Cuban Blog Day #16 Ask For What You Want. You Just Might Get It

Diving! When you live in Colorado, it’s a little hard to SCUBA dive.  I make sure every trip I take includes some sort of diving so as not to get rusty.  It still doesn’t work all that well. Each new dive, I’m a little nervous and worried that I may have forgotten how to do it.  To ease that worry I’m not shy about telling my Dive Master that it’s been awhile since my last dive.  This usually results in a little extra attention underwater, which in turns relaxes me a bit.

I got to the dive shop and was happy to see it wasn’t a full boat, just a Canadian girl and two older Mexican men.  While getting ready, I casually mentioned to no one in particular that it was a dream of mine to see seahorses.  They are so tiny that they are often hard to spot. Generally the Dive Master needs to know where they are and take you there. They are also bottom dwellers that prefer sea grass beds, so they are usually out of the way of typical dive sites.

We suited up and got situated on the boat.  We didn’t ride far before we stopped and the Canadian and our Dive Master and I jumped in. To my surprise, we were first going to the sea floor to find some seahorses.  We floated on the bottom of the ocean and watched five seahorses tiny enough to fit in the palm of my hand dance up and down in the water.  They were beautiful and magical and everything I’d hoped they would be. I checked that dream off my list. It was hard to leave that spot.

But we had to move on, first to a wreck where there was a plaque dedicated to The Cuban Five.  I had been seeing posters all around Cuba, my favorite being a hand in a high five position, saying, ‘Obama, give us five.’ I did a little research and found out that these are five Cuban spies who were ‘captured’ and are detained in a Miamiprison.  You’d think the destiny of Cubarested solely in these five men’s hands by they way they are honored and revered around Cuba.  I couldn’t believe I was actually seeing this propaganda underwater as well!

After the wreck, I was more comfortable underwater and really enjoyed roaming through The Labyrinth with all its nooks, crannies, tunnels and holes to swim through. The wall was just amazing and teeming with fish and coral. 

We surfaced and went back to land to wait for our next dive. This one was two different wrecks. I saw an awesome lionfish and later learned from one of the Mexican men that lionfish are actually very unwelcome and not endemic to these waters. He told of an aquarium in Floridawhich burst open during Hurricane Andrew and said this is how the lionfish came to be in these waters.  He said in Mexicothey pay people to catch these fish to help keep the other fish around. Such a shame that such a lovely fish causes so much harm.  I also saw a trumpet fish, an eel and the biggest school of parrot fish I’ve ever seen. I mean, it just kept going and going.

They were both great dives, and I was so happy to be back underwater again.  I was also thrilled to see how comfortable and relaxed I was and very much looking forward to more dives in Cuba.

The Mexican men were staying at the all inclusive resort and invited me to a Cuba Libra. I wasn’t sure it would work, but they assured me it would. And it did. I sat and drank with them for an hour or so after our dive. They also treated me to lunch.  We talked about other places we’ve dived. They’d been everywhere, and they invited me to come visit and dive with them in Mexico. I hope to one day take them up on that.

Traveling Tip # 18 Ask for what you want. You just might get it

 

I never thought we’d actually go and find some seahorses. It was just one of those things divers talk about, their ‘White Whale’ (pun intended.)  We shoot the breeze while gearing up chatting about what we have yet to see (side note- My new ‘White Whale’ is in fact a whale of sorts… my diving life will be complete as soon as I dive with a Whale Shark.) I think due to the small size of our group, the Dive Master was able to make my dream happen, but he’d never know to do it if I hadn’t have thrown it out there.  Always, always ask for what you want. It can never hurt.

Cuban Blog Day #16 Ask For What You Want. You Just Might Get It

Diving! When you live in Colorado, it’s a little hard to SCUBA dive.  I make sure every trip I take includes some sort of diving so as not to get rusty.  It still doesn’t work all that well. Each new dive, I’m a little nervous and worried that I may have forgotten how to do it.  To ease that worry I’m not shy about telling my Dive Master that it’s been awhile since my last dive.  This usually results in a little extra attention underwater, which in turns relaxes me a bit.

