[lavidaloca]

You sound like you love Cuba and you get it but I just think there needs to be the Yuma (similar to Farang, gringo) perspective who has many different challenges than a Cuban American will face.

The Cuban American faces many of their own challenges. One is the inflador. Cuban Americans in large part (not all) are expected to go back to Cuba and show off their wealth. Family members expect you to help them out beyond what is reasonable in many cases. The biggest one is though that you can't go back to Cuba and say its tough in the US and you work your balls off to make it by. You've gotta make it look like you made it big. Thats why you have 1000's of Cuban Americans paying $100-$250 a day in rental cars (Audi is the one of choice), drinking the most expensive bottle in the local night club (Usually Chivas Regal unless Havana), taking the entire family to paladars or to hotel pools etc. All of a sudden a lot of these guys can only make one trip every year or two because their one week trip turns into a $4,000 trip + the monthly remesas add another $2,400 to his tab and the help with the odd big purchase can add another $1,000 to his tab. Those are things us Yumas don't have to go through.

[lavidaloca]

(06-02-2016 12:08 PM)natas305 Wrote:  

So any tips on how to find good but discreet places in Cuba? I was going to use Airbnb when I go there, for example. What should I look for?

And how did you find accommodations in these smaller towns? If there's nothing on Airbnb or a hotel website, I wouldn't really know what to do....

You walk or get your taxi driver to take you to a place (he will likely get compensation for doing so and that will be added to the price of the room)

[lavidaloca]

Other issues we as foreigners face are we can't buy a phone line in our names. So just the phone line rental I believe is $90 a month roughly.

We can't buy property. We can't buy or drive a car thats not an official rental. Rental prices are absurd. In low season for a Geely CK you might get one for $1,500USD on a monthly tab but for the most part you are looking at around $3,000 / month for a car rental.

[lavidaloca]

(06-02-2016 09:50 AM)Dantes Wrote:  

I can't wait to hit Cuba and thanks for the report.

How did you go about finding accommodations ?

How are the gyms in Havanna ?

If you had to pick one spot for 1 month, where would it be?

There are nice gyms in Havana. They are private and you as a foreigner will probably pay the foreigner price which ranges but around $1 a day. By nice I mean gyms which are reasonable and not filled with home made 50 year old equipment. i.e. the expensive one has padding on the bench, the cheap one is a plank of wood.

I actually like the gyms with the old equipment. You meet a lot more interesting people. Talking to Jose the son of the restauranteur in Miramar is fun and all but I personally would much rather talk to Eduardo the guy who hits the gym 2 hours a day 6 days a week, makes his money through manual labour, selling jewelry etc.) The one guy lives the real Cuban life. The other guy lives in a bubble.

The people on average are remarkably fit that you'll see in gyms especially the cheaper ones. I find the more expensive the gym the worse the shape. The guys in the cheaper gyms will chat and gossip non stop in between sets amongst everyone in the gym. At the expensive gyms its more like gym culture here. You listen to music, you hit your sets, you get out.

I don't find there to be much of a gym culture for girls yet. In Havana your starting to see it a bit with quite a few girls working out. In the provinces though it's rather rare.

[lavidaloca]

(06-02-2016 05:59 AM)Poker Wrote:  

Shit, I was in Cuba around the same time you were. I was there from the end of November to the end of January. Cuba's great, I have a big interest in Cuban history so I keep on going back. Havana is a sight to behold but the rest of the country is amazing too. I spent about a week in Santa Clara, the vibe was so relaxed and laid back. Sancti Spiritus was the most visually pleasing place I visited. The small little towns and villages are like going back in time a hundred years. +1

I found Santa Clara to be the most decrepit place in terms of housing quality I'd seen in Cuba once you walked bout 5 blocks from the main square. I was only their one night though. I didn't party however I think it would be an interesting place to venture out to.

Habana is an incredible city but many price points higher than the rest of Cuba.

