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Published: November 21st 2006
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Habana
Cuba as the first comunist country that Andrea and I visit was for bad and good, quite an experience. Habana Vieja, the oldest part of the city its a colonial jewel, and although almost all the constructions are very deteriorated, the beautiful spanish architecture combined with the fantastic energy of son savior music set up Habana to still catch your senses with an eclectic atmosphere of time stillnes, son, rum and sea. The Malecon (sea front) is where most of cubans go to take a sea dip, chill out, drink havana rum, meet with friends and at sunset it becomes a trully magical scenery.
There is a double life in Cuba, one for nationals and other for foreigners. Since November 2004 Castro prohibited US Dollar currency and create the peso convertible to replace it. This new currency its principly intended to foreigners and being fair its way too much expensive and confusing. 1 Euro =~ 1.3 Peso Convertible, but 1 US Dollar =~ 0.8 Peso Convertible!! Beware, of bringing dollars, goverment will tax you with 20% on every buck you change. This makes Cuba for tourists very expensive because all the cool places use Peso Convertible. In the
Cuba
Andrea doing the V other hand the National Peso is very, very cheap and used in small stalls of low quality food =S and in the non-touristic places of Habana, but you will need help of locals knowing how to change it and where to use it. The worst of this is that currency creates an invisible barrier between locals and foreigners. While Cubans use Camello and tricycles for transport, foreigners use taxis, Gaviota buses and Cocotaxis. The same applies for restaurants, stores, bars, etc.. Such a gap, plus the fact that most people here suffers in some manner poverty makes kind of different but very enjoyable the way you make friends with locals.
And thats more or less how we meet Gerardo. First we began talking in a restaurant about my hat, where i was from, bla,bla. and then as usual here, he tolds us he can get us cheap cigars, rum etc. He was like the fifth person that day that offered us cigars, but for some reason (they where very cheap ) Andrea and i accepted. He inmediatly grab his bike tell us to wait for him. Nothing special at that point. 15 minutes later he appear with cigars for
us, and with a tetra-pack box of local rum for him. While he refilled an almost empty bottle or rum with the box, we could see the shine in his eyes. The man was so happy that after our lunch he invited us to his house and show us the real cuban lifestyle. In the way home he talked about his life. Among the highligths result he was a "Balsero"(Rafter). 8 years ago he and his mates attempted to cross the sea separating Cuba from Florida in a raft. But as usual, they never got there. Instead they where spotted by an US Patrol, after 6 days in high sea and the harassment of a very persistent shark that followed him all the journey, and everytime it show up, he told to it: "You aint going to eat me". He got 3 years in prision for ilegal attempt of abandoning the island. But thats the past he said. So after visiting by the way like 3 different girlfriends(the man got an macho issue here), we arrived, he presented us the family, and show us the house. From outside it seemed like a poor house, but for my suprise he had
Revolutionary look
Andre feeling the Che spirit a 42'inches tv, a super powerfull with a million color ligths gigantic stereo and air conditoning. An aunt in Panama he says smiling. He showed us the "libreta", an small note book in wich they mark the groceries(rice, beans, oil, soap, etc.) Cubans are allowed to claimed freelly in the government stores. For a consumist junkie a really weird thing. We spent the afternoon listening "Los Van Van" and Daddy Yankee and doing some dancing with Gerardo and his family. Before leaving we arrange to go that night to a Cuban party in the Miramar zone with Gerardo an one of his girlfriends. My first thought of a cuban party was of salsa and son, Buena Vista Social Club, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, etc. but i was completly wrong. As Gerardo say Thats for tourists, for Cubans the real thing here is Reggaeton, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar etc. And he was rigth the place was packed up with young people all dancing Reggaeton, gorgeous mulatas moving their hips in a hipnoticall movement at the sea side. Pure caribbean savior. So we spent our last nigth at Habana drinking Bucanero beer and dancing the lusty Reggaeton.
Varadero
We made it.
After Habana´s frenetic rhythm, all day walking days, we finally made it. Lazy days at the beach, unlimited mojitos, diving russian ship wrecks, cristaline sea water and a big fat red lobster for dinner. I am in heaven.
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