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Gentlemen,
Having been away from the board for some time: not in a position to report (internet access, too busy and generally having fun…) I am now ready to report, but some general comments. Please: no one should take offence, it is not intended and so don’t flame me.
Talosian, Your first visit post was exceptional. I’m so happy that you had a good time in Havana, and I wish you luck with your future visits. I agree with your comments: there is good and bad in this city. The important thing is to compare it “like for like”. I’m sure that your next visit will be even more rewarding, now that you have seen “how the land lies” and have some contacts. PM me your next trip details: I’m trying to plan 5 days in Feb / March. Hook-up?
Saint: As always it was good to meet up with you at the Inglatera, even for that short time. Hey, what did you make of the chica who was with me? She was the anti-prostitution chica I have mentioned in the past, and the main prize of my trial in Havana: beautiful, extreme GFE, and get this: not interested in commitment. In her own words (excellent English) “…life is too short, lets enjoy today…”. As I mentioned to you, this chica exploded my world and it was worth returning to Havana for the 2 days with her.
Gentlemen: To make life easier for all of us, especially new people looking for Havana information, lets keep the posts on cigars, on the “general board”, and reserve this board for chica-reports / methods.
Regards, Havanaman
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Gentlemen,
The original plan was to have a week in Havana, a week in Buenos Aires and then head home. However, Saint and DocBill’s thread got me so tempted I had to modify my plans to spend an additional couple of days in Havana. The intention being to hook-up with these gentlemen. Sorry Doc’: time and circumstances were against our meeting. Next time?
This trip was a continuation of The Trial (reported in detail earlier, so no need for basics here). In 7 nights, paid for a chica only once, and that was because my flight got in very late and it was not possible to meet any of my friends.
That first night was full of adventure: sexual and otherwise. OK, so its 1am, I’ve eaten, I shot a glance at the Cabaret Nacional (empty), walked La Rampa and the Prado (nothing tasty) in either. I’m walking home via the Malecon (land side) and just by one of the all-night bars make long distance eye contact with a young little thing. Passing her, a hand pulls my arm into the doorway. A beer later we take a taxi to my place. The taxi leaves, its now 2.30am, the adventure begins. At the front building entrance I discover that I have lost my keys. Shit. Stay cool, what now? After some considerable door knocking to no avail, we head to the nearest open bar. Its looking like not only am I not getting any action, I’m also going to be sitting in a bar all night. In my bad Spanish I negotiate the possibility of a room for the night. Exploitation exists in many forms and being a hardened “tourist” I expected it. $30 for the night. I found out after that the barman had got his family to move out of their home for me…. If this does not fully express the economic situation in Havana I do not know what will. If I had know this at the time, I’d have asked somewhere else, but I think the story would have been the same. Anyway, a bed for the night was had, a chica was on my arm and all was well with the world. Now, not having access to my own apartment meant not having access to condoms. My chica had just one which turned out to be from china and made from recycled bicycle-inner tubes. This thing was 2mm thick give or take a nanometer! So I opted for a night of BBBJ’s. By 7am, I was rested, serviced, ready to hunt-down the landlord, had a smile on my face and the chica had lockjaw. Chica $25 TLN. Expensive night in comparison to others to come, but nice nonetheless.
Contact made with my 2 best chicas from the trial back in November. At this point I must make a confession. I have lost the path of the true monger. These 2 chicas have taken my heart. As no money was involved: its real. OK, so we all pay in one way or another (food, gifts, travel etc.), but hey the act of getting everything (company, comfort and ‘freely’ given-and-received sex) I mean genuine GFE is something else. When you have more than one, its heaven indeed for any man. What more can I say? Is anyone else trying this “Trial” ?
Police: Again heavy presence, but nothing to be concerned about as a green-back carrying tourist. Stay within the law and walk with your held high. I normally do not carry my passport, just a photocopy. I would only ever produce the copy in extreme circumstances: why give out your details to the chica or the police if you don’t have to?
