The revolution is alive in the countryside. In the country, the people love Fidel. Papo was telling me that Fidel walked on the street right in front of his house. I said we talked to people in the city and they didn't like the revolution and they wanted something else. Papo said that people in the city don't want to work, they want to live but they don't want to work. Considering how hard people in the country work...I'd have to agree with him.
On Wednesday, Papo took us on a walk up a mogote where a water cult called "Los Aguaticos" once lived. Now there are only 5 families left up there. The climb was fun and we saw a lot of vultures. There were a ton of mango trees and Papo pointed out a lot of different plants to us. The view at the top of the mogote was magnificent . Vinales is a beautiful lush valley and is perhaps one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen.
While we were up there, we met another guide and Spanish couple at one of the abandoned houses. Their guide was hilarious and sang all these revolutionary songs about beating the Yankees. Papo was telling me that Fidel brought the government to Vinales and the people. Before only the people on the coast had stuff. Fidel brought education, healthcare and greater development to Vinales. What Fidel brought to the people is also what attracted Chinese to Mao. For much of history the vast majority of the people had nothing and a select elite had access to "luxuries" like education and healthcare. As AL and I were driving out of Havana, we saw all these gigantic and palatial estates in Miramar. I thought to myself, no wonder the Floridians are so angry at Castro. He took their nice shit from them. I read that at one point, US companies owned 2/3rds of Cuba's farmland and most of its mines. And this was a country whose economy was largely based on sugar. I remember when the US freaked out because Arabs wanted to buy a port in the US from a British company. Can you imagine a foreign nation owning 2/3rd of US farmlands and mines???
As we continued on the hike, Papo took us to a family of farmers that lived on the top of the mountains. What a hard life that must be. The view from there house was amazing and the family was really cool. The man was named Antonio, his wife was Sophia and their 9 year old son Noel. We drank good dark coffee, freshly made lime juice, and we sat on their rocking chairs overlooking the beautiful valley. It was incredibly tranquil and serene.
As we were walking down, I asked Papo how Noel went to school. He said that a teacher climbs the mountain twice a week to teach Noel. Incredible. The teacher goes to the student. And having climbed the mountain... it wasn't an easy climb. Plus, I'm figuring that the teacher has other students to teach...so, I guess I'm just a whiny baby when I complain about commuting a half and hour on the bus to my work. Teachers climbing mountains to teach students is yet another reason the people in the country love Fidel. The walk down the mogote was incredibly easy. When I said this to Papo he laughed and told us of a Cuban saying that when you go downhill all the saints are helping you. To which I replied that when you are climbing up you are all alone.
The only drawback of staying with Papo was that his place had no air conditioning. When we got back to our place the town also had a general blackout which meant no fan. Luckily it started raining really hard and that cooled things down. In August, it is easily in the low 90's with 100% humidity. It sucks and all I do is sweat.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Vinales and spelunking
On Monday, we made our way to the town of Vinales in the western province of Pinar del Rio. From Havana Centro it was a 3 hour bus ride. The countryside was really beautiful and it was so nice to leave the hustle and bustle of Havana. Havana was cool but we were both getting sick of city life. First off, we're not really city people. The throngs of people, the pollution, and the constant hustling were starting to wear on us. At Vinales we were met by a friend of Mary's and taken to her casa. The couple were named Papo and Magaly. They are a really nice couple and they really took their time in talking with us and explaining all the things we could do in Vinales. Vinales is a real small town with a main road and maybe 4 parallel roads. When you're in Vinales you have to immediately slow down. It's really quite nice and a wonderful contrast to Havana. In many ways I felt like I was in Hawaii. The air is fresh, the people are nicer, and the pace is infinitely slower. There are chickens walking down the street and I can hear a pig in the neighbor's backyard.
The family made dinner for us and they are wonderful cooks. They made the best rice and black beans we've had in Cuba period. After early dinner, we walked around down and did a bit of exploration. There are essentially 3 bars in town and walking the length of the town took about 1/2 hour at a VERY leisurely pace. It was nice to be in a place where we could see the stars and hear crickets. In Havana I could hear the thump thump thumping of music at 4 o clock in the morning. In this environment, there is something calming to hear the buzz of a light or a refrigerator, the sound of a fan blowing, or the occasional roar of a passing motorcycle.
The next morning I woke up tired and angry. Here's the thing with living in the country. Fucking rooster at 5 o fucking clock in the morning. I'm a vegetarian, but I thought to myself, "I'm going to catch that rooster, kill it, and eat it!" After our wonderful breakfast we went horseback riding through the valley with a guide named Domingo. The scenery in Vinales is breathtaking. We rode through crops of yucca, rice, tobacco, and corn. The mogotes, as they are called here, are mountains that look similar to the mountains in southern China. It reminds me of kids filling up a bucket full of sand and then turning them over. The area here is incredibly lush and is the tobacco region of Cuba. The dirt here is a bright bright red and very productive. Apparently the soil in the south of Pinar del Rio is white.
We first rode the horses to a house where a guy grew, processed, and handrolled cigars. The cigar was so good that even Allison tried it. It was one of the smoothest cigars I've ever had. The tobacco leaves he rolled with were processed with lemon, sugar, rum, guava, and he sealed it with honey. He also made us a drink with coconut milk, rum, and honey that was really smooth. After hanging out drinking and smoking, we rode our horses to one of Pinar del Rio's many caves.
The cave was called La Cueva de Silencio and after walking for about 15 minutes we reached a natural swimming pool. One of the guides got in the water and I was the first of our group to go in. I didn't have swimming trunks on so I just got in with shorts and underwear. The water was really cold and I followed the guide deeper into the pool with a group of Spaniards trailing behind. The thing about being in a cave is that it's pitch black. If you are outta the light you don't see shit. All I could think the whole time I'm moving through the water is that this was the beginning of a scary movie. What really freaked me out was at the other end of the pool were a trio sitting in the dark. By the mud on their faces and bodies I figured they were making out. Menage a trois freakers making out in a cave. It was pretty cool checking out real stalactites and stalagmites. After that we rode back and my ass was saddlesore. I just had to laugh cause it hurt so bad and both our right knees were fucked up because of it. Plus, our horses seemed to be in competition with each other as each jockeyed with the other to be in the front. I think our guide was getting a kick out of it because our horses started to speed up which made my ass hurt all the more. What the fuck can you do? I wasn't about to walk back. I've never been spelunking before and I had to say that I had a great time. Allison... not so much. But hey... it was something new and different to do.
