Ray: Havana, Cuba: Baseball, babes and beggars
Trip Start
Dec 27, 2007
1
17
80
Trip End
Dec 28, 2008
Camaquey,
Cuba
Monday, February 18, 2008
Well, I did, only to get the woman who wanted to be thorough checking hand luggage and she held everyone up doing it. 20 minutes later onto the baggage area. No visible signs to let you know which flights were which. All the luggage came out together. Some people didn't get theirs. We didn't. Another search led us to another area and success... 30 mins later. Almost there. Just have to get through the exit. Nope. My bag made the red lights go off so I was directed to the search area. I had to take most of my gear out of my bag in 10 mins then shove it all back in in 2! Finally through the exit doors. What an ordeal. Up some stairs to get a taxi except taxis are not allowed to pick up passengers there so a little bit of bribery by our taxi driver for the police officer across the road and we were off. So this is Cuba!
We were taken to a nice guest house in the centre of town. The lady there was lovely. Her name was Ana, and we wanted to stay there as our Italian companion had recommended it but she was full. She so kindly lent us 20 pesos to go and get some dinner, even though we wouldn´t be staying with her, and knowing that we couldn´t go to the bank until tomorrow morning.
Cuba is a step back in time. The city is very old and in need of repair. The cars are a throw back to the 50s and 60s because of the Chevys, Buicks, Dodges and so on on the streets. Many of them are private taxis and we got to ride in a Chevy just to see what it was like. They are kept in pretty good nick for their age although the dust and heat doesn't do them any favours. There are other modes of transport for the tourist too such as the "helmet head" (our name) 3 wheeled motorbike taxi, motorbikes ( hilarious watching elderly women riding side saddle on these), motorbikes with side cars and the rickshaw type taxi. Our favourite was the helmet head because it zipped in and out of traffic and it was open so we got a good breeze, and exhaust fumes, in our faces.
A lot of buildings were in desperate need of repair and at the very least a new paint job. The footpaths were very narrow and the roads, if not a main road, bumpy with numerous potholes. There were of course newish buildings and the style decorative. Lots of memorial plazas with statues and plaques to commemorate important figures and events. These were very pleasant too. One of the highlights for me was watching an impromptu baseball game take place around one of the biggest statues. The outfield included garden plots the kids had to be careful to avoid when chasing fly balls. For NZers we would start an impromptu game of touch on a piece of lawn but here were these guys playing baseball. Fantastic. Around the corner there was a 3 on 3 footie game where the park benches on the opposite sides of the walkway were being used as goals.
Speaking of baseball we went to a proper game at the stadium in Havana. Awesome experience. Big stadium but only several hundred people there. Baseball is the Cuban national sport so it was great to see their passion for it. We even stood up for the Cuban national anthem which plays at the beginning of games. I could really get into baseball in NZ if it were like this.
Our hosts in the B n Bs we stayed at were great. Friendly, helpful and genuine. Anna, Odalys and Mario and Fabiola in Havana, and Hemil, Marie and Eddy in Santiago. We also had good hosts in Camaguey about halfway between Havana and Santiago. I'm mentioning this because the other people we came into contact with in shops, banks and street stalls couldn't give a damn about foreigners and clearly showed their contempt for us by ignoring us or by their actions, eg them dropping menus on our table and walking away, we asking for the cheque and being ignored the first time and then acknowledging they heard us but carrying on with whatever it was they were doing before finally serving us etc etc. Sarah became very frustrated and obviously upset as this continued in places, not all but 90% definitely, and simply walked away when she would ask for something but they would serve somebody else first or get the I don't give a toss face.
While I'm on negatives I want to say that being accosted by taxi drivers and beggars and people pretending to be helpful but only wanting money is tough to take. As we've been told we are seen only as an opportunity for money and so we are quickly targeted. The beggars will not leave you alone and will follow you. Now, you're saying why don't we give them money? Well, we do for the really destitute but these people look healthy and we have been told it's just a scam. Be careful not to accept anything that they say is free because it is most definitely not. We even got scammed by a taxi driver and his mates when we asked for a particular plaza so he took us in his taxi for 15 mins only to find out later when he had dropped us off the place was just around the corner. Haha.