I got to the dive shop and was happy to see it wasn’t a full boat, just a Canadian girl and two older Mexican men.  While getting ready, I casually mentioned to no one in particular that it was a dream of mine to see seahorses.  They are so tiny that they are often hard to spot. Generally the Dive Master needs to know where they are and take you there. They are also bottom dwellers that prefer sea grass beds, so they are usually out of the way of typical dive sites.

We suited up and got situated on the boat.  We didn’t ride far before we stopped and the Canadian and our Dive Master and I jumped in. To my surprise, we were first going to the sea floor to find some seahorses.  We floated on the bottom of the ocean and watched five seahorses tiny enough to fit in the palm of my hand dance up and down in the water.  They were beautiful and magical and everything I’d hoped they would be. I checked that dream off my list. It was hard to leave that spot.

But we had to move on, first to a wreck where there was a plaque dedicated to The Cuban Five.  I had been seeing posters all around Cuba, my favorite being a hand in a high five position, saying, ‘Obama, give us five.’ I did a little research and found out that these are five Cuban spies who were ‘captured’ and are detained in a Miami prison.  You’d think the destiny of Cuba rested solely in these five men’s hands by they way they are honored and revered around Cuba.  I couldn’t believe I was actually seeing this propaganda underwater as well!

After the wreck, I was more comfortable underwater and really enjoyed roaming through The Labyrinth with all its nooks, crannies, tunnels and holes to swim through. The wall was just amazing and teeming with fish and coral. 

We surfaced and went back to land to wait for our next dive. This one was two different wrecks. I saw an awesome lionfish and later learned from one of the Mexican men that lionfish are actually very unwelcome and not endemic to these waters. He told of an aquarium in Florida which burst open during Hurricane Andrew and said this is how the lionfish came to be in these waters.  He said in Mexico they pay people to catch these fish to help keep the other fish around. Such a shame that such a lovely fish causes so much harm.  I also saw a trumpet fish, an eel and the biggest school of parrot fish I’ve ever seen. I mean, it just kept going and going.

They were both great dives, and I was so happy to be back underwater again.  I was also thrilled to see how comfortable and relaxed I was and very much looking forward to more dives in Cuba.

The Mexican men were staying at the all inclusive resort and invited me to a Cuba Libra. I wasn’t sure it would work, but they assured me it would. And it did. I sat and drank with them for an hour or so after our dive. They also treated me to lunch.  We talked about other places we’ve dived. They’d been everywhere, and they invited me to come visit and dive with them in Mexico. I hope to one day take them up on that.

Traveling Tip # 18 Ask for what you want. You just might get it

 

I never thought we’d actually go and find some seahorses. It was just one of those things divers talk about, their ‘White Whale’ (pun intended.)  We shoot the breeze while gearing up chatting about what we have yet to see (side note- My new ‘White Whale’ is in fact a whale of sorts… my diving life will be complete as soon as I dive with a Whale Shark.) I think due to the small size of our group, the Dive Master was able to make my dream happen, but he’d never know to do it if I hadn’t have thrown it out there.  Always, always ask for what you want. It can never hurt.

Cuban Blog Day #15 Don't Take 'No' for an Answer

I was happy to be on the road again.  So much of visiting a country for is actually about the traveling, the getting there, the being on the way.  After a failed attempt to visit the closed on Sunday, even though everyone said it wouldn’t be, tobacco factory and a brief visit to the cigar store which was open and had plenty of cigars, the cheapest of which was $10, and several lovely bottles of Havana Club rum, I was on my way to the bus station.

While I waited to get on the bus, grateful to be taking a bus that I was pretty certain would be more or less on time, and on which I was sure to have a reclining seat and air conditioning, I chatted with a Danish girl.  She was traveling on her own and had several similar stories to mine. It was nice to know it wasn’t just happening to me. She was one of very few other travelers I met along the way.

