After travelling for weeks trough Central America I needed a change and Cuba was definitely something very different. Everything seems to be a little bit more complicated in Cuba and it takes some time to figure out how the system works.
To start with there are two currencies in Cuba: pesos convertibles (CUC) and moneda nacional (MN). Tourists mostly use CUC, Cubans theoretically use MN. In a few places you can yours both currencies but in most you can either use one or the other. For instance there are public phones in CUC that you can use to make international calls and to call hotels and tourist offices in Cuba. If you try to call a private Cuban number they will simply tell you the number doesn’t exist. So you have to find a different public phone that works in MN…
Compared to other South and Central American countries it is much more expensive and complicated to travel in Cuba for backpackers. There are no hostels or dorms and there are very few busses that tourists are allowed to use. And of course the prices are only in CUC. On the upside even the cheapest accommodation that tourist are allowed to use (15-20USD) are much better than the usual hostels. You can save some money on food trying to eat using MN but the choice is very limited and the queues long. Another occasion where you’ll find long queues is when you want to use the internet. In the centre of Havana I found only two places where you can use the internet but you have to wait up to two hours, the connection is very slow and of course it’s expensive. That’s one of the reason I haven’t updated my blog in the last 2 weeks.
I spent the first 5 nights in the centre of Havana in a really nice hotel that I was able to book online for a discount price. It even had a swimming pool and a disco. I really liked Havana: the (live) music that seams to be everywhere, the old cars and buildings, the empty shops with long queues… unfortunately there are also thousands of people trying to sell you everything from cigars over food and accommodation to girls.
After Havana I went for three nights to Varadero and for the first time in my life stayed in an all-inclusive resort. After 6 months of travelling it was great not to have to think about anything for a couple of days but quit soon it started to become boring so I moved on. I went to see Trinidad and Cienfuegos, two really nice colonial towns, and than returned to Havana for the last two nights.
Posted by Claudio
Posted in Traveling