Havana

[Lenin]

Hi everybody!
I am looking for a way to bring the Cuban girl to
Canada or other country without married her.
May be invitation, job offer, scholarship and so on.
Does anybody have such experience?
Please share any ideas you have.

[Concarne]

Geez,

For that matter since everyone seems to be flying out of Cancun why not change dollars to mex pesos and then change that to cuban?

????

[AlLostInSpace13]

This happened in November. I was having a beer with my Cuban buddy at the Havana Libre cafe. An older English gentleman (late fifties or so) walked in with a 25-years old blond with huge boobs and a Cuban man. It was hard not to notice them because of her boobs and his age. They sat down at the table behind us.
As soon as they walked in my Cuban buddy commented that the Cuban guy was the girl's boyfriend/husband. My buddy fell in love immediately and started to make eye and hand gestures to her.
Anyways I couldn't help but overheard their conversations. The English gentleman spoke as if the girl was her lover. He said that he was always lucky in finding beautiful girls, blah blah blah. Oh! And the Cuban guy was supposed to be the girl's mentor blah blah blah and she was very grateful to him blah blah blah.
The girl excused herself and went to the ladies room. And my buddy immediately bolted for the men's room as well. I felt very uncomfortable because doing things like that could get one in big trouble else where...
When he came back he confirmed that the Cuban guy was her boyfriend and they're obviously playing a number on this "lucky" gentleman. And at the same time my Cuban buddy had exchanged telephone# with big boobs.
They went to the disco at the Havana Libre and, since we had nothing better to do, we followed them as well. That night we met a couple of female doctors from Colombia. We had a great time and partied all night...
Within the next 3 days, my buddy went out with big boobs twice and manged to nailed her on the 2nd date.
Be careful guys and not be too trusting with your Cuban girlfriend.

[QuackUp]

Brent,

Per Dran report, he got .84 to the Cuban peso. The dollar would be .90 to the Cuban peso unless I misunderstood his last post. Also, I live in L.A. so I would probably have to pay a little commission to change the dollars to Canadian, then pay a little more to change the Canadian dollars to pesos.

I'am all in favor of not paying any commission, but it seem there is no getting around it.

Quackup

[Brent Gort]

Why pay the surcharge of 10%? Just exchange some US money for Canadian before leaving the US and then in Cuba exchange the Canadian for Cuban.

Go to the American Embassy. There is a huge anti-American banner directly across from it that is worth a photo.

bg

[QuackUp]

Dran Reb, and Brent,

Thanks for the information. Since I'am from the U.S.A., I will probably have to pay the 10% commission. Oh well, I still love the place.

Quackup

[Brent Gort]

The best place to change money is the National Hotel. They have the shortest line ups. The best time to go is later in the afternoon. Line ups shorter then. They exchange is fair. Do not change $US or you get nailed with a ten per cent surcharge.

The best place to check internet is the Habana Libre hotel. Second floor business center. Cheap and nice private rooms. No lines like the Capitolio.

Best place for girls is the Prado, 23 y O cafe sofia and obispo .

Best Taxis are the white ladas. They are cheaper.

Have fun and be nice.

[Dran Reb]

Quackup,

I exchanged $400 Canadian dollars at the airport and got $320 back in Cuban money and the Canadian dollar was at about 84 cents. So they are charging a commission but it seems about what I would pay if I was getting US money at my local Canadian bank. I couldn't get a cash advance at the airport currency exchange so I was glad I brought some cash.

[QuackUp]

Dran Reb,

Excellent report. When I last visited Cuba, I left a day before the new peso came into effect. When you exchanged your money, was there any kind of commission, or was it a one for one exchange? I will be going back sometime next year. I feel the same way as you. It's great to have a girlfriend there, but I'am always skeptical.

Quackup

[Organicgrowth]

Dran Reb,

Great report. I too am a little shocked by the dollar situation. Doubly so since the exchange rate is so good (I live in Europe, and Snr. Bush is doing everything to help me make money out of the exchange rate, which I can use to monger in Cuba!). I’m going to take Euros, Sterling and off course the greenback and non-US CC’s. I don’t think its going to be too much of a pain, but a bother non the less… Thank for the update DR, I could have been in some real harassment without your report!

It’s going to be a long taxi run for me this time round, as my usual casa is booked and so is my alternative and so is the one after that. I am stuck! Anyone got a place to stay, sort of me driving around as I did when I first started going to Cuba…? This does speak volumes about the tourist situation... regardless of bearded ones comments about the Christmas decore...

Regards, Havanaman

[Organicgrowth]

Gentlemen,

I’m back in HAV for Christmas again. OK, this time there are some emotional reasons too, but nothing which will prevent some seasonal fun. PM me if you are going to be in Havana during the Yuletide period.

Regards, Havanaman

PS. If I can, I see if I can pick up the TJ information directly from the Cubana offices.

[Petrolero]

If I remember correctly, I think the flight jets out of TJ at 11 or midnight.

Petroleo, does this flight originate in TJ?

[cuerno]

Dran Reb,

Great report. Especially about police activity. It may be just seasonal also as I heard police presence was noticeably less later in the summer and autumn. I've never been in cuba during the winter tourist season. That's a shock to hear about the dollar though. What a pain. As far as cuban friends; they can come in handy. It's tough as you're never sure who's being sincere or who's just out to swindle you but it's possible to make real friends in cuba. If your spanish is good or if you run into a cuban who knows english AND who has a job, he may be your man.