Weather: Nov. Dec. Starts getting cold and the rain-shower frequency increases. In both November & December I got drenched more than once. I hate carrying an umbrella, so ducking into a café or shop became a habit. This has its advantages as I made contact with many a regular chica at a social level. This is good for information, practicing my Spanish and off course has the potential to go to a higher level if I wanted. You just have to love the Cuban social style. They are very eager to communicate. I suspect this is more of a psychological function due to inherent restrictions imposed by the brutal and bearded regime. For nights, take a jacket in Nov. & Dec.
Politics: As a monger I would urge you not to get involved. Lets just say that there are “watchers” who watch the “watchers”. Yes indeed. The apartment I was in at San Rafael, just behind the university had a resident “watcher” who apparently reports on the activity of people in that street. This is quite common and something new to me. I was asked by the landlord to take care who I opened the door to and also who I spoke with in the building. Sound advice I think, for both him and me. I have no doubts that “times are a changing”. The locals that have become my friends all said the same thing. Tolerance of the tourists is higher than ever. We get away with a lot more, but so is the courage of the locals. This is very telling. I think that the global political situation is having an affect in Cuba, and from our perspective it is positive. A good time to invest here? Maybe. Certainly the hotels are full and the number of “tourist-guided” groups I saw was more than in previous years.
Immigration: No trouble at all. Even though this was my third visit in the space of 2 months. I was asked about this frequency and I just said I love the country, the people and besides I had a long term novia here. Simple smiles, general good social behaviour, attempting to speak Spanish (prefaced with telling them I was learning) did the trick and I was home free. The two baggage conveyer belts are a real pain when you exit. I went to the one labelled with my flight, only to find that 20 minutes latter my luggage was on the unlabelled one along with those of half my co-passengers baggage. I suggest standing between the two belts and keeping watch on both.
Clubs: Everything is open (second hand news), but the attendance is VERY low. Maybe due to the Christmas period. I could not say. But in the past, this period has had little affect on chica availability. Malecon is alive and kicking if you are on a tight budget. In fact it is an excellent way of meeting amateurs and regular chicas alike. You will either be approached by a “hola” or very distinctive sound reminiscent of loud kissing (I can not describe it any clearer!) or can start the approach with someone you take a liking to. It is that easy.
Cell phones: Now very common in Havana. The hard core chicas all have them and this is a sure sign to look for, however the cost of the phones is such that you know you will be paying through the nose for your date. I no longer use hard cores Attitude and service is ultra important to me and so amateurs / regulars is by far the best possible combination for the hunt. There is something to be said about chasing the normal “non-payment” chica: OK, we all pay but you know what I mean. I found that my easiest option was to organise for my home-provider to extend my SIM capability to incorporate Mexico. This allowed me to receive a signal in Havana. OK so it was expensive at the equivalent of about $10 per min, however for ease of communication and in an emergency it was fine. I used it twice to call Saint. No big deal, and it meant freedom from new contracts and hunting down CU-com in Miramar.
Costs: For me the mongering was almost free, excluding gifts and food. Apart from the single first night of mongering with a SW from the Malecon, I was with a novia every night. Yes indeed the Trial does have its rewards. HOWEVER, please note that I agree with previous posters, Havana is not cheap by any means. OK, so the relative cost is low, but are you really going to spend a few hundred dollars to save a couple of bucks on the mongering? The cost of living for a good “holiday” is high when you take into consideration ALL the elements (chicas, place to stay, food, drink and excursions / transport). Having said that the second and subsequent visits will always be cost effective as you will know more.
Food: I agree with the poster who commented on the Italian restaurant on the Prado, opposite the Telegrapho hotel. Excelent indeed. Also, I dined extensively in the open-air restaurant opposite the cathedral. Another “nice place” was the restaurant in the Plaza de Arms (Mirador de la bahia) a roof top place with exceptional views of the harbour.
I’m considering returning in a couple of months if all goes well. That’s how much this place has got to me.
Enjoy life to the max, our time is too short here.
