VidaNaPraia

There is a comment period, so it's not an official policy yet.

Harry

We can only hope......

It could go the way of the President's immigration plan, which evolved, e.g., acceptance of "dreamers".

but not acceptance of the Dreamers' parents, from whom they could be separated by deportation

This is not the exact documentary I saw, but it does explain the "cookie" situation in Haiti, a level of poverty and food insecurity not found in Cuba:

(bold is mine) That is one way to impose restrictions, and I think it's likely to be what happens. I don't want it to be this way but if it is, I'll have to accept it and be grateful Cuba travel for US citizens hasn't been shut down entirely.

 

If this is the way the restrictions are controlled, it's certainly going to put a burden on the cruise lines. I've looked at tours from Azamara and they don't offer much variety. Azamara is in Havana for 3 days (2 1/2?) and their tours would not fill the time. I think they were expecting people to self-certify and go off on their own. If the only way off the ship is a ship's tour, they had better come up with enough things to do or people will be unhappy.

IF that turns out to be how it's handled, the logistics are going to be a problem. For example, all those brand new air conditioned Chinese built tour buses are owned by the government, as are the ancient school buses and many taxis. The new rules adamantly prohibit use of Cuban government owned tourist entities.

Or travel to a place where those items are needed(Haiti perhaps, Liberia, etc)

..you are DEAD WRONG by stating that people should hand out freebies to the citizens of Haiti!!!

Did I actually say that tourists should hand out freebies in Haiti? Or was that a conclusion you chose to jump to?

My intended point was that tourists should not assume that Cuba is poor in comparison with Haiti (or Liberia).

And as to the point I was making about relative poverty:

Cuba's GDP is around $80 billion US for a population of 11.82 million

Haiti's GDP is around $8.77 billion US for a population of 10.6 million

Liberia's GDP is around $4 billion US for a population of 4.5 million

sources: (http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cubans-worry-trump-could-dash-island-s-economic-hopes-1.3937907) (https://tradingeconomics.com/haiti/gdp) (yahoo)

Supposedly under the proposed policy cruise passengers will be restricted from visiting businesses whose money is tied to the military. But I wonder how this can be enforced.

I suspect the cruise lines may have to or choose to operate regarding their passengers more in the way the land and sea group cultural tours currently do, applying for a license on behalf of the group and specifying which of the new list of approved providers (non-government-owned bus companies or taxis, restaurants, tour guides) and which approved activities they are using, and require that is the only way to leave the ship.

For someone who thinks they know the right thing to do in foreign countries (although I doubt if you're a Cuban citizen) you are DEAD WRONG by stating that people should hand out freebies to the citizens of Haiti!!! Despite their poverty, we do not need to encourage them to have a "welfare mentality" and learn to beg for a living! Two of my daughters lived there for several years and that was one of the first things they were taught when they arrived - they should assist the people of Haiti to learn how to be able to provide for their own families and not rely on taking things from others. Most Haitians will sternly correct their children if they try to beg for "stuff" from tourists. Haitians are also proud of their families and culture, so PLEASE do not encourage tourists to hand out stuff to those they meet. Instead, patronize their businesses so they can make an honest living. If you want to give monetary support, there are numerous missions and charities you can contribute to that will use the money to drill fresh water wells, build and run schools and orphanages.

Thank you for correcting my ideas about Haiti with your daughters' first hand experiences.

The point of my remark was, of course, that Cuban people do not need to be taught to beg by tourists handing out cheap items indiscriminately. And that they are fairly well off in comparison with those on other islands nearby.

Excuse my incorrect information about conditions in Haiti.

Apparently they too do not need items like the hair scrunchies and promotional pens that those uninformed about Cuba often mention wishing to bring to hand out to all and sundry as they stroll through the streets.

I had seen a couple of documentaries about women in the countryside of Haiti who provide for their own families with businesses making "cookies" out of mud to sell to those so poor that's all they can afford to fill their stomachs.

From that, and other reading and research, as well as talking with friends who visit relatives in Haiti despite their credible fears of being violently relieved of any money they bring to help, I concluded that the poverty in Haiti is at a level far below that seen currently in Cuba.

My impression was that Haitian culture had been all but destroyed by war and corruption and natural disaster.

Cuba's GDP is around $80 billion US (http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cubans-worry-trump-could-dash-island-s-economic-hopes-1.3937907)

Haiti's GDP is around $8.77 billion US (https://tradingeconomics.com/haiti/gdp)

So perhaps, as you seem to say, I am DEAD WRONG and conditions in Haiti are not dire at all, and all those tourists currently flocking to Haiti because of its beauty and beaches, should instead go forth from their resorts and buy mud cookies to support those critical local businesses.

.....handmade ceramic tile done by Jose Rodriguez Fuster ($30) at his home in Jaimanitas

The unique Fusterlandia (pronounced foo-ter-lahn-ja) is an interesting addition to a tour of Havana. You can take a taxi (if not on a tour already). Lots of photos online.

Did that tour take you to Callejon de Hamel too?

