#a cup with foreign change (mostly canadian)

[thevacationer-blog1]

Money in Cuba: best comprehensive guide for 2020

Cuban pesos (CUP) is Cuba's official currency. No doubt Cuba is a singular country, one of the aspects that makes this island a peculiar destination is that there are two official currencies for the same monetary system, this is one of the most confusing aspects of traveling to Cuba, in this article we will be helping you to understand the money in Cuba in our most comprehensive guide for 2020. When planning your first trip to Cuba, you probably have a lot of questions about the Cuban currency: Why there are two official currencies in Cuba? Which Cuban money should I use? Can I use my credit or debit card?Will I be able to get money from a Cuban ATM? Before we go further explaining how to use money in Cuba let's bring down one of the biggest internet myths: Tourists are allowed to use both currencies at will. If you read otherwise you are probably reading and article written for someone who has never been in Cuba, Cuban Pesos (CUP) were never banned for the use of tourists.

Money in Cuba: basic understanding.

The basic understanding for the two currencies in Cuba is that one is intended for foreigners use and the other is commonly used by locals: Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC): the main currency used by tourists.Cuban Pesos (CUP) or (M.N - moneda nacional): used mostly by Cubans. As you can see Cuba has two official currencies and is quite confusing to know which is which as Cubans refers to both of them as "pesos", fortunately every traveler becomes an expert about money in Cuba after a few hours in the country, if you'd like to get a head start to avoid scams please read this article carefully or contact our team of experts.

Left: Cuban Pesos (CUP), right: Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC).

The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC): usage and exchange rates.

The Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC) was initially created to be used in the tourism industry and is the currency travelers will need the most, was introduced as a way for the government to deal with a weak economy through a "Special Period" due to the fall of the Soviet Union, the country's main economic partner. Today foreigners and locals use it without distinction, tourists most common use is to pay for services like transportation, accommodation and meals as travel agencies and local service providers only accept Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC), both foreigners and tourists also make use of it to buy good quality products. Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC) compared to Cuban Pesos (CUP). Exchange rate: $1.00 CUC = $25.00 CUP Every Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC) is 25 times more valuable than the Cuban Pesos (CUP), this means that a product which is value is $5.00 CUC will worth $125.00 CUP and so on. Because Cuba is a closed currency, you’re only able to exchange money into the CUC once you arrive: do so either at the airport currency exchange desk, or at your resort, you also won't be allow to take Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC) out of the country, make sure to exchange or spend all of it because customs officers may confiscate them if they find you with any when leaving the country. Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC) compared to United States Dollar (USD) Exchange rate: $1.00 CUC = $1.00 USD (with a 10% tax) Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC) is pinned to the United States Dollar (USD) which means $1.00 CUC = $1.00 USD, but due to the U.S restrictions Cuba is not allowed to deal with the American currency, that is why there is an additional 10% fee when changing USD cash to CUC. This fee does not apply to other currencies, or when changing CUC to USD. Effectively the value of the CUC is about $1.03 USD because the Cuban banks always take a commission of around 3% when they give you CUC, whether this be by exchanging cash, travelers cheques, or using a credit card at an ATM or for a cash advance. The physical implications about all this is that every dollar in Cuba will worth only 0.87 cents CUC, so for every $100.00 USD you will get $87.00 CUC. Most visitors to Cuba only exchange money into CUC because this currency is accepted everywhere, you just may get change back in CUP.

Cuban Pesos (CUP): most used currency by locals.

Exchange rate: $25.00 CUP = $1.00 CUC. The Cuban Peso (CUP) is the money used by Cubans to pay for local services and do transactions between them as is the money their salary is paid, they commonly name it "Moneda Nacional" (National Currency) and the abbreviations of M.N. can be found in stores selling products in this money. In your trip to Cuba you may have the opportunity to use Cuban Pesos (CUP) to buy street snacks, coffee and surprisingly excellent ice cream. Usually something for sale in Cuban Pesos (CUP) is likely to be much cheaper than the same product if sold in CUC, although the quality is usually inferior.