The family made dinner for us and they are wonderful cooks. They made the best rice and black beans we've had in Cuba period. After early dinner, we walked around down and did a bit of exploration. There are essentially 3 bars in town and walking the length of the town took about 1/2 hour at a VERY leisurely pace. It was nice to be in a place where we could see the stars and hear crickets. In Havana I could hear the thump thump thumping of music at 4 o clock in the morning. In this environment, there is something calming to hear the buzz of a light or a refrigerator, the sound of a fan blowing, or the occasional roar of a passing motorcycle.
The next morning I woke up tired and angry. Here's the thing with living in the country. Fucking rooster at 5 o fucking clock in the morning. I'm a vegetarian, but I thought to myself, "I'm going to catch that rooster, kill it, and eat it!" After our wonderful breakfast we went horseback riding through the valley with a guide named Domingo. The scenery in Vinales is breathtaking. We rode through crops of yucca, rice, tobacco, and corn. The mogotes, as they are called here, are mountains that look similar to the mountains in southern China. It reminds me of kids filling up a bucket full of sand and then turning them over. The area here is incredibly lush and is the tobacco region of Cuba. The dirt here is a bright bright red and very productive. Apparently the soil in the south of Pinar del Rio is white.
We first rode the horses to a house where a guy grew, processed, and handrolled cigars. The cigar was so good that even Allison tried it. It was one of the smoothest cigars I've ever had. The tobacco leaves he rolled with were processed with lemon, sugar, rum, guava, and he sealed it with honey. He also made us a drink with coconut milk, rum, and honey that was really smooth. After hanging out drinking and smoking, we rode our horses to one of Pinar del Rio's many caves.
The cave was called La Cueva de Silencio and after walking for about 15 minutes we reached a natural swimming pool. One of the guides got in the water and I was the first of our group to go in. I didn't have swimming trunks on so I just got in with shorts and underwear. The water was really cold and I followed the guide deeper into the pool with a group of Spaniards trailing behind. The thing about being in a cave is that it's pitch black. If you are outta the light you don't see shit. All I could think the whole time I'm moving through the water is that this was the beginning of a scary movie. What really freaked me out was at the other end of the pool were a trio sitting in the dark. By the mud on their faces and bodies I figured they were making out. Menage a trois freakers making out in a cave. It was pretty cool checking out real stalactites and stalagmites. After that we rode back and my ass was saddlesore. I just had to laugh cause it hurt so bad and both our right knees were fucked up because of it. Plus, our horses seemed to be in competition with each other as each jockeyed with the other to be in the front. I think our guide was getting a kick out of it because our horses started to speed up which made my ass hurt all the more. What the fuck can you do? I wasn't about to walk back. I've never been spelunking before and I had to say that I had a great time. Allison... not so much. But hey... it was something new and different to do.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Getting propositioned in Cuba, sweating, and the national dog
Sunday was our last day of folklorico dance. We haven't really been doing salsa rueda at all and have just been doing folklorico. Dancing rueda is intimidating. In rueda, moves are called out and then everyone does those moves. If you don't know the moves it is very obvious to all the people doing the correct moves.
So everyone talks about Cuban cigars and I've been wanting to go to a factory for a while. We decided to go to the Partagas factory but the place was closed. The store was open and so we perused. Not that we could have bought because shit was ridiculous. Boxes of cigars for 300 CUCs or more. There was a 1500 humidor as well. Unbelievable.
Then I decided to get a guayabera. I had noticed a nice store in Habana Vieja so we walked our asses over there. The shop was closed and this was actually the third time I'd tried to go to this store. Now as an American my gut instinct was to ask, "How do you make money?", but then again I wasn't in America. Since that wasn't happening we decided to get the touristy carriage ride. Actually, I gotta say it was a pretty cool ride and very informative. It was here that we found the Rum museum. We also saw sections of Habana Vieja we never saw before. Definitely the touristy area, but hey there was a lot of history there. I saw the birthplace of Jose Marti and I really paid attention to the big oil tanker from Venezuela as we passed by the port. So when we were done, we decided to go back to the Rum Museum. hehe...hehe...hehe...
We started walking and came upon the casa de las arabes. It cost 1 CUC to check it out and so Allison and I went in on my insistence. There was a room with Muslim rugs, clothing, and a mannequin in a burqa. The guy was working there was cool and we tried talking in my poor, limited, and broken Spanish. I understood a good bit but missed a lot more I'm sure. he showed me the mosque which I later read was the only working mosque in Havana. He said there were about 40 followers that came on Friday. As a gift I gave him a lapel pin of this hindu god named Jagannath. Jagannath is the hindu god of universal love, brotherhood and no caste distinction. On top of that he's a happy smiley face. I also have been giving out ballpoint pens to everyone that we came in contact with and were cool to us. People really appreciated the pin and the pens a lot. So far, I've seen cathedrals, a mosque, 2 synagogues, and people that practice Santeria, but no hindus. And of course when we got to the Rum Museum it was closed.
At this point, AL was getting tired and still getting over being sick. We went home to drop her off and so I decided to get out and take pictures of El Barrio Chino. We had a charged batteries and 2 GBs of memoy. I could afford to go Japanese tourist crazy. I'm taking pictures of everything that's got Chinese writing on it and anything that looks remotely Asian. It was here I learned about the very different experience of going out by myself. In short, I got propositioned 3 times. Nothing like that ever happened when I was with AL, but as soon as I was alone... women were asking me if I wanted a friend/companion.
When I was walking on the main Chinese restaurant strip I met another Chino Latino. Half Chinese guy named Enrique Chung that owned a restaurant named the Great Wall. Enrique also happens to be a pimp because he asked me if I wanted mojitos, cigars, or a woman. I told him that I was married and he backed off. Then, moments later one of his girls came up to me and he told her to back off. What a trip. Across the street from him was another restaurant with another Chino-Latino and he was of the full blooded variety. I thought he was a tourist at first cause he was full blooded and was eating with chopsticks. Of course, it turned out that he was the boss and the restaurant was the only place with a real Chinese chef. The place was called Tien-Tan and sports a tai-chi symbol on the wall. Though I didn't eat there, my money would be on that place as having good Chinese food. In the Bay Area, I have certain rules about where I'll eat Chinese food. The first most important thing is word of mouth. If I am just checking out a new place I look for how many Chinese people are there. Then I look to see if they have chopsticks on the table or a fork and knife. Since Cuba didn't have any Chinese people and every restaurant had fork and knives, I'd go with the place with a real Chinese chef and the old Chinese owner sitting outside.
