
Travelers
I was just amazed at all the people with suitcases. They must have come off of the other cruise ship. I was expecting more people taking tours, not people with suitcases.
We were on the "Best of Havana" tour. It was 8 hours long and covered our person-to-person requirements! Our guide was named Osmin and the driver was Eri.
I waited for Bill downstairs by the buses. I was talking to an elderly woman while we both waited for our husbands. She told me she never thought she'd be able to visit Cuba in her lifetime. I didn't either.
The next stop after passing the visa and health screen was the money line. They asked only one person per group stand in line for money. We learned about the money in our Cuba seminar earlier in the week. The locals have their own money they call CUPs (Cuban Peso). CUPs all have people on them, like Che Guevara, and Cuenfuegos on them. The money for tourists is a CUC, (Convertible Peso). CUCs all have landmarks on them.
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To get off the ship we had to pre-buy a visa. We bought ours through the cruise line. As Americans We were required to do 8 hours of person-to-person cultural exchange before we could just walk around by ourselves. We could do it ourselves but we'd have to meticulously document it and keep records for 5 years. We booked it through the cruise line instead. When we got off the ship we passed by doctors and nurses that were watching for sick people.They asked us not to take picturesof them. Interestingly, the nurses were wearing very short skirts and white lacy hose.
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A huge statue of Jesus across the bay from Havana. We'll see it closer later in the day.
The Morro Castle and lighthouse (faro) is one of the symbols of Havana and one of the most visited places by tourists. Completed in the 17th century, it has been photographed and painted by many and has also appeared in several movies.
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