Glad to see you post again. Need to tell you. You are a jerk, is a jerk, is a jerk. Some people try to be helpful but you don't care. Too bad you have no clue how to try to be a nice guy, but from your prior posts I am not supprised. Crawl back under the rock you came from and go away. Forever.

youare easy to ignore.

it’stime to ignore all you write.

justneed to ignore this.

nothingchanged, to ignore.

Don't cry. Just try taking your own advice.

Can't we all just get along?

 

For what it's worth, the regional local newspaper that you refer to has a larger circulation than the Boston Globe. By the way, how many direct flights to Cuba does Logan have?

Boston is a CITY. Arizona is a STATE. Larger circulation for a state makes sense. (Please cite primary sources when you make assertions involving statistics, though.) But clearly if the Arizona paper is accepting articles from non-professional journalists, the quality is different. The AAA newsletter often prints amateur's travel reports.

By the way, Logan was about to get a direct Havana flight when all the changes came through. May not now be worth it to the airline.

It would have been nice to be able to hop on a flight for a long weekend, without having to change in Miami.

It is much easier, though, to fly from cities that do have direct flights, like several on the East Coast, and it follows that more people in and around those cities would be interested.

Glad to see you post again. Need to tell you. You are a jerk, is a jerk, is a jerk. Some people try to be helpful but you don't care. Too bad you have no clue how to try to be a nice guy, but from your prior posts I am not supprised. Crawl back under the rock you came from and go away. Forever.[/quote ]

said the poor pathetic widdle troll-y-pooh

(who can't even write correct English)

I emailed our driver/ tour guide about bringing gifts of brushes for artist and music stuff for musicians , his reply was " the street artist and musicians" may appreciate it.

I definitely realized what previous posters have said and I have come to understand over travels around the world, most folks are proud of themselves, their lifestyles,accomplishment and don't want handouts. On that note: Would you want to show visitors the underprivileged parts of your community? Nor do they.

 

Cubas arts world is quite accomplished, so much so that it is doubtful that I would be able to purchase an artwork to bring home other than what a street artist has to offer.

Good for them, not for me!

A

You may find that your expectations about "street artists and musicians", based on that email, other destinations and professional video, may not be the reality you find. Art is sold in stores or stalls in warehouses. I did not see the kind of street fairs in parks that we have seen in other places. Some of the print making studios have stores attached. The artists are likely not the people tending the store/stall in these cases.

Musicians play in restaurants and clubs. I did not see buskers or street musicians, or neighbors jamming in the street outside homes. YMMV

I believe these arrangements (other than a jam) are all regulated by the government.

You can probably find nice small prints for under 100 CUC. I saw some in several places around Vieja. The sometimes badly done car paintings go for 12-35 CUC.

Perhaps you can arrange to drop off brushes or strings/mouthpieces at the office of an art or music school.

Or perhaps you could request the guide get in contact with an artist whose work you have liked on lahabana.com to allow you to visit his/her studio, and give brushes to him/her. However, the artists who are selling, are now selling in Europe and elsewhere worldwide, and get to travel to openings, and buy the equipment of their choice with their considerable earnings.

I'm sure your guide was trying to be amenable. All that stuff has value sold on the secondary market, so I'm sure it would be accepted and "appreciated" as extra income for anyone.

I think this is a great article. We have not been to Cuba yet. Booked for next year, but I am going to print out your travels and use it as a guide for our trip. Seems to cover everything we need to know. Is it too much to ask if you have any pictures? Most of what we see are stock pictures of a few buildings and a few old cars. Would love to see some of everyday life. Again wonderful article. Thanks for posting.

Congratulations, Paul Benjamin. Your article seems to have won his official troll seal of approval. Good job! A hearty pat on the back is well deserved.

We've been treated to your colorful and evocative photos in a link on another thread already, have we not?

Insofar as the article, it seems well written, an appropriate short piece for a local regional newspaper in an area out of the major direct flight paths to Cuba, where large numbers of travelers may not be as aware of Cuban travel possibilities. Since cruise passengers are likely to be limited to a full time schedule of cruise line arranged tours starting very soon, the level of detail is adequate to that purpose. It must be fun for you to have such a piece published locally to you and your friends and family. Enjoy the local notoriety!

...............................

Vida:

 

Why do you bother answering a troll?

Extreme boredom? (Time on my hands not planning my next trip to Cuba. That's in Sec 2 d) in the treatise linked above, "amplifying free association" with my Cuban friends through 'non-visiting'.)

Faint amusement to see how far he'll go?

Waiting to see if anyone else would call him, and/or the other one, out?

(Thanks for the concern though. Definitely appreciate it. You're a good human being.)

Too bad i can't ignore all this dribble from someone who seems to know nothing.

Looking in the mirror again apparently. :rolleyes:

The Cuban government should be taking care of its people not the US Govt.

The Cuban government IS taking care of the Cuban people, and has been, through thick and thin.

Cubans have a higher literacy rate than the US due to an excellent free education system. No one lacks for healthcare, unlike the US. Rent and utilities are subsidized or free for the poor, whereas in the US, families with children are living in welfare motels and shelters. There is a basic food basket for all, unlike the US where working families go hungry and the food stamp program is being cut.