When I got back, AL was feeling better and wanted to eat at a paladares. She wanted some rice and beans and there's no shortage of that. Paladares prices are usually set at around 10 CUCs and include some salad, your choice of meat, rice, beans, and a drink. It was at the paladares that I devised another method for saving money as a vegetarian. First, ask the price for the food or a menu. If they don't have a menu, ask what is included in the meal for 10 CUCs, making sure to ask if drinks are included. Then you ask how much things would be without meat and say how expensive meat is. The restaurant will usually quote you a lower price. You can also ask how much meat items cost and then say that you are a vegetarian and that you don't want the meat. I didn't come up with this entire method until after we ordered, but when I had argued that things should be cheaper cause we weren't ordering meat, the girl agreed with me but said that my cold which I was already drinking had cost 3 CUCs. This was a total lie since beer is 1 CUC, but I didn't pursue it any further. She said that we could share a meal because it was a lot. The meal was ok and all in all our meal cost 15 CUCs. 10 for our meal and they charged us 3 CUCs for a guava juice AL ordered and a 2 CUC "service charge" that is essentially like a tax. I've noticed that some places charge that and some don't.
Sidenote: Late July and August is the hottest time in Cuba. It's hot and humid and literally all I did was sweat. Now when many people use the word literally, they actually mean figuratively as in "I literally jumped out of my skin." But when I say "literally all I did was sweat" I mean literally all I did was sweat. Sitting in the living room that doesn't have air conditioning, I sweat. I eat at a paladares and I sweat. I walk around and sweat. There are only 2 times when I'm not sweating and that's when I'm sitting in an air conditioned room and when I'm in the rain. And even the latter I'm not sure of because I think I maybe can't tell that I'm sweating.
The national dog of Cuba is the dachshund. Ok, I don't think Cuba has a national dog, but if they did I think that the dachshund would be it. There are little weiner dogs everywhere. Everyone has got one. You can even see that some of the strays are mixed with dachshund. I wonder what led to everyone getting one? Was it a fashion statement? I know when the Queen of Denmark got a wirehaired dachshund, it became very fashionable for others to get one. Maybe the same thing happened in Cuba. everyone wanted one. Did Fidel have a dachshund?
So everyone talks about Cuban cigars and I've been wanting to go to a factory for a while. We decided to go to the Partagas factory but the place was closed. The store was open and so we perused. Not that we could have bought because shit was ridiculous. Boxes of cigars for 300 CUCs or more. There was a 1500 humidor as well. Unbelievable.
Then I decided to get a guayabera. I had noticed a nice store in Habana Vieja so we walked our asses over there. The shop was closed and this was actually the third time I'd tried to go to this store. Now as an American my gut instinct was to ask, "How do you make money?", but then again I wasn't in America. Since that wasn't happening we decided to get the touristy carriage ride. Actually, I gotta say it was a pretty cool ride and very informative. It was here that we found the Rum museum. We also saw sections of Habana Vieja we never saw before. Definitely the touristy area, but hey there was a lot of history there. I saw the birthplace of Jose Marti and I really paid attention to the big oil tanker from Venezuela as we passed by the port. So when we were done, we decided to go back to the Rum Museum. hehe...hehe...hehe...
We started walking and came upon the casa de las arabes. It cost 1 CUC to check it out and so Allison and I went in on my insistence. There was a room with Muslim rugs, clothing, and a mannequin in a burqa. The guy was working there was cool and we tried talking in my poor, limited, and broken Spanish. I understood a good bit but missed a lot more I'm sure. he showed me the mosque which I later read was the only working mosque in Havana. He said there were about 40 followers that came on Friday. As a gift I gave him a lapel pin of this hindu god named Jagannath. Jagannath is the hindu god of universal love, brotherhood and no caste distinction. On top of that he's a happy smiley face. I also have been giving out ballpoint pens to everyone that we came in contact with and were cool to us. People really appreciated the pin and the pens a lot. So far, I've seen cathedrals, a mosque, 2 synagogues, and people that practice Santeria, but no hindus. And of course when we got to the Rum Museum it was closed.
At this point, AL was getting tired and still getting over being sick. We went home to drop her off and so I decided to get out and take pictures of El Barrio Chino. We had a charged batteries and 2 GBs of memoy. I could afford to go Japanese tourist crazy. I'm taking pictures of everything that's got Chinese writing on it and anything that looks remotely Asian. It was here I learned about the very different experience of going out by myself. In short, I got propositioned 3 times. Nothing like that ever happened when I was with AL, but as soon as I was alone... women were asking me if I wanted a friend/companion.
When I was walking on the main Chinese restaurant strip I met another Chino Latino. Half Chinese guy named Enrique Chung that owned a restaurant named the Great Wall. Enrique also happens to be a pimp because he asked me if I wanted mojitos, cigars, or a woman. I told him that I was married and he backed off. Then, moments later one of his girls came up to me and he told her to back off. What a trip. Across the street from him was another restaurant with another Chino-Latino and he was of the full blooded variety. I thought he was a tourist at first cause he was full blooded and was eating with chopsticks. Of course, it turned out that he was the boss and the restaurant was the only place with a real Chinese chef. The place was called Tien-Tan and sports a tai-chi symbol on the wall. Though I didn't eat there, my money would be on that place as having good Chinese food. In the Bay Area, I have certain rules about where I'll eat Chinese food. The first most important thing is word of mouth. If I am just checking out a new place I look for how many Chinese people are there. Then I look to see if they have chopsticks on the table or a fork and knife. Since Cuba didn't have any Chinese people and every restaurant had fork and knives, I'd go with the place with a real Chinese chef and the old Chinese owner sitting outside.
When I got back, AL was feeling better and wanted to eat at a paladares. She wanted some rice and beans and there's no shortage of that. Paladares prices are usually set at around 10 CUCs and include some salad, your choice of meat, rice, beans, and a drink. It was at the paladares that I devised another method for saving money as a vegetarian. First, ask the price for the food or a menu. If they don't have a menu, ask what is included in the meal for 10 CUCs, making sure to ask if drinks are included. Then you ask how much things would be without meat and say how expensive meat is. The restaurant will usually quote you a lower price. You can also ask how much meat items cost and then say that you are a vegetarian and that you don't want the meat. I didn't come up with this entire method until after we ordered, but when I had argued that things should be cheaper cause we weren't ordering meat, the girl agreed with me but said that my cold which I was already drinking had cost 3 CUCs. This was a total lie since beer is 1 CUC, but I didn't pursue it any further. She said that we could share a meal because it was a lot. The meal was ok and all in all our meal cost 15 CUCs. 10 for our meal and they charged us 3 CUCs for a guava juice AL ordered and a 2 CUC "service charge" that is essentially like a tax. I've noticed that some places charge that and some don't.
