Edit: Closing the AMA since I am pretty close to concluding my trip and therefore will be posting pictures/reflections which will give more opportunity to ask more questions!
You probably remembered my post earlier asking about places that I need to visit while in Cuba and as I am close to concluding my trip and a few days away to fly back home, I’d like to give everyone an opportunity to ask any questions that they might have about Cuba. I’ll post photos as well as my own thoughts/reflections when I’m back home so until then feel free to ask any questions. As for proof (if it’s needed), Mods could check the IP I’m posting from as I’m currently on Cubacel. I wish I could post a photo as proof but the internet infrastructure here is 3G and therefore would consume a lot of data just from me posting a picture.
Yes! There was just so many things to do in Cuba that really is endless. However, I do want to emphasize and make it clear that as someone who is traveling from a western country, I’m already having a lot of privileges that many of the locals don’t have as the average Cuban salary is much lower and there are commodities and things that most Cubans can’t afford but foreigners can afford. So what I experienced in my stay is definitely not reflective of a local Cuban’s life.
Nope! I’ve barely seen any homeless person out night and might of potentially seen at most 1 or 2 people. This is also pretty city dependent, everyone in Havana and Santa Clara seem to be doing well. Can’t really say the same about Santiago de Cuba.
I really enjoyed the food in Havana especially the food at Chinatown. Not much food choices in Santa Clara and Santiago since both are smaller cities but the food there was really good.
I can’t overstate how hospitable and nice Cubans are. Casa particular Hosts look out for each other and if one of them is full for lodging, they will arrange to get you housed at another casa. Taxi drivers often just straight up ask people on the streets for directions which most people give happily without them ignoring the driver. That said watch out for the jineteros
People seem to be managing fine and making the most that they can. But the Pandemic really fucked up Cuba and especially with the inhumane blockade by the US, you pretty much need to have access to currency to foreign currency (also known as MLC) such as USD or EUR (in the form of a credit card too, no hard cash accepted) to buy stuff like Shampoo, medicine, or toilet paper as pesos aren’t accepted in those stores. I learned this the hard way as US credit cards aren’t accepted here. It’s why many Cubans get really happy when you gift them some medication even if it’s not much. One of the hosts I stayed with injured their leg and they could really only do so much to heal it since there’s very little they could do. So they were happy with some of the bandages I gave them. But seeing Cubans in this dire state really does make me sad and while I can only do so much like bringing a suitcase full of meds to help out people, that’s only a drop into the bucket when a lot of this could be stopped by removing the blockade by the US.
Por que?
A lot of them will either direct you to some prostitute or ask you to do something kinda shady/a scam. A good amount of jineteros speak English to target foreigners as well.
que es un "jineteros"? es un "taxicab driver"?
Basically you could think of them as hustlers who target foreigners for their money by usually charging some exorbitant rate that you could get much cheaper. But the original definition/meaning is usually someone who tries to solicit a foreigner for sex work (which still applies today).
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