Enough.
The revolution. There are numerous reminders of the revolution and the leaders Castro and Guevara. There are pictures of Che all over the place. We went to the Revolution museum in Havana, highly propagandist of course but very interesting although there are only so many photos and news articles, letters and explanations you can read. Still, further insight into the war, its success and impact. Sarah says one of the reasons we get such appalling service is that noone strives to be any better off in a socialist/ communist system where everyone is equal. So why work any harder than you have to. It doesn't benefit you personally but adds more to the govt coffers for the benefit of everyone. There is 100% literacy here (or so the official stats say) and everyone has health care if needed. There is more employment here than ever before but of course getting paid $15 a month (yes, that is the average wage) isn't much. Still it made me think of our capitalist ways. Good and bad.
Watching people was interesting too. Many of the homes in Havana are virtually on the street. The front doors open out onto the street and you can walk right by and look into someone's living room. Many people sit on their doorsteps and watch others. People also gather in groups right across the road and have to disperse, taking their time, when traffic comes up the street. There are plenty of street dogs too that the locals seem to accept as part of the street. I always feel sorry for them because they look too skinny and look very worn. Patches of their fur missing or hobbling around obviously injured.
Some of the homes you think are no better than the old garden shed and one place we went to have Sarah's hair plaited was no bigger than a garden shed: very dirty and had two 44 gallon drums filled with water smack in the middle. The toilet did not flush properly so the water had to poured in from these drums. Shower water too. I watched several wee bugs and a cockroach walk into the toilet area which was hidden by a shower curtain. I needed to go but didn't have the stomach to go in there so I ran back into town and back. I thought, this is how people live all the time, in conditions like these and no doubt worse. I understood why we were often targeted and of course felt guilty that our way of life definitely seemed infinitely better. It made you appreciate what we have back home but sympathize and empathize with the plight of many people we have met.
I still feel it was far better to see the country from this perspective than to hide in holiday resorts. We have walked the streets of LA, San Diego, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and now Cuba at night and during the day, and lived in amongst the locals. Not always pretty or comfortable but it gives you a better perspective for their life, and in effect, your own.
You'd think with all this grizzling that that was all there were, negatives, but we've enjoyed watching the children playing in the streets and the parks (kids are kids anywhere aren't they?), the parks and gardens, the cool helmet head rides and the 50s cars, some of the food has been great, the ethnic dance and music concert, the impromptu music jam sessions by local musos, the esplanade, the sheer history of places and the people (Castro and Guevara especially), the hot weather, characters such Orlando, a 72 year old retiree who loves to talk to people in English for practice, and of course our hosts
Other memorable things, probably a little silly on reflection:
1. Wandering around at night when we were told not to. Luckily it was Valentine´s Day ( Dia del Amor, or Day of Love, in Cuban) so there were lots of people around.
2. Entering houses of people we'd only just met only to find out they wanted to sell us cigars and
3. Running into some lunatic while walking along the waterfront. He obviously didn't like tourists and made stabbing motions with a dart or small knife he had. A police officer was only metres away so we managed to avoid him but we saw him a little further along doing some kind of kick boxing routine. He nearly fell over his own feet showing off, tosser. This one wasn´t our fault though - well, maybe for being tourists but ...?
Plenty to tell still but will do that later. Yes, we are safe and well and it probably pays to be a big guy who kind of looks Mexican, Guatemalan and Cuban. On a note for Gerald - there are plenty of hot chicks here in Cuba and some of them wear tight tight, very small tops and skirts/shorts. Hard not to look of course and Sarah has told me I'd never let her out the door wearing some of the "clothes" these woman wear.
Ah, it´s a tough life.
