ideas for cheap stuff

I didn´t get to write proper updates in Cuba as it was so expensive, so I´m going to take advantage of the free internet at the Costa Rican places we´re staying to regale (bore) you with them.
Cuba is a lot more expensive than you imagine as a Communist country, even though people tell you it’s expensive bring more than you possibly think you could need, because at least then you won’t have to end up taking out money on a credit card and paying a hefty 11% to 12% extra on top of what you get as they insist on taking the money out in US dollars, which incurs the hefty extra percentage. So the first advise regarding money is bring tonnes in Euro or any denomination other than US dollars as you’ll be charged extra for changing that in hard currency as well. There are 2 currencies in Cuba, and both are closed. The one that you use most are Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC). This pretty much mirrors the US Dollar in rate and is used by all to buy goods and services. 1 CUC is equal to 24 Cuban Pesos (CUP). Never change money on the street. We’ve met too many people who were unaware of the 2 currencies and ended up getting CUP instead of CUC, which made the money they changed pretty worthless, and one person in particular that we met who changed all his money on the street and had to wire home for more as what he’d changed was worth about 200 Sterling in the end. Foreigners pay for pretty much everything in CUC. Cubanos will sometimes pay less for certain goods and services, such as museums, for ice-cream, club entrance fees, as they’re allowed pay more in CUP, but don’t get overly annoyed when you see this as Cubanos earn substantially less and if a shop is selling water for 1 CUC, a Cuban would also have to pay that if they are dying of thirst, even though they may only earn 25 CUC a month.
Stay in casa particulares as they are the best value, and though the owners are usually more wealthy, you will get a better view of Cuban life than from a hotel for sure. The owners of these casas have to pay hefty taxes, so if its a slow month they’ll be suffering for it. The homes will vary from private rooms with bathroom and sitting room/terrace with air-con and a tv, to a room with a shared bathroom, and the price of the room is set by the government, unless you’re in an illegal casa, so there’s no way to negotiate a lower price for legitimate houses. You can get breakfast and dinner in most casas. I would strongly recommend taking this option, particularly outside the main tourist friendly cities. They aren’t cheap, but you get a lot of food for your money and its usually extremely tasty. Breakfast is usually fruit, bread and eggs, and I mean eggs every day. I was so sick of them by the end that I could hardly bring myself to eat them! Dinners will invariably include rice and beans, a staple of Latin American food it seems. We were advised that food wasn’t good in Cuban by several people, but I’ve rarely eaten so well and miss it now that I’m in Costa Rica. Everything is fried mind, but if you get sick of pork, chicken, fish, lobster etc., you can always ask for a vegetarian dinner, which is usually a bit cheaper. Always ask the price of dinners and for any special requests. Breakfast can be 3-4 CUC, if separate from your room, and dinner can range from 5 CUC for vegetarian, to 8-12 CUC for a dinner including meat or seafood.
Employment in Cuba was hard to get our heads around. You would be better off being a taxi driver than a doctor in Cuba, because you’re working with tourists in the former job, and you’re government paid in the latter. There are some strange jobs there. We met a guy in Cuba who earned his living from teaching chess. In Baracoa, we learned that the murals everywhere weren’t put up by the home owners but there were 4 or 5 people who worked for the government painting them. These people were paid more for however big the mural they painted was, so they were, in essence, motivated by capitalist ideology to spread socialist propaganda. A bit of a fine line! Many younger people are finding a better living from being touts to tourists than working with the government, so the problems involved with this sort of move are becoming more apparent. There are many older people who are still committed to the communist ideology, but dissent is growing in the youth. Particularly sore with many is that we find it so easy to get in, but its next to impossible for a Cuban to get out. You can see why visa marriages happen so often after witnessing the frustration of not being able to leave. There is an emerging class known as Miami Cubans, whose family may be living in exile, but send money or material goods to them. Unfortunately, racism is on the rise again with some of the changes that came due to the Special Period that came after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the inability of many black people to secure legitimate work that could sustain their families. It gets more apparent the further you move from La Habana. Jineterismo is the term in Cuba applied to touting and prostitution, and is on the rise due to the money to be made from these professions from tourists, and is taking its toll on the equal standing in race, which existed prior to the Special Period. If you are a black tourist, you will more than likely be seen as a Cuban jinetero or jinetera if you are with people that look obviously tourist, for example if you were with Tongie or I. Its an annoyance to consider, but once you flash a photocopy of your passport to police you’ll be fine, and whoever I’ve spoken to who has experienced this have said Cuba was still worth the trouble.
I loved Cuba for the music, dancing, landscape and people. People were so open and friendly, even if you didn’t understand them, they tried and tried to make you welcome. The music is fantastic, though after a month I really needed to hear something other than salsa and regaeton. I’m off to some thermal hot springs now in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, quickly perused back over the above, and hope it doesn’t sound too critical. I think that if you can see some of the short comings in traveling, you should present them. I will definitely be going back to Cuba. Its gotten under my skin, and I can’t wait to come with my sister-in-law, who has always wanted to come, in a few years time. See Cuba before it changes if possible, which may be very soon, and if you can’t, pray that it doesn’t change into another carbon copy commercialised market.

Oh yeah, couldn’t upload all the pictures to this site for some reason even after 2 days trying, so here’s a link to some photos of Cuba on my Facebook profile, though they’re only of the second half of the trip.