Reay Jespersen

1. Be prepared to see the unusual
You get the impression something is a bit different right when you land in Santa Clara and see army helicopters and open-bunkered jet fighters beside the runway. Stepping inside the small airport, you’re scrutinized by a pair of immigration officers in a tiny cubicle space, you find the metal detector equipment covered with plastic sheeting in order to avoid damage from rainwater leaking from the roof, and you’ll find that while dressed in professional uniforms, the women get a bit wild with the choice of stockings they wear. Then you go through an hour and a half of the most stunningly poverty-striken country I’ve ever been to on the way to your corner of paradise.

2. Be prepared to smoke
Don’t smoke? Doesn’t matter. It’s legal in Cuba as long as you’re 14, and you’re free to do it in most public places, including the Veradero airport, where we had a brief layover. I’ve never smoked anything in my life, but in the week we were in Cuba, I’m pretty sure I second-hand smoked a carton of cigarettes and a handful of cigars.

3. You’d better like cats
We only saw dogs outside the resort. Inside, there were a lot of cats which, while feral, were very friendly. They had begging in the open-air restaurants down to a science, but when they learned you weren’t giving them any (more) food, they were very happy to get petting and scratching which, to be fair, they probably get much less often than food. We saw cats all over the place, and were only too happy to give them some attention; particularly when we discovered that, though both of us are allergic to cats, neither of us reacted to them.

4. Learn some damn Spanish
If you go to a foreign country, the least you can do is make some effort to communicate to people there in their native tongue. Not only does it show you respect them, but it will more than likely put you in good standing with them for having at least tried. In our case, not only did it (with the use of small phrase/dictionary books) help convey things to the employees at the resort we may not otherwise have been able to get across to them, but it earned us the appreciation and attention of employees we ended up making friends with, and who we will be staying in touch with. It’s hard to sound more ridiculous than saying English words louder and louder to people who don’t fully understand what you’re trying to say in the first place.

5. Be nice and tip the employees
It was made clear through talking with other vactioners that they didn’t appreciate the heavy-handed approach our orientation tour guide gave on the topic of tipping (basically boiling down to tip everyone for everything). As it was, I tipped people all the time for everything they did for me, be it bringing me a drink, filling our drinks and clearing the table between meal courses, or as a show of thanks for the free classes we took.
The employees who get paid at the resort (and not all do) make the equivalent of $30-40 per month. Tipping them a Cuban Convertible peso (a bit over a Candian dollar these days) for their service means a lot to them financially and means next to nothing to you financially. Just because it’s an all-inclusive resort doesn’t mean you don’t need to tip. You’re in a very poor country enjoying the labour of people who will never in their lives in that country be able to afford to go to a resort like the one where you’re staying. Cough up the extra few bucks here and there and help make a difference to people who are nice and busting their asses for your enjoyable time.