Cuban Jose, with whom I stayed when I arrived in
Havana in
two-week vacation, gave me only one key – to the common door in
entrance (if you don’t want to live with the Cuban Jose, then there is an option with a hotel).
Jose lived in a small two-story house with only four
apartments – two on each floor – and a common door from the street. Access at
I had an entrance, the key to the apartment was missing.
“You won’t need it,” the Cuban assured me. — Nobody here
closes the doors.
Latin American countries are famous for their high crime rates.
If you are traveling in Colombia or Venezuela, your friends are already
those who have visited these countries will most likely advise you not to go for walks
walk the streets alone at night and do not enter strangers
urban areas. However, Cuba is a happy exception. Crimes,
There are very few related to violence on the island.
For example, if you want to get a haircut in Havana, don’t be surprised that
the hairdresser will invite you to his home. You can enter
without fearthe house of a stranger, even if he has an old blade in his hand
razor. Most likely, the doors and windows of his house will be wide open,
and the whole street will be there to watch you get your hair cut.
The same rule applies to bars. To try a mojito – and at
In Havana he is the best in the world —
You don’t have to go inside the bar. Here, any self-respecting drinking establishment has a bar counter that extends onto the street so that
the border between the street and the bar disappears.
You will always feel safe in Havana. Here, everyone, from Raul Castro to the seller of counterfeit cigars on the square near the Capitol, understands that tourists bring money to the country. And if a tourist
offend, he won’t come again and won’t bring money. The maximum is
a merchant can afford to cheat a rich tourist for a couple
dollars, or ask openly: “The Russian and the Cuban are brothers
forever, help with money, friend.”
So if in the evening, returning to the hotel, you get lost in
the alleys of old Havana, and you will see that a company is heading towards you
black teenagers – don’t worry. Most likely, they just want
show you the way. And ask for a dollar for the service.
This is interesting: Top 8 unusual laws of the world that every traveler needs to know
And this too: 9 tips on how to quickly get back into work mode after vacation
