This year the girls trip (well my onliest trip because the chick is financially modest) was to Cuba!! It wasn't last minute, but the plans were not as far enough in advance as I usually like to make them. It ended being a WONDERFUL trip and if you get the chance, go sooner than later. We don't know what the political climate will be so just go now is my advice.
Now I started this blog soon after I came home... and that was as far as I got. Then I got a dumb lil temp job where they actually expect me to work (imagine that!?) so I haven't been able to write on the sly. So here goes...
Normally when I plan things it is months AND months in advance. This one was like well let's look up some Air BnB's and let's get a ticket! Our lodging was good but in retrospect I would have like to have done a little more research and maybe stay a little closer to either Old Havana or the beach. (this is Tip #2 even though it comes first in the blog... Do your research so that you get what you want) Both I know would have cost more money but our house was quaint and int he middle of a regular neighborhood. Wait I gotta back up...
The day before we leave my 2 girlfriends from college come and stay with me becasue the tickets from Baltimore were more reasonable than from where they lived. They came... we at cupcakes drank wine and took our asses to sleep. The next day we get up go to the airport ready to go to Cuba!! Southwest flies a whole lotta places, but for this particular flight it was a connection through Ft Lauderdale. As a seasoned traveler I know that you need to look presentable. For Southwest you really aren't gonna get an upgrade but what you should NOT do is roll to the airport with your gold, leopard print, any color bonnet or scarf and pajamas and then proceed to pat your weave cause NO!! We looking at these chicks, OH because it was about 6 of these heifers not just one, like what in ALL THEE HELL!!!??? And then I get instantly embarrassed like WHY they gotta be black LAWD WHY?!?!?!? A few got on before us and then the rest I guess got on after. But they just looked hella dumb and we need to do better!! Get to Ft. Lauderdale, change planes for the quick trip to Cuba. Fill out all the paperwork and be ready to say EDUCATIONAL because that is all you have to say. Why are you going? Oh for educational purposes!! One of us said well what about people to people? WE GONNA GET EDUCATED!!! Get off the plane onto the tarmac because that is how alot of places do it. It is HOT... like for REAL HOT!!! Get into the airport and someone forgot to pay the electric bill because there is NO A/C. And then we look around to see all the chicas in short skirts with pantyhose or tights. BABAY... no ma'am!! I got hot looking at them! The chicos (ok well the one I was fixated on) all seemed to be in tight assed khaki's. We get our luggage which is always an event because people nowhere understand the concept of a revolving belt. You see your stuff, TRUST me it's gonna come back around!! But then they had our stuff split up so some came on belt 1 and the rest on belt 2. At this point we are ret to go and need to exchange money and say to the guard WE NEED TO EXCHANGE MONEY! I haven't started speaking my mangled Spanglish just yet, but he knew what we needed, but instead of pointing us in the right direction he was being an ass and put us out. SO we have all this American money that they don't want. Then there is a sea of people and they had my name spelled all kinds of wrong for a pick up. The guy who picked us up was our driver dude for the rest of the time there. He had to go get his car. I sit my butt on a ledge and just people watch. I'm sitting near an older couple, the man I guess went to get the car and the abuela sits there and waits. She gave just about zero fucks about her cart blocking the way. One man attempted to push her stuff to the side and she went clean off! He then walked around and she continued her tirade in Spanish TO ME!! I'm sitting there only catching every 6th word saying Si and nodding my head! I even threw in a few hand gestures like HOW DARE HE!!! LOL At this point I'm like I really should have brushed up on my Spanish because this is atrocious. Senora Rodriguez, Senor Fabus and Dr. Kishakavictch (my Spanish teachers who have passed away) were all looking down on me like REALLY GIRL, we taught you better!! Our dude finally comes and it this little car that he lets us know is Russian. This lil car has no a/c and Cuba has NO emissions so we got lots of smells in the car. We get to the house and meet our house dude, BOTH are as cute as can be!! Tired and hungry and with american money we get bamboozled a bit... Tip #1 Exchange your money as soon as you can because even though it's 1:1 they really don't like American money