Hello from Cuba (5) - Another Mind-Twisting Experience

I am sitting here at one of the most famous hotels inconnected with him yesterday and I rented the bike
all of Havana, after I just withdrew Can$250 (200for $3 a day.
CUC, Pesos Convertibles) from my Mastercard. NoBut of course, you absolutely cannot leave the
big deal, you say..... Until you realize that the averagebicycle alone anywhere because it will be stolen and
Cuban makes between US8 and US30, not an hour,resold in a second. As a matter of fact, I "tipped" my
not a day, but for a whole month!hotel security guards a few dollars to look after my
My professor for instance told me that she makesrented mountain bike particularly well, because
about US$18 or so a month, so the amount Ianything of value "disappears".
withdrew is more than a year´s salary for aYesterday, my friend Pedro and I went to eat in a
university professor.... I am feeling really weird aboutPaladar (a privately owned restaurant). As a gesture
this and I also want to get most of the cash into aof appreciation for his time and his insights I had
safe as soon as possible. I am simply unable to walkgiven him a red baseball cap with "Toronto" written
around with a year´s salary in my pocket...Theyon it. He forgot it at the restaurant, but within a
talk about the "inverted pyramid" here, where aminute and a half we became aware of it and
waiter in a hotel makes much more (due to tips fromreturned to the restaurant. The baseball cap was
tourists) than a brain surgeon in a hospital...already gone, which made him very sad. He told me
The economic situation here definitely is thethat it would be resold today for $8 (almost a
dominating topic. Just standing in line a young blackmonthly government salary).
man started to speak to me and told me that he hasFor the most part, people here are unable to travel,
a degree in physical education, teaches martial arts ateven locally. Due to the "periodo especial" since the
the national level and inevitably the conversationcollapse of the Soviet Union (and the associated
came back to the dire economic situation: the localfinancial support for Cuba) gasoline is expensive and
refrain is "Hay que luchar", - daily life indeed is ascarce, and there is not even enough for the local
struggle around here.Havana transit system. So if you want to take the
There is no toilet paper around here, so having read"GuaGua" you sometimes have to wait for 2 or 3
about the shortages I brought my own little Kleenexhours since there are so many people lining up for
travel packs from Canada. At the University and inthe local bus and there are not enough buses
the whole country there is tremendous shortage ofavailable.
writing paper. Basic things simply dont exist, or ifHaving a private car or access to the Internet is a
they do, they cost a lot of money for locals on theluxury that only extremely few people have access
black market.to and I have heard different stories on the street
As a result, a tourist is always pretty much a target.that a regular Cuban person actually is not allowed to
There are "jineteros" who try to lure you to ahave access to Internet. As a foreigner, it´s
restaurant or bed and breakfast (in return for avery difficult for me to gauge which of these stories
commission from the owner), therer are "jineteras",are true, whether it is truly prohibited or simply
local young and good-looking Cuban women thatextremely difficult to get. Either way, I have noticed
seek contact with tourists, some of them straightthat people are still very careful about what they say
prostitutes, others just looking for the occasionalaround here.
financial favour and entertainment opportunity.On the other hand, despite all these hardships and
Many local tourist employees try to take advantagelimitations on personal freedom, I have noticed a
of their contacts with tourists and there are definitereally amazing friendliness and a great sense of
rip-offs. 2 days ago I went to a state-ownedhumour in the people. People approach me, ask me
restaurant at the far corner of the famous Coppeliaquestions, without the immediate possibility of selling
Park. The food and service were horrible. I choseme something or expecting money from me. There
Arroz Congri ($3), a salad ($3), and a mango juiceseems to be a natural curiosity about foreigners
($1), totalling $7. When the bill came I saw a total ofaround here, maybe because the possibilities of travel
$9.85 ($4 each for the salad and the rice and $1.85don´t exist. The professors at the University
for the juice). I made the waitress aware of thehave been great and truly seem to enjoy the
situation and she acted as if it had been an error andinteraction with all the international students. When
did correct the bill after all. But a less alert touristyou get to meet people one-on-one (not in a
would have paid 40% more than what was statedgovernment-owned restaurant), it is indeed a
on the menu.fabulous experience.
Sometimes it feels like you are a "walking wallet" andLast night my friend and I took an extended walk in
I have developed a certain suspicion as to to thea park after sunset, talking, discussing, comparing
sincerity of some of the approaches by the locals. Onnotes about our respective cultures. And it was
the other hand, I realize, that with the $10 or $20completely safe, something that you wouldn´t
people that people make here a month, they aredare to try in a park in Toronto. Even downtown,
unable to live for more than a couple of days, soyou see young, very attractive women, dressed up
their economic reality forces them to try to makein really sexy clothing, walking around by themselves
money any which way they can.at 11, 12 at night. Immersing myself in this ultra-unique
Services for tourists and even locals barely exist. Icontradictory culture has been such a precious,
have been trying to rent a bicycle for the last 4unique and paradigm-shattering experience, and even
days. There were 2 contact phone numbers forthough I have only been here for a week now, I feel
bicycle rental places in my Lonely Planet Travel Guide.like I have absorbed and learned so much....
I have been trying to call both numbers numerousIt is so different from regular life in Canada that it
times - no answer. A co-student of mine has beenfeels like everyday I am entering into a foreign
trying to link me up with the owner of his bed anduniverse, a completely different world, but I have to
breakfast who has a new mountain bike. For 4 dayssay, I have never felt so alive......
I have been trying to reach this individual until I finally