[lavidaloca]

(06-02-2016 06:02 AM)Cyclone Wrote:  

Incredible and brutally honest datasheet. I've been yearning to go to Cuba ever since it opened up but always just been too far. Based on your report the country sounds fucked and 3rd world as fuck - no A/C, internet, and people constantly swindling? I did not expect it to be that ghetto or cheap. Some comments:

- you say you don't need Spanish, well how many of the people actually speak English? Do they learn it in school? Next to none speak english that don't work in the hotels (usually unattractive and older) and hustlers
- you didn't stay in the capital, but would you stock up on goods there before venturing out? Also not sure why you avoided it. I personally wouldn't stock up on goods unless you needed something foreign i.e. Grey Goose Vodka or Tommy Hilfiger cologne etc. That stuff is much harder to get in the provinces.
- i was worried the line between sex/prostitution would be a blurry one. So normal girls expect you to pay $10, you can't just buy them a fancy meal? I read in some articles that waitresses would offer to bang you in their kitchen for $1 and shit like that. The $1 fucks are pure fantasy except amongst Cubans. I've actually partied inside a place that rents by the hours to the cheapest Cuban hookers. Some of them go with Cubans for as little as $3. Practically speaking though $20 would be about the minimum for a foreigner. The lines are blurred in that some girls don't full time hooker but still hookers. A lot of the referrals are in relation to Cuban Americans. The price in which Cuban Americans can get away with is lower. Though on the flip side the people who pay the most are Cuban Americans. Lots of Cuban Americans pay $20 others of them pay $50 girls $150. Why? Para Inflar. (Pretend to be rich)
- that special island of only 20-yr-olds, does that apply for men? If we are late 20s / 30+
30+ is fine. I know guys who are much older who have nice girlfriends. Typically Yumas end up with a girl whose a nice enough girl but has some history. Typically their girlfriend / wife has done some prostituting etc. You don't often see a yuma with a girl who studied and works a professional job. In fact that's a next to never occurence. The girls who study medicine for example get wifed up by Cuban Americans and well off local Cubans faster than you can blink.

Overall it sounds like we should hold our breath and wade through there for a month one of these days, sounds like a poosy paradise for years to come
Pussy paradise is a relative term. Cuba is undergoing a transformation in the eyes of America but aside from Havana nothing is really changing. Theres a bit more money but nothing really that wild. 10 years ago at nightclubs people would mostly be drinking Havana Club Anejo Blanco (about $4 a bottle in stores) Now most people are drinking beers or Anejo Reserva (about $10 a bottle)

The change in Havana which is noticeable is that some Cubans on the island actually have built up real money and can spend equivalent or in some cases more than Yumas. Though in my experience most of those guys are rather boring. They own restaurants, villas with a pool for rent etc. But they are usually older and married. They also inevitably end up at the venues where all of their peer group goes which is fun but not somewhere that you'll have stories to write home about unless your interest is being at a table beside Cuban celebrities and popping bottles.

[azulsombra]

One thing about the datasheet stood out to me. The OP was complaining about how hot Cuba is even during the winter time.

This was not my experience at all but maybe when I was there it was unseasonably cold or something. I spent time in Havana between January and February expecting hot, humid weather like Rio or Santo Domingo. Sure there were hot days but for almost a a week it was too cold and overcast to go to the beach and people were wearing jeans and light jackets in the evening. If you head out that way in Winter it might be wise to pack some slightly heavier than beach wear clothes just in case.

[Filbert]

(06-02-2016 06:02 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  

Those are things us Yumas don't have to go through.

Lavidaloca,
What do you mean by 'Yuma'? Could find the meaning.

[Jackreacher]

(06-02-2016 05:35 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  

Theres some things not being said here that make a massive massive difference in your experience versus what other people will have.

1) You are Cuban American. We are Yumas. Why that matters?

- You can stay in much cheaper accomodation. (We can't stay in accommodation anywhere for $200 / month)

Wrong I actually can't but I did anyway, I blatantly ignored the rules foreigners have to follow(yes I too am considered a foreigner, and was paid a visit by an official at one point) I took a risk and I got the rewards

-You can walk around with girls everywhere without issues / without getting stopped by police for questioning etc.

