Upon arriving in the famous capital, some stereotypes were immediately fulfilled: souped-up vintage cars in front of colorful colonial houses, along with plenty of salsa music, cigar shops, and mojito bars at every corner (more popular than the "Cuba Libre").
The old town in particular is bursting with obvious and hidden splendor. While strolling, we often found spacious, sunlit courtyards behind the beautiful facades of the patio houses.
This October, Havana celebrates its 500th anniversary and expects numerous prominent guests such as the Spanish royal couple. In preparation for this spectacle, many restoration works are currently taking place and the city is bustling with activity.
However, when leaving the touristy old town, one quickly notices the huge disparity between the purchasable, carefree Cuban flair and the true Cuban everyday life.
Cuban everyday worries
'Paciencia y humildad' (Patience and humility), that is how a heartwarming Cuban woman described to us the virtues of Cuban everyday life as we waited forever together for a public bus. As a tourist, one can spend a great time here, but living here is very difficult for most people.
As a state employee, a doctor earns only around $70 per month, while a teacher has to be content with half of that. It is no wonder that more and more people are switching to the tourism industry, where one can earn a doctor's monthly salary in a few days. Each household receives a card monthly, depending on the family size, which can be used to acquire a certain amount of basic food items such as rice, sugar, or oil for free. However, it would hardly last for the first week.
Furthermore, Cubans are only allowed to leave the country to a very limited extent. They are even prohibited from visiting some nearby Cuban islands due to the risk of escape.
During our short stay, we also became aware of acute problems: for several weeks now, gasoline and drinking water have been very scarce. At some gas stations, Cubans stand in kilometer-long queues until late at night just to fill up their tanks. We met a German who made the perceived mistake of renting a car and had to wait for gasoline for nearly ten hours.
To save fuel, the government has now made hitchhiking virtually mandatory: those who drive a state-owned car (the majority) and do not ask at bus stops if they can pick someone up are punished. That is why there are police officers at almost every bus stop who coordinate and enforce these carpooling opportunities. Almost all motorcycles and scooters have also been converted to electric motors.
However, it is the tourists who consume a lot of gasoline while traveling in shared taxis (colectivos) due to the lack of sufficient public long-distance transportation. And hotel complexes buy large quantities of drinking water. So while tourism brings in a lot of money to the country, it also has some disadvantages for the general population.
Azucar!
For both of us, Cuba is particularly fascinating due to its extraordinary political system and its history. Despite all the difficulties, we have found the Cubans to be very warm, outgoing, and joyous people. "Uno se acostumbre" (one gets used to it) - and that is how most Cubans live their daily lives, with patience and humility. Our days in Havana were very interesting and beautiful. We are excited to see what the next stops of our tour (Valle de Viñales and Trinidad) will bring.
