I am going to Cuba from US for a month on a work related
trip. I am single, in late twenties, very gregarious and
outgoing, and I was looking forward to this experience
(never been there), yet just dicovered this site and read
that "interaction between Cubans and foreigners has been
curtailed greatly." Does this mean that I would not be able
to socialize and meet new people, practice my Spanish in
local bars and pubs, and maybe dating (I am not talking
about so called "jineteras")? Another thing, are there
health clubs, aerobics and good gyms? I work as a model, and
I exercise six days a week so it is really important. Also,
I heard that my US credit cards will not work, how about
French and Swedish credit Cards?
I will appreciate very much if you could give me some
information. I am sorry if I will sound ignorant to
somebody, but It is better to ask than to be sorry,
originally I was going to a paradise island, but my agent
says it is a communist country and there are all sorts of
problems there. Thank you again.
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Yes a communist country but not as you may expect.You will
notice that US $ is king.
A new law against prostitution was passed last January and
it seems that or the police is to zealous or some tourists
had bad experiences hanging around with suspected people.
No you can exchange with Cubans,you can still rent a LEGAL
cASA PARTICULAR and the rule is to try to hang around with
honest people.
As a tourist,you are over those rules but Cubans are not
Serge, you will be able to socialize in Cuba but you will do
so with severe limitations. The police will find it
difficult to know whether you are talking with a "nice girl"
or with one of the so called "jineteras". None of them wear
signs indicating which they are.
Someone might tell you that you can tell the "jineteras" by
the clothes they wear. Some will say that spandex and lycra
will identify the jineteras. That is total rubbish!!!! Any
teenage girl or any young woman in her twenties or thirties
may be found wearing spandex.
I have two male friends who are doctors. One is a surgeon
and the other is a pediatrician. One has a fifteen year old
daughter and the other has a daughter who is 14. Both
daughters wear spandex. Their mothers will frequently be
seen in Lycra or spandex.
I rent an apartment from a widow whose husband was a doctor.
She has two daughters who work at a hospital. One is a nurse
and the other is in administration. Both wear spandex, as
does the married daughter of the older one. Cuba is a
sensuous place, and Cubanos don't attempt to hide their
sexuality.
You can meet people at the discos, but you will often have
police outside as well as inside the discos monitoring the
activities and conversations.
Extreme caution was the mode of behavior for my Cuban
friends whom I had known for three years when I was there in
March.
The restrictions may be acceptable to you with this being
your first trip, but for those who have traveled to Cuba
before and who are used to communicating freely with the
Cubans, the new restrictions are extremely burdensome.
Buen viaje!
Some of what you have heard is true... It is very difficult
for foriegners and Cubans to converse in public places in
havana. Cubans seen talking to foriegners risk considerable
police harassment and possible arrest. You, as a foreigner,
have nothing at all to worry about talking to Cubans...the
police completely leave tourists alone, but it certainly is
a shock when the guy you are chatting with about baseball or
whatever in the park is approached by the police and taken
away! However Cubans are naturally so gregarious, open and
friendly that they will go to considerable lengths to meet
and talk with you. You may feel like you are in a spy movie
though--constantly looking over your shoulder for police and
walking 10 meters behind your Cuban friend you are walking
"with." The trick is to go outside the areas where most of
the police are and stick to the bars and restaurants where
Cubans, and not tourists, go. Don't worry, you'll meet
hundreds of Cubans, just, for their sake, keep an eye out
for cops.
I think the National and the other bigger upscale hotels in
Vedado have fitness facilities, I dont know first-hand.
There ARE many problems in Cuba and your trip there will be
frustrating at times, but I have never found another place
so richly rewarding and fascinating. Cubans are the warmest
people I have ever met, and I might add, everything people
say about the Cuban women is all too true..:)
have a blast,
Sal
Thanks Sal. I enjoyed your post. I agree with everything you
said. Specially with your closing comment! Well, I agree
with almost everything. The police do attempt to leave the
tourists alone, but during the second week in march, I was
in a local Cuban taxi with two Cuban friends.
We were stopped by the police. I was not supposed to be in
the 'local' taxi with Cubans. I did not have my passport
with me, so the police took my driver's license. They put my
two Cuban friends in the police car and sent me back to sit
in the taxi.
The taxi driver assumed that they had finished with him, so
he and I left. The police took my two friends to the police
station and detained them for about 45 minutes. My friends
were ultimately released, and the police sent my license
back to me by my friends.
According to my friends, the superior officer at the station
blasted the three policemen for taking my license. They were
not supposed to have done that!
The treatment one receives can depend on the expertise, or
lack thereof, of the policemen with whom he is dealing. My
situation was a very minor problem, and I was not concerned
with the loss of my license. Had the police not returned the
license, I could have simply applied for a duplicate upon my
return to the states.
I return to my original statement, Sal. I agree with
everything you said, and you say it well!!!
It is illegal for a Cuban Taxi (in pesos)to take tourists.
Has been for many years now.
As for interelation with Cubans,it is harder but still
possible.
My Cuban girlfriend got a letter from her neighborhood CDR
stating that she will be with travelling with me in June
from such a date untill...
I received confirmation of such yesterday by her
aunt,returning from Cuba and a phone call to Habana.
The new rules and not so new are aimed against prostitution
and hustling which were getting worst.