Where to exchange money in Cuba: CADECA

List of exchange rates for some foreign currencies at CADECAS. CADECA (Casas de Cambio - Money Exchange House) is the place designated by the Cuban government to exchange money in the island, they are the safest and most reliable places to exchange currency, is always smart to exchange your money only at CADECA to avoid the risk of being scammed. There are CADECAS in every destination in Cuba, their offices are located in airports, hotels, resorts, and shopping centers. Money exchange services provided at Cuban CADECAS. Exchanging cash between foreign currencies and CUC. Exchanging travelers cheques to CUC. Providing cash advances with credit/debit cards. List of accepted currencies in Cuba. British PoundGBPCanadian DollarCADSwiss FrancCHFJapanese YenJPYUSA DollarUSDMexican PesoMXPDanish KroneDKKNorway KroneNOKSweden KronaSEKEuroEUR Many foreign currencies are listed, however we recommended only relying on being able to exchange Euros, USD, Canadian Dollars, and British Pounds in Cuba.

Cuban Convertible Currency (CUC), recommended to use by visitors to Cuba.

Can you pay with a credit card or debit card in Cuba?

Yes you can, but credit or debit cards issued by American banks will not work in Cuba. Cuban banks will not accept your card if your account is linked to an American entity due to the U.S. embargo towards Cuba, however if your Mastercard, Visa or any other card was issued by a non-US bank it will normally work, just make sure to let your bank know you are traveling so they don't cancel it due to suspicious activity, also ask them about your daily withdrawal limit to make sure you don't run out of cash in Cuba. Most hotels and high-end restaurants will accept credit cards. Otherwise, all other transactions will be in cash. List of cards that will not work at all in Cuba: TravelexCitibankWestpac (Australia)St George (Australia)Newcastle Permanent28 Degrees Some other cards from non-American banks with business in the United States will also not work in Cuba, make sure to contact your card provider to clarify wether your card will work in Cuba or not.

Can I withdraw money in Cuba at ATMs?

Just like banks do, any ATM should work in Cuba for Visa cards and Mastercards from non-US aligned banks. There are ATMs in every mayor destinations in Cuba, they can also be found in hotels and they are usually placed outside banks.

Travelers cheques: here are the most commons in Cuba.

Travelers cheques from mayor agencies are accepted in Cuba as long as they don't come from an American bank, most common and reliable ones are from Visa, Mastercard and Citicorp and you can use them at most banks, CADECA offices, hotels, and tourist-related businesses, a 3 to 6% fee will apply for exchanging travelers cheques to cash depending on the bank. The Vacationer would advise not to bring travelers cheques to Cuba, they tend to cause difficulty for the traveler due to the limitations of where they can be exchanged and they cannot be replaced in the event of loss, also the less favorable exchange rates applied when cashing them in.

Recommendations about money in Cuba

For U.S citizens and visitors with money in U.S. banks: As you won't be able to access your cards from Cuba, it is recommended that you bring Euros, Canadian Dollars or British Pounds, also consider to bring a credit or debit card not issued by any American entity. For travelers from the rest of the world: We advise to bring a combination of cash (Euros, Canadian Dollars or British Pounds) and your credit/debit card, just make sure to let your bank know that you will be visiting Cuba. In any case we advise not to bring U.S dollars, please contact our expert team if you need more specific information about money in Cuba. Read the full article

#CubanPesos #MoneyinCuba

[mybukz]

Pride Month Fiction: The Checkered Shirt of Benny Khoo and the Salmon Sampin of Adam Tan by Kok Fuk Hoe

Finally, I got to know Mr Benny. The one Ms Sophia praised over and over during my interview.

It was the first day of school. Teachers and students were coming in and out from the staffroom but I couldn’t be bothered. Things were piling up on my plate. However, I was eager to find out about Mr Benny. Ms Sophia, the human resource manager, had told me about him while explaining my contract—apparently Mr Benny was the only teacher offered a permanent position before the six-month probation. He seemed to possess some supreme teaching methods that wowed his students—he managed to nail a place in this distinguished school in just two months!

