<B><s>San Jose, Costa Rica</s>
Camaguey City, Camaguey Province, Cuba</B>
Disclaimer: <I>I was there in January of '07. Things might have improved with Raul Castro now in charge. Also: hobbying in Cuba, more than any country I've done so in, is very much a YMMV experience. A more determined pooner, maybe having done more pre-trip research, might have much more success than I.</I>
I was going to write about San Jose, Costa Rica first - because I thought I'd placed it last on my list. Turns out I placed it fifth, ahead of Camaguey City, Cuba. I am pleased about this only because that means I'm writing about Cuba first.
Why is that important? Only because there's a line I've been dying to use as an opening to my report about it.
Have you seen the movie The American President? Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin - the writer of The West Wing TV series - it stars Michael Douglas as widowed President Andrew Shepherd and a quite alluring Annette Bening as his new girlfriend. It's one of my favourite romantic comedy/dramas.
Near the end of the movie President Shepherd finally responds to the mud raking attacks that he was determined to ignore. When he does he really comes out swinging and, at 1:21 of the embedded video, speaks the line I'm paraphrasing here.
Take a moment to watch the video and hear the tone; the earnest seriousness of it:
Ok. With that tone fresh in your mind, imagine instead that President Shepherd is speaking this line:
"
Cuba isn't easy.
Cuba is advanced hobbying. You've got to want it
BAD cause it's gonna put up a fight."
Ha ha ha. If I didn't laugh about it I'd cry. (If you've been there maybe you can relate).
So what do I mean; what is it about Cuba that warrants this sort of warning?
Well let's put it another way...
Depending where you are in Cuba hobbying could rightly be described as Covert Operations. That was certainly the case the first few nights I was there. Not so much in Camaguey City. I didn't go there until, oh, passing three nights in Holguin City, Holguin Province.
The song "The Heat Is On" by Glenn Frey would have been a good soundtrack for those first few nights.
You've probably guessed by now that, yes, prostitution is illegal in Cuba. Worse than that, in some (most?) places the law is actually enforced!
As a valuable money spending tourist you're safe - from being arrested and/or fined - but also from assault.
Cuba, it is said, is a very safe place for tourists - tourism now being the life blood of that small impoverished country.
No. The danger while hobbying is to the girl. She risks either being shaken down by corrupt cops for what little money she earns, or being arrested by straight laced cops. From what I was told, being convicted of being a prostitute can (does?) result in being sent to a work camp for three years!
How little is the price for short time? From what I read before going; from what Il Italiano (The Italian) told me when I got there; and from my own experience - about 20CUC!
A CUC, by the way, is a Cuban Convertible Peso. It's the currency tourist are meant to use. The Cubano National is the one Cubans are supposed to use. In reality, either group could be using one, the other, or both - I think. I certainly used Cubano Nationals the odd time and saw Cubans using Convertibles.
The CUC is pinned to the US$ 1:1. If I remember correctly, converting $100USD to CUCs yielded about 90CUC. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
So whenever I list a price in CUCs just add about ten percent to get the real cost in US$.
Yes about 20CUC for short time. Not some drugged up junkie either! (I don't think Cuba has a drug problem). For that price you can expect to bed a beautiful chica (girl). More than that, unless she's been selling herself for a while, you'll more than likely get the much sought after GFE.
Overnight? I had a girl stay with me 24/7 for four days and nights. The first morning I woke up with her I gave her a choice: I said that I could either pay her the price we agreed on before going to sleep, 20CUC just to sleep with me; 30CUC if we had sex in the morning, or we could go shopping. She took option two - with delight.
Each day we shopped I stopped her at about 30CUC. She seemed pleased with that - and kept every single receipt. Probably she took some or all of the stuff back for the cash later on. Who knows? I think some girls, new to prostituting themselves, can kind of fool themselves into thinking they're not if they receive gifts instead of cash. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
How old and pretty was she? Maybe twenty or twenty-one. Great body - but a cartoon type tattoo of a devil on one calve - and a pretty face. It would have been very pretty but for the slight overbite she had.