Wrong they did question me and the girl I was with on two occassions being Cuban American did not make a difference if the girl was a working girl she'd be going to jail

-You don't have to register each girl you take to your rental. We have to get a document signed which is taken to immigration the next day. Thereafter the casa owner will likely not let you bring another girl to her rental.

That's the trouble with renting from someone licensed to rent to foreigners I avoided these from the beginning and yes I actually had to register at one point in Balla Honda, and cut my trip short there soon after.

-You speak the language. Not speaking spanish is a massive disadvantage unless they are looking for $$.

You will need a translator if you don't know the language, that's going to cost money. Thankfully the average salary as you pointed out is quite affordable

-You were doing a lot more p4p by the sounds of it then the report reads. I know it's only $20 but thats a months salary to a government worker. Also you were Cuban American. What does that mean? You get the girls to sleep with you for cheap and / or that actually believe you will have a relationship with them. Why? Because you can actually like their, can buy property / businesses through family members name or even repatriate and do it yourself.

Sometimes it was 5 dollars too if you want to get technical and the girl wasn't bad looking, also I certainly can repatriate but no ones crazy(or stupid) enough to do that I'd have to give up my american citizenship. Cuban girls marry foreigners all the time and the husbands buy properties through them, I don't see how me being Cuban American would be such a benefit in that regard. Lol I think you're overthinking this way too much man. These are farm girls I'm telling you to lie to. It's really not that hard man trust me!

-Guides who speak english are 99% jineteros who will hook you up with the local hookers / quazi hookers and they get their kick back from the girl. You pay $40 he takes $10. You buy drinks he orders something he didn't actually order then splits the difference with the bartender or has the bartender inflate the price. Your Cuban so you avoid that trap.

I rarely went to bars so I wouldn't know, but I certainly befriended lots of jineteros I'm fascinated with the underground prostitution community and sadly they usually don't even make 2 bucks on most transactions considering the amount of risk they end up taking they're the ones usually going to jail. It's definitely an under appreciated occupation despite the trouble a lot of them go through but that's just how it goes when you're the middle man. And a lot of them have to stomach having their girls getting fucked, you got to develop a pretty thick skin for that shit, I didn't avoid the traps I went straight into them and took advantage. And yes I'm Cuban but there's a group of Angolan guys who took the time to learn the language, were paying a bit less then me for a bigger place and were sitting pretty with some very nice females, I guess they didn't have any excuses about what they wanted you know?

-You don't deal with the same constant hustle that we Yumas do. Taxi's who when your with a girl at 2am want 5x the price. Guys stopping you non stop to ask you where you from etc.

Oh dude I get this all the time, especially the price hike at night. Sometimes I dodge it sometimes I can't because it's the first taxi I could catch in the middle of the night after waiting half an hour for one to even show up and I can't tell him to go piss off.

-You get cheaper travel alternatives. Yumas aren't getting to travel for a $1 or $2 in camions to the country / other cities.

Wrong again, some of the folks on these camiones were simply Americans

-You don't get the fake menu which is 5x the price when you show up at a restaurant

When you know what food is actually worth there I would just walk off if they pull that shit, I'm surprised they didn't I'm a blonde guy with green eyes and I have a fucking beard Cubans usually don't rock one. Never got a crazy menu.

-You don't get overcharged on your drinks at nightclubs.

Not a big fan of the nightclubs

-You don't get brought into the spend spend spend mode where your Cuban buddies start trying to inflar and the girls are hounding and the girls bring their sister, prima, and best friend out and want to go to the nicer venues. The expectations in terms of how much you spend as a Cuban American are much lower.

