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Underground
Railroad |
January
15, 2000 - Cuba |
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I befriended a bicycle taxi driver in the early part of
my stay in Havana. I was a frequent guest at his house
and welcomed into his family. He became my guide, guardian,
and buddy as we travelled around the Island for several
days. Cuba has two separate economies happening with different
currencies. The native economy with pesos (20 pesos=$1)
and the tourst economy with U.S. dollars. The system evolved
after the demise of the Soviet Union and the loss of Cubas'
international trading partners in Eastern Europe in the
early 90's. Cubas' economy ground to a halt and tourism
was seen as a solution. With tourism comes Capitalism,
and the influence of the evil Imperialists..(I'm trying
to keep this simple and tell a little story about my trip,
but it's not working.)
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A
little more explanation before I get back to my
story. The Cuban Government tries to keep the locals
separated from the tourists. Obviously that's not
possible, but they try anyway. For example, the
locals are not supposed to talk to foreigners on
the street, nor are they allowed to frequent the
same lodging or dining establishments. This presents
some problems for a Cuban and a tourist travelling
together. So we had to git onboard the "Cuban
Tourist Underground Railroad." |
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