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Well Cuba was a mixed bag for me. Firstly, I’d just like to say.. Fuck Cuba. My first experience of the country was something that has left me NOT as an avid supporter.

I arrived at the airport just after midnight and i was firstly questioned repeatedly about “why i was in Cuba”. “For a holiday” or for “tourism” didn’t seem to cut it with the immigration officers. Eventually i was allowed to pass immigration to officially enter into the country. My next experience was to be taken to a dingy back room in the airport to be searched by officials, as if i was smuggling endangered species or had a bag full of drugs or explosives. The searching room looked to be set up for torturing unsuspecting tourists. There were all kinds of pliers, hammers and knifes proudly displayed on the walls, and being my first experience in this kind of situation (EVER), sadly, i was not overly impressed. So after having all my stuff removed from my backpack and my carry on luggage, resulting in NO endangered species or drugs or bombs or anything fun being found for the nice officials to bail me up and cast me off to a Cuban gaol cell somewhere to rot, i was free to enter into this communist paradise… Well, as free as you can be in the circumstances..

I was lucky enough to meet a French guy at the airport, Jean Karl, who also got the same welcoming treatment, and ended up traveling with him for the whole time in Cuba - he made my time in the country a hell of a lot more enjoyable and affordable - as we shared accommodation costs etc. There are no hostels of any kind in Cuba, so it was extremely hard to meet anyone else travelling. We went days with out seeing any other tourists.

The cost of living (for a tourist) was bloody expensive in Cuba to top it all off. The Cuban government decided that their currency (the Cubano Peso) was not worth enough so they fixed this by deciding to make up a new currency (the Convertible Peso) that they rated at 1:1 to the USD (which economically, in my view, was totally way over priced by at least 100 - may be 200%). They also then tax a further 20% on all cash withdrawals you make in the country. So the Australian dollar was worth about 55c to the Convertible Peso.

So for me, this wasn’t a good start to a new country, still i attempted not to totally write off the place (although i was tempted to get on a plane and fly the fuck out of there straight away). After several average days, surviving on stale bread and dodgy processed meat products, i had a couple of exceptional days in Old Havana after meeting some of the locals who showed us around.. some of the good bits. Old Havana was truly a beautiful city and if the government ever gets off it’s ass and cleans up the rest of the country, Cuba could be an absolutely magnificent place (the whole city of Havana desperately needs maintenance and a good coat of paint), as it appears nothing has been done since the 50s or early 60s.

The people of Cuba were exceptionally nice.., some of the nicest people i think I’ve met this year, and that really helped. I felt sorry for them in many ways, especially those that have lived in a free democratic country at some point in their lives. In Havana, Jean Karl and I stayed in the home of a Nuclear Professor who has worked with many other countries in improving nuclear programs globally. You would think that such a highly educated and important person would be well remunerated by his country. It’s all about equality under the communist system.

So, i think when or more so IF Cuba ever turns to a Democratic leadership, about 10 years after then, I’ll consider going back, but before then.. there’s no way.

Anyway, out my photos from Cuba here.

And don’t forget to check out the fridge gallery here as well..

Retrieving your Beer and Snacks from a locked kitchen..

While staying in an excellent hostel, a number of guests and I found ourselves in an emergency situation where-by the communal kitchen was closed and locked before we had a chance to retrieve our drinks from the fridge or eat all of our late night snack stash. - As you can imagine, this kind of situation for an intoxicated person is not going to make peace for anyone (especially those trying to sleep in the area), so to help you (and others) out in the future when you become stuck in a similar situation, see the following demonstration on how to retrive beer & snacks from a locked kitchen (using a mango picker.. =) - Happy hunting..

Costa Rica was an absolutely beautiful place. “Pura Vida” is the saying the locals use which fittingly means “Pure Life” .. You could make a beautiful life in Costa Rica, and i’d possibly put it in my top three destinations to live that I’ve experienced so far.

With perfect beaches surrounded by low-key chilled out surf towns (some of which are very hard to leave once you get into the swing of things), beautiful mountains with an abundance of wildlife including some of the most amazing birds with calls that you could write a symphony from..

One hostel i stayed at for a period of time was positioned right across the road from the beach. Crossing the road you had to be careful not to step on the crabs that seek refuge from the rising tide inland. The ones that didn’t make it formed a kind of Mosaic effect, similar to tiles, and their bright orange and purple colourings was actually quite pleasant to see.. There were people getting amazing acupuncture treatments, and others using excessive rest as another natural treatment for life’s pains and worries.. You could pick yourself juicy mangoes from the trees right in the hostel gardens, and the over all effect added up to a captivating place that was very difficult to leave.

There are active volcanoes that shake their surrounding areas with sizable explosions as spewing lava flows and boulders the size of cars bounce down the sides. I visited one of the most active volcanoes in the world whilst there (Arenal), but unfortunately only felt and saw minor eruptions..

Costa Rica is renowned for it’s white water rafting. After pissing it up all night in the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, i ended up with a total of 15 minuet sleep before heading to Pacuare River for a day of class IV rafting.. The cool water was definitely going to wake me back up so all i had to do was concentrate on not throwing up all that precious alcohol from the night before on the bumpy road to the river. The Pacuare is rated by many as one of the top 5 places for whitewater rafting in the world, and with Toucans flying overhead and monkeys swinging from the rain forest canopy by the river banks it was easy to see why.

I’d recommend a visit to Costa Rica to anyone who wants to see a beautiful and natural life..

Check out some of my photos from Costa Rica here.