The bus ride was a short one hour to Cienfuegos.  Getting off the bus, only one tout accosted me, and I walked with him to his sister’s casa.  I got settled in and then walked around a bit to see the town and get some lunch. Cienfuegoswas a lot more traveler- friendly and looked more exciting than Santa Clara.   I returned to the casa and then walked with the sister back to the bus station where she told me I could take the locals’ bus for only $1 peso national.  She also told me it came every 10 minutes. Half an hour later, I’d gotten a taxi driver down to $4 CUC and decided to stop wasting time and rode with him to Rancho Luna Playa.

The beach was where I would find out about SCUBA diving. I walked along the beach to the hotel in the guide book. Once arriving there, I asked several employees where the dive center was and was told simply that it was closed. No one seemed to have a phone number or was even willing to take a message.  I was upset because I needed to plan the dive trip today if I wanted to go the next day.

I walked out toward the beach and the dive shop and was thrilled to find some people there.  It wasn’t even closed. I arranged with the instructors there to go on a $60 CUC two tank dive the next morning.

It began raining, and I hustled to the thatched roof bar across the way to wait it out. I waited seated at the bar for quite awhile while the bartender completely ignored me.  When I finally asked if I could get a Cuba Libre, he told me no, and pointed to a vending machine behind me.  This was an all inclusive resort, and I did not have the proper jewelry, in this case a green paper bracelet to signify I was a paying guest.

I put the $1.50 CUC into the vending machine and had my choice of Bucanero, Cristal or Mayabe in cans.  I chose Bucanero.  I wish we had such vending machines in the states.  I drank a few beers while watching how the other half live at the all inclusive resorts.  This was not a resort I would want to spend much time in. It looked like the last time it was ever updated was somewhere in the early 80’s if not even earlier, and I briefly wondered how much people actually paid to stay here.

Once the rain let up, I walked toward my taxi driver, finished off my last beer while sitting on the beach people watching and rode back to town.  I walked along the famous Malecón (best English translation is ‘seafront’, I guess. Very similar to a boardwalk in some cities.) It’s a few miles long and is a general meeting spot for locals to sip beers and take children on strolls.  It was great people and sunset watching.

I ate dinner along the way and then settled in for an outdoor cabaret show. While waiting for the show to start, music videos played on large screens. This is apparently very popular entertainment as they advertised this almost as much as the show itself. I watched several videos, one of which appeared to have all of the members of ‘N Sync dancing and singing impeccable Spanish.  

The show was a mix of live singing and dancing.  It went through all the different dances of the different regions of Cubaand included several costume changes.  The show was not something I had read about, and if I’d not walked by it, I would have missed it, though I’m glad I didn’t. It was very enjoyable and fun and told a great story about Cuba.

 

Traveling tip # 18 Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer

 

Along with people simply telling you what they think you want to hear, there are also those who simply cannot be bothered by you.  I have a feeling this was largely the result of the hotel being an all inclusive and employees not caring about you if you don’t happen to sport the pretty bracelet.  Don’t be discouraged by these folks.  Simply keep asking, and if that doesn’t work, keep walking. If I’d listened to them, I may have missed out on diving the next day. Instead I walked to the dive shop and found people still there who could help me.  

Cuban Blog Day #15 Don't Take 'No' for an Answer

I was happy to be on the road again.  So much of visiting a country for is actually about the traveling, the getting there, the being on the way.  After a failed attempt to visit the closed on Sunday, even though everyone said it wouldn’t be, tobacco factory and a brief visit to the cigar store which was open and had plenty of cigars, the cheapest of which was $10, and several lovely bottles of Havana Club rum, I was on my way to the bus station.

While I waited to get on the bus, grateful to be taking a bus that I was pretty certain would be more or less on time, and on which I was sure to have a reclining seat and air conditioning, I chatted with a Danish girl.  She was traveling on her own and had several similar stories to mine. It was nice to know it wasn’t just happening to me. She was one of very few other travelers I met along the way.

