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I just spent 3 weeks in Cuba.

Top Cat

Top Cat

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Wow. Just Wow. The people are amazing. And the beaches. Spectacular. And cheap.
 
Top Cat said:
Wow. Just Wow. The people are amazing. And the beaches. Spectacular. And cheap.
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Imagine how much better life could be for Cubans if they could do something about their government. Hats off to them for making the best of a bad situation.
 
ocean515 said:
Imagine how much better life could be for Cubans if they could do something about their government. Hats off to them for making the best of a bad situation.
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They are resilient. Incredibly so. And as nice as a summer day is long.

And all isn't for naught there. Crime is almost non existent
 
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ocean515 said:
Imagine how much better life could be for Cubans if they could do something about their government. Hats off to them for making the best of a bad situation.
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Is Cuban approval for their government higher than U.S. Congressional approval?
 
Top Cat said:
Wow. Just Wow. The people are amazing. And the beaches. Spectacular. And cheap.
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If you're an American, it's illegal to visit Cuba as a tourist. You can however visit "in support of the Cuban people". I bring $100 cell phones as gifts to support the Cuban people. It's amazing how many nights of gratitude a Cubana shows when you give her a cell phone. I prefer places in Cuba away from the beaches where few tourists go. I have several "special" friends in Santa Clara.
 
Winston said:
Is Cuban approval for their government higher than U.S. Congressional approval?
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Yes, Cuban approval for their government is officially 100%.
 
Top Cat said:
Wow. Just Wow. The people are amazing. And the beaches. Spectacular. And cheap.
Click to expand...

One of our best holidays. A couple days in Havana, rent a car and head down the autopista. Villa Clara, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, back to Havana, staying in casa particulares, eating in paladares, wonderful people, great experience.
Sorry if this next comment offends but the tourists all being European and Canadian (nearly all) does make a difference.
 
Winston said:
They don't have free speech there?
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Try walking around a town square in Cuba with a sign that says "Fuera Socialismo" and let me know how long you last.
 
SDET said:
If you're an American, it's illegal to visit Cuba as a tourist. You can however visit "in support of the Cuban people". I bring $100 cell phones as gifts to support the Cuban people. It's amazing how many nights of gratitude a Cubana shows when you give her a cell phone. I prefer places in Cuba away from the beaches where few tourists go. I have several "special" friends in Santa Clara.
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Damn but you can gum up a thread and make it kind of icky and nasty and underbelly.
 
SDET said:
Try walking around a town square in Cuba with a sign that says "Fuera Socialismo" and let me know how long you last.
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So, are there no polls conducted?
 
ocean515 said:
Imagine how much better life could be for Cubans if they could do something about their government. Hats off to them for making the best of a bad situation.
Click to expand...

They are rationing food:

The Cuban government announced Friday it is launching widespread rationing of chicken, eggs, rice, beans, soap and other basic products in the face of a grave economic crisis. Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez told the state-run Cuban News Agency that various forms of rationing would be employed in order to deal with shortages of staple foods.

Díaz blamed the hardening of the U.S. trade embargo by the Trump administration. Economists give equal or greater blame to a plunge in aid from Venezuela, where the collapse of the state-run oil company has led to a nearly two-thirds cut in shipments of subsidized fuel that Cuba used for power and to earn hard currency on the open market.
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Cuba food shortage: Cuba begins widespread rationing of staple foods due to shortages - CBS News

So the Cuban government blames TRUMP for the widespread shortage of food in the country.
 
SDET said:
Try walking around a town square in Cuba with a sign that says "Fuera Socialismo" and let me know how long you last.
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Cuba has already blamed Trump for their turmoil instead of say communism.
 
Top Cat said:
Wow. Just Wow. The people are amazing. And the beaches. Spectacular. And cheap.
Click to expand...

How many cars you buy while there, please don't tell me you missed the golden opportunity....
 
Winston said:
The U.S. does contribute to the Cuban people's economic hardship.
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Indeed. You have U.S citizens helping the Cuban government by contributing their money towards Cuban tourism. That money does not reach the Cuban people.
 
If anyone was curious like I was, there is very little polling of the Cuban people available on Google.

I did find some conducted by American universities.

