New Havana
After 2 days in Havana, I got some insight into how people live in this country. Basic products like sugar, salt, cooking oil and coffee are distributed through designated stores. The quantity of what one person can get is limited. People lined up outside such a store and waited patiently for their turn to go in.
I also realized that I did not have access to any of my bank accounts and could only use the cash that I brought with me. Some of it was already spent. The remaining money needed a good count which of course should have been done in the privacy of my room but I was so anxious to know the answer that I spread all my dollars, euros and Cuban pesos on a restaurant table after finishing the meal, took out a pen and a notepad and began to count. I had to do this 3 times before I got it right. People at other tables watched me with interest. One Cuban man smiled kindheartedly and asked “So, do you have enough?”
No! The sobering truth was that I only had $70/day instead of the recommended $100. Out of this amount, at least $35/day should be set aside for accommodation. The rest was barely enough for meals, transportation and other expenses, and I had no cash reserve for emergencies like a canceled returned flight or a positive Covid test before going home that would keep me in Cuba for days. This made me feel similar to a movie character who has millions in the bank but nothing in his wallet. People do not believe that he is rich and laugh at him.
When I posted my Cuba trip report in a Facebook travel group, one woman wrote in comments /quote: “I cannot agree enough about cash. We basically ran out of cash in Cuba (I had an extra envelope of cash so expertly hidden in a suitcase we didn’t find it for months), and it was definitely one of the top-two most hair-raising travel experiences I have ever had. There was absolutely NO way to get cash for an American. It is hard to describe to people how very scary it is to not have cash in Cuba. I lost a full day and a half trying every possible maneuver to get cash — none worked. Then I spent two nights lying awake picturing being unable to buy food or having to sleep on the airport floor for the last two nights. It was a very real possibility.”/
One positive thing was that I no longer needed to look for a room. Casa owners passed me on from one to another like a relay baton. Amay from casa Señora Martha called her contact in Trinidad who runs a similar casa there. She also arranged for a taxi to take me to the Viasul bus stop in Havana and for a pickup at the bus station in Trinidad.
It was late and dark when I got off the bus in Trinidad. My driver stood at the station with a sheet of paper with my full name written on it. Next to him, there was a woman who tried to explain that the last name on that paper was incorrect. Obviously, she was Natalia too. The driver did not understand her English and ignored her. I told her in Russian that the name was right because it was mine. Natalia looked concerned – she did not see her driver. Well, I could not help her. My driver did not want to wait; he unceremoniously shoved me into the vehicle and we were off.
True, it is a good episode for a movie!
Sounds like a scenario for a road trip movie:) And looks like it too!