The bus ride was a short one hour to Cienfuegos.  Getting off the bus, only one tout accosted me, and I walked with him to his sister’s casa.  I got settled in and then walked around a bit to see the town and get some lunch. Cienfuegos was a lot more traveler- friendly and looked more exciting than Santa Clara.   I returned to the casa and then walked with the sister back to the bus station where she told me I could take the locals’ bus for only $1 peso national.  She also told me it came every 10 minutes. Half an hour later, I’d gotten a taxi driver down to $4 CUC and decided to stop wasting time and rode with him to Rancho Luna Playa.

The beach was where I would find out about SCUBA diving. I walked along the beach to the hotel in the guide book. Once arriving there, I asked several employees where the dive center was and was told simply that it was closed. No one seemed to have a phone number or was even willing to take a message.  I was upset because I needed to plan the dive trip today if I wanted to go the next day.

I walked out toward the beach and the dive shop and was thrilled to find some people there.  It wasn’t even closed. I arranged with the instructors there to go on a $60 CUC two tank dive the next morning.

It began raining, and I hustled to the thatched roof bar across the way to wait it out. I waited seated at the bar for quite awhile while the bartender completely ignored me.  When I finally asked if I could get a Cuba Libre, he told me no, and pointed to a vending machine behind me.  This was an all inclusive resort, and I did not have the proper jewelry, in this case a green paper bracelet to signify I was a paying guest.

I put the $1.50 CUC into the vending machine and had my choice of Bucanero, Cristal or Mayabe in cans.  I chose Bucanero.  I wish we had such vending machines in the states.  I drank a few beers while watching how the other half live at the all inclusive resorts.  This was not a resort I would want to spend much time in. It looked like the last time it was ever updated was somewhere in the early 80’s if not even earlier, and I briefly wondered how much people actually paid to stay here.

Once the rain let up, I walked toward my taxi driver, finished off my last beer while sitting on the beach people watching and rode back to town.  I walked along the famous Malecón (best English translation is ‘seafront’, I guess. Very similar to a boardwalk in some cities.) It’s a few miles long and is a general meeting spot for locals to sip beers and take children on strolls.  It was great people and sunset watching.

I ate dinner along the way and then settled in for an outdoor cabaret show. While waiting for the show to start, music videos played on large screens. This is apparently very popular entertainment as they advertised this almost as much as the show itself. I watched several videos, one of which appeared to have all of the members of ‘N Sync dancing and singing impeccable Spanish.  

The show was a mix of live singing and dancing.  It went through all the different dances of the different regions of Cuba and included several costume changes.  The show was not something I had read about, and if I’d not walked by it, I would have missed it, though I’m glad I didn’t. It was very enjoyable and fun and told a great story about Cuba.

 

Traveling tip # 18 Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer

 

Along with people simply telling you what they think you want to hear, there are also those who simply cannot be bothered by you.  I have a feeling this was largely the result of the hotel being an all inclusive and employees not caring about you if you don’t happen to sport the pretty bracelet.  Don’t be discouraged by these folks.  Simply keep asking, and if that doesn’t work, keep walking. If I’d listened to them, I may have missed out on diving the next day. Instead I walked to the dive shop and found people still there who could help me.  

Cuban Blog Day #14 Be Specific, or Don't. It Doesn't Matter

The car I’d arranged for the next day to take me to Santa Clara, was, you guessed it, late. Nearly two hours, which pretty much negated the whole reason I was taking a car and not the bus. On top of being late to pick me up, I also enjoyed a very un-scenic drive around the town of Camaguey for about an hour or so before, you guessed it, picking up two other passengers.  And, you guessed it, the price didn’t change.

When I finally arrived in Santa Clara, I went walking to find the famous Che memorial.  It was a very hot day and a lot longer of a walk than I was anticipating.  Once at the memorial I walked around and read all of the statues. Then, I went inside to the museum and the mausoleum where Che and 29 other soldiers were brought after finding their bodies in Boliviain 1997.

Aside from being the site of the famous Battle of Santa Clara, which brought Che to Fidel’s attention and was a huge victory for the rebels fighting against the regime of General Fulgencio Batista, there is not much reason to visit Santa Clara.  Most people simply go to visit the memorials and pay their respects. The Battle of Santa Clara is also what is proudly commemorated on the three dollar peso national bill. 

