Havana

Surfer

I've been going to Cuba for the past several yrs. I've never had a bad trip. I've made many terrific friends; in general I've found the ppl to be kind and generous.

The poverty is a bit overwhelming at first look. However, as I began to meet more ppl I soon realized that most ppl supplement their income on a secondary market. Whether it’s the cop looking for a bribe to let you off the ticket, the Taxi driver pocketing the cash cab fare, Prostitution, even medical care goes more smoothly if you grease the Doctor for the operation, the nurse for better attention and so on. But for sure these bribes are expected of tourists and Cubans alike. It’s the secondary or black market if you will, and it’s the only way most ppl make ends meet. In fact many ppl are so proficient in the secondary market that they manage not only the necessities but a few luxuries too, like cell phones and such, I even know a couple very industrious individuals who drive Mercedes. Now a Cuban is very limited on what the government allows them to own. In general they are not even allowed to own a cell phone or car, but the meet foreigners who will allow the Cuban to use their name for registration. Very creative.

As for the “Sporting Life”, To some extent it will depend on which city and when you happen to visit. The government periodically will crackdown on prostitution in a particular area. They’ve made such a crackdown in Veradero lately. They’ve been as successful there as anywhere. Since Veradero is one of Cuba’s crown tourist destinations they want to “clean it up”. Even in Veradero however Capitalism prevails, and if your diligent you can find purveyors of nocturnal entertainment. Nonetheless, if your primary objective is the “hobby’ you’d have better results in another City, If you show up in Cuba and find that the pressure is on in your location, just ask around and you will find another City that is wide open. It’s an easy matter to relocate for the betterment of you vacation.

That having been said, Habana (Havana) is generally a safe bet. Its all there, ST, LT or GFE and just about anything else to satisfy you personal proclivity. You’ll find an abundance of SW and Disco/Bar, pro, simi and amateur action. Cuban women are arguably among the most beautiful in the world. However, over the past year or so it seems to me that the quality of the average pro/semi has declined substantially – IMHO. Don’t get me wrong; the true beauties are still available. It’s just that it has been taking longer to find them. They’re almost becoming needles in a haystack. While in times past it may have taken a matter of minutes to find my dream GF, recently it’s been taking a matter of hours. On the bright side, even though it has taken some time, I haven’t ended up empty handed yet.

I don’t think ill get too deep into the pricing because it’s accurately available in prior posts. Here’s just a basic guideline.
ST - US$50.00-US$100.00 (pro/semi)
LT – US$100.00 and up (pro/semi 24 hrs)
GFE = Dinner and up
This is just a general guideline. As usual your cost will depend on negotiation and (never to be under estimated) your chemistry with your date.

IMHO the GFE is Cuba’s real attraction for the monger. In my experience my GF du jour “almost” never asks for $. But we generally spend a few days together. Maybe travel to another City for the weekend, of course dinning, drinking and dancing. The same stuff you’d probably do with any other GF.

In the final analysis, I really love Cuba and Cubans. I will be returning there for the rest of my life. Great food, drink, cigars and of course the women. I do believe that Cuba is getting more commercialized and will continue to do so. The prices are going up, fast. And the beautiful women are either getting out of the business or getting snapped up by foreigners IMHO. As Cuba continues to change, one day it will be known as a family tourist destination. Which is fine and I will visit then too for the drink and cigars.

That being the case I’m looking for some new monger grounds. I’ve found lots of great posts on WSG. So I’ll be checking out Colombia, Peru and Brazil among others this year. I hope to hook up with some fellow “Sportsmen” share some tales and cocktails.

If you need details like casa particular, driver or guide, pm me for the local tel numbers.

CM

** The daily diary is finished. I edited it to include all days now. Previously Days 8-11 were not completed. It's done now.***


I agree with China Monger about the ability of Cubans to find other ways to supplement their monthly salary from the government. I find it very hard to believe the average salary in Havana is only what the government gives them. Maybe it's that low in the small towns I went to but certainly not in Havana. It seemed like almost everyone in Havana had some side gig to make money. Also, remittances from family members living in the USA must be astronomical. I often wondered just how many millions of dollars a year flow into Cuba this way. It seemed like everyone had family living in the USA.

It's ironic but I didn't find the Cubans to be that "poor". They were one of the happiest groups of people I saw. Sometimes no matter how much money you have it doesn't equal happiness. The Cubans prove that. They just want to improve their lives and are waiting for Castro to die.