Sidenote: Late July and August is the hottest time in Cuba. It's hot and humid and literally all I did was sweat. Now when many people use the word literally, they actually mean figuratively as in "I literally jumped out of my skin." But when I say "literally all I did was sweat" I mean literally all I did was sweat. Sitting in the living room that doesn't have air conditioning, I sweat. I eat at a paladares and I sweat. I walk around and sweat. There are only 2 times when I'm not sweating and that's when I'm sitting in an air conditioned room and when I'm in the rain. And even the latter I'm not sure of because I think I maybe can't tell that I'm sweating.
The national dog of Cuba is the dachshund. Ok, I don't think Cuba has a national dog, but if they did I think that the dachshund would be it. There are little weiner dogs everywhere. Everyone has got one. You can even see that some of the strays are mixed with dachshund. I wonder what led to everyone getting one? Was it a fashion statement? I know when the Queen of Denmark got a wirehaired dachshund, it became very fashionable for others to get one. Maybe the same thing happened in Cuba. everyone wanted one. Did Fidel have a dachshund?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
"El ultimo" and awkward situations
On Saturday AL was feeling sick. Since we had eaten the same exact thing I wondered what was giving her such bad problems. Our friend Yeni said that maybe it was the heat because that can cause similar problems. Either way I had a private dance lesson.
After that I went to go exchange money at the cadeca. In Cuba, people are used to waiting in lines and in this case it was no different. There is even a term they use to describe the last in line. You are "el ultimo". As I was standing there, an older cuban lady asked me if I had lines like this in the US. I said no and she laughed. Then, I described the oddity of seeing cops on the beach. The lady said they were in the mountains too. A guy standing nearby chimed in with a joke that Cuba had 2 million people and 1 million were cops. Both Cubans laughed at the joke.
Since AL was out, I went out with the dance group to Palenque. Palenque means a hideout for runaway slaves, but here it was a dance performance. To get there we took a private Cuban cab. You know how you hear about old ass American cars in Cuba? Well a lot of those are private taxis. So we got into an old American car and Hermes passed around some rum that they sell in containers like juice boxes. Rum in juice box containers. I love it. Innovative. Because sometimes you don't want a bottle.
At Palenque they performed folklorico, rumba, and salsa. I got to see the performance of Eleggua done by someone in full costume. Let's just say there was a world of difference between the stuff I was doing and what this person was doing. As I watch the dances and learn more and more about Santeria I become more and more a henotheist. I respect the other gods, but follow only one. After the performance people just started dancing salsa and there were some amazing dancers there. One off the things I really loved about Cuba is that people of all ages dance. It's cool to see grandmas dancing. Young or old, fat or skinny, everyone dances. This is something Americans really have a problem with. We are so inhibited. I think it has a lot to do with our puritanical backgrounds. The only time many Americans feel comfortable dancing is when they are trashed.
After the performance was finished, I decided to take everyone out to eat. I could only do this because AL and I saved a lot of money, we'd been budgeting, and things are relatively cheap in Cuba. The ride back was in another old American car where we dropped people already in the car off at various locations. We ended up going to the paladares that AL and I got up from when we were with our biker Danny. Hilarious, but I didn't mind eating with these guys.
In a relative sense, AL and I have a lot more than most in Cuba. Even I make more in a day than most make in a month. But when you are generous with people they start asking for more and more. For example, one of the dancers had a backpacks with numerous holes and asked me i I could help him out with a new backpack. I was going to send everyone a care package of things they needed but it would be cheaper for him and us to get a backpack here. Plus, he needed it now. So I kicked him down 10 CUCs to get a backpack and he was happy. But after we were done walking back from dinner he asks me if I can leave my Keen's sandals with him. Now I like this guy but I wasn't about to give him my Keen's. In a relative sense, I'm doing very well compared to him. But in the US, I don't get a big ass paycheck. I explained to him my situation and told him no. It was just weird though to be placed in that situation.
When I went back to our casa AL was sitting reading the last Harry Potter. Good book when you're under the weather.
After that I went to go exchange money at the cadeca. In Cuba, people are used to waiting in lines and in this case it was no different. There is even a term they use to describe the last in line. You are "el ultimo". As I was standing there, an older cuban lady asked me if I had lines like this in the US. I said no and she laughed. Then, I described the oddity of seeing cops on the beach. The lady said they were in the mountains too. A guy standing nearby chimed in with a joke that Cuba had 2 million people and 1 million were cops. Both Cubans laughed at the joke.
Since AL was out, I went out with the dance group to Palenque. Palenque means a hideout for runaway slaves, but here it was a dance performance. To get there we took a private Cuban cab. You know how you hear about old ass American cars in Cuba? Well a lot of those are private taxis. So we got into an old American car and Hermes passed around some rum that they sell in containers like juice boxes. Rum in juice box containers. I love it. Innovative. Because sometimes you don't want a bottle.
At Palenque they performed folklorico, rumba, and salsa. I got to see the performance of Eleggua done by someone in full costume. Let's just say there was a world of difference between the stuff I was doing and what this person was doing. As I watch the dances and learn more and more about Santeria I become more and more a henotheist. I respect the other gods, but follow only one. After the performance people just started dancing salsa and there were some amazing dancers there. One off the things I really loved about Cuba is that people of all ages dance. It's cool to see grandmas dancing. Young or old, fat or skinny, everyone dances. This is something Americans really have a problem with. We are so inhibited. I think it has a lot to do with our puritanical backgrounds. The only time many Americans feel comfortable dancing is when they are trashed.
After the performance was finished, I decided to take everyone out to eat. I could only do this because AL and I saved a lot of money, we'd been budgeting, and things are relatively cheap in Cuba. The ride back was in another old American car where we dropped people already in the car off at various locations. We ended up going to the paladares that AL and I got up from when we were with our biker Danny. Hilarious, but I didn't mind eating with these guys.
In a relative sense, AL and I have a lot more than most in Cuba. Even I make more in a day than most make in a month. But when you are generous with people they start asking for more and more. For example, one of the dancers had a backpacks with numerous holes and asked me i I could help him out with a new backpack. I was going to send everyone a care package of things they needed but it would be cheaper for him and us to get a backpack here. Plus, he needed it now. So I kicked him down 10 CUCs to get a backpack and he was happy. But after we were done walking back from dinner he asks me if I can leave my Keen's sandals with him. Now I like this guy but I wasn't about to give him my Keen's. In a relative sense, I'm doing very well compared to him. But in the US, I don't get a big ass paycheck. I explained to him my situation and told him no. It was just weird though to be placed in that situation.