There is also a tobacco factory, but it was closed on the Sunday I was there. That of course, did not stop la dueña or the bicitaxi driver from telling me that it was surely open.  I suppose I should not have been surprised to find the doors locked upon my arrival.  The guide does tout the tobacco factory in Santa Clara as being better, cheaper and more thorough than the one in Havana, and I was sad to miss it.

Back at the casa, I intended to sleep off my hangover and catch up on my writing and reading.  But that did not happen. La dueña had told me earlier that day that they would be celebrating her son in law’s birthday later than evening on the rooftop terrace.  She invited me to come and celebrate. 

Soon after entering my room, there was a knock at my door. They invited me up, but first they needed to use my fridge to keep all of the beer they had.  I politely declined twice, not wanting to drink again and not thinking myself very good company. Upon the third request I acquiesced and joined the 15 people gathered on the terrace. 

I was given a shot of rum which I sneakily poured into the lemon TuKola I was drinking.  I didn’t stay long, but was able to wish the birthday boy a happy birthday and see what a birthday party looks like in Cuba, not unlike parties I see here. Good to know some things are always the same.

 

Traveling Tip # 17

At this point I guess I would suggest taking the busses. Perhaps you’ll have better luck than me, but I was getting very tired of getting the run around from all these car drivers, thinking I was getting a great deal and saving so much time, all to be lied to and lied to over and over. My Spanish is decent enough; it was not a problem with communication. It was simply them wanting to make a dollar no matter what and telling me what I want to hear. But you’re a traveler, you know these things happen. 

Cuban Blog Day #14 Be Specific, or Don't. It Doesn't Matter

The car I’d arranged for the next day to take me to Santa Clara, was, you guessed it, late. Nearly two hours, which pretty much negated the whole reason I was taking a car and not the bus. On top of being late to pick me up, I also enjoyed a very un-scenic drive around the town of Camaguey for about an hour or so before, you guessed it, picking up two other passengers.  And, you guessed it, the price didn’t change.

When I finally arrived in Santa Clara, I went walking to find the famous Che memorial.  It was a very hot day and a lot longer of a walk than I was anticipating.  Once at the memorial I walked around and read all of the statues. Then, I went inside to the museum and the mausoleum where Che and 29 other soldiers were brought after finding their bodies in Bolivia in 1997.

Aside from being the site of the famous Battle of Santa Clara, which brought Che to Fidel’s attention and was a huge victory for the rebels fighting against the regime of General Fulgencio Batista, there is not much reason to visit Santa Clara.  Most people simply go to visit the memorials and pay their respects. The Battle of Santa Clara is also what is proudly commemorated on the three dollar peso national bill. 

There is also a tobacco factory, but it was closed on the Sunday I was there. That of course, did not stop la dueña or the bicitaxi driver from telling me that it was surely open.  I suppose I should not have been surprised to find the doors locked upon my arrival.  The guide does tout the tobacco factory in Santa Clara as being better, cheaper and more thorough than the one in Havana, and I was sad to miss it.

Back at the casa, I intended to sleep off my hangover and catch up on my writing and reading.  But that did not happen. La dueña had told me earlier that day that they would be celebrating her son in law’s birthday later than evening on the rooftop terrace.  She invited me to come and celebrate. 

Soon after entering my room, there was a knock at my door. They invited me up, but first they needed to use my fridge to keep all of the beer they had.  I politely declined twice, not wanting to drink again and not thinking myself very good company. Upon the third request I acquiesced and joined the 15 people gathered on the terrace. 

I was given a shot of rum which I sneakily poured into the lemon TuKola I was drinking.  I didn’t stay long, but was able to wish the birthday boy a happy birthday and see what a birthday party looks like in Cuba, not unlike parties I see here. Good to know some things are always the same.

 

Traveling Tip # 17

At this point I guess I would suggest taking the busses. Perhaps you’ll have better luck than me, but I was getting very tired of getting the run around from all these car drivers, thinking I was getting a great deal and saving so much time, all to be lied to and lied to over and over. My Spanish is decent enough; it was not a problem with communication. It was simply them wanting to make a dollar no matter what and telling me what I want to hear. But you’re a traveler, you know these things happen. 