I do disagree with China Monger when he said that "Cuban girls are amongst the most beautiful in the world". Maybe a very small handful but in the overall population mix the super hot ones simply aren't there. I found much hotter girls in Buenos Aires and Brazil. We all have different tastes but I think it's fair to say overall there are much hotter girls in other places.

Another thing I noticed is the girls seem to be younger in Cuba than other places I've been to. Most of the girls you'll meet are between 17 and 20. It seemed like most of the hottie girls 21-27 either moved to another country or got married to some tourist and got out of Cuba. Still, I don't know where some of those young girls learned their moves in bed. Some of them were great. I guess it's like their ability to shake their bodies while dancing.

On the matter of rental cars. I would much rather prefer to have my own rental car. True, it's more expensive than hiring a guide with a car but remember that guide can't be with you 24/7. If you speak little to no Spanish definitely get a guide. If not, then just do it on your own. I loved the ability to do whatever I wanted and go wherever I wanted anytime I wanted. Good luck.

Saint

saint,

i love your 'samuel peeps' style diary. excellent read.

i agree with all your points, including the age range and your conclusions about the hotter chicas being matrimonially bagged by rich tourists. beauty is in the eyes of the beholder at the end of the day, but i agree that ba has an exceptional supply of very beautiful chicas. however, i must confess that in terms of bedroom experiences: for me havana has yet to be beaten. these chicas are very well trained indeed, don’t as me how!

i still maintain my original views on the car-rental front: the abundance of taxis: both legal and particular is such that it makes the whole ‘rental-deal’ just not worth it… but again, its an individual thing.

sorry to have had to ask you to ‘fib’, that chica was and will remain a prize worth telling a ‘little white lie’ for… i’m planning another trip in a couple of months just to see her. omg, something is happening to the hunter / sportsman in me…. have i found “the one?”!!

regards, havanaman

Havanaman,

No problems on the fibbing. I'm sorry if I slipped a little but I couldn't remember what I could/could not say. Good luck with whatever it is you are looking for. The key thing is being happy and if you are honestly happy then all the power to you. Just remember though that any relationship starting with lies probably will not survive long term. JMHO. Good luck though.

I honestly think the hottest Cuban girls don't live in Cuba anymore. Hot girls will find a way to either marry some Italian, Canadian or American dude or find a way to get out of Cuba on their own. Still plenty of gorgeous girls. Through all my adventures though it's hard to beat a Brasilera in bed. Those girls LOVE sex as much as any girl on the planet. The hobby scene in Cuba can't compare to Buenos Aires or Rio. It's like comparing night and day. Two totally different types of places. Just for the hobby itself I wouldn't consider Cuba to be comparable to places like Rio.

Regarding rental cars, it probably doesn't make much sense to the average guy only going for a few days. If you're staying in Havana Viejo or Vedado you probably don't need one but don't let people's comments about "an abundance of taxi's" fool you. Besides outside of major hotels Havana does not have an over abundance of taxi's. Even in Vedado I'd have a tough time sometimes getting a taxi. Good luck calling Panataxi on 555-555. The number was almost always busy. Other taxi numbers were busy too. If you're staying in Miramar which I'd highly recommend you simply must have a rental car to make things easy.

I ran into a lot of "budget" travelers that thought they could get by in Cuba for really cheap. You can get by cheaply here. No problems but if you blow it out and see a few girls a day, pay entrance fees of $10 - $15 per place, eat well once in a while at nice places, rent a car with full insurance and unlimited mileage you can still drop some money here.

Saint, China...excellent reads!

I've stumbled across this website several months ago and I love reading about everybodys experiences. I have been to Cuba many times in the last 7 years. I'm totally in love with this place. Last years visitation was one of my best, reason being is that we travelled to the south of the Island (Cienfuegos, Pinar Del Rio). We stayed at beautiful Casas (homes) and we had a personal chef that cooked us the best meals I or my budiies ever had. Salad, rice, potatoes, fish, lobster and home made ice cream, all for $10.00. I've had many, many home cooked meals (lobster) in Cuba and this chef was the best. Several years ago I went out with a girl down there for 1 year. I'm 36 yrs she was 26 yrs, total model material, but after some time I decided to let things go. But seeing and staying in her small town, was the life. I rented a house on the ocean for $15.00 a night My next door neighbour was this guy from Panama. He bought a 2 story home for $5,000. He married a Cuban girl and this allowed him to purchase this house. He is actually also married in Panama and spends 3 months a year in Cuba. Last year we had a whole bunch of us went down cause my buddy was marrying a girl down there, God what a party. One of the girls I met, begged me to put it in her ass! She wanted it in her ass more then her puss. We would at it then after about 2 minutes she would stop and place it in..God what a fantasy manifesting itself.

