grocery store and buy food either, they might have canned beans or a candy bar, and you can get fruits from the market... but theres really nothing you can do. and yes, its understandable in the situation. to differ from many poor countries though, Cubans are very healthy and educated, and the plentiful and prosperous days are still remembered, it was not that long ago. but for 50yrs now Cuba has been living as in war time, with nothing. one soap per person per month. which leads to women often using brown sugar for washing, apparently its good for the skin, i promised to try at home. theres a shortage opf supply of pretty much everything. the shops are empty. milk is highly expensive as the cows dont succeed in the climate. the cows i saw where so thin theyll die of anorexia. private cow owners have to work hard to keep the cows alive though, theres a fine to be paid if u loose the cow. you cant sell the cow either. so if your a cow owner, tough. so, all meat of pig or chicken. the chicken is okay, since im not picky, but what would Gordon Ramsay say? dry, old, too fried...

when the travel guide or anyone at all says that Cuba is expensive, they are wrong. yes, wrong. unless you go live in the 5-star hotel by the sea front and eat in their restaurant with all the other Che-shirted tourists. even then, it is only about the level of Paris in pricing, which is a bit less than in Finland. a meal and drinks in the average local restaurant is around 2-4 euros, if that. granted, its bad, but if you cant stand it for a week or 2, don't go to Cuba. a soft drink from a kiosk is about 1euro. beer is the same or less. rum is almost free. liqueur stores dont carry much besides rums and beer. red wine perhaps, starting from about 2euros. i made the mistake of buying liqueur when i saw a bottle. not hard to guess what it was made of... i almost puked and donated the bottle to our hosts.

if im not picky with food, i compensate in drinks. i cant drink beer, rum or whisky for the life of me. and thats not a good spot to be in, if in Cuba. i can have a mojito actually, and pina coladas are nice, but im a not a big fan of cocktails. so i stuck to red wine and the weird "american corn vodka" i found in one store. 1liter plastic bottle. supposedly 40% but i swear... it cannot be. im just proving it now by having put the bottle in my freezer. if 40%, it would not freeze. but it was about 4euros per bottle, so its still a good deal and i bought those.

"Since the turn of the century, a law has been passed in the United States of America that restricts entry to anyone who has visited Cuba. This stops the individual from entering USA territory for another 15 years."
source: wikipedia

Cuba does not leave a stamp on your passport :)


Cuban beach. theres an endless amount of these, and the water is remarkably clear and clean. im not a beach person as is known, but i dont mind visiting sometimes, this being my 2nd time. Maria and his relatives actually invited us to go with them so we had a true Cuban beach day. warm water, white sand... and yes i burned. was in shadow most of the time but the sand reflects.