[Doc Bill]

Petroleo, does this flight originate in TJ?

[Dran Reb]

I'm back from a week in Havana. The big story of my trip was definitely the police. Unlike other trips where there were always a lot of police (as usual) but they were just standing around, this time they seemed to be busy all the time checking identification of the Cuban girls and guys hanging around the tourist areas. I regularly saw police cars with Cubans being taken away. Even I was stopped walking with my Cuban girlfriend by the police. Fortunately the police let us go. In the summer she would walk around with me by dozens of police without fear. This time I could see she felt uncomfortable with the situation and she really has nothing to fear because she is a University student with no record and lives in the Havana area.

Now early December is kind of the beginning of the winter tourist season so increased police activity is probably normal with the increase of tourists in Havana. This may just be business as usual as far as the police are concerned for this time of year. However for me it was kind of a new experience. I never saw it this bad in the other months I was there. It would be nice to hear from other fellow Havana travelers if they thought the police harassment level was on an increase.

I have some information that may help some of you new guys planning to go to Havana:

1. Try and get friendly with the girls in the neighborhood of your casa. Several times the girls in my neighborhood called out to me but I wasn't horny at the time so I just smiled and kept walking. (I'm such an idiot sometimes). At least wave to them or better yet just stop and introduce yourself to them for future reference. The condensed neighborhoods of Central and Old Havana are probably best for this kind of interaction. Outside the tourist areas there are seldom any police to really worry about.

2. When I exchanged my Canadian money at the airport they tried to give me all $100 Cuban dollar bills (Convertibles). I highly recommend trying not to get anything larger than a $20 bill. The $100 dollar bills are almost useless for things like taxis or restaurants because they can’t or don’t want to break them and if they do you leave yourself wide open to getting shortchanged. I recommend a bank like the one at the Hotel Libre. The wait was really long on a Monday but the teller was happy to give me a variety of 1's, 5's, 10's and 20 dollar bills unlike the bitches at the airport currency exchange. As far as American money goes forget it. I gave one of these guys on the street who draw your picture a US $1 dollar bill tip and he looked at it like what the fuck? You would think a street hustler would be happy with it but all he wanted was to get rid of it for any Cuban change I had. Everything is Cuban money including the girls.

3. Trying to get laid in Havana is a full time job. Never drop your pussy radar. As you go about your day you always have to analyze every situation to see if it has potential for you getting laid. You may not be horny at the moment but you know you will be later. Remember there are no rub shops here that you can just hit later on. Don't dismiss any contact with a girl you find attractive because you think something will come along later. I repeatedly keep making this same mistake every trip FUCK!! For example if you’re sitting in a patio bar and a Cuban couple sits at the table next to you, the chica is there because of YOU. Forget about the Cuban guy. Has she even spoken a word to him? He’s just a prop because she couldn’t get into the bar by herself. You wouldn't believe how many chicas asked me what time it is. Wear a watch.

4. It is possible to have a Cuban girlfriend here. It was nice to have one on this trip as a backup when things got too intense on the street or when I wanted someone to go to a show with or dinner or something. Only thing is that you have to be prepared to stick up for her if the police stop you, and you have to be able to do it Spanish. You have to convince the police that she is your girlfriend by spilling out personal information about her that a boyfriend would know. I kind of got the impression that the police don’t really like to bother a tourist who is with his Cuban girlfriend so if you can at least tell him her full name, address and occupation (hooker LOL) he would probably be satisfied and not take her in. Obviously this is kind of hard with a chica you just picked up in a bar or met on the Malecon. If you can’t pull it off you’re better off to have her walk a block behind you. Something to remember is that the police you see on the street can see into bars/restaurants, especially the ones that have an outside patio. I don’t think they are allowed to come in after your chica but they may wait for her when she leaves and nail her then.

5. I think the most important information I can give a new guy is this. DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE!! One day when my girlfriend got off the phone crying because a family member got arrested after being seen walking with me, the first thing that went through my mind was this is a fucking SCAM!! She is going to ask me for money so she can bribe the cop and keep the money. Next day she said she went to the police station and cleared everything up. She didn’t ask for any money. So maybe I was wrong (this time). More likely her Cuban radar sensed that I wasn’t buying her story and she aborted. Perhaps I humor her and she isn’t quite ready to cash me in yet. Or maybe her family is having trouble agreeing on just which scam would suit me best. This is my Cuban girlfriend I’m talking about and I actually really like her. You can imagine how I feel about the Cubans I come across everyday in the streets. I’m sure there are good Cubans around. The chica/client relationship is pretty good here. They always seem to be pleasant and work hard to give you your moneys worth. That’s why I keep coming back. The Cubans I’ve met while arranging casa accommodations and the owners themselves have been great too. But mostly independent male travelers like you and me are only going to attract the worst type of Cuban people. If a pimp scams a sex tourist who is looking for a chica out of his money, what’s the sex tourist going to say. That’s not good for tourism. Shit like this doesn't bother me. It's just mother nature at work. It’s when the Cubans come to me and I’m not in monger mode but just another traveler and pretend to be my friend and then try and scam me is when I really get annoyed. But then again I’m just pretending to be another traveler so maybe my point is while I'm in Cuban I have no friends.