Anyways, we had no problems with anything. Everybody knows a private house where you can go, this last trip was the worst or best for the women. Worst in a cynical way of saying that they were everwhere and all over us. Since my friends and I have been down there so many times we make sure to treat these wonderfull people with respect and dignity. You show a Cuban girl a little class and be prepared. It's a total "mans" world down there. Every one of my Cuban male friends married or single have 2-3 girls. That's just the way it is and everbody knows it.

My friend who got married last year, after we all went back home he stayed on for another 2 more weeks. The girls 2 uncles took him out for a ride and brought him to an apartment with this nurse waiting for him. He said "what are you guys doing, are you nuts I just married your niece?" This is part of Cubas culture. The Cuban women hate it but there is nothing they can do about it, unless abstinence comes into play.

The culture is fantastic and I never seen people with so little yet so easy to smile. I'm from Canada so visiting this island is hassle free. At this moment, all inclusive for $370 cdn (plus tax) Check out www.sunholidaysca.com and www.itravel2000.com. All those Dominican Republic guys on the other board would go crazy to see the prices for all inclusive to go down there. Starts at around $400 cdn. Last year we rented a car for the week and stayed at the Casas $20 / night including a fresh breakfest. Were fortunate that we have made so many friends that everthing is taken care of regarding places to stay, eat, and the women, well thats never a problem.

We went to this great out doors club in a park in Cienfuegos. The entrance fee was $2.50 ea to get in and when you walked in you receive a bottle of rum and 4 cokes for each person! This is something that you will not find in Havana. As much as I love Havana, especially the "old" part the smaller towns are just to great. This club in the park (sorry, I forgot the name) had so many women and we were basically one of the few tourists there that night, (plenty of locals), that we all felt like one of the Beatles.

Another small town called Cardenas is where you'll get smothered with girls. After reading Saints posts, I know that if he experienced my trips that most of his impressions would be totally different. My opinion is to stay away fron the tourists spots, or use them (hotels) as a destination, rent a car and go exploring. Cuba is totally safe! It's one of the few places that no matter where you, find a small town, in a couple of hours you'll have a great group of friends...for life.

Saint - That's one of the best reports I've ever seen. Some pictures would have rounded out the report, and made it perfect.

The best thing about the report is the full aspect of Cuba. Not just "find the chicas and bang them", but the downfalls to going to a repressive country, dealing with the cops and the pitfalls of dining too.

It seemed you treated Frank a bit too kindly. If I had hauled that much stuff, a genuine thank you would have been nice.

Cuba doesn't seem to be an economy destination. Given your report, I might try it for a week sometime, but I think for longer trips I'd stay in the more economical Thailand or Argentina.

Jaimito,

Thanks for the compliment. I did post some photos in the photo section. I'm sure the vast majority of guys aren't interested in seeing non-chica photos but Jackson can delete them if he sees fit. I won't be offended.

I like posting vivid details on places I go. I must be getting older because I haven't really felt like seeing 3-4 girls a day like I used to. I have been enjoying getting out and seeing the places I'm visiting and doing more touristy things.

Yes, I avoided Frank after that first bad experience. I don't like people like that. Plus we found him annoying and everytime we asked him to help us with something he seemed like he was going out of his way to do it. On the positive side he did speak English pretty good. For all I know he is a good guy but I didn't want to spend too much time with him after that bad experience. I'm sure he can be very helpful with helping get girls. I just prefer to do things on my own sometimes. To me, having a guide find all your girls takes away from the experience. I still laugh at the guys in Rio that basically have their hands held while a guide takes them from terma to terma. To each his own.

Cuba is actually a cheap destination. Much cheaper than other spots for things like housing, food and some other things but things like taxi's were higher at $5 or $6 for some destinations. Girls prices are about equal to some popular destinations for hot hot girls. You can get streetwalkers for much less I'm sure. I wouldn't know. The costs of renting a car can add up.

The funny thing is because you're forced to bring so much cash you are constantly worried you'll run out. I found myself counting my cash every couple of days even though I brought more than enough money. Bring double of what you budget just in case.

I still have yet to find a place as easy and wonderful as Buenos Aires, Argentina. BA has it all. Great apartments/hotels, great restaurants, great clubs, great architecture, good shopping, great nightlife and the costs of taxi's is very very cheap and plentiful. If you're going somewhere just for sex it's hard to beat Buenos Aires. Good luck.