Cuban Blog Day #13 Ask the Right Questions

I took a $15 CUC taxi back to Holguinfrom Gibara. I had just missed the bus to take me to Camaguey. It was very disappointing as it meant I had to choose between waiting for three hours or taking another taxi and spending more money.  I’d asked la dueña and some other folks around Gibara what the schedule was, but nobody knew it.  Viazul is a bus mostly for tourists. It is much more expensive and nicer than the busses for locals. Because of this, most locals do not know the schedule.

I decided to take another taxi the three hours north to Camaquey.  I didn’t want to waste any more of my precious little time left in Cuba.  I was already freaking out about getting to any place where I could dive, and already felt a sense of time running out.  I still had ten more days.

I drove in a taxi from the bus terminal to a baseball stadium where there was a van waiting to take me to Camaguey. This was odd, but, what are you going to do? Inside already was a very friendly deaf couple and air conditioning.  I expected a pleasant ride.

It was pleasant for the first hour and a half or so. Then the driver began stopping and picking up pretty women from the side of the road. He would drop them off 10 or 30 minutes later, sometimes going out of our way.  At one point, the entire van, which previously only had four passengers, was pack to the brim with some sitting on the floor.

I was not happy, but there was nothing to do. What was supposed to be a 3 hour trip turned into nearly five rather uncomfortable hours, and I began to wonder if I’d have been better off waiting and taking the bus.

Once I arrived at the bus terminal, I gave the man less money than he’d asked for and explained to him that I was very misled. He put up no fight about the decrease in his pay.  I was immediately hounded by touts coming from all directions.  Funny, because when we pulled in, I could see none.  I managed to keep my wits about me this time and checked the schedule for the next bus I would need.

It was later than I really wanted to leave the next morning, and I let a tout convince me to take another taxi. He promised he would be at the casa at 8 am and he promised he would go direct and he promised there would be no other passengers and he did it all with a straight face.

This same tout took me to a casa which happened to be in the guide, the first one.  It was in a good part of the city and I was happy just to be somewhere. It was raining and I’d already lost two hours of my one day in Camaguey, so I immediately took a bicitaxi to the market I’d read about in the guide.

When I arrived, it was pretty much closed, all the vendors had gone.  I do not know why, neither la dueña nor the taxi driver didn’t bother to tell me this key bit of information when I was asking them how to get there.

The taxi driver had agreed to wait for me (I wonder why?) and I had him take me to a restaurant. Of course it was probably the most expensive restaurant in the town. I sat down at a table, took a look at the menu and promptly left.

I wondered around, coming upon a very cool little area with lots of movie theaters (apparently Camagueyis quite famous for these…) and sidewalk bars.  I kept wandering and happily discovered I was very close to my casa. I was tired and wasn’t all too keen on walking around a city which is famous for the maze of streets they built to keep invaders out.  How was a simply tourist going to find her way around?  Remember, no iphones with GSP for Americans in Cuba.

So, after visiting the Casa de Chocolate and indulging in two lovely scoops of chocolate ice cream, I decided to get a bottle of rum.  I sat at sideway café on a plaza and drank rum and cokes in a tiny plastic cup and people watched the rest of the evening.

 

 

Traveling Tip #15 and #16

 

#15 It is difficult when being accosted by touts from all directions upon arriving in a new town to remember all it is you should do before leaving the station.  Checking the schedule for your next departure should be top on your list. I had forgotten all the other times and was so glad I finally remembered to in Comaguey.  If possible also buy, or at least reserve your tickets if you know when it is you are leaving.  I suppose this is usually easier in other places that have fast and easily accessed internet, but in Cubayou should check before you leave.

 

#16 Apparently, along with asking where something is, or how to get there, you should also ask if it is indeed open or functioning.  This happened with the ferry in Gibara, which had been closed for nearly two weeks, yet neither the nice man in the hotel, nor la dueña seemed to know or bother to tell me, and with the market in Camaguey.