Havana, Cuba

Havana is a city of contrasts.  There are some beautiful hotels and churches, but many of the buildings are crumbling or in need of significant repair. Many cars are American classics from the ''40s and '50s which are kept running with parts from China.  Most Cubans use taxis, bicycles or horse-drawn carts to get around. Cuba has a 99.7% literacy rate and 85% of the people own their homes.  The "hot" things to shop for are rum, cigars and coffee.  In 2016, 4 million people visited Cuba, with half of them being from the US. Education and healthcare are free to everyone.  The government provides ration cards to all families, which allows them to buy 15 days of food staples for a very low price.

There are 2 types of currency: Cuban pesos (which the natives use, ~85 pesos = 1 US$) and CUC, convertible pesos, (which tourists can purchase, 1 CUC ~ 1 US$).  No U.S. credit cards can be used on the island; it is a cash economy.  Everything is government subsidized, so salaries are very low compared to what professionals earn in the U.S.

During our 1.5 days in Havana, we had dinner at a government-run restaurant (chicken, rice, beans), went to the Tropicana night club to see a cabaret show, spent one night at the Melia Havana (beautiful hotel), toured Old Havana and had lunch at a paladar, a privately-owned restaurant (lamb and rice with ceviche appetizer).  The highlight was the Tropicana show, which takes place in an outdoor theatre.  High energy singing and dancing from 10:00-11:45 pm, with colorful (and scimpy) costumes.  the Cuban people are friendly and eager to learn about America life.  It was a delightful visit with near perfect weather (82, low humidity, sunny).