When I went back to our casa AL was sitting reading the last Harry Potter. Good book when you're under the weather.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Hitting the beach in Havana province
On Friday, the 27th of July, AL and I had our daily dance class. After that we decided to go to the beach. But we didn't want to go to the tourist beach we wanted to go to where the locals were. We were told by our family we were staying with that we should go to Playa Del Este. We walked over to the Plaza Hotel where we thought there would be a bus and found out that we had to book a day in advance. Here's a tip: the buses in Cuba are actually pretty good and it's not a bad idea to take a bus to get to places. Buses with private companies are comparably priced and make less stops. So AL and I looked up the cost of a bus with Havanatur to Vinales and found it was roughly the same as our reservation but we didn't have to take a taxi to the inconveniently located public bus terminal. Also we didn't have to leave at 9:00 in the morning and would make less stops.
Since we had planned to go to the beach and couldn't get a bus we decided to take a taxi. It cost us 15 CUCs to get there and was well worth it. This is another important thing we learned. Traveling sucks. Sometimes it's better to just spend a few bucks more on traveling to get there in relative comfort. But ultimately you have to pick and choose. In my opinion, if the place is relatively close then save your money. But if the place takes time to get there, pay for comfort. In most places you probably won't end up spending that much more money.
The drive out of Havana was beautiful. Cuba has a lush landscape and you see that as you leave the main city area. Our driver was a Chino-Latino and he showed us an ID card that said his name was Jesus Chiu Alvarez. Fucking hilarious! I love it. It was Friday, so when we got to the beach it was packed. Also, everyone had pool reclining chairs and an umbrella that they rented. Of course, they paid in Moneda Nacional while we paid in CUCs. But it really didn't cost that much. I think 6 CUCs all together. The Cuban sun is really hot so I was glad to get there after 2:00. That's something I learned in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Stay out of the sun from 11-2 which is the hottest part of the day. Though later, a Cuban said to me that 1-3 was the hottest part of the day in Cuba. My farmer tan and white bodied self needed some color, but even after 2 I knew I shouldn't stay out too long. There is nothing like chilling out on a beach on a tropical island to make you really feel like you are on vacation.
Sitting in front of us were 2 Spanish couples. One of them came up to me and said in English that I should be careful because he had his cell phone right next to him, closed his eyes for a second and it was gone. People target tourists. And it is always easy to spot them.
Anyways, one of the things that I immediately noticed was the huge amounts of alcohol at the beach and how dirty it was. People would bring entire bottles of rum into the ocean and just chug them down in the water. I saw one old lady smoking a cigarette in one hand and finishing a bottle of rum with the other. After she finished the bottle, she just threw it deeper into the ocean. But the worst thing I saw was as I was walking out of the water back to AL. It was a fucking piece of shit floating in the water. From that point on, I noticed mothers taking their bare assed babies out to the water then bringing them back in a time period longer than it takes to have a piss. Ok... it's one thing to piss in the ocean. But to shit in the ocean when the beach is packed with people. That just ain't right. I noticed people littering everywhere like it wasn't a big deal. Beer can left for people to scavenge. Cigarette butts everywhere. Empty boxes of rice, beans, and chicken legs just left on the beach. Chicken bones were everywhere. It was really quite disgusting. And this was the straight local beach. Even though I spent no more than 10 minutes at a time in the water and out in the sun for a total of probably 30 minutes, I still got a lil sunburn.
Ok... if you know me then you expect to hear it from me. There were some nice asses out there. Not as beautiful as Brasil, but nice nonetheless. Perhaps, it is because there are less G-strings in Cuba and Brasilian women, in my opinion, are more beautiful. It was nice though to chill out at the beach and check out the "local scenery". As with everywhere we go there were police with guns patrolling the beach. What a trip that is. But the worst job had to be the military guys that were dressed in long sleeve shirts, long pants, and Fidel hats that just had to stand and look out into the ocean. I presume that they are looking for people trying to escape to Florida. Not a fun job in the scorching Cuban sun. And like everywhere in Cuba there were stray dogs hanging out on the beach as well. I was astounded by how mellow the strays are in Cuba. People leave them alone and they leave people alone. However, it's a humane society nightmare there as there are a ton of strays and none of them seem to be spayed or neutered.
When we finally decided to leave, a guy asked us if we wanted a taxi. I asked him how much and he said 10 CUCs. This was 5 CUCs cheaper than getting there and we had been told it was 20 CUCs both ways in the book. However, I soon found out why it was so cheap. Can you say hoopty mobile. A different guy pulled up in a beat up, leaning to one side, cracked windshield piece of crap. Against my better judgment we got in. Here's another tip: Follow your instincts when traveling. Don't be afraid to say no and be rude if need be. Luckily, we got back to the Plaza Hotel no problem. I would only pull that shit in Cuba because it was so safe with cops every 5 km or so and pulling over everyone that they wanted to. No way would I do that in Brasil. The guy's car windows in the back wouldn't go down and the guy couldn't put his car into 2nd gear. Also, his alignment was totally off and his odometer was completely broken. At one point, going up a hill I felt like the little engine that could. It also smelled of gasoline in the car. But we did get back safe and sound and saved money as well.
Siempre una aventura en Cuba.
Since we had planned to go to the beach and couldn't get a bus we decided to take a taxi. It cost us 15 CUCs to get there and was well worth it. This is another important thing we learned. Traveling sucks. Sometimes it's better to just spend a few bucks more on traveling to get there in relative comfort. But ultimately you have to pick and choose. In my opinion, if the place is relatively close then save your money. But if the place takes time to get there, pay for comfort. In most places you probably won't end up spending that much more money.
The drive out of Havana was beautiful. Cuba has a lush landscape and you see that as you leave the main city area. Our driver was a Chino-Latino and he showed us an ID card that said his name was Jesus Chiu Alvarez. Fucking hilarious! I love it. It was Friday, so when we got to the beach it was packed. Also, everyone had pool reclining chairs and an umbrella that they rented. Of course, they paid in Moneda Nacional while we paid in CUCs. But it really didn't cost that much. I think 6 CUCs all together. The Cuban sun is really hot so I was glad to get there after 2:00. That's something I learned in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Stay out of the sun from 11-2 which is the hottest part of the day. Though later, a Cuban said to me that 1-3 was the hottest part of the day in Cuba. My farmer tan and white bodied self needed some color, but even after 2 I knew I shouldn't stay out too long. There is nothing like chilling out on a beach on a tropical island to make you really feel like you are on vacation.
Sitting in front of us were 2 Spanish couples. One of them came up to me and said in English that I should be careful because he had his cell phone right next to him, closed his eyes for a second and it was gone. People target tourists. And it is always easy to spot them.
