Trip report Jan 2013

Toronto was overcast and – 5c when I left and 31/2 hours later Cuba was sunny and 26c on arrival. Checking in at the Westjet counter it was $20 to ship the Samsung LED TV as an over-sized second piece of luggage. It was a full flight less a few seats, the tourist card/visa were handed out during the flight and arrived in Varadero on schedule. We were the only in-coming flight and immigration inspection was fast and through the door to the X-ray machine to inspect the carry-on bags. It’s about 35 ft to the luggage carousel and after I retrieved my suitcase and TV it’s another 25ft to the security gate to exit the terminal. As I approached the gate a customs official pulled me aside and asked what was in the box. Told him it was a TV and he said TVs 32” and under is a flat $150cuc and anything over 32” is $400cuc tax. Lucky for me the TV was 32”. Missed my bus because of the paper work, 1st I had to fill out a form stating what it was and cost and go to another desk so they could enter the info into a computer and to the cashier cage to pay the applicable taxes to a lady who walked to another desk where I had to show her the paper that the tax was paid to her only a few minutes ago and as I was leaving the terminal the lady at the security gate asked to see the paper which she witnessed less than 2 ft away. Wasn’t asked to open the TV box or see the invoice. Exiting the terminal I was the last passenger and a taxi driver who just dropped some tourists off at the departure terminal offer to drive me for $90cuc. Told him all I had was $40 after paying taxes on the gifts and he said OK because he was returning to Havana empty. Had I known that I would have offered him $30. The hotel bus would have been $20 or 25 and would have dropped me off at the closest hotel to my casa and from there I would have to take a taxi to my casa and from the airport my driver took me to direct to my casa without the need to transfer my luggage twice.

The first week I was getting $98cuc per $100 CDN. The second week dropped to 97 and 96.

Jan 22 Cubacel announced that customers could have 12 months of service with a $40 deposit rather than $5 per month or $10 for 2 months to maintain an active line regardless of now much money was in the account. Good news for BeardoUK.

The same week they also announced a new tax structure for the casa owners plus they will be required to pay 10% on the rent collected each month. Good news for the casa owners and bad news for the gov’t if you can’t believe what the new taxes on the rooms are.

We went to some new restaurants we haven’t tried before like Wuaoo across from Hotel Habana Libre on Calle L. Nice deco, good service but the food is over-priced like a $7 hamburger and if not for the tourists the place would be empty. Because the restaurant has windows that open smoking is permitted. My partner said we should stick to the restaurants where Cubans eat like La Roca and Los Nardos and the pizza place on the top floor. Good value for your money.

One of our most memorable evenings out was the bar Floridita for its ambiance, music and a good mixture of customers keeping the place packed from 9pm to closing. Heads-up, it’s not cheap and a bottle of water is $3 plus a tip but the daiquiris were selling like hot cakes and of course everyone wanted their pictures taken with Hemingway at the end of the bar.

After been dormant for the last 3 or 4 years renovation has finally began on the Capitolio on the Prado. Ave Galiano is closed to traffic to replace the water lines. The highway from Varadero to Havana is work in progress as they repair and replaces sections of the roadway at a time reducing the highway to one lane each way.

Good weather in the high 70s except for one day when a cold front moved in and it rained on/off. A few days it was hot enough to spend a day at Las Playas del Este and eat some fresh lobsters in a nearby casa.

Moved around by private taxi. One day we needed a car for 3 hours because there were 3of us and my partner found a botero with a large American car in excellent condition for $10 an hour. He wanted $30 for 2 hours but agreed on $10 per house and he drove us across the bay and waited in the car while we visited friends and he drove us around Vedado looking at houses, sightseeing and visiting friends and to lunch. Later I felt bad because we didn’t invite him to join us for lunch but I guess he was happy with the money because he gave us his business card and told us to call him on his cell anytime.

If you are thinking of buying a house in Cuba ……forget about it. Caveat Emptor because it’s the Wild West unregulated and done on the honor system and a handshake. In the 90s every other Cuban was a jinetero and today every other Cuban is a corridor. You can obtain a computer print-out of the houses for sale or trade in Old Havana, can’t remember the address. It was a learning experience and a good way to see the inside of other people houses and how they live.

Legal Internet is $60 for 30 hours in Havana if you have a license or $100 per month in the black market. My partner downloaded a program into her Samsung Galaxy 2 that can capture the info on the caller carnet. Name, address, ID on his/her carnet, age, date if birth, etc.

Life is good in Havana if you have money. You can live like a tourist and spend a bundle or you can live like a Cuban on peso.

Going home we were on the new 800 serial plane in the Westjet fleet less than 2 months old. No entertainment center, no TV and the seats only recline about 2” compared to the older planes that reclined to your neighbor lap. The new planes will have WiFi instead of TVs.

Don’t disrespect the customs officials on your way out as they are only doing their job. 2 tourists were a little intoxicated and belligerent the officials during x-ray and they pulled the 2 guys to one side and in public removed each item from their carry-on bag and left them on the table for them to re-pack. I guess that really set them off because they continue to belittle the airport staff and just as we were preparing to board the plane the police arrived to take the 2 men into custody and the flight was delayed as they unloaded their suitcase for an extended vacation in jail.