You're wrong man, it all boils down to if you're a fool to take the bait. I have personal anecdotes of guys who initially tried to hustle me later being real cool and helping me out big time. You just can't be a fool or you'll get played. And I don't think the large majority of the guys on here are even close to being that, that's why I can share this stuff. I need you to keep in mind I wasn't born there and I got a buddy who told me he doesn't recommend that I go alone, hell he didn't want to go alone because he's been away for so long he figured he'd could probably get hustled too so I definitely took a risk going there the way I did. No risk no reward.

All of these make a remarkable difference.

I can't bring 12 girls to my casa even if I wanted to. 1 is allowed to register for my entire trip there. Some might allow 2 or 3. (Havana is different in that regard in that no registration policy exists)

-I'm not sure where you found Holguin to be the darkest city in terms of complexion. It's actually the whitest which seems somewhat odd to me that a Cuban American wouldn't know this. Santiago is the darkest in terms of complexion.

In regards to Holguin, I didn't get the chance to stay there but the majority of people I got to know who said they were born there were dark black so I wrote it off. By mistake it seems. I was told Santiago also has some of the most untrustworthy people there as well.

-Most tourists aren't going to make friends that take them around on their motorcycles.

-I can't understand for the life of me why not speaking would be good unless your at La Cecilia and picking up hookers or any other hooker location.

The thing is I couldn't understand (or believe it) either. My uncle was constantly telling me to stop talking Spanish, at some point I gave in and tried it I was awestruck at the results. It didn't make logical sense to me, it simply worked.

Telling girls your going to give them something (i.e. you want to buy them a gold ring) you are engaging in transactional sex at that point. Just not paying after. That is rather lame to be doing in a country that's so poor. The girl expects you to buy her a ring not that next morning but sometime that week as is Cuba and then you book it.

What about if I told her I'd come back to see her and didn't, that would be lame too by your estimation. You don't understand that women prefer lies man? You can always pay, but it's a fact that you'll be doing one or the other. Sorry to tell you. If you want to be with a lot of women that's the price, lies or money. Sorry it's not more clean man. I am but that's just life. It's easier if you just want one girl then you can be 100% honest, and maybe not even have to pay.

You can get hookers all day in Thailand, Colombia etc. for just $20 or $30. Sure the Cuban girls your talking about do less volume for the most part. But we are still talking about p4p at that point.

No you're still talking about p4p. Cuba has a lot of things and most guys will p4p 100% of the time there. That's just the way life is. But is that all there is? Maybe you see it that way. I can't help you with that. It certainly doesn't mirror my experience. I can only say my experience was different. But I go to great lengths to make sure it is different.

It would be equivalent of me going to Colombia. Going to a local casa pounding a girl every day for 60,000 COP. Difference is she fucks 3 guys a day instead of 3 a week.

I have stories from Cuba I can't even post on here because they are simply more personal and I'd need to put them in the proper context because of the complexity of the encounter. I'd be hard pressed to compare them to stories involving a Colombian whorehouse, but maybe that's just your perception of my encounters, I don't know what to tell you man

Or if we are going to compare to here, using Seeking Arrangement and giving the girl a bit of cash after the deed.

You also have access to the "cheap girls" which the Cuban guys all bang for party. Foreigners are going to pay these girls for the same experience because they know they can get it from a Yuma.

The town womanizer is usually the most popular jinetero. (Guy who makes money via transactions with tourists, getting them girls, taxis, taking them around, drinks etc.) Usually these guys seem very suave with woman but they leave out the part where they spend all their money on pay for pussy.

Wrong again man, this guy worked construction hard ass labor, he was usually covered in dust. Made about 4-5 bucks a day doing it along with a bit of gas money. Had a wife and kids(I was invited to his home) normal family. Really nice guy, normal guy actually, really man nothing special. Just a country guy with an aggressive approach streak and a motorcycle in some small ass town called Las Posas. You can't be a jinetero in there lol, you'd starve!

I have spent years of my life there as a white gringo who started out not speaking spanish in his mid teens till now my later 20s speaking fluent spanish. We all know the game, but your describing the game that belongs on internationalsexguide in large part.