This morning I was thrilled—his name plate sat on the table behind mine. I was sure when he came in, he would notice someone new. Even more so when I was sitting right behind him, back to back.

I felt the chair behind me lean against mine. I smiled and got ready to expect some welcome, maybe a grin and motivation. But nothing happened. I stood up and turned around.

“Hi, I am Adam. Nice to know you. I am the new teacher.” I proffered my hand to the back of his head.

He was eating yoghurt and looking at his laptop screen. I reached out for his shoulder. He stiffened, frowned and darted a glance at my hand. He didn’t seem to like talking to me. But darn it, I had expected him to talk to me.

I withdrew my hand; I had been too forward. Then he got up. He went to the fridge and came back with another yoghurt. I stood looking like an idiot.

Then he turned around, looked at me, and shook my hand, limply. “Nice to know you too, and…Welcome to the school.”

I smiled a thanks despite the rudeness. “I teach English as a Second Language for the Year 8 classes. How about you?”

“Year 9. English as a First Language.” Benny remained straight-faced as he stuck one earphone into an ear.

His etiquette fazed me. “Ms Sophia kept mentioning your name during my interview. You must be a very famous teacher.”

“Nah, they’re just exaggerating. You just do what you have to do.”

His replies were short and he didn’t care to talk more. His eyes kept going back to his screen; he wanted to continue watching ice hockey. I quickly ended our conversation and turned back to my desk. I felt cheated by Ms Sophia’s description. This Mr Benny was worse than his yoghurt. At least yoghurt tasted sour— he was just plain cold.

*

It wasn’t hard to glean more about Mr Benny since we worked in the same department and shared the same staffroom. Except for his gravelly Canadian accent (I loved it!), I found out he was just weird.

Benny usually clocked in fifteen minutes later than me. He would have a cup of black coffee—those paper cup instant coffee from 7-Eleven—and some sandwich made of wheat bread. His breakfast routine had to be accompanied by watching his favourite ice hockey show. Finishing his food, he would pump two drops of sanitiser to clean his hand. He never joined anyone for lunch; he brought some delicate-looking meals in a jar, or some steamed corn, or some purplish salad, and of course, there was this cleaning his hand with sanitiser after his meals.

I had never seen him go to a toilet. All he did was teach in the classroom or sit in his cubicle watching ice hockey or sometimes marking exercise books. Mr Benny didn’t talk much to anyone. He would skip reliefs or after-school meetings. And the strangest thing? No one dared talk about this to him. Not even the Head of Secondary.

I couldn’t hide my curiosity about this Chinese Canadian guy. As soon as I adapted to the school, I started asking around about him.

“Why is Benny never joining us for lunch? It is free though.”

“I guess he can’t adapt to Malaysian food. He is an ang mo lah! The foreigners’ stomach can’t hold our curry and spices,” Mr Loke answered. He had straggly hair, taught mathematics.

“But he has been here for seven years and his wife is Malaysian. He should be able to adapt to the food here. It’s not like the school is cooking spicy food all the time. He can eat Chinese food. He is a Chinese after all. Come on,” Mr Goh chimed in, while serving a spoonful of chap chye into his mouth. He was artistic, taught arts and craft.

“He is a C-A-N-A-D-I-A-N, Mr Goh. It is more atas or high-class to be identified that way,” Mr Loke scoffed, failing to hide his sarcasm.

“I guess his wife prepares his food then?”

“Oh yes. His wife worked in this school last time but she resigned after they married. She is a nyonya,” Mr Loke continued to tell me more.

I frowned, I couldn’t understand how Benny’s life worked. “But Peranakan food is made up of tonnes of local spices and is mostly spicy and pungent in smell. So how did he survive the marriage?”

“Adui, Adam, you single people won’t understand this. You will do everything if you are in love. And obviously in his case, his wife loves him more than he does. And come to think of it, it actually saves a lot of time to prep him an overnight oat rather than cooking a decent meal. No one loves cooking these days. Not even my wife,” Mr Goh continued chewing the school food.