They're not doing a bad job taking care of their people, for a country that's been forcibly isolated and cut off from most trade with the world.

You just want something for nothing. A welfare system for the Cuban people paid for by the US.

I want something for nothing?

Where did you read that? Please show the quote (because I have never said or implied that).

Pure imagination, pure fiction, on your part.

Welfare system? What welfare system? A welfare system paid for by the US? :confused:

So every time a private US citizen chooses to stay at a BnB, that's a "welfare" system for the owner of the lodging?

The Cuban people deserve better. Hope it could happen.

They sure do.

Hope whatever your fevered dreams have conjured up isn't it though.

Let's give 'em a chance at the "better" they deserve, instead of handicapping them further.

thank you so much for this forum... something other than cruise critic...

Some of the same posters on the TT forum who've been going to Cuba for a long time also post on Trip Advisor.

you can just show up during business hours- it's like trick or treating

lol

The most absurd aspect of the new policy is that it hopes to bolster private enterprise but accomplishes the opposite. Casas Particulares and Paladars are private enterprise but it is individual travelers who are more apt to frequent them. Major tour companies like InsightCuba book travelers into big government owned hotels

And it makes the US look untrustworthy in the eyes of the very Cubans it wants to lobby their own government for changes.

The US loosens the rules, more US tourists come, small business people (who still don't have a lot of "spare" money) invest in their businesses (economize on other things to buy new apartments to fix up to rent and start restaurants), the US tightens the regs, the investments are for naught, rooms and eateries standing empty, and Cuban entrepreneurs who "believed the propaganda" are suffering.

It is time to ignore all that you write.

just need to ignore this...

nothing changed, still need to ignore .

you are easy to ignore

You yourself don't seem to be ignoring me very well. LOL

The quoted comments start to sound like a pouting 5 year old with fingers in ears. Nyah, nyah, a-boo-boo !

And where is ANY INFO on Cuba that comes from personal experience on the island or from personally talking to Cubans that live on the island?

I, on the other hand, am posting from my personal experience talking to Cubans of many walks of life IN CUBA, and information gleaned form my own trips around the island, with eyes, ears, mind and heart fully open.

And most of the Platt Amendment was repealed in 1934.

Oh goody, someone knows how to Google!

Yes, that was the point. Anyone who still believes that the US can force Cuba to bend to US will is a fossil, living as if it were pre-1934.

nothing changed, still need to ignore .

Trying to ignore the truth is futile.

Only living fossils still think the Platt Amendment applies.

Hoping someone can advise on baseball season. .....Anyone have any info?

Try asking the frequent, long-time travelers on the Thorn Tree Cuba travel forum.

Here are some (recent but not current) posts on baseball in Cuba from that forum:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-cuba/cuba/experience-cuban-culture-go-to-the-baseball-stadium?page=1

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-cuba/cuba/baseball-season-in-cuba?page=1#post_22487336

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-cuba/cuba/baseball-in-cuba-done-for-season?page=1#post_22437072

If you're near DC you can stop at the Cuban embassy and get one for $50 directly from the government.

Plus a passport photo and some other documentation in addition to the application form, iirc (not required from the CTS or other agencies).

By mail, the embassy does them for U$70.

Do you know from personal experience that you can simply drop in to the embassy and do this tourist card process?

Have you ever tried to call that embassy to get information (like if drop in is OK or need appointment)? Impossible to get a person on the line.

What can be more "People to People" than walking the streets of Havana and interacting? Have difficulty understanding how riding on a bus with fellow passengers is compliance.

As counter intuitive as it sounds, an individual casually "walking the streets of Havana and interacting" with random locals never met the definition of the People to People category. I have heard that the widespread abuse of this particular category in that manner led to its specifically being targeted for elimination.

"Riding on a bus with fellow passengers", while being presented a historical narrative, fulfills the criteria for a full-time program of cultural events.

just need to ignore this and get the news from other sources that are not biased :(

1) biased=does not agree with RJB's POV

2) The Platt Amendment is not still in effect.

3) The US, as noted, cannot claim moral superiority in forcing other sovereign countries to act as certain politicians wish.

4) Generally, the carrot works better than the stick.

Sorry I missed your location - but, not having Cable, you wouldn't see the speech. Important fact that that poster missed.

I, too, live in FL part of the year, and in the NE the rest. Had the pleasure to go to Cuba recently, and met many very nice people there. I grew up with many kids who came to the US when Castro took power. It was interesting to meet people now in Cuba who knew some of the kids I grew up with.

I had said above:

No other non-cable channel carried his speech live in my area. I flipped through all the channels on my TV while he was speaking. None of them broke into their regular daytime programming.

The poster frequently does not read what is written.

I went to Cuba without a lot of preconceived notions about politics, with a background on the issue not unlike most US folks who knew the tensest of times from a US media perspective, and with the priviledge of having friends among the younger, more open, generation of Cuban-Americans. I was fairly surprised even so by the opinions expressed to me by the everyday folks I met in Cuba. I respect what they had to say. Ultimately, it's not useful to insist on imposing the most conservative US thinking on a proud people, with a rich, strong culture, who have their own distinct ideas about the course of the last 50 or so years.