So let me understand you, lying is lame and to you nothing to do with game, getting a large quantity of girls in small rural areas is equivalent to fucking in a colombian whorehouse. Befriending people with huge quantities of girls moving through their circles has everything to do with p4p and turning them into jineteros. I mean, if that's the way you see it who am I to tell you anything. I think the way you look at things is certainly interesting.

[Jackreacher]

(06-02-2016 06:02 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  

You sound like you love Cuba and you get it but I just think there needs to be the Yuma (similar to Farang, gringo) perspective who has many different challenges than a Cuban American will face.

The Cuban American faces many of their own challenges. One is the inflador. Cuban Americans in large part (not all) are expected to go back to Cuba and show off their wealth. Family members expect you to help them out beyond what is reasonable in many cases. The biggest one is though that you can't go back to Cuba and say its tough in the US and you work your balls off to make it by. You've gotta make it look like you made it big. Thats why you have 1000's of Cuban Americans paying $100-$250 a day in rental cars (Audi is the one of choice), drinking the most expensive bottle in the local night club (Usually Chivas Regal unless Havana), taking the entire family to paladars or to hotel pools etc. All of a sudden a lot of these guys can only make one trip every year or two because their one week trip turns into a $4,000 trip + the monthly remesas add another $2,400 to his tab and the help with the odd big purchase can add another $1,000 to his tab. Those are things us Yumas don't have to go through.

This is something I found to be true and quite silly. Lots of Cubans who left to the states that come back come acting like they are ballers spending way more money then they should. These people care way too much about how they're perceived with big chains of gold only to end up broke midway through the trip it's really bizarre.

[lavidaloca]

(06-03-2016 12:52 AM)Jackreacher Wrote:  

No you're still talking about p4p. Cuba has a lot of things and [b]most guys will p4p 100% of the time there. That's just the way life is. But is that all there is? Maybe you see it that way. I can't help you with that. It certainly doesn't mirror my experience. I can only say my experience was different. But I go to great lengths to make sure it is different.[/b]

[/quote]

That's the point. A number of highly repped forum members have gone there and not had good results whatsoever in terms of non pros. Many have still had a very good time.

I know how much fun and how ridiculous of time can be had. But even on this forum most of the guys who go there are not going to be having non p4p experiences. See Fisto and THC's report and those are two of the best most respected forum members with legendary kill counts. I think they got 1 lay between them in 3 weeks if I remember correctly. After 100+ in 6 months in Asia each.

I agree my comparison to a colombian brothel was overboard.

I've taken camiones too but thats not going to be something most people will find (between cities) Maquinas yea, most could find them but they'd have difficulty finding their location in a lot of areas. Vedado and Miramar are simple due to the grid system. The other areas of Havana not so much.

I've stayed in unlicensed casas too. It's not something I like to do personally.

Even in long trips most guys here won't be able to figure out that type of stuff unless they have very good spanish. Cuba will get better if the economy improves. There will be a middle class which will create the opportunity to nightgame which isn't very existent unless your trying to shore.

The taxi's im talking about are immense rip offs i.e. $20 for a 5 minute ride. Not the $5 instead of $3 variety.

[lavidaloca]

My approach in Cuba is to find nice honest girls and take them to wherever the best shows are on that night. (Typically the highest end bars/ clubs) My preference is for reggaeton but I'll adjust based on the girl. (I enjoy Leoni Torres a lot especially when he did his weekly performance at Shangri-la but nightlfie is always changing in terms of whats in with the opening up of private bars. I enjoy myself enormously dancing and partying and the girl enjoys herself too. The average guy who shows up there for a month is not going to be able to replicate that because he won't ever find the shows lol. Not many girls are going to turn down a chance to see Charanga, GdZ, JF etc. But to do that my expenses are probably multiples higher than yours.

I've done the smaller provincial cities to where there is one place to go each night. It's fun but it's brutal during the day time and after a while you just see the same faces out every night. I find in the provincial cities theres a lot of 5-7's. The superstar chicks though I find are in Havana. Though the average is terrible. Havana es un sueno.

