Side Story
I was in the US for work back in 2013-2014, I can't remember when but what I do recall is my conversation with a fellow (Canadian) co-worker back then about Cuba being a cool place to visit and vacation at. We love traveling and checking out different places and Cuba back then (maybe still now) is a US citizens free zone. Which makes things affordable for everyone else. It's true, it doesn't matter if you don't like what I typed or not, it's true because of lack of US investment in Tourism there.
Anyway, during that conversation another co-worker from the US, jumped in saying "Are you crazy?!, Cuba is dangerous!". Which caught me and my Canadian colleague by surprise. I thought to myself WTF is this guy talking about. I asked him, "Have you been to Cuba?", to which he replied, "no" and I responded saying "then how can you claim it's dangerous??, don't believe your mainstream media and get out of your bubble"...Now Cuba isn't the greatest place on Earth but it isn't too bad...yes it has its BS and like all other countries but it's a place to visit at the very least once if you had the cash to spare and can't go anywhere else....yes once is more than enough in my honest opinion. Read on to know why...
The Trip to Cuba
Living in Alberta, Canada, this flight wasn't too bad, 9hr total trip as we had to fly to Toronto first then down to Cuba. Not that different from our trip to the Bahamas. However, the airport was neat, clean and well organized. Had to pay in cash $10USD/person for a tourist entry visa was a odd for a country that needs tourism....(Communists are not the brightest).
We stayed at the Sandals Resort which as supposed to be closing about a month from our arrival as it was being taken over by the State.
It wasn't a terrible place but upon our arrival at the resort we had to stand outside for a few minutes until our luggage was taken off the bus and escorted inside, which wasn't really inside, just under the shade for the front desk. There we had wait as guests checked staff served alcoholic beverages which we declined because we don't drink. I believe it was a manager that instructed the server to grab us non-alcoholic drinks and this part was funny and shocking...the server was so un-happy that he had to go get us drinks...and was aggressively replying back to the "manager" in Spanish...I don't know what he said but whatever... We took this time to check in and exchange a few USDs in to their tourist only currency equivalent to a USD. It's very ridiculous, that a country has two (2) currencies in order to ensure it's citizens are impoverished. Yes, everyone was around us didn't want to do much but wanted to earn a tip for nothing just because it was the tourist only currency is worth more than their citizen only currency.
From there we check in and head to our rooms where you do have to tip the staff to have your room properly cleaned and maintained. We went out to tour the resort which wasn't too big and nut much to do besides eat, drink, stay at the pool or beach. The resort had this little motes all around the place, basically a hot bed for mosquitoes....But the cool part was the Coconut trees (I used to pay a staff member to grab me some coconuts to drink its water) and the Guava trees with fruit ready to pluck.
The resort organized several events on this stage which we really enjoyed with some couples we made friends with while smoking some cigars.
The Trip to Havana
We took a tour bus to Havana from the resort which was under 2 hrs drive. There we went around the city's landmarks and then went on to visit the cigar factory (best spot in my opinion), a brewery museum, and a market.
The cigar factory
Was worth the visit as we got to see how they made cigar but mainly because we got the chance to negotiate when buying cigars. While all the tourists with us on the tour just bought as face value, we spent about 20min negotiating the price down for some 40 cigars (different kinds)...we don't even smoke. I just wanted to have them.
The Rum Museum*
Pretty cool as they showed you how the still make their rum and at the end of the tour, of course, you can buy your self a few bottles.
We did spent some 2-3 hours on our own touring a few places and visited an old Spanish fort, had lunch at Hotel Florida which wan't that bad. Food was cooked properly compared to the resort.
We did pass the public library and a Cathedral while going around, and yes we were being bothered every 30sec by people begging and others trying to sell us stuff. But being from Egypt, this is normal and we know how to handle them compared to the Europeans on the tour...lol..
The one thing I really miss....my regular Pina Colada sin alcohol (non-alcohonic pina colada). I loved having it all the time in the heat.
We did several excursions around the country from snorkelling, going on a speed boat ride, visiting some caves, talking to locals, and visiting some spot in the jungle where people went for dives into a river.
It was a fun trip, and like any other country, lots to do, lots to see, lots to experience. Not at all dangerous, but lots of fun and people to meet. It was more of a you go to tip trip but not that bad. In the end, it is one country off the travel list and one of the major Caribbean countries to visit. As long as you get time to meditate under water, all will be well.