Anyways, one of the things that I immediately noticed was the huge amounts of alcohol at the beach and how dirty it was. People would bring entire bottles of rum into the ocean and just chug them down in the water. I saw one old lady smoking a cigarette in one hand and finishing a bottle of rum with the other. After she finished the bottle, she just threw it deeper into the ocean. But the worst thing I saw was as I was walking out of the water back to AL. It was a fucking piece of shit floating in the water. From that point on, I noticed mothers taking their bare assed babies out to the water then bringing them back in a time period longer than it takes to have a piss. Ok... it's one thing to piss in the ocean. But to shit in the ocean when the beach is packed with people. That just ain't right. I noticed people littering everywhere like it wasn't a big deal. Beer can left for people to scavenge. Cigarette butts everywhere. Empty boxes of rice, beans, and chicken legs just left on the beach. Chicken bones were everywhere. It was really quite disgusting. And this was the straight local beach. Even though I spent no more than 10 minutes at a time in the water and out in the sun for a total of probably 30 minutes, I still got a lil sunburn.
Ok... if you know me then you expect to hear it from me. There were some nice asses out there. Not as beautiful as Brasil, but nice nonetheless. Perhaps, it is because there are less G-strings in Cuba and Brasilian women, in my opinion, are more beautiful. It was nice though to chill out at the beach and check out the "local scenery". As with everywhere we go there were police with guns patrolling the beach. What a trip that is. But the worst job had to be the military guys that were dressed in long sleeve shirts, long pants, and Fidel hats that just had to stand and look out into the ocean. I presume that they are looking for people trying to escape to Florida. Not a fun job in the scorching Cuban sun. And like everywhere in Cuba there were stray dogs hanging out on the beach as well. I was astounded by how mellow the strays are in Cuba. People leave them alone and they leave people alone. However, it's a humane society nightmare there as there are a ton of strays and none of them seem to be spayed or neutered.
When we finally decided to leave, a guy asked us if we wanted a taxi. I asked him how much and he said 10 CUCs. This was 5 CUCs cheaper than getting there and we had been told it was 20 CUCs both ways in the book. However, I soon found out why it was so cheap. Can you say hoopty mobile. A different guy pulled up in a beat up, leaning to one side, cracked windshield piece of crap. Against my better judgment we got in. Here's another tip: Follow your instincts when traveling. Don't be afraid to say no and be rude if need be. Luckily, we got back to the Plaza Hotel no problem. I would only pull that shit in Cuba because it was so safe with cops every 5 km or so and pulling over everyone that they wanted to. No way would I do that in Brasil. The guy's car windows in the back wouldn't go down and the guy couldn't put his car into 2nd gear. Also, his alignment was totally off and his odometer was completely broken. At one point, going up a hill I felt like the little engine that could. It also smelled of gasoline in the car. But we did get back safe and sound and saved money as well.
Siempre una aventura en Cuba.
The small time Cuban Hustler's rap
Question: Where are you from?
Reply: I have a cousin/aunt/sister/brother/etc in (fill in the State).
Question: How long have you been here?
Question: What do you think of Cuba?
Question: Do you like to dance?
Question: Do you like cigars?
Question: Do you like mojitos/Cuba Libres?
Question: Where are you staying?
The best thing to do is keep walking. You can give vague 1 word responses but keep walking and go about your business. When you walk you need to walk like you have a destination in mind. If you respond in the affirmative to some of the questions then you'll find that everyone knows the best place to get whatever or the best place to go where ever.
On Thursday, we started with 2 hours of folklorico. Even though we took salsa classes in the states it was intimidating doing it in Cuba. There is a lot of pressure on the guy. Also, AL and I realized that we don't really like the Cuban salsa music. We got an album from the group that is considered by Cubans the best salsa group, Los Van Van, and truthfully we don't even like it that much. We just like dancing with each other. Truly, we like Samba better. But folklorico is fun too. Very hard. By the end of the class, we were drenched in sweat. We danced to the Orisha Ogun who is the orisha of the countryside.
After class, AL and I started to walk to Vedado from our location in Havana Centro. Nothing like walking to help you learn a place. As we walked along the Malecon we came upon the US special interest building. This isn't the consulate but the "special interest" building. The place is guarded all around by Cuban security and they won't even let you walk on the same side of the street. Right next to the building is the Cuban Anti-Imperialist plaza that flies numerous Cuban flags. Actually, the place had more flags in one place than anywhere I've ever been. The anti-American government sentiment is strong in Cuba and all around Cuba are propaganda billboards extolling the virtues of Cuba and the evils of the US and GWB.
From there, AL and I had lunch at a state-run vegetarian restaurant called "Carmelo" in the Vedado region. When we first went in I asked how much did things cost. The lady said 10 CUCs in Spanish. I asked for a menu and on the menu it said 8 CUCs. Everywhere we go people are always trying to hustle us. I pointed to the price on the menu and the lady nodded in the affirmative and said in Spanish, "Si, ocho CUCs." Always ask for a menu. The meal was vegetarian and pretty bland and boring as I found most Cuban food to be. Maybe, when you get meat there's more excitement but the vegetarian fare was sparse and unexciting.
After our lunch, we went looking for our friend's uncle that lives near the Hotel Havana Libre and was actually born and raised in New Hampshire. He said after being in the Korean War something drew him to Cuba. The guy was almost 70 years old and quite a character. He also kept commenting on how beautiful and gorgeous AL was. It was hilarious in a dirty old man kind of way. His neighbor and friend was also the first Chino-Latino I saw in Cuba. So AL and I hung out with the two for a while shooting the shit and drinking rum while they chainsmoked Criollos cigarettes. The whole time we were talking he would stop every so often and whistle or talk to women passing by. Old or young, it didn't matter. A real character.
While the uncle was nice, his age was starting to show as he repeated the same phrases and stories to us roughly 5 times over. It's rough when you get old. So we made up an excuse of meeting some friends near the Plaza de la Revolucion and made our way over there. It's at the Plaza were the famous Che picture is on the side of the building. There's also a monument to Jose Marti there. Other than that, the Plaza isn't much to see and is far from most things.
On the way back, we also had ice cream at Cuba's famous Coppelia ice cream. It was hear that I learned another lesson. Always ask, "Cuanto cuestan?" We thought that since the prices were on the board we'd be ok. But the guy charged us for another thing that he said that he had brought us instead. Now it was only 1 CUC more that he was charging each of us, but it's the principle dammit! But in the end I didn't want to get all hyphy over 2 dollars, so I chalked it up to another lesson learned. When people got it hard they are always trying to squeeze a it more outta you, especially in the cities.
As we walked back, we stopped to sit and relax on the Malecon. This is where I learned by best response to the hustlers. 2 lady approached us and gave us the hustler rap. I answered nicely that I don't drink, smoke, or dance. In fact, I was a vegetarian and very religious. Upon hearing this, the two lady hustlers said goodbye and got up and actually moved down the Malecon 20 yards from us. They just sat there the rest of the time. I guess they figured that hanging with the religious guy would be really boring. Sweet.
