The irony of my being in Cuba was that I got charged for a visa even that I didn’t need one (being Russian), and that everything was so cheap but I couldn’t buy anything, because for some reason they didn’t exchange rubles and I was totally out of euros. I yearned to go to that crafts market next to the port to buy some art, but there was no way! And no ATMs around, as you can imagine.
Cuba
Cuba, day 1: Imagine… the Night
From the diary:
“I’m so nicely boozed.
Drunk and happy, in Havana.
For the first time in a while I feel pleasantly boozed. And my head is light and dizzy, and my whole body relaxed. Maybe that’s why all these great people kept drinking. It helped them relax.
Cuba, day 1: Imagine… the Day
Taking into consideration all the trouble SAS had to go through to get us to Havana, our stay was spectacular. Not to mention that we were the first American ship to dock in Cuba in nine years due to the US embargo. It wasn’t such a big deal for me – being Russian I could go whenever I wanted (not that I ever thought I would), but for days since we left Salvador the ship was buzzing with excitement. Last time SAS went to Cuba Fidel threw a party at his residence for everyone willing to attend, and later the students were showing their folks pictures of them with Fidel Castro and bottles of rum…
LovingStranger 