and they charge you more if you try to use US dollars. Our driver dude took us to this restaurant which was good but not $95 worth... It was pasta, but we all had a few drinks so that made it add up as well. The next day we get CUCs which is Cuban convertible pesos. There were Cuban pesos but I never did understand what they were. We did Old Havana which is a maze of streets and shops and vendors with incredible art and courtyards along the way. The first stop was to try to get some wifi to let our families know we made it safe. We learned that we had to buy cards and then go to the wifi park to use for internet. Oh wait but before that we walked and shopped and and sweated and went to the bar that Ernest Hemingway wrote at and got a Cuban sandwich (a real one IN CUBA) and daiquiris and listened to the band play. This is a stop the cruise ship makes so a load of folks came in. This was definitely a tourist trap but it was still pretty cool. We stood in line to get the wifi cards and just like in most other Caribbean countries no one is in any major rush to do anything. What should have taken 10 maybe fifteen minutes ended up being a good hour if not more. But we meet other Americans and its all good. We walk some more and I get more tired. So then I'm like NO MAS!!! I need to sit down somewhere! Our driver finds the car scoops us up and we go to some little restaurant. The food here was a lot more reasonable and really good. We then go to the wifi (pronounced weefee) park which is an actual park outside where folks sit and get the internet. I'm guessing it is easier to put towers in these locations for people in the neighborhoods. Everyone has to buy the little cards. it was 1.50 CUC for an hour which wasn't bad! Later that night we walked to a neighborhood café and OMG when I tell you we had a ton of food for 15 bucks!! AND it was so good!!! Now this was what I was waiting for, good, cheap, local food! And I'm not a huge beer drinker but that thing was so cold and crisp!!
Day 2 - The BEACH!! Even though Cuba is an island and Havana is on the coast, we still had to drive about a half an hour to get to a nice beach. The beach was amazing and I got (we well all did) got a nice deep dark tan LOL Later that night we went to a local pizza shop (ok everything is local and mom and pop run). Come to think of it, there were no chains. I know the infrastructure will change over the years to come, but right now you just take it as it is and enjoy all the local flair.
Day 3 - We went to shop some more, but today's quest was cigars. We bought a few souvenirs which I have yet to give out. And then we got cigars! And that is all you need to know about that because some things need to stay right in Cuba where it all happened!!! HOOTIE HOO!!!
Day 4 - Travel back home day... **loud sigh**
this was a very relaxing and fun vacation and inexpensive. Everyone pretty much knows I have 50eleven jobs and a few questioned how I could afford it. BECAUSE I GOT 50ELEVEN JOBS!!! LOL No really it wasn't a fancy expensive trip! I'm sure we could have done the resort route, but I actually really like the Air BnB and the no fuss of it all. Our house dude cooked breakfast for us every morning. Our driver dude took us everywhere we needed to go.
OH I FORGOT THE CLUB!!! We went to da club!! This is really not my thing EXCEPT for on vacation, I can hang!! This club seemed to attract a lot of travelers. We sat near a table of guys from Germany (wait was it Germany?). One little guy from NYC I stood behind in line at the bar. He had no aggression in him and I knew he was not FROM NYC but merely lived there because the ultra loud chick from Boston was like YOU GOTTA JUST GET YOUR DRINK!! Even I tended to be on the nice side until 3 or 4 fools hopped in front me and I was OH HELL NO!!! So I stepped in front of him ordered my drinks and his cause he was taking too damn long! Was that when I broke a glass? Hmmm... At one point I did just that but the bartender who I guess thought I wasn't drunk enough poured even more rum into the next glass. That was a fun night. There were performers and several bands. The music was great!
Tip #3 Even if you brush up on your Spanish, the dialect there is different from anything I've heard. They drop letters like crazy so good luck. My friend who spoke French (well that's what she took in high school LOL none of us speak anything but English) actually understood and was understood better than me sometimes. People were very honest also. We made a pit stop to get ice cream and it was at a gas station. The woman said 4.50 I think. I said repete por favor and she just motioned for me to open my hand up with money and she took the correct amount. She coulda robbed me blind LOL Cuban people were very hospitable.
And that was about it!
