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.
Hexbear dot net is not blocked in Cuba?! Liberalism has infiltrated Cuba. It's over :no-choice:
Jokes aside, how are things after the hurricane? I imagine most stores/places are closed so they can repair it.
The hurricane has definitely impacted Cuba especially since some buildings are very old but I would say a lot of stores are still open. Many Cubans operate stores directly from their house so it’s literally common to see things sold from the side of the street.
Have any of your opinions of Cuba changed since you began the trip?
What is your largest takeaway?
What was your favorite part of the trip so far?
Is there anything you recommend we do to support Cuba?
Any cool souvenirs?
Are you from America? If you are, what is the best way to go to Cuba?
-
Not of Cuba but seeing the country in such a dire state just makes me hate the US more.
-
Cuba has been able to do so much with little resources but having the blockade in place is taking a toll on it.
-
Honestly, it’s eating at Coppelia. The ice cream is just so good! Too bad there’s no Coppelia in the US.
-
Bring lots and lots of medicine, toilet paper, or anything really you would have in a bathroom. The average Cuban pretty much needs foreign money to get them.
-
A bunch of books about Che, Fidel, and Raul. Also a statue of Che.
-
Yes. Really is not hard to visit Cuba in any way. There are other Americans here too. The only thing you’ll have to deal with as an American is filling out an affidavit that you’re not visiting Cuba for tourist purposes but under a general category (which “Various Supports for the Cuban People” will satisfy most reasons).
Really appreciate you going out of your way to answer all of our questions!
My pleasure! I really just wanted to share my experiences especially if anyone wants to travel to Cuba in the future.
When I was there in the mid 00's it was always weird things like toilet handles or light switches that we take for granted but can be difficult to get there.
-
How are you coping with Havana Syndrome?
For real though, thanks for sharing your experience. Cuba is near the top of the travel list for sure. Once I get the money, I'm off.
Been coping it by enjoying some coppelia here and there as well as giving a middle finger to Amerikkka.
Pardon the lib questions, but I have a CHUD in my head I need to shut up.
-
Is there any major censorship of the internet, if any at all? It seems like from your post a lot of the internet issues comes from technology issues tho. If not, has there been a lot of censorship of other forms of media?
-
Do you know how Cuban civilians feel about westerners? Particularly Americans? (I'm talking about regular citizens rather than the politicians).
Okay, now I have a few fun ones:
-
How friendly are the people there?
-
If you drink, are the bars there good?
-
What are the beaches like?
Can access pretty much any western media including CNN even the Spanish versions of them so not really any censorship in that regard and just tried accessing radio free Europe which works too. But yes, internet infrastructure in Cuba is still developing but almost every Cuban I’ve met has a phone and like to use WhatsApp.
(EDIT: important to add that there’s a lot of websites that don’t work not because of Cuban censorship but because of the blockade that prevents websites from operating here)
Most Cubans generally treat westerners well and recognize that most of us are just people like them. That said, westerners that just spend time only in Varadero staying in their privileged resorts does give us a bad rep with the Cuban people especially when they act out of touch with what local Cubans go through. It goes without saying that we have so many privileges that local Cubans don’t have since they been subjected to the imperialist blockade for years so it’s always good to be always as respectful as you can especially of the local customs (of course don’t be afraid to ask anything if you are in doubt about something, many Cubans are helpful and do their best to accommodate you).
Very friendly. Super easy to ask help for anything. Never really drank at bars but I have visited them. They are generally okay but feel like it’s either filled with rich people or tourists. The beaches in Havana are pretty amazing especially the view from Malecon.
-
Did you enjoy your stay?
Did you see any homelessness like we have in the west?
Was the food good?
Were the people nice?
Did people seem happy?
-
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.
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.
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).
-
It’s sorta been a long dream of mine to visit Cuba especially since I was curious to see how it’s been able to operate under the blockade. Having studied a good amount of Cuban history as well, I wanted to see some of the monuments and memorials in Cuba and decided to come here to see those as well as interact with the Cuban people. I am an American but it’s not hard to visit Cuba as an American besides filling out a scary OFAC affidavit before your flight stating that you’re not traveling to Cuba for tourist purposes but under a general category (most Americans circle Support for the Cuban People since that encompasses many things). Much easier compared to the 2000s where you pretty much couldn’t go to Cuba at all and as a result need to fly to 3rd country and make sure your passport wasn’t stamped. Now there’s direct flights from US to Cuba.