Mr Loke ranted, “His wife is the one who chased after him last time. I can’t deny that when I first knew Benny, his Canadian accent really attracted me but well, I am a man. But Jesus, I had no fucking idea that he is so lazy. He skips meetings and events, and he doesn’t even care about his homeroom. Handsome guy is pretty useless, huh?”

“But why the school likes him so much?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he is an ang mo?”

Or maybe it was because of his Canadian accent.

Or maybe Benny looked extremely hot for an Asian: only five feet tall, slim, inimitable foreign accent. God, he looked hot in Doc Martens leather boots. Could Asians carry it off with leather?

Or maybe Benny was hot because he didn’t give a fuck about anything in the school. I guessed you’d look cool when everyone was busy pleasing the students, parents and management and you decided not to follow the trend. Instead you just acted like a real man. And real man takes risks. And Benny was a real man.

Or maybe he fucked Ms Sophia? Was Ms Sophia his wife? Because it would make sense since Ms Sophia was always raving about him being an awesome teacher and whatnot. Or maybe Ms Kelly, our Head of Department. Or Ms Vijay, the Head of Secondary.

I didn’t know the answers.

*

A week before the midterm-cum-Raya holidays, I decided to put on a black baju Melayu. I matched it with a salmon sampin, and completed my look with a songkok. I looked like a real Malay whenever I put on the costumes because of my skin colour.

I am a Chinese as you can tell from my name, Adam Tan. However, my dark skin is not a result of sunburn or sun tan. I inherited this beautiful skin colour from my Chinese and Indonesian Chinese ancestors. We are the Chinese Peranakan, or the baba nyonya, an ethnic group fast disappearing because people no longer cross cultures.

It is confusing and sometimes, shocking, to not know how to respond to an entity that doesn’t truly belong to anyone and anywhere. Just like Benny—he was Chinese Canadian but he didn’t know how to speak Chinese like Mr Loke and Mr Goh. He married a Malaysian but had problems eating Malaysian food. And the most confusing thing was, he spoke good English. Asians don’t speak good English, they say.

Thus, everyone liked to stay the same because it was easier that way. Even in the workplace. Except Benny, of course.

Everyone was at the lounge, laughing, taking pictures and chit-chatting away. There was no food; it was still five days away before our Muslim colleagues stopped observing fasting and celebrated the Raya celebration.

As usual, Benny was never keen to join in the fun. He didn’t care about celebrations. I was surprised he put an appearance now. He had put on his usual checkered shirt—this time, in black and white—and leather boots. I ignored him and turned my back to him.

Someone patted my shoulder. I turned around and was taken aback to find Benny talking to me. To little old Adam.

“Hey Adam, you look exceptionally sharp today.” I was still in shock, I couldn’t process his words suddenly.

“Oh yeah. Thank you. Have you tried wearing such a costume? It is comfortable.” I smiled, awkwardly, like a little child.

“No. I never wore them before.”

“You should try one day. It is—”

“Hey Adam, I need a favour from you.”

I knew it. He was up to no good. He talked to me simply because he needed something.

“How can I help you?” My face had changed from awkward to looking flustered.

He looked hesitant for a moment. “My car broke down this morning and I couldn’t go back today.”

“You want me to send you back?” I was one step close to exploding if the answer was yes.

“No. Can I stay at your place before my wife picks me up this evening? I heard that you are living somewhere around Puchong. I stay in Puchong. You don’t have to send me back.”

My anger diminished. At least he knew it would be a bad idea for me to send him back. He was never part of us, and he never wanted it, I guess.

*

I had just entered my room when Benny knocked on my door.

“Do you need anything? If not, let me change myself before I—”

Benny pressed his lips onto mine. They were soft and moist. I kissed him back, like a hungry beast, devouring his saliva, tongue, and lips. My cock in my pants was filling up with blood.

But I pulled back. “What the fuck is this, Benny?” I was huffing and puffing from the kiss.