Reply: I have a cousin/aunt/sister/brother/etc in (fill in the State).
Question: How long have you been here?
Question: What do you think of Cuba?
Question: Do you like to dance?
Question: Do you like cigars?
Question: Do you like mojitos/Cuba Libres?
Question: Where are you staying?
The best thing to do is keep walking. You can give vague 1 word responses but keep walking and go about your business. When you walk you need to walk like you have a destination in mind. If you respond in the affirmative to some of the questions then you'll find that everyone knows the best place to get whatever or the best place to go where ever.
On Thursday, we started with 2 hours of folklorico. Even though we took salsa classes in the states it was intimidating doing it in Cuba. There is a lot of pressure on the guy. Also, AL and I realized that we don't really like the Cuban salsa music. We got an album from the group that is considered by Cubans the best salsa group, Los Van Van, and truthfully we don't even like it that much. We just like dancing with each other. Truly, we like Samba better. But folklorico is fun too. Very hard. By the end of the class, we were drenched in sweat. We danced to the Orisha Ogun who is the orisha of the countryside.
After class, AL and I started to walk to Vedado from our location in Havana Centro. Nothing like walking to help you learn a place. As we walked along the Malecon we came upon the US special interest building. This isn't the consulate but the "special interest" building. The place is guarded all around by Cuban security and they won't even let you walk on the same side of the street. Right next to the building is the Cuban Anti-Imperialist plaza that flies numerous Cuban flags. Actually, the place had more flags in one place than anywhere I've ever been. The anti-American government sentiment is strong in Cuba and all around Cuba are propaganda billboards extolling the virtues of Cuba and the evils of the US and GWB.
From there, AL and I had lunch at a state-run vegetarian restaurant called "Carmelo" in the Vedado region. When we first went in I asked how much did things cost. The lady said 10 CUCs in Spanish. I asked for a menu and on the menu it said 8 CUCs. Everywhere we go people are always trying to hustle us. I pointed to the price on the menu and the lady nodded in the affirmative and said in Spanish, "Si, ocho CUCs." Always ask for a menu. The meal was vegetarian and pretty bland and boring as I found most Cuban food to be. Maybe, when you get meat there's more excitement but the vegetarian fare was sparse and unexciting.
After our lunch, we went looking for our friend's uncle that lives near the Hotel Havana Libre and was actually born and raised in New Hampshire. He said after being in the Korean War something drew him to Cuba. The guy was almost 70 years old and quite a character. He also kept commenting on how beautiful and gorgeous AL was. It was hilarious in a dirty old man kind of way. His neighbor and friend was also the first Chino-Latino I saw in Cuba. So AL and I hung out with the two for a while shooting the shit and drinking rum while they chainsmoked Criollos cigarettes. The whole time we were talking he would stop every so often and whistle or talk to women passing by. Old or young, it didn't matter. A real character.
While the uncle was nice, his age was starting to show as he repeated the same phrases and stories to us roughly 5 times over. It's rough when you get old. So we made up an excuse of meeting some friends near the Plaza de la Revolucion and made our way over there. It's at the Plaza were the famous Che picture is on the side of the building. There's also a monument to Jose Marti there. Other than that, the Plaza isn't much to see and is far from most things.
On the way back, we also had ice cream at Cuba's famous Coppelia ice cream. It was hear that I learned another lesson. Always ask, "Cuanto cuestan?" We thought that since the prices were on the board we'd be ok. But the guy charged us for another thing that he said that he had brought us instead. Now it was only 1 CUC more that he was charging each of us, but it's the principle dammit! But in the end I didn't want to get all hyphy over 2 dollars, so I chalked it up to another lesson learned. When people got it hard they are always trying to squeeze a it more outta you, especially in the cities.
As we walked back, we stopped to sit and relax on the Malecon. This is where I learned by best response to the hustlers. 2 lady approached us and gave us the hustler rap. I answered nicely that I don't drink, smoke, or dance. In fact, I was a vegetarian and very religious. Upon hearing this, the two lady hustlers said goodbye and got up and actually moved down the Malecon 20 yards from us. They just sat there the rest of the time. I guess they figured that hanging with the religious guy would be really boring. Sweet.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Notes on Havana
After eating with Leo and Beto, Allison and I went on a mission. Allison had brought the wrong recharger for the camera. She had brought the charger for the vonage phone. We have a 2GB SIM card that can take 700 pix in 10 megapixels, but we didn´t have a charger and the battery doesn´t have a disposable variety. Let´s just say I had to stay very calm. Especially since AL felt really bad about the situation. No point in making it worse. So we figured the best place to get a charger would be Old Havana where the tourists are. We wandered through there again and found a shop but by the time we got there shit was closed. So we wondered and took in more of the sites in the area. The place definitely has an old world charm. When we finally got hungry we ate at La Domenica which is considered the best Italian restaurant in town according to Lonely Planet. The place had pizza that tasted like pizza and was cooked in a wooden oven. Traveling and being a vegetarian isn´t easy.
On Wednesday, we had our first folklorico and salsa class. For 2 hours it was just a bit more than 20 dollars and the lessons were totally one on one. Can´t beat that. I like the folklorico stuff, but the salsa makes me nervous. I still can´t hear the timing and don´t really know when to move. Salsa is hard because there is a lot of responsibility on the guy´s part as he´s the leader. The girl just has to follow. If I don´t know what I´m doing then it ain´t much help for her. In folklorico, we learned the basic dance for the orisha Eleggua. A mischievous orisha and my favorite kind. It´s funny cause almost all the people from the group came. Yeni and her daughter Casey, Glandis to run the music on the DVD player, and Leo to dance and Beto to hang out as the manager. We danced right in the living room of our casa particulares. After the dancing, I invited them to a matinee at the hot salsa club in town Casa de la Musica, which we are conveniently located right above. The matinee started at 5:00 s we had some time to kill. So we went on our recharger mission. We got on a bike taxi and we told the guy to go to Habana Vieja. As we were biking we were chatting with my limited Spanish and mentioned that we were going to a photoshop. As we were biking he pointed to a shop on the way and so we stopped there. It was to no avail, but when we came out our biker was being questioned by a police officer. This is a scene that I was to see play out many times. Cops randomly pulling people over and questioning them and people reacting the same way. No arguments just answering quietly and calmly. I guess the biker must have said something because he left the card with the officer and biked us to the placed recommended by the people in the photoshop. He said the cop wanted money from him (bribe) but he didn´t have money to give. He asked me for money, but I pretended to not understand him. At the next place we met with success. The result of the black market. I explained my problem to the lady and she made a phone call and told us to wait. Moments later a man came into the store with a big bag and pulled out a Chinese multicharger. Bless my people. 40 CUCs. Undoubtedly, way more than it was worth, but he had us by the balls. The guy was a professional photographer and showed us his digital camera. He was going to sell us a SIM card but he saw that we had a 2 GB one. Our mission was a success so we decided to get some food. Our biker said he would take us somewhere and we said that we wanted authentic Cuban food. But I mentioned that I didn´t want to pay too much. I als odecided to invite our guy with us. The first place was too expensive. The guy wanted to eat meat as all Cubans do and his dish was 10 CUCs while our dishes were only 3 CUCs for the rice and beans. I wasn´t about to pay for a meal where his stuff cost more than both of us combined. I got up and left that place. So now he got the picture and took us to a place nearby where the whole meal was 8 CUCs for the 3 of us. This actually was the best deal that we had in Cuba. It was in a lady's house up some shady ass stairs. If this wasn´t Cuba I would never have followed him. We had green beans and onions, salted avocado, rice, beans, and water. It was pretty good and definitely worth the price. After that we returned home to get ready for dancing. The guy tried to invite himself along with us to that as he was a salsa "professor", but then óf course aren´t they all.