If you’re in Havana I highly recommend taking home coffee beans from Café El Escorial in the Plaza Vieja. They have them for sale when the beans are fresh and it made some of the best coffee I’ve ever had. Can’t wait to go back
A lot. Smoking is very common in Cuba and is pretty much a pastime for many to be smoking a cigarette.
What was the quality of life like for people?
Did you see any cool cuban hacking tech? I've read that because of the embargo, cubans have to repurpose a lot of vintage electronics into new technology.
It’s dropped a bit because the pandemic really hit the Cuban economy hard and combine that with the blockade, it’s somewhat desperate times for Cubans especially when Cubans would do so much for foreign money.
do you think it is feasible to organise the entirety of cuba into a single polycule collective under the new laws?
The affidavit declaring you aren't visiting because of tourist reasons makes me feel conflicted about my own reasons on why I want to visit Cuba. I suppose it's for tourism purposes, but only in the sense that I want to see firsthand how living in a country led by a Marxist-Leninist party operates, especially in the shadow of the empire I live in. I want to hear and see what life is like, instead of only what I get filtered through the internet.
What are your overall thoughts on what you've witnessed among the people? Their outlook on life, their satisfaction or lack thereof, the amount of participation in their government - were you able to get a feel on these types of sentiments?
In general, I’ve found people to be content with their daily lives but at the same time it’s still pretty dire since they don’t have access to medication because of the embargo as you need foreign currency to buy at the government stores. I’ve definitely seen a good amount of locals active within the party. It’s important to note that Cubans aren’t a monolith when it comes to political opinions. Most are pretty supportive of the government but do give criticism where it’s necessary such as regarding the bureaucracy or the existence of MLC stores. A very few have a pretty negative opinion of the government mostly due to the dire situation they are in and believe the government is full of elites that are just sucking off money from government owned hotels.
those are in Miami, unless you mean like, literal earth worms :meat:
Not really. I mean I met Cubans that live in Florida but visiting home though I wouldn’t call them gusanos since many of them just want a better quality of life but don’t really blame the government. I would say the closest thing I’ve met to a Gusano are westerners that are living in Cuba for years since some of them just straight up went on a speech about how the Cuban government makes so much money from hotels and such but pay their workers very little and that the government is starving the locals by hoarding the food for themselves (because the officials are apparently fatter). Also heard from them that it’s impossible for locals to protest their living conditions because they get sent to prison or killed.
I really, really, really wanna visit Cuba.
How do you recommend travelling to Cuba? Did you get a guide or just solo? Someone to help with the travel, booking, lodging etc. plus with places to visit, things to see/do?
Is it okay if you only know English? Should I spend some time beforehand on Duolingo?
Anything to be wary of? Scams, dangerous areas, overcharging?
Thanks!
So I went solo and did almost a lot of booking beforehand such as airbnb for my casa particular and getting my SIM card/viazul bus tickets booked in advance in the US. However, there’s a lot that’s going on in Cuba that honestly it’s probably best to go with someone knows Spanish very well (unless you know a lot of Spanish yourself). I was a pretty clueless traveler so there were certain things I didn’t understand in Cuba and combine that with my broken Spanish. Can be hard to go through some of the bureaucratic stuff. But that said I don’t regret going solo.
It’s good to know some level of Spanish because most Cubans except like jineteros only speak Spanish.
Cuba is really really safe and I would even argue it’s safer than US. But petty theft is sometimes a problem. Of course be aware of any jineteros that try to offer you things such as prostitution. Overcharging is pretty common if you’re a tourist but personally I don’t mind paying a little extra especially since it’s dire times for Cubans.
Overcharging is pretty common if you’re a tourist but personally I don’t mind paying a little extra especially since it’s dire times for Cubans.
Oh yeah, definitely.
Thanks for the tips! I don't know a lot of Spanish so maybe I'll spend some time learning or look into travelling with a group.