Cuba - Day 6, January 8

Our last day in Havana and we are stuck in our hotel because we are both ill  following our meal at the El Cubano restaurant. As the day wore on I improved and felt sufficiently confident to venture out to the Hotel Parque Central to post my blog for day 2, the last post that I was able to send from Cuba, and to send an email home. At that point in time I felt that I was through the worst of the illness, but, sadly, that was not the case as it continued in waves of intensity curtailing our activity over several days,

Since there is little of interest to say about our day it may be a good time for some basics about Cuba for those who, like me, might know essentially nothing about this country.

The population is just above 11 million. And the country is much larger than I thought - I don't know the land area but from one end to the other it is between 1400 and 1500 Km.  Politically, it is divided into 19 provinces and, according to the Lonely Planet book, the population, surprisingly to me, is 65% white, 25% mixed and 10% black.  Surprising because it would seem to me that, having spent some time in both Cienfuegos and Havana and acknowledging the limitations imposed by the categorizations, the percentage of the white population seems somewhat lower.

And the topography, in places we passed through was extremely flat - almost prairie like - and I was surprised to learn that, with significant wet land areas, rice, along with sugar cane, is a fairly major crop in Cuba.

Sugar cane (above) and rice fields and a farmer on his tractor (right) which, except for a few palm trees and the prevalence of egrets, could be in Saskatchewan!

As you will see in a later post there are mountains as well, in height perhaps a bit like the Laurentians but without snow.

And, of course, beaches, surprisingly unbusy at this one at Rancho Luna near Cienfuegos on the south coast where we spent part of a day.




There are 2 currencies in Cuba -  one for the locals referred to as pesos nacional or CUP's and one for visitors - also officially called pesos - but generally referred to as CUC's. The CUC, close to the Canadian dollar in value, is roughly 25 times the value of the CUP. Interestingly, in this socialist country there are at least two very distinct classes - the Cubans and the visitors with the latter having privileges that the locals do not have - such as, places they can go that Cubans cannot. This seems especially true with respect to restaurants, beaches and boats. For example, we learned later from our host at the Casa Particular in Cienfuegos, that he cannot go out on a privately owned boat in the bay in Cienfuegos, the city in which he lives! The places where Cubans buy food or treats like ice cream (you might think of them as "fast food" places or cafés) are easily recognized as they are typically dimly lit, small and often have line ups, while those for visitors/tourists are quite brightly lit, larger and well outfitted (although even restaurants for visitors may lack many things they say they have, for example, there may be a long wine list but only one or two choice of wine). I do not have any photos of these "for Cubans" places as it felt like taking photos would be intrusive.

It appears to me that there are at least three different types of restaurants, all state owned.  One type for visitors operated by the state and the other, also for visitors, but operated privately, often by a family. The latter, referred to as paladars, are restaurants which Cubans are unlikely to frequent, possibly because it is not allowed but almost certainly because they could not afford it. (a 20 CUC meal would be the equivalent of about one month's income for the average Cuban). These paladars are required to pay a "tax" to the state. The third type of restaurant is for Cubans.

The people here appear to have adopted a culture of patience and a very effective capacity to adapt. For example, there seem to be line-ups for many things - for the money changers (Cadecas), public transportation,  the fresh bread line, bus tickets, the banks, rations outlets, the fish outlet as well as for things unknown. And the word somehow gets around - we would come across a long line up where there had been none when we passed by the place earlier and a couple of hours later it would be gone.  And not infrequently there is a closed door between the front of the line up and the source of whatever one is lining up for. At intervals (when there is space inside) the door will be opened by an official "door monitor" or security person allowing the person next in line to enter.

And, yes, there is food rationing for Cubans though exactly what that means isn't clear to us. And when you glance into the establishments we think are ration sources, there often appears to be little available. On the other hand, as you may recall from photos of the vegetable and fruit market, there seems to be an abundance at least of fruit and veggies. So the issue of food availability remains a a bit unclear.

Breakfast at our second Casa - egg "tortilla" to come.

As there seems to be plenty of food for us it feels like we may be eating food that should be accessible to Cubans. Not surprisingly, the rationing system fosters an off market process, as we learned from our hosts who know, for example, how to obtain fish and other things through friends and just knowing the way it all works. And how rationing affects their ability to feed us remains unclear. In any case this is another one of those examples of inequity that exist, at least between Cubans and visitors, which seems incongruous in this socialist culture. But to think of it another way, the tourist class brings in badly needed funds and creates jobs both of which, hopefully, contribute to the broader goal of attempting to maintain relative equality among Cubans, albeit a less affluent equality.

The public transportation, mentioned above may be in "los camions" which are basically quite large old trucks with an enclosed box mounted on the back in which most passengers, it appears, have to stand. To provide light and ventilation the area around the top of the box is open, (see photo) but, in spite of that, in the heat of the day it must be extremely hot. While I think these would be extraordinarily uncomfortable and a quite undesirable form of transportation (more of a personal nature about this form of transport later), they are an extremely useful adaptation to the current circumstances. They provide people with an inexpensive way to move about the city or between towns and cities in the relative shortage of personal motor vehicles and more costly forms of public transportation, especially for relatively long distance. (Note the Emergency exit sign on the back door.)

As you walk the streets in neighbourhoods in both Havana and Cienfuegos you find everywhere small clusters of people standing around or sitting on steps or in doorways talking sometimes loudly and animatedly - quite different from our neighbourhood in Dundas. (In this photo a bunch of guys were having a very animated discussion which we convinced ourselves was about yesterday's baseball game.) I suppose this pattern could be encourage by the fact that it is always warm outside (though, by Cuban standards, maybe not always) or that indoors may be crowded (especially where extended family or more than one family occupy the space) or, in order to conserve energy they keep it darkish inside. Or, maybe most just like to be out doors and mingling with their family, friends or neighbours. And, by the way, one must not assume that homes are small and darkish inside based on impressions from the character of the building and entry way - we have been in places where the outside and/or the entry belie what one actually finds inside. Witness, later, our second Casa.

And the streets are alive with lots of activities such as vegetable vendor carts, horse drawn taxis, bike taxis, single bikers (no helmets that we saw) and bikes carrying two people (occasionally three with a small child on the hand fashioned wooden seat on the crossbar and a second adult on a pannier rack over the back wheel - below the child on the wooden seat but not the 3rd person on the pannier seat),

including the ubiquitous chess game,












not to mention the plethora of ancient cars and trucks held together with cannibalized parts and the skill and determination of the Cubans who are able to keep them going.

The car above deserves special mention. I took this photo quite randomly but remember it because it becomes more than just a random car in the streets of Cienfuegos.

The next two photo were made in Havana when we were on our way to the Plaza de la Revolución.  These were both taken with the cars in full motion and me trying to have the camera move at the same pace as the car - hence the blur, especially of the background. I especially like the lower one, though it is a bit confusing because while I was trying to keep the camera moving at the pace of the car, I inadvertantly captured the slower moving, so very blurred, bicitaxi as well. I still like the effect.

This car could quite often be found in this location in front of the Hotel Union and across from the internet cafe - the blue building in the background.

Time for a rest.