We have advantages that guys on the forum won't have. You have the advantage of being Cuban American and I have the advantage of a decade of travelling their, studied their (spanish) at the university etc. Our experiences are going to be vastly different than what most will have. Most guys are going to go their, either get 1 girl and stick with her and buy her a phone, clothes etc, do p4p, or strike out.

I had a buddy of mine visit me who had a relatively high notch count for a month. (nearly 100) He ended up getting 1 lay that was Cuban and she hit him up for money afterwards. My last buddy who visited me for 10 days got 0 free lays despite his best efforts.

I don't find Cuba hot at all over Christmas time personally.

Yuma = foreigner

Going back to Cuba and getting residency isn't necessarily stupid. Theres plenty of guys who have done it in recent years and made small fortunes. How you think those guys build and purchased the property for those new bars that are so popular and the massive houses that are paladars. A lot of it is illegal foreign investment but there are quite a few Cubans who have moved back.

[Going strong]

About Yuma, the origin of this term is unclear. It might actually come from the famous Western-movie about the afternoon train to Yuma (2 or 3 versions of this excellent movie exist).

And if I remember well, this word as a plural (to describe "the foreign people") can be used like that: "la Yuma"... (instead of los Yumas....), which I find a bit disrespectful.

And yes, depending on the season and wind coming or not from the sea, you can have very fresh days in La Havana. (Personally I find this capital city rather unbearable, but the rest of the country indeed has gems)

[Julio]

I too don't get the "don't speak Spanish there", I was there with 3 friends and 2 of them didn't have a clue of Spanish, they could only go for p4p, while my other friend who is advanced level could hook up with locals. But maybe it's a different story in small pueblos although I imagine the level of English there should be close to zero.

[Cyclone]

(06-02-2016 05:35 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  

The trip is good but the difference between the experience your going to have as a Cuban American and us Yumas will have is remarkably different. You have innumerable advantages.

I think any smart forum reader understands this nuance deep down.
Certainly no gringo is going to Cuba and expect the same experience this guy had.
.

[spacetime]

It is hard not to fall in love with Cuba, my 2012 summer that I spent in Cuba was one of the best summers of my life.

The living costs are very low, and the girls are very friendly to foreigners. Almost like they really want to escape and run away from there.

[Jackreacher]

Another thing I'll say is I'll strictly be going to Cuba in the summer when school is out. I forgot to put that in the OP but it's really important if you want the absolute best results.

[lavidaloca]

Julio and his friends were probably about the top foreign catches you'll find in Cuba. All young, very successful guys, fit, good looking etc. The two guys who spoke spanish fluent Julio and his buddy were able to take out non pros. One of them was a complete stunner. To this day she is the best looking girl I've ever seen a foreigner take out in Cuba that was a non-pro.

Not many guys would be able to replicate their setup. If they had rented by the month it would've been $8,000-$10,000 a month for their villa. They had a prime location colonial mansion with a pool in the most expensive district in all of Cuba. (I'm using the term mansion loosely here but for Cuba it would be considered a mansion)

The guys who spoke English only had a fantastic time but they weren't getting girls for free by any means.

There are great times to be had in Cuba but a non-spanish speaker in all honesty is not getting freebies from beautiful girls with any sort of frequency in a short stay unless they have some unusual combination of factors. Julio and his one friend would probably kill it in terms of quality on a return visit.

i.e. a massive social circle

In Cuba theres a lot of situational prostitution. I.e. girls who don't do it full time by any means but will do it whenever the opportunity falls into their doorstep.

[lavidaloca]

(06-03-2016 09:42 AM)Jackreacher Wrote:  

Another thing I'll say is I'll strictly be going to Cuba in the summer when school is out. I forgot to put that in the OP but it's really important if you want the absolute best results.

I do like this time for several reasons.

1) Less tourism although thats moreso the case in September as I think a lot of Italians get time off in August.

2) A lot of employees and students have time off work so there are a lot of public concerts during this time.