She was a nice girl and very much appreciated my oral administrations. So much so she kept me waiting, to have sex, while she was in the can for over an hour doing God-knows-what. Finally she came out with a freshly shaved pussy. NICE!!! Of course I went to town on that!
She showed me where she lived. It wasn't far from the Casa Particular (Bed and Breakfast) I stayed at. It was, ummm, enlightening seeing her place. Guys... it was a shack! The entrance "hall" was just big enough for two narrow "beds" and had a dirt floor. I didn't go further in but, believe me, the main room wasn't that big. Maybe five meters on a side?
Before we left her father happened along and she gleefully introduced me to her. Me, a nearly forty-seven year old Norte Americano. I don't know exactly what he thought of me but, by the look on his face, I was sure glad tourists are a treasured commodity in Cuba.
So... You can have a hottie short time for 20CUC; overnight for about 30CUC. "What's wrong with that? Cuba sounds great!" you say.
It is and it isn't.
That girl, I should mention, I met in Camaguey City - where the heat might have been on but it was set to a very low temperature I guess. Let's head back to my first night in Cuba; in Holguin City.
Landing late, me and my buddy got into town at about 10:00 PM. He'd already arranged for a place to stay. I hadn't. His host called around and quickly found a place for me - pocketing 5CUC of the 30CUC I paid there. Such kickbacks for referrals are the norm in Cuba - which makes it pretty easy to arrange for a place to stay even when traveling to another city.
By 11:00 PM we were taking in the scenery at the main park downtown. It is big and it was busy busy busy with people traffic. Cubans of all ages were out enjoying the night air. Some alone, most with family (including young children), friends, and lovers. The problem was there wasn't any action to be had that I could see - at first.
I remarked to my friend that maybe we'd made a mistake choosing Holguin. Before long though I spotted three young ladies, walking arm and arm, and soon to be passing by us. Two of them didn't interest me but one certainly did - and I her it seemed - since her smiling face locked on my own as she walked by, head a'swiveling.
Of course I got up and followed behind. Soon enough she sat on a bench and I joined her. Before long we'd agreed we were meant for each other - for an hour anyway.
She got up and I did the same to leave with her. Seeing that, she discreetly gestured for me to follow behind her. "Oh yeah," I thought. I remember reading about this procedure. So I followed a half block behind while she walked about two blocks away from the park.
Now you have to understand something... Cuba is not just a third world country; it's among the poorest of them. What I'm getting at is that most streets are very dimly lit - if at all. As an added bonus, due to the fact feet and bicycles are the main means of transport, the air is really really really clear. If you love star gazing, pack your telescope when you go - and maybe donate it to a school at the end of your visit. It'll be great appreciated and cherished I'm sure.
So the street we met on was DARK. She waved to someone waaaay far down it and, next thing I knew, a taxi pulled up. Well... the guy used the car as a taxi but really it was just a car; a fifties era Chevy if I recall correctly - that had seen better days.
For a brief moment I wondered about the wisdom of getting in it with two strangers that might know each other. Then I decided: Nah! In all likelihood what I read about our kind being off limits, for being assaulted, was very likely true.
Within ten minutes we were outside downtown on an even darker street. We got out and she knocked at the door of a very low rent looking casa. A two room place probably.
The guy that answered seemed to have just woken up. After a little chat he trotted off and she told me we had the place for an hour.
Inside we went and discovered the bed, no doubt <U>his</U> bed - that he'd just vacated - was just inside the door. Sigh! Good thing the girl was sweet and WAY CUTE!
We got down to it; it was nice; then the light - a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling - went out. PITCH BLACKNESS. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face! "Have I been set up to be robbed after all?" I listened carefully and thought I heard a third person outside. I also paid particular attention to the direction I thought my clothes and wallet were.
Within a few minutes the lights came on and we resumed our love making. It was nice. I wanted to see her the next night but she didn't show.
By the third night I decided it was just too hard to get laid in Holguin so I headed west. I can't even remember why west? Did I read something about Camaguey City? I've no idea now. That's where I wound up though - after a brief two night stop over in Las Tunas. It's a small town between Holguin City and Camaguey City. I got a bit of action there but nothing worth writing about.
Continued next post...