“I knew you like me.” The sentence sounded racy in his ang mo accent.

“How did you know?”

“I just know.” He looked down. “Are those stains from your cum? Imagining me fucking you every night?” He sneered. “You do, don’t you?”

Benny hoisted me with strong hands and threw me onto the bed. Why was this happening? But, fuck, was I going to savour this moment. I licked my lips as Benny’s body—and his dick—hunkered over me.

Benny tore at the buttons from his shirt, and hurled his clothes to the floor. This was the first time I saw his body—lean and fit. His nipples were big and dark, and there was hair all the way down from his belly button to the place I wanted to visit the most. Sexy.

He straddled my lithe body, and unravelled my tight sampin. He leaned down and I savoured his kiss, and breathed in his body odour. I wasted no time fumbling at his belt—I wanted to taste his dick.

Soon, my sampin was flung to the floor. And in no time, my baju Melayu, sampin, and undies, along with his shirts and pants, decorated the floor. I felt masculinity suffuse me—the tight stomach squashing me, the hard pecs, the nipples, the big balls. I reached down to grip him—his dick was huge. What a contradiction from his slender body—was that why he attracted us? I was dying to suck his dick, like a hungry baby craving for tits.

I moaned, breathed heavily, my body arched up, twitching—his fingers were caressing my nipples, pulling them, twisting them. I stroked my dick while his thick shaft stayed in my mouth. He thrust his dick against my mouth. When he drew it out, I licked the purplish head. Was I tasting my saliva or his pre-cum? At this rate I didn’t care—my pre-cum had doused my dick, I couldn’t wait to have Benny in me.

Benny flipped me over. He was ready with a condom. He must have come prepared with it in his pants pocket. He rolled it over his cock with skill. (And practice?) He held my legs up in the air. I begged him to shove it in. I needed pounding. Hard.

I moaned louder. I couldn’t stop crying out his name. I had never felt anything this intense. Not since becoming a teacher, a job that drained my energy having to man up all the time in front of the classroom. Now, I wanted to be punished. I wanted to be conquered. My body longed to be controlled and Benny was doing a great job. (I nearly giggled—as good a job as his teaching.)

I moaned every time Benny pounded into me and slapped my butt and uttered nasty words. Slut. Horny dog. Slave, Benny my master. I begged for more. This was my primal self. I needed an alpha male (with a sexy Canadian accent) to take charge, especially in bed. As if agreeing to submit, my dick rose higher, grew harder. Its hole overflowed every time Benny’s gigantic dick locked fiercely and tightly into my asshole. I didn’t mind dying under such circumstances. I was blessed to be pounded by such a huge dick—more so as its owner was skilled.

It seemed surreal when we both reached orgasm together. We huffed and gasped for air, surfacing for consciousness after shooting loads of cum. Benny didn’t pull his dick out; he remained inside, lying on top of me. I hugged and kissed him, feeling his heartbeat synchronising with mine. Between the layer of his sweat and my cum, I knew I wanted him.

“Why this?” I asked. “Why now?”

“You looked sexy in your sampin today. And I just wanted to fuck you. I love exotic creatures.” Benny grinned.

“Wow, I am offended, Benny. My sampin is short because I am single. Those who are married will wear their sampin below the knees. I don’t mean to look sexy.” And with mock offense, “I am not some exotic creature.”

“Well, that’s why I am attracted to you, little Adam. You look cute whenever you are annoyed.”

Benny kissed my lips. I knew we were alike—misfit, eccentric, offbeat. We didn’t really belong anywhere, or maybe the universe had yet to categorise people like us since we could be anything and everything we wanted to be. Benny didn’t give a shit about anything and I too didn’t give a shit about everything.

And this meant one thing: Benny wouldn’t give a shit about our status after this evening.

*

It was the first day of school after the holidays. I arrived at 5.30a.m. as usual, and it was dark.

I walked down the corridor. I saw the staffroom was already lit up. Someone had come in earlier.

I walked towards the staffroom. Two silhouettes were framed behind the glass door. I held my breath and slowed my footsteps. I didn’t want to alert these figures.