I don't like it for a few other reasons

1) It's obscenely hot

2) Less people actually go out to night clubs during this time in my experience. (A number of reasons for this such as less foreigners in Cuba so lower capital flowing through all businesses, people often go visit their families during this time etc.)

[lavidaloca]

azulsombra in his sheet summarized Cuba in a way thats more likely how rooshv'ers will experience Cuba. Keep in mind I believe azulsombra also speaks very good spanish from what I recall.

thread-45109.html

I'm impressed from looking at that sheet at how well it was written for a first time visitor.

You better believe there are going to be 9+'s showing up to see GdZ play even if its $25-$100 cover. Lots of hookers for sure but lots of beautiful girls. Provincial girls are cute but you don't see the superstars there imo. Fine if you want girls like in the original picture.

Video filled with provincial Cuban girls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CezUm07tBAE

[Pokerbaby]

lol, I went to Artex in Cienfuegos.

But the only girls there were strictly P4P which was a turnoff. They asked for money before they even said hello to me. Total turnoff.

In other areas of Cuba, they are usually pretty quiet about it. You feel like you're the man and you totally scored, then they hint that they want money after. I'm not completely uncool with that. But I do think unless your'e a young, good looking white guy, they are always going to ask for money somewhere along the way.

[Going strong]

(06-04-2016 01:32 AM)Pokerbaby Wrote:  

lol, I went to Artex in Cienfuegos.

But the only girls there were strictly P4P which was a turnoff. They asked for money before they even said hello to me. Total turnoff.

In other areas of Cuba, they are usually pretty quiet about it. You feel like you're the man and you totally scored, then they hint that they want money after. I'm not completely uncool with that. But I do think unless your'e a young, good looking white guy, they are always going to ask for money somewhere along the way.

Yes, Artex is quite famous for being P4P. It boasts a great location though.

Anyway, about the money thing: even normal, working (in shops) women, it is hard not to give them some kind of "reward", at least some restaurant time, some nice piece of clothing, and definitely some phone communication credit (if they own a phone, they will ask for credit, which is normal, having to maintain communication with you). Actually, asking for phone credit (and not cash money) is therefore their way to maintain dignity. (we're talking very small sums of communication-credit here)

Matter of fact, I'll give you a secret: if you find a (provincial) Cuban woman who does not own a cellphone, then you have found a gem , an honest quite shy working woman, maybe even virgin. (explanation: If she has a cell phone, well, chances totally are she got it from a past foreign lover)

[Vinny]

(06-02-2016 05:42 AM)Jackreacher Wrote:  

I went to Cuba in October staying all the way to mid January.

How was Cuba over the Christmas and New Years? Quiet or on the contrary partying a lot?

[Bogart]

(10-18-2016 04:22 PM)Vinny Wrote:  

(06-02-2016 05:42 AM)Jackreacher Wrote:  

I went to Cuba in October staying all the way to mid January.

How was Cuba over the Christmas and New Years? Quiet or on the contrary partying a lot?

I've contacted Jack about this on PM and done other research, his advice was solid. It is pretty dead. However at the same time in the Bahamas there will be a massive carnival festival - the Junkanoo. I will be there, I highly recommend hitting that up before NYE and Miami for NYE instead if you're in the area.

[timalemanha]

Sounds interesting, especially since you are Cuban American but openly mention the bad alongside the good.

Yes, the good is in fact really good I have been visiting Cuba for many years. Since 1994 I have been there about 8 times and I will be going back to Havana in January 2018 for 2 months. I will be staying in one of my friends local roof top apartments with a large terrace and a small jacuzzi pool for only $11 a day. The apartment is in the Diez de Octubre area. Lots of schools and universities there, great for hunting girls. I am still getting a grip on my Spanish but I must say Cuba is just a perfect place for learning it. Most people have the patience with you and the girls are from another planet, so available, so cute.

If you happened to be in Cuba around that time keep me in the loop. Perhaps we meet up