tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post2872739299689288978..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: Tuesday Morning is the Best Time to Arrive in Havana by Suz deMelloAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-42543363888086567132015-06-21T15:34:57.899-04:002015-06-21T15:34:57.899-04:00Thanks for all your fine comments!Thanks for all your fine comments!Suz dehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236960359162948178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-77362226141512010932015-06-21T15:34:41.873-04:002015-06-21T15:34:41.873-04:00The packages from the US are hella expensive but w...The packages from the US are hella expensive but will get cheaper, I think.Suz dehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236960359162948178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-13622462936444473512015-06-21T15:33:48.179-04:002015-06-21T15:33:48.179-04:00Yeah, I had the same experience when I lived in Ch...Yeah, I had the same experience when I lived in China. It's not communist at all--it's a totalitarian capitalist dictatorship. You can't swap out one set of elites for another and say it's communist and actually have a communist system. And religion is tolerated in China--every Buddhist temple I visited was busy, and one of my co-workers openly wore a crucifix. <br /><br />Yes, the music is great but again, everything is designed to appeal to tourists. I don't know if I ever heard anything original. At one bar I even heard "Guantanamera."Suz dehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236960359162948178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-8115730549191400532015-06-19T22:32:02.112-04:002015-06-19T22:32:02.112-04:00I don't generally long for places with hot wea...I don't generally long for places with hot weather--in fact I tend to avoid them--but your description of Cuba reminds me of how much I'm missing. Thanks for sharing!<br />Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-32579743197405319302015-06-19T14:25:02.704-04:002015-06-19T14:25:02.704-04:00Thanks for the post and the photos, Suz. As a natu...Thanks for the post and the photos, Suz. As a naturalized Canadian citizenship travelling from Canada, I've gone to Cuba several times. Package deals that include the flight with the hotel (or resort, with meals included) are the cheapest. Even still, I was very relieved to be travelling with my Spanish-speaking Chilean spouse. Cubans must speak Spanish faster than any other Latinos I've met. And Cuba is definitely not the same type of tourist destination as Mexico. Some items (e.g. sunblock for very pale skin) are hard or impossible to find in the stores. And in my experience, Cuba has less internet access than any other place I've been, but as long as you have enough money for your stay, being isolated this way can be a good thing if it forces you to focus on the here and now.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-58024692110714601222015-06-17T17:46:30.798-04:002015-06-17T17:46:30.798-04:00Perhaps I'll get to Scotland one day. The Brit...Perhaps I'll get to Scotland one day. The British Isles (as well as most of Europe) are still in the ball park.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-58606052059580785432015-06-17T10:48:37.081-04:002015-06-17T10:48:37.081-04:00"Additionally, when I travel, especially to s..."Additionally, when I travel, especially to someplace new, I'm deeply engaged in my life and have no mental space for worrying about whatever it was that was bothering me."<br /><br />I've noticed this, too, and always felt it held an important key to life. If only I could figure out how to be a traveler in my own home, I'd be getting somewhere...<br /><br />And thank you for this incredible post! I'm sorry about the financial difficulties, but it sounds like you handled them, and I'm so excited to read your firsthand report from a place I've always been curious about. And the story sounds awesome, too!Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-91735442379428902142015-06-17T00:56:05.134-04:002015-06-17T00:56:05.134-04:00Have to argue with you there Daddy X, the Highland...Have to argue with you there Daddy X, the Highlands of Scotland is home to the nicest people in the world. Polite and unassuming, they'll make you feel you are truly welcome. Eant to go to Cuba though. Love that rhythm!JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10305127219838784688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-4209383793021841392015-06-16T11:19:50.404-04:002015-06-16T11:19:50.404-04:00Good idea to get in there before the good ol' ...Good idea to get in there before the good ol' US fucks it up. I have a cousin in Florida who says there'll soon be a ferry from Miami. When that happens, I'll be sure to go. hope it's sooner and not later. Good tip about the credit card/atm deal, Suz. That'll likely change too.<br /><br />Sounds like Cuba is an accommodating destination. It's good to be in a place where people are nice. I have no desire to go where hatred is a way of life. Fuck Africa, fuck the near east, middle east and the Caucuses as they stand now. Give me Thailand, in my experience the nicest people in the world.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-11001094342179494642015-06-16T05:03:26.281-04:002015-06-16T05:03:26.281-04:00Oy! One of *those* travel stories!
Sounds like y...Oy! One of *those* travel stories! <br /><br />Sounds like you adapted well, Suz. Of course, you have lots of experience. <br /><br />I look forward to the story.<br /><br />Your comments about how different the place was than what you'd been told remind me of the first time I went to China. (Actually the only time I've been to mainland China.) This was in the mid-eighties, not long after US/Chinese relations had opened up. There was still a lot of anti-communist propaganda. We heard:<br /><br />1. You can't go anywhere on your own. You always have to have a guide or a minder.<br /><br />2. People can't have their own businesses. Everything is run by the state.<br /><br />3. There's only one way to go there, via a tour with the official China Travel Agency.<br /><br />And so on.<br /><br />We discovered that this was all just nonsense. In Kunming, we rented bicycles and rode around for hours in the back streets. At any of the tourist attractions, we had to brave the same sort of gauntlet of souvenir vendors that one would find in any Asian country. The only difference was that they were all bundled up in coats and hats. (This was December.) And we learned just how wrong the last item was when our flight was moved forward and we arrived back in Guanzhou a day before we were expected. We ran all over trying to find our guide. We figured he must work for China Travel Agency, right? Turns out there were DOZENS of independent travel agencies, with offices tucked away in the back corridors of hotels.<br /><br />Don't necessarily believe what your government tells you!<br /><br />Oh, and how was the music? That's one reason I'd love to go to Cuba.<br />Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.com