Cuban Blog Day #24 Send at Your Own Risk

I had planned a full day in Cancun, Mexico in the hopes of finding a way to send back all the delicious Havana Club rum and Cuban Cigars I’d purchased. I also wanted to be sure I’d actually make the flight since the flights were not connecting.  Because of the embargo on Cuba, The United States has never had the pure joy that is Havana Club on the shelves of any liquor store. My original plan to get my spoils back was to find a UPS or DHL and try to send it all from there.  There were, in fact, DHL’s all over Cuba, but I began to worry that I might spend all the money to buy and send the rum, and it might never actually make it home.

So, I waited till I was in Mexico again to try and send it all back. I had gotten one bottle of rum back from Cuba to Mexico easily, though I hadn’t anticipated this being a problem.  Mexico doesn’t have a ridiculous embargo with Cuba.

I had the same concern in Mexico as I did in Cuba. I just didn’t want to risk losing it all if it never showed up at the address it was meant for.  I suppose I’ve had a lot of problems with mail never coming, or being searched, or being stolen, and I was wary of the whole process.

Instead, I decided to wait and try my luck at the duty free store in the Cancun airport the next day. I had asked upon my arrival both times in the Cancun airport whether I could take the rum back to The United States. Each time I was told ‘yes, no problem,’ but again I was wary.  The language was a barrier, and I just couldn’t be sure they really knew why I was worried it would be a problem.  But in desperate times, I began to believe them. Surely they knew about the embargo (though I must tell you, throughout my travels and my recounting of them afterwards, I have been very surprised at how many people had no idea about it.) But surely other Americans, even just coming from Cancun, had tried to purchase a few bottles of Havana Club to bring back. This was my rational anyway.

Once I decided that I wouldn’t be sending it through the mail, I had a whole day in Mexico ahead of me. It was raining in Cancun on and off most of the day. I had wanted to try to get to the beach, but that wasn’t happening. Instead, I spent most of the day on the covered rooftop catching up on my blog and enjoying the internet.  I walked to the plaza for lunch and dinner and people watched.  I went to bed early because I had to be on a 4:30 am bus to the airport for my flight back home. I was already nervous about getting the rum back safely.  

Traveling Tip #27  I can’t be sure because I never tried it from Cuba or Mexico, but I would be wary of mail services abroad in general. While living abroad, I have had packages never arrive, searched and stolen.  I did not want to risk this with my most precious souvenir, rum. It’s a personal choice, but I decided not to risk it, and perhaps take an even riskier route, but with higher returns if it all worked out. Stay tuned for the next blog to find out if it did.