Saint - I actually like the locale pictures. When I go to a place, I of course go to relax and meet chicas. However, it's the whole atmosphere, people and food that make a place really unique. I can find streetwalkers in my city for $20-$30. I'd say $700 on airfare, and 20 hours in an airplane if all I wanted was a quick release.

I understand your reasons for editing your chica pictures, but it *does* drive me crazy. Those Stephen King lookin' zombie pictures. I keep looking for Cujo in the background.

Saint,

Really enjoyed the trip report. Thanks for the detail and the experience. Also, enjoyed the non-chica pics (as well of course as the chica pics), especially the view from your Vedado balcony, which brought back the experience of waking on a balmy Havana morning and drinking coffee on a different Vedado balcony.

The disco you seemed to like, La Chorrera, is it adjacent to Club 1830? on the Malecon shortly before the tunnel to Miramar? Because I was staying nearby, I once scoped out Club 1830 on a slow night but didn't make it to La Chorrera. What's the crowd there like? Young? Mixed? Tourists? Cubans?

Earl

Cuba is relatively expensive place to visit, especially in Havana. Girls are not cheap at all. Considering Cuban economics, a fair price should be $30. Outside Havana, girls are much cheap. At La Isla de la Juventud, girls are $15-$30.

No access to cash is a pain in the ass. One has to budget how much to spend. In other countries, I just use ATM or credit cards when running out money. In Cuba, I have to worry if I run out of money soon.

Bringing $6000 cash to Mexico could be trouble at U.S. airports. I used to go to Mexico for business a lot. At U.S. airports, there were U.S. custom agents with dogs checking people boarding for Mexico. Apparently, Mexico drug cartels use carriers to bring cash back to Mexico. If one brings a lot of small bills, such as me, dogs could be confused. Dogs do not know the difference between $100 bill and $1 bill. Even though bringing a few thousands dollars is not illegal, Custom agents may wonder why normal person brings so much cash to Mexico. So, balancing out how many bills to carry will save the explanation to U.S. Custom. A wrong explanation to a U.S. government agent in a court of law could be a big trouble. If you can avoid it, avoid it.

A big part of fun to visit Cuba is these hassles. A very interesting place to visit.

[quote]Originally posted by CaptainNemo

Even though bringing a few thousands dollars is not illegal, Custom agents may wonder why normal person brings so much cash to Mexico. So, balancing out how many bills to carry will save the explanation to U.S. Custom. [/quote]

While you shouldn't volunteer information if not asked, honesty is the best policy when answering questions about why you're toting a bankroll. Tell them you're taking the cash down Mexico way to pay for two weeks of tequila, mujeres, i fiestas! Partying isn't a crime, in fact, if you laugh about it, the customs guy is going to laugh with you and not give you a hard time. (A vacation filled with wine, women, and song is what all men dream of!) Now, if it is a customs girl......... ;)

-Uncle Otto

P.S. - I wondered if I needed to say this, but I guess I should: [lecture mode on] If you bring big money with you on a trip abroad (more than $10K), DECLARE IT on that stupid form. There is no penalty to carry this much cash out of the country. And if you only do it once or twice a year, there will surely be no tax/IRS consequences. But if you don't declare it and get stopped, there certainly will be a problem! And finally, NEVER, EVER bring dope through customs, not even a joint or two. [/lecture mode off]

Earl,

Yes, La Chorrera is next to Club 1830. We ate at the restaurant 1830 one of our last nights. The food there was good and they had decent wine too. We went in back after dinner to Los Jardines and it sucked. I found the girls to be ugly. La Chorrera had a diverse mix of girls from black girls to lighter skinned girls. Some were dog ugly and some were beautiful. There was something for everyone there. It got VERY crowded in the main level. It is FULL of Italian dudes. I'd say the majority of guys in Havana that I saw were Italian. I could tell right away from hearing them speak Italian. I really didn't see too many Americans. The Americans are easy to spot as they usually are the ones that don't know how to dress.

__________________________________

VERY few people will have a need to carry over $10,000 with them anywhere in the world with the ease of ATM's. That was the only thing that was a little unsettling is leaving all that money locked up in the casa when you left for the day/night but the casas are very secure.