I leaned nearer to the door, squinted into the half-lit room. To my horror, I made out Benny humping someone at the lounge.

Damn it, I knew it. He didn’t give a fuck about anything. He would fuck anything. I clenched my fist. Who was that under him?

I couldn’t see; the lounge was not in the light. All I could make out was Benny’s top half.

I stood on tiptoes, and stretched my neck to see if a girl or boy. It was all shadows but I could spy Benny’s dick moving in and out between the legs.

But wait, where were Benny’s legs? He was standing, wasn’t he?

Benny turned around and locked eyes with me. They were dark and hollow. He smirked and the lights went off.

* This is Kok Fuk Hoe’s first attempt at writing erotica. He welcomes any comments from readers. He will answer any questions.

#pride month #LGBTQ #short story #malaysian fiction #malaysian literature #Kok Fuk Hoe #Pride Month Fiction: The Checkered Shirt of Benny Khoo and the Salmon Sampin of Adam Tan

[everythingharrypotterblog]

Red Lips and Creamy Thighs (Newt Scamander x Reader)

Summary: Y/N is a carefree flapper in the Roaring 20s and dances regularly at the speakeasy The Bling Pig. Newt is merely passing through the city and eager to leave when suddenly the sight of a young dancer ties him down slightly to New York City.

A/N: Sorry if I did some history errors, I researched the 20s but not in depth. Plus I’m Canadian so I know nothing of American history to begin with 😊

“Y/N! I dare say your lipstick looks mighty fine today.”

“Why thank you Eileen and I see it is certainly not me who did that eyeliner on your eyes, it is too smoothly drawn!”

Y/N chuckled back at her friends while she laid back in her chair and watched herself take a puff of cigarette in the mirror surrounded by golden lights.

She was a flapper and a dancer. Once upon a time, Y/N grew up in a tight household where she was the youngest of five children, and the only girl. All her brothers were either into MACUSA or further magical education once they hit age 18. When it became her turn however, her parents told her she was to go nowhere but into a husband’s arms.

“You are to be married to a nice rich man who will take care of you.”

“But mom I want to study Magizoology!”

“Magizoology? Pff where is a young girl going to end up in a field like that? That is barely a job at the moment, and even less a WOMAN’s job.”

And so she fled, and ended up into the streets where she was fortunate enough that nothing bad has happened to her. Instead she started frequenting jazz clubs and speakeasys and got noticeable attention from young wizards. She started to dance a lot at the Bling Pig and would watch the nightly flapper performances. She soon caught the attention of Gnarlak, the pub owner and earned a spot in the dance team. Five years later and still looking 18, she became lead dancer at the club thanks to her avant-garde choreography.

“Hey Y/N, would you mind showing me the steps again to the foxtrot again?”

“Of course!” Y/N took a last swig of whiskey before hopping up from her chair.

Y/N moved with ease, dance coming naturally to her. She had been able to boost the business at the Blind Pig considerably with her skills in choreography, offering the customers combos never seen before.

“Wow, I still won’t get over how you can think of that!” The young dancer told Y/N.

“Thank you darling, you just have to think :”what has nobody done before?”

“Y/N!” The sly raspy voice of Gnarlak rang from the bottom of the stairs.

“Coming!” Y/N said, running down the stairs which led to the stage on the main floor below the dressing rooms.

“Hope you have something new tonight, the regulars are getting bored.”

“Oh don’t you worry sir, I’ve got something planned.”

“Good. Now get ready, it’s almost 9. Make me some money, girl.”

Y/N rolled her eyes as she clambered up the stairs.

Flappers were very often looked at as whores, who wore makeup and showed nothing but skin. But in reality, they were more than promiscuous jazz dancers. They were feminists. All of Y/N’s fellow dancer friends were women who longed for equality and the disappearance of misogyny. They shortened their dresses, for who were men to say that they couldn’t show their calves on a hot day when they walked around in shorts? They smoke and drank, for who were men to say that they were the only ones who earned