| Hotel Havana Libre, Tuesday April 5, 2005, 6:24 pm | | | | that she makes the equivalent of US$13 per month |
| So Saturday I had already planned to go to Vinales, a | | | | (and a simple pair of Jeans costs US$20!), so she |
| beautiful area in the province of Pinar del Rio, 190 km | | | | supplements her income with the bed and breakfast |
| west of Havana. I took the Viazul bus from the | | | | (another one of the few private types of business |
| Havana station, which is a modern bus network more | | | | allowed). The night cost me US$20.00 and the dinner |
| or less for tourists and the one way fare is US$12 | | | | with drink was US$10.00 for a complete dinner with |
| (way too much for the locals, most of whom end up | | | | chicken, arroz congri (rice with black beans) and salad. |
| taking local taxis or the cheaper and less reliable, | | | | The food was very simple and not particularly spicy |
| more decrepit Astro bus system). | | | | or tasty. |
| A young Cuban man sat down beside me in the bus | | | | We had a fascinating conversation and I found out |
| terminal and tried to offer me accommodation in his | | | | that women today, despite economic hardships, have |
| private home in Pinar del Rio (one version of the | | | | it a lot better since the revoluation. Cuba is a |
| shadow economy which is centered around tourists). | | | | traditionally a country with a lot of machismo, and |
| After I told him I already had accommodation, he | | | | the revolution has done a lot for women. They now |
| started to talk to me about life in Cuba and how | | | | receive educational opportunities and can obtain |
| hard it is and that is extremely difficult to survive | | | | education and work which was very difficult before. |
| economically. He told me he only makes US$24 a | | | | Many of the educated women work in ministries or |
| month, working for the national(ized) | | | | universities and have a fairly decent standard of living. |
| telecommunications company. He also said that | | | | I received a few explanations about the relations |
| recently financial transfers from Cuban emigrants, | | | | between men and women in Cuba (e.g. that modern |
| particularly from Miami, have been cut back to | | | | educated women no longer accpet those machista |
| US$100, which works out to CUC 92 (Cuban | | | | attitudes of Cuban men, but that there are still many |
| Convertible Pesos, which used to be 1:1 with the US | | | | traditional young women without self-esteem or |
| Dollar) and that soon US$100 would work out to | | | | education that are more or less at the mercy of their |
| even 8% less. He basically just spilled over with | | | | boyfriends/husbands). |
| unhappiness about the economic situation. | | | | I also found out that it is not allowed for a private |
| The trip to Vinales was about 3.25 hours long and | | | | bed and breakfast owner to employ a maid (due to |
| along the way it started to rain. Vinales is known for | | | | their exploitation in the past), but that everybody |
| its beautiful limestone formations, the "Mogotes", | | | | does it anyway, since people have to work full-time |
| box-like mountains that grow straight out of a flat | | | | to make a living and don´t have time to manage |
| valley floor with often vertical walls and hundreds of | | | | the day-to-day chores of running a small hospitality |
| limestone caves. | | | | establishment in addition to working outside the |
| Probably 30 or 40 people were waiting at the bus | | | | house. |
| stop in Vinales, all owners of private bed and | | | | My hostess' common-law boyfriend told me about |
| breakfasts (or "casas particulares") ready to pick up | | | | the medical system in Cuba, that he had a benign |
| tourists staying with them. My hostess, Sandra, a | | | | tumor in his tibia (after having been a national calibre |
| beautiful young woman of 28 years, was there too | | | | rower and basketball player) and that he received an |
| with a sign saying¨"Susanne - Canada" on it. It's | | | | implant in his leg consisting of coral, from 2 of the |
| a strange feeling arriving in a foreign country, in a | | | | most well-respected doctors in Cuba. His operation |
| strange town, not knowing anybody, and seeing your | | | | was based on new surgical techniques from the US |
| name printed on a sign first thing you arrive. | | | | and since the operation his life is almost normal, he |
| My hostess took me to their Casa Particular, a simple | | | | walks completely normally, except he can no longer |
| colonial 2 bedroom house, with a brand-new | | | | run or play basketball. |
| bathroom for the guests, and an old decrepit | | | | All Cubans I have met so far are extremely proud of |
| bathroom (without sink or toilet seat) for the | | | | their country's achievements in public medicine, public |
| owners. My hostess had to work and I was very | | | | education, literacy and opportunities for women and |
| tired, and it was raining anyway, so I slept for a few | | | | minorities (while at the same time some of them are |
| hours until I received my home-cooked dinner directly | | | | quite vocal about all the economic hardships and |
| in the private house. | | | | other restrictions imposed by the government). |
| In a conversation with the young woman I found out | | | | Definitely some interesting insights.... |