Make sure if you go to Cuba you bring plenty of smaller bills. $10,000 in $100 bills doesn't take up much space but thousands of dollars in $1's, $5's, $10's and $20's takes up some room. Bring a lot of $1 bills as you will use them often, especially if you rent a car. Everywhere you park you have to pay $1 for them to watch your car. Some days we paid up to $7 or $8 a day because we went to so many different places. It's good to have smaller bills like $5's and $10's because of course girls never have change. Either do taxi drivers. You'll never need to walk around with more than $200 at a time anyway. Just carry some $20's, $10's, $5's and $1's.

I heard that $2 bills were a novelty and I brought about 100 of them. I guess they are a good luck charm or something like that. People always smiled when I gave them one. Even in the Floridita the guy gave a big smile and gave me a thumbs up.

Anyone that does drugs in a foreign country is a fool. Many countries don't mess around if they find drugs on you. Even if it's a small amount. My entire time in Cuba only one jinetero asked us if we wanted to buy some "Charlie" (cocaine). I looked at him like he was crazy and told him I NEVER do drugs and he got this scared look and walked away really quickly. There is no US Embassey in Cuba so if you get arrested for drug possession you're screwed and you probably deserve it for being so stupid. (Hell, even on my Zurich flight less than 2 months ago there were agents and drug sniffing dogs upon landing here in the USA). I have no sympathy for those that do drugs and get caught.

There are police everywhere. If you are driving around for any significant amount of time you WILL get pulled over. I talked to Seaman on the phone today. He was in Cuba 3 days longer than I was and he told me he got pulled over 3 more times while he was there. I'm proud of him. He never payed anything all 3 times. As I posted before, do NOT pay a cop if you aren't doing anything wrong.

The cops actually could be very friendly and helpful when you asked them for things. They were some of the few people that gave accurate directions. Even when you wanted to make an illegal U-turn if you asked them they would say go ahead and do it. Heck, Seaman picked up a cop hitchhiking that had to work at the airport. Seaman told him the only thing he didn't like was the corrupt cops and how they hassled us and the cop chuckled and said it's a way of life there. He kind of said that the cops are only looking to make some additional money. If you refuse there is nothing really they will do.

Bring lots of snacks as it's hard to find good snacks in the stores there. I brought a whole carry on bag full of granola bars, fruit roll ups, pop tarts, gum, candy, chocolates, cheese in a can and crackers. Also bring high protein food like beef jerky. The girls loved the snacks and candy and always asked to have some.

I also always travel with a ton of extra toothbrushes. Upon arriving at my casa I always give them one and tell them they can brush their teeth, shower and freshen up. It's kind of a polite way of telling them I want them to brush their teeth and showering. Every girl in Cuba took her toothbrush with her when she left. I also gave TAD some of them. He looked at all the stuff I brought and was amazed.

Also bring plenty of candles and I like to bring some light smelling incense too. Target sells these little packs of incense and holders that come in a little case. Bring an Ipod or CD walkman and bring some external speakers. It is much better than having no music in the room. EVERY single destination you go to will have tons of CD's you can buy. Cuba was no exception. Music is their life there. If you have room you can also bring a laptop with DVD player.

Bring a good camera with tons of film. I've found you don't need an expensive camera. On every trip I always bring a Canon Elf APS camera. It is very small and compact and the results have always been steller as you can see from my pics. I just bought a new digital camera. I got the Olympus C50 5 meg camera as it got great reviews on www.eopinions.com and was dubbed the world's smallest 5 meg camera. Quality is very good. Only disappointing thing is you have to close the shutter everytime you want to view the picture you just took. I found in Cuba every single girl wanted to stop and look at each picture you took rather than waiting for you to take 5 or 6.

I'm looking forward to returning to Cuba and driving from Santiago to Havana and spending more time in the smaller towns. I found the people friendlier, the scenery more beautiful and you got a better taste of Cuba.

Saint

And speaking of pictures/cameras, I took my Captiva which is 2.1mp but it also gives me the option of printing out a shot (Polaroid) on the spot. I swear, the chicas and every other Cuban love these. You can get outdated film on eBay and I have had no problems w/it. Runs about $0.65 per print but the positive response from everyone is great. Plus of course, you can give them the picture and keep the digital.

Just passing my experience on.

Spock.

Read em and weep guys. Sometimes it is good to be living up north. And now seriously - Toronto to Varadero one week all-inclusive in Mar del Sur Hotel $312.00 plus tax Canadian funds Deal is with Hola Sun Holidays!

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Saint,

Great non-chica photos. Really got the feel of Cuba. I'm leaving in 4 more weeks and counting.

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