The group playing was called Bamboleo and are pretty famous in Cuba. We invited the gang but Leo couldn´t make it. Unfortunately, Casey was too young so Yeni had to take her home and couldn´t come either. The club was cool. It was just DJ music for 1-2 hours until the band came on. Alcohol is incredibly cheap in Cuba. Their 5.4% beer was only 1 CUC and small plasitc cups for mojitos were only 2 CUCs. But the mojitos were strong and good.
Ok so here it is. Cuba like much of Latin America is an ass oriented country. The US is all about the titties. Girls there were bouncing their asses like they were trying to fan a fire. As a connoisseur, I gave it a thumbs up. Whenever I walked to get drinks, I had girls approach me. Perhaps, it was my Chineseness, perhaps it was my obvious tourist look and money, and maybe it was both, but hey...I was there with wife. Flattering but no thanks. The band was great and played salsa, reggaeton, and romantic music. The lead female singer was hilarious and during a song called "Agua" poured water on herself and threw it on the audience. People were loving it. During the time I also got to talk more to Glandis and Beto. They are really cool guys.
Around 9, AL and I decided to have a nice romantic dinner. Glandis took us to a restaurant called Los Nardos and we had to wait in line to get in. Of course, the place was heavily meat oriented. I made the mistake of ordering too much because I thought I wouldn´t get enough.
On Wednesday, we had our first folklorico and salsa class. For 2 hours it was just a bit more than 20 dollars and the lessons were totally one on one. Can´t beat that. I like the folklorico stuff, but the salsa makes me nervous. I still can´t hear the timing and don´t really know when to move. Salsa is hard because there is a lot of responsibility on the guy´s part as he´s the leader. The girl just has to follow. If I don´t know what I´m doing then it ain´t much help for her. In folklorico, we learned the basic dance for the orisha Eleggua. A mischievous orisha and my favorite kind. It´s funny cause almost all the people from the group came. Yeni and her daughter Casey, Glandis to run the music on the DVD player, and Leo to dance and Beto to hang out as the manager. We danced right in the living room of our casa particulares. After the dancing, I invited them to a matinee at the hot salsa club in town Casa de la Musica, which we are conveniently located right above. The matinee started at 5:00 s we had some time to kill. So we went on our recharger mission. We got on a bike taxi and we told the guy to go to Habana Vieja. As we were biking we were chatting with my limited Spanish and mentioned that we were going to a photoshop. As we were biking he pointed to a shop on the way and so we stopped there. It was to no avail, but when we came out our biker was being questioned by a police officer. This is a scene that I was to see play out many times. Cops randomly pulling people over and questioning them and people reacting the same way. No arguments just answering quietly and calmly. I guess the biker must have said something because he left the card with the officer and biked us to the placed recommended by the people in the photoshop. He said the cop wanted money from him (bribe) but he didn´t have money to give. He asked me for money, but I pretended to not understand him. At the next place we met with success. The result of the black market. I explained my problem to the lady and she made a phone call and told us to wait. Moments later a man came into the store with a big bag and pulled out a Chinese multicharger. Bless my people. 40 CUCs. Undoubtedly, way more than it was worth, but he had us by the balls. The guy was a professional photographer and showed us his digital camera. He was going to sell us a SIM card but he saw that we had a 2 GB one. Our mission was a success so we decided to get some food. Our biker said he would take us somewhere and we said that we wanted authentic Cuban food. But I mentioned that I didn´t want to pay too much. I als odecided to invite our guy with us. The first place was too expensive. The guy wanted to eat meat as all Cubans do and his dish was 10 CUCs while our dishes were only 3 CUCs for the rice and beans. I wasn´t about to pay for a meal where his stuff cost more than both of us combined. I got up and left that place. So now he got the picture and took us to a place nearby where the whole meal was 8 CUCs for the 3 of us. This actually was the best deal that we had in Cuba. It was in a lady's house up some shady ass stairs. If this wasn´t Cuba I would never have followed him. We had green beans and onions, salted avocado, rice, beans, and water. It was pretty good and definitely worth the price. After that we returned home to get ready for dancing. The guy tried to invite himself along with us to that as he was a salsa "professor", but then óf course aren´t they all.
The group playing was called Bamboleo and are pretty famous in Cuba. We invited the gang but Leo couldn´t make it. Unfortunately, Casey was too young so Yeni had to take her home and couldn´t come either. The club was cool. It was just DJ music for 1-2 hours until the band came on. Alcohol is incredibly cheap in Cuba. Their 5.4% beer was only 1 CUC and small plasitc cups for mojitos were only 2 CUCs. But the mojitos were strong and good.
Ok so here it is. Cuba like much of Latin America is an ass oriented country. The US is all about the titties. Girls there were bouncing their asses like they were trying to fan a fire. As a connoisseur, I gave it a thumbs up. Whenever I walked to get drinks, I had girls approach me. Perhaps, it was my Chineseness, perhaps it was my obvious tourist look and money, and maybe it was both, but hey...I was there with wife. Flattering but no thanks. The band was great and played salsa, reggaeton, and romantic music. The lead female singer was hilarious and during a song called "Agua" poured water on herself and threw it on the audience. People were loving it. During the time I also got to talk more to Glandis and Beto. They are really cool guys.
Around 9, AL and I decided to have a nice romantic dinner. Glandis took us to a restaurant called Los Nardos and we had to wait in line to get in. Of course, the place was heavily meat oriented. I made the mistake of ordering too much because I thought I wouldn´t get enough.
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