testmeat photoblog

things i liked about my trip to cuba: the landscapes, the beaches, the weather, the skies, the history, the cars, the rum.
things i didn't like about my trip to cuba: the cubans.
i'll preface this by saying that of course there were exceptions, but in general i found the cubans to be a bunch of arseholes. they were unfriendly, unwelcoming and rude. and it can't help but affect your experience and impression of a country if the inhabitants don't want you to be there. like i say there were some exceptions and they usually came in the form of people we stayed with or who guided us on excursions - in other words people with a financial incentive to be (at the very least) polite. oh and that's another thing, everyone (and this time i mean everyone) who approached me wanted money. and it's really hard to warm to people when you know they're only talking to you because they see a walking dollar bill. now i know the economic situation is different in cuba, so in some ways that's to be expected, but i've been around enough of south america to know that lack of money does not equal lack of happiness. it got so frustrating that in the end i pretended that i couldn't speak spanish to save myself the stress of walking outside. for the record i didn't have any contact with this young chap, or his posse, so this isn't personal against him - just most of his compatriots whom i met.

here's the original