This one reported by NPR was closest to what I could find for an approval rating for the Cuban government:

Poll: Obama More Popular Than Fidel And Raul Castro In Cuba : The Two-Way : NPR

On the other hand, 48 percent hold a negative opinion of President Raul Castro and 50 percent hold a negative view of Fidel Castro.

The poll also found that Cubans are optimistic that a new, warmer relationship with the United States will lead to political and economic change on the island. Cubans also expressed widespread dissatisfaction with with the current situation on the island.
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Bucky said:
Indeed. You have U.S citizens helping the Cuban government by contributing their money towards Cuban tourism. That money does not reach the Cuban people.
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American foreign policy has hurt Cuba long term.
 
Casper said:
How many cars you buy while there, please don't tell me you missed the golden opportunity....
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Lemme try and describe this- the first mojitos my wife and I ever tasted we were smoking small Cubans on the deck at the Hotel Presidente, a pre-revolution hotel, with the salsa music coming out the doors and on the street honking and Spanish voices and '50's era cars rolling by.
One of the moments life only gives to travellers.
 
Grand Mal said:
Lemme try and describe this- the first mojitos my wife and I ever tasted we were smoking small Cubans on the deck at the Hotel Presidente, pre-revolution, with the salsa music coming out the doors and on the street honking and Spanish voices and '50's era cars rolling by.
One of the moments life only gives to travellers.
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You travel well....
 
Top Cat said:
Wow. Just Wow. The people are amazing. And the beaches. Spectacular. And cheap.
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Glad you had a good time.

Those are the reasons to travel to all sorts of places other than Western Europe/Eurozone countries. Many places in the Caribbean Central America, and South American are similarly amazing. A few are pricey, but most aren't.

Curious:
  • Do you speak Spanish?
  • Did you find you needed to speak Spanish?
  • Was the majority of your visit spent in/doing touristy, ex-pat or central-city area "stuff" or spent interacting with locals in venues hardly visited by non-Cubans?
  • Did you see any obvious signs of extensive and abundant remaining damage from last year's hurricanes?
  • What kinds of cars did you ride in/drive?
  • What thoughts have you to share on the endogenous and exogenous juxtaposition of modernity and the 20th century Cuba presents?
 
Casper said:
You travel well....
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It's a great place. We met a few Americans there who had come through Mexico and had perfectly accurate attitudes to ridiculously outdated politics. You travel around the country and you meet people from all over because of how the tourist facilities are advertised. In Santa Clara the hotel we stayed in had a great rooftop bar and everyone we met was from Denmark and Germany because that's where they advertised. In Trinidad we stayed in a casa particulaire but in the town and on the beach most other tourists were Canadians or Brits because that's where the hotels advertsed.
I recommend Cuba and recommend you spend a couple days in Havana or Santiago and then rent a car and hit the road. A really good holiday.
 
Top Cat said:
Wow. Just Wow. The people are amazing. And the beaches. Spectacular. And cheap.
Click to expand...

It's almost always cheap to go to countries with horribly depressed economies.
 
Grand Mal said:
Damn but you can gum up a thread and make it kind of icky and nasty and underbelly.
Click to expand...

In the interest of dialing back the "icky" a notch, I will say this: If people know you're a tourist and want undivided attention, they will come out of the woodwork to oblige you. I really enjoyed being treated like the center of the universe, nonstop. Sure, I gave some inexpensive gifts, but I really liked the result. And I don't mean center of the universe in a demeaning way either. I explain it to them this way and they totally "get it", just be glad to see me.
 
Xelor said:
  • Do you speak Spanish?
  • Did you find you needed to speak Spanish?
  • Was the majority of your visit spent in/doing touristy, ex-pat or central-city area "stuff" or spent interacting with locals in venues hardly visited by non-Cubans?
  • Did you see any obvious signs of extensive and abundant remaining damage from last year's hurricanes?
  • What kinds of cars did you ride in/drive?
  • What thoughts have you to share on the endogenous and exogenous juxtaposition of modernity and the 20th century Cuba presents?
Click to expand...

These are excellent questions.

I'll wait patiently for a reply.

Would love to visit Cuba, but kinda scared.

No JOKES! . . . .Thanks.
 
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