Regards, Havanaman
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back in havana. i've been traveling around a bit. i'm definitely glad i came to cuba but the hobby scene is not what i expected. i expected to see a more beautiful general population of girls but most of the girls i see on the streets, in the stores, everywhere are not that beautiful. there are a handful of beautiful girls. anyone that is considering coming here only for the action should forget it. if you want to see a beautiful country with wonderful people than by all means come and experience what cuba has to offer.
there are lots of girls in the streets but most i wouldn't do for free. the hottest girls are in the clubs. if you're coming here expecting to pay very very cheap for hot hot girls you can forget it. i have a ton of funny stories. i've been here over two weeks now. i've hit trinidad, cienfuegos, vinales, pinar del rio. most of those cities it's impossible to get action. i'll try to post when i get back. internet is painstakingly slow. those that reported fast internet connections were either high or don't use high speed in the usa.
i saw a beautiful 22 year old last night from la chorrera. it's a cool spot. she had a great body and the best session of the trip so far. $40 + $10 for a taxi and she stayed a few hours. she is a ballerina for the national ballet. she only makes $7 us per month with her job. the weather is great. went to playas del este yesterday but it was cloudy.
the girls are generally scared of the police and that makes things tough. i'd come back to cuba again for the people and the country but the hobby is tough. i don't like it when you can't go out and eat and drink with a girl without the girl being worried. my and my friends already got stopped by cops 5 times. we had a bet at the beginning of the trip how many times we'd get stopped. i guessed 5 so i guess i'm winning so far.
i'm going out with a beautiful girl tonight for new year's eve. i'm setting up my friends with her friends as i did the other night. still here for a little while.
life is still good.
saint
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Havanaman:
I'll look for your PM. Right now, my plans are for approximately 15 Feb, 04 for 3-4 weeks. I'm meeting up with a member of both this Board and LP where I just posted my "Fool" question and got slammed a couple of times (Big deal!). We can talk in PM and I think I gave you my pvt. email. I will be doing a lot of travel time when I'm there since we are getting a car for a very good rate, US$65 including insurance for a mid-sized one.
Lap Dancer:
Yes, I am a romantic and I paid tuition but overall, I got my money's worth in both "education" and positive experiences.
I love your "Real Estate" analogy and it is actually very logical. I may try this on my next trip (February, 04) but I'm more of a "one-woman for the trip" kind of guy. I wish I had the abilities of Havanaman with the chicas. Not speaking Spanish does limit me to those ladies who speak some English. I am trying to learn some Spanish.
Saint:
Can you describe the ballet dancer? When I was there early December, my friend and I hooked into what might have been a large part of the company. We went to the practice studio (five flights up) and I took many pictures of them which I have. I would not post the pictures here but a good description might find her. They loved my Polaroid and I actually turned down a very attractive 18 year old since I had a commitment with a school teacher I had met before in a disco.
Also, what you said about looks of the chicas shows just how diversified tasts are when it comes to "beauty." I saw so many chicas/ladies who I thought were very attractive, including one who had to be in her late 30s to early 40s. I would post pictures but since all but 2 were "play for pay" ladies, I don't think it would be proper. I guess I could post those three just for reference. I'll do it later with stories.
ALL:
It's interesting, the difference in attitude between the people on this Board and others (LP in particular). A lot of LP posters are in line with thinking on this Board but are more reserved with their comments while some are really the "morals police."
I'm sure when I get back from this next trip I will have some (interesting) shories to share.
As always, I appreciate the input from everyone here.
Spock.
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Thanks Lap Dancer, I'll check into it.
Happy New Year to everyone!
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Havanaman,
Re: Cigars
Point taken and I will channel my enthusiasm to the general interest section - though Bill Clinton was able to combine the two!
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Talosian,
The girl I saw is 22 years old. I've been checking ID's of all the girls now. Most of the super hot ones are only 17. Many lie and say they are 18 but I spot their age on their ID's before leaving with them. I started a diary but just got too busy. Still I think it's about 15 pages or so in Word format.
I really like this country. Again, not for the hobby but for the people, the places and the memories I'm forming. I'm also with one of my good friends that I've taken 5 international trips with this year and the other guy I met in Cancun has been hanging out with us the entire time.
Let me just say the police are assholes. Stand your ground. We got pulled over again last night but again we didn't pay the $30 they demanded. Now, I tell them I'm a lawyer that does business here. I tell them that if they want us to pay the fine I need a receipt with their names on it. That scares the shit out of them and they let you go. If you speak no Spanish at all you might have problems. The police generally pull you over for a variety of reasons but also if you are doing nothing.
I'm finding some better places to eat. My buddy left for Trinidad. I leave for Cancun tomorrow so I'm going to blow it out today.
Life is good.
Saint
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I was just going through some of the old postings for my trip this Monday and I saw some posts about laptops. I brought my old laptop to my girlfriend. I had it as a carry on. They did check my luggage and found a battery charger, which they questioned me about, but they did not look at my carry on. So I was able to leave my laptop with her, which she loves.
Ok you pay for it one way or another.
[size=-2][u]EDITOR's NOTE[/u]: [blue]Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions for [u]capitalization and punctuation[/u]. To avoid future delays, please refrain from using the "chat room" style of writing with no caps or punctuation. [i]Thanks![/i][/blue][/size]
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Hi Saint,
I’m really happy that you like Cuba. I think it will grow on you even more as time passes. I know well in excess of 30 guys that now love this place, as much as I do.
What a bummer with the police. I think it must be you, you look like a rich executive type! No seriously, I think it is part of the trend I reported a couple of reports ago, about the locals developing a little more courage than before. The times are a changin’, of this I have no doubts whatsoever.
Very good point about the ID check. The possibilities in not following your sound advice here are too terrible to contemplate… These might range from a “sting” to actual arrest…
Enjoy today to the max, who can talk about tomorrow?
Havanaman
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Hello Havanaman,
I intend to go for Havana for a few days (probably 3), in early April and/or in early December 2004. Could you suggest to me:
a) A chica friendly private appartement (with a private entrance) within walking distance of "La Rampa" (or Calle 23);
b) A good, reliable and affordable private guide/private driver who could eventually, among other things, pick up chicas for me;
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Hello All! I'm back, got in last night from a trip lasting 17 hours: Habana, Miami, Vegas, and San Francisco (home). I'm still kind of wasted so I'll delay my full report for a couple of days. I do want to say that as I've pointed out before, and Saint also states, Cuba is not the place to go for mongering, but it is a wonderful and fascinating country where adventures just come at you like nowhere else! It infects the soul, as I'm sure many of you would agree.
Spock, no you're not stupid and your story is all to common. What is stupid is when guys keep paying and paying and don't walk away when they realize what you've realized. Understand, I've spent a total of many months in Cuba, and they are the best actors and liars in the world. This is born of necessity and not meant to be perjorative. I can tell you all too many stories of "true love," where the Cuban (man or woman) ends up in the US and then splits to Miami solo. Of the many American-Cuban couples I know not one lasted when the man was Cuban. About half work out when the woman is Cuban. This is because Cuban women are capable of staying faithful, while Cuban men are not.
Anyway, sorry to ramble. As I said I'll post my full trip report in a few days when I recover from this "vacation!"
Peace
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Hi all. Just left Cuba yesterday back to Cancun. It was nice seeing you again Havanaman. Regarding the police it's not just me. Both my friends with me got pulled over several times too. I think anyone there for any reasonable amount of time will have that problem. Many of you only go for long weekends or a few days. I was there 16 days so the longer you are there the higher the chances you will get pulled over. Remember, all tourist rental cars have a T license plate so the police know right away that you are a tourist. I saw many many many tourists getting pulled over. Especially in Miramar.
It's not just being in a car either. One night my buddy Seaman was walking just one block from Calle 30 to Calle 28 along 3rd Avenue with his girl. A cop standing around stopped him. He can't speak much Spanish and was nervous so he called me on my cellphone. The cop was obviously just looking for a bribe but even after my friend offered him $10 he said he didn't want money. I came over immediately and I saw the cop talking to the girl. Keep in mind the girl was a total no pro type. She looked sweet and innocent.
I immediately went to the cop and asked what the problem was. He told Seaman he radio'ed for a squad car to pick the girl up but that was 15 minutes earlier so I knew he was lying. I told him that Seaman came here to spend NYE with his girlfriend. I asked him why he was hassling them. Then the cop asks for my ID. Luckily I came prepared. I came over with my passport. Then the cop gets ballsy and tries to scare me. He asks me where I'm staying. I tell him the street but told him I didn't know the apartment #. It was clear he knew exactly which houses rent rooms. He named my apartment and said maybe he would stop by. I had left a chica to come over to Seaman and the problem was she had no ID on her. I called my friend and had him get the girl out of there.
The cop saw me calling someone and asked me who I called. I immediately pulled out a business card of a lawyer that I met in Cuba. I told him that I called my lawyer friend and handed him the business card. I think that freaked him out. He called the girl over and he took the $10 that Seaman was gonna give the cop. He let us all go. This is just one of the examples of cops hassling us. Don't be scared of them. The first time I couldn't do much but I learned if you stand up to them they will back down. Sometimes they put up a good show but if you can argue with them you'll be fine. If you speak no Spanish at least learn the phrase that you need a receipt with the cops name on it.
Most of the girls in the clubs are pros. I'm not saying you can't have a great time with them because you certainly can. Only a tiny percentage are professionals with degrees or completed university. There are a few rookies that came to the big city (Havana) to work. I got lucky and hooked up with a total hottie that was only in Havana 2 weeks from Camaguey.
I'm super tired. I typed up some thoughts on my laptop today while at the airport in Cancun.
Cuba is a special place. I HIGHLY recommend traveling throughout Cuba. Don't just stay in Havana. As others noted, Cuba is a totally different place outside of Havana. Rent a car and just drive. I plan to go back this year and fly to Santiago and drive all the way to Havana. More later.
Saint
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Car Rental and Hitchhickers
I am traveling to Cuba in a couple of weeks and intend to rent a car and travel around Cuba for 14 days. I was wondering if any of the members had any information on the possibilty of any mongering action with hitchhicking females while traveling down the highways of Cuba. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. On my last trip I remember standing at a bus stop near the Havana tunnel and seeing many female hitchhickers trying to wave down cars before they entered the tunnel heading east around 5 PM.
Thanks in advance,
Caw199
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Saint,
You will like Santiago. Santiago and Holguin are my two favorite providence in Cuba. You will like the drive across Cuba.
El Cubanito
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Caw199,
You'll love the experience of driving around Cuba. Just make sure you by an excellent highway map and keep asking directions along your route everytime there is a fork in the road. There are literally NO signs to tell you if you are headed to your destination. It was frustrating at first but then we just laughed and asked people every fork in the road. Everyone is friendly and helpful.
There are tons of hitchhikers approaching every city. Keep in mind the vast majority of Cubans can't own cars so they are dependent on hitching a ride. You will rarely encounter any hotties. I'm selective but if you're not I'm positive you can find action on the highway. The entire road trip we only saw two cute girls hitching a ride but they were going the opposite direction.
We still turned around and asked them if they wanted to go back to Havana but they were going home for the holidays to spend with their family.
I highly recommend taking the scenic route if you're adventurous. The roads truely suck but it's more scenic than the boring highway. The route from Havana to Pinar del Rio we could have taken the highway but we took the scenic mountain route through La Palma-Bahia Honda-Vinales. The views were awesome! We didn't see any tourists on that road though so use your best judgement. Just make sure fill up your tank whenever you can.
Cuba is a totally safe country. The people were amazingly friendly and I didn't encounter any crime whatsoever. The only negative encounters were with the police but I refused to pay any fines after my 2nd encounter. Good luck.
P.S. Those girls at the tunnel often times aren't looking for a "ride". They are looking for another type of "ride" where they make some money. There are many Italian dudes that stay in Playa del Este which is heading in that direction. We saw some local girls at the beach in Playa del Este with tourists. The ones that were alone were being hassled by the cops and being asked to show their ID's. The police are a real pain in the ass here.