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Cuba is one of the most interesting countries we have visited, and one of the most complicated. We were only there for two weeks so are by no means experts on the problems and merits of this controversial Caribbean island, but here we share a random selection of things we observed during our travels in Cuba.
People and Culture
1) Thanks to Communism, there is a refreshing lack of advertising, with one bizarre exception: there’s a Red Bull ad on the side of the Viazal bus station in Havana.
2) However, Communist propaganda takes the place of advertising—billboards with slogans like “Patria o Muerte” (Homeland or Death) and commemorating 54 years of the revolution are common.
3) Che Guevara is still worshipped and his image is everywhere from tourist t-shirts to murals on walls.
4) Things are changing in Cuba—restrictions on international travel have been lifted, people can buy and sell their houses and cars, and open small businesses—although people disagree on exactly how much change there is.
5) Life is lived on the streets in tropical Cuba. People sit in doorways, peer down from balconies, and front doors are left open.
6) There is an extensive network of casas particulares where you can stay in Cuban homes. All our hosts made us feel at home and were warm, welcoming and friendly.
7) Cuba feels very safe and the locals assured us there is no violent crime.
8) Cuba has a dual currency, confusingly both called pesos. Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) are used by tourists and by Cubans who can get hold of them for luxury goods, and Cuban pesos (CUP) or moneda nacional which locals are paid in and tourists only need for street food.
9) Cuba was our only experience of people better dressed than us begging for money. Locals need hard currency for luxuries or international travel, and foreigners are the only way to get it.
10) Begging money from tourists is a job for some jineteros (hustlers) and one that can pay more than a qualified doctor’s wage, as the average salary in Cuba is only $25 a month.
11) With one exception we didn’t see anyone living on the streets or any signs of desperate poverty.
12) Santeria is a Cuban religion created by the mixing of Yoruba traditions brought by African slaves with Roman Catholic elements from the Spanish plantation owners.
13) Santeria is still popular in Cuba today although for visitors it can be quite hidden. We heard the frenzied drumming and singing of a Santeria ceremony next door at one casa, and another casa owner had created an altar within a cupboard featuring figures of one of the orishas (spirits), Babalú Ayé, associated with infectious disease and healing, with offerings of flowers, cigars, coins, crackers, and a lit candle.
14) In Cuban Spanish the “s” at the end of words is often dropped.
15) Cubans are passionate about baseball and you can find them arguing heatedly about it in the “hot corner” of Parque Central, Havana.
16) You can tell the Canadian and European tourists on day trips from the all inclusive beach resorts by their matching wristbands.
Transport
17) American classic cars from the 1950s and earlier are everywhere—but here they are workhorses not museum pieces.
18) There are also lots of Ladas, showing the Soviet influence after the revolution.
19) Cubans had to adapt to difficult circumstances and one of their innovations was creating a stretch Lada.
20) Horse carts are still used as transport.
21) Cycle rickshaws are popular too.
22) Outside of Havana there was very little traffic.
23) The TV in the bus waiting room showed math questions.
Shopping
24) Shops are often hidden behind curtains without window displays.
25) They are usually pretty bare, with everything on offer behind the counter and no self-service.
26) Often shops sell just one thing—meat sat out on the counter, eggs in trays of two dozen, one type of bread, or rum and beer.
27) Food shortages and rationing can result in long queues outside shops. Food was generally abundant at our casas but for a few days in Havana butter couldn’t be found.
28) The need for queuing has resulted in an unusual adherence to someone’s place in a queue. The etiquette is to ask who is the last in line by calling “el ultimo?” and then you know who you are behind.
29) Despite the lack of shops apparently everything—cellphones, clothes, TVs—is available on the black market.
30) On our flight from Cancun to Havana everyone was bringing a huge amount of luggage into Cuba, checking in multiple bags (the man in front of us had at least six), 40 inch flatscreen TVs, and appliances like cappuccino makers.
31) We were never given a plastic bag in Cuba and judging by these bags drying on the line, they are in short supply.
32) There’s also a lack of packaging—our takeaway peso pizza came on a flimsy piece of paper, and we often saw people carrying colourful creamy cakes precariously balanced on a piece of cardboard, open to the elements.
Food
33) Although we saw chiles for sale on street vegetable carts they unfortunately never made it into our food.
34) Peso pizza is the cheapest thing to eat in Cuba. It’s served from holes in the wall on the street for just 10 CUP ($0.42) and it’s best to think of it as a separate food stuff from the Italian variety.
35) We managed to go two weeks without eating in a restaurant which we’d heard are awful (and which aren’t very vegetarian friendly). We ate at our casas or from peso stands instead.
36) There are no international chains.
37) The most popular soft drink is tuKola, although Coca-Cola imported from Mexico can sometimes be found, at double the price.
38) Bottles of rum were easier to find than bottles of water.
39) Papaya is called fruta bomba in Cuba—don’t use papaya which is slang for a woman’s private parts!
When I get to Havana what is the cheapest reliable Casa to stay at ? When I convert my US dollars to CUC currency is there a way to get the CUC money exchanged faster in the US for a better exchange rate ? I plan on going to Cuba from Florida in late Jan. Thanks for any info that will be helpful.
The observations about Cuba were very factual and real! love them, can you make one for India?
I am impressed, I go to Cuba four times a year for work and I rarely find lists like these that are this accurate, well done!!
We have been on 2 week tours of Western and Eastern Cuba with cubatours1.com out of B.C. Small groups, great driver and guides and out of the way places to visit including guides homes.
Your information is great. Thanks for the reusable bag and fishing line suggestions
We have gone to a small resort between Varadero and Havana 3 times and are going again this week where we can hike and see small farms and local craftsmen.
We are sad that American chains will soon be invading as trade opens with the U.S.A. It has been great while it lasted.
We have learned not to give things to strangers on the street
perhaps there is a specific place on your homepage for this request and if so apologies in advance but……can you recommend a budget casa in havana for a single traveller? BTW Great website – made me want to go to cuba right away! Which I am!! :-)
We only stayed in one casa in Havana but we do recommend it. The details are in the accommodation section in this post: http://www.neverendingvoyage.com/planning-a-trip-to-cuba/
I’m pretty sure I saw someone carrying a cake almost every day for a month when I was in Cuba… I asked a few people if it was for a particular reason but they didn’t seem to think it was odd!
I want to visit Cuba by April, I want to know how to possess d tourist card, and how much does it cost to get it?
Hey guys,
Your photo essays are great and the content in your blog is very helpful. I am an Australian heading to Cuba in mid December to mid Jan. I was wondering if you had any problems with the power outlets for charging your camera and phones?
Paras
We didn’t have any problems. Have a great trip!
I will be leaving from Mexico City but am confused about which currency is best to take. Mexican Pesos will be easy for me to get but I’m not sure if the rate for them will be as good as for Euros. What was your experience??
Euros might be a bit better but we just took Mexican pesos because we left from there and it was fine. The exchange rate didn’t seem bad.
You are correct about the shopping bags. My advice to those traveling to the island. If you go to cuba and want to bring gifts, the best gifts to bring are reusable shopping bags. I buy 20 of them at Whole Foods or Target and put them at the bottom my my suitcase. They fold flat and take up little room. Reusable shopping bags are gold to Cubans. The other gift I take for women are multiple tubes of lip balms. They LOVE (like every woman in every country), lip balm.
That’s a great idea Patricia.
Thank you for all the posts on Cuba! Read all of them! Obserations like maths questions at a bus stations waiting room are most intriguing! Would like to know if that ‘myth’ that they ate pretty good medics is true…anything you can add on that and maybe ‘if you are sick in Cuba ‘ blog post…. Thank you.
We didn’t have any experience of the medical system so I can’t say.
I love your random observations!! Do one for India please when you have some time.
India would be perfect but I think we’ll have to go back first to refresh our memory.
I LOVE these 39 random observations. 38 & 39 are by far my favorites! I guess in Cuba the rum really does flow like water!
Thanks for feeding my wanderlust! It’s great to hear that there are no international chains. So often heritage is tarnished by the token McDonald’s or KFC next door. Cuba has been on my radar for a while now and your observations have been a great insight into the country! Perhaps we’ll visit during 2014. Fingers crossed!
Love Cuba and all its oddities. Havana will always have a special place in my heart as this is where my hubby proposed to me.
What a fascinating country, looks like a really interesting place to visit. I can’t believe that people get paid a salary to beg from tourists!
There are “homeland or death” signs in many parts of the USA! Unfortunately, the meaning is probaby not as patriotic as it is in Cuba.
Really loved this post, gave way more insight into Cuba and now I’m even more curious to go!
As an American citizen, Cuba is in many ways still off limits for legal entry, which of course makes it all the more intriguing to me. There was a Cuban girl in my German class here, so we heard a lot about her experiences living there, and it blew my mind. Sounds like an interesting place to visit!
Great photos guys – I loved everything about travelling in Cuba! The food at the cases was great but I did try one restaurant on El Malecon and it was fabulous.
I lived in Extremadura in Spain (the region boarding Portgual), and final /s/ is often dropped there, too. At first it was hard to tell if people were speaking in the singular or plural! Also, I love that there were mathematics questions shown on the bus waiting room TV; I’ve heard there are also people whose job it is to read classic works of literature aloud to factory workers as they work. Oh, and no plastic bags. Sounds like my idea of heaven!
I need to put my Mexican Passport to use and Visit Cuba next time I’m in Mexico. This place seems like a best kept secret since it’s so untouched yet. Loved all the observations and of course the photos.
I love how you can still feel like you were in the 1960s in this place, though I’ve never visited yet. I hope to get here someday soon. It’s the humidity that keeps me away :)
Go between November and February.
Lovin’ all the color – in everything: cars, clothes, street art, food, and on and on.
Sounds amazing!! I’ll be heading over there in May…can’t wait! Just wondering if the tourist card is available at at all airports with flights entering Cuba? I’m departing from Mexico City…Also any casa particulares that you’d recommend?
I’m not sure but we got it in Cancun. We’ll be writing a post with more details of the casas we stayed in. We started here and ended up following their recommendations in other towns: http://www.cuba-junky.com/havana/casa_roly_irma.html
Casa to stay in
I love Cuba! So close but yet so different…and refreshing from the rat race I face every day here at home!
You love it becaue you havent lived it … trust me, worse then the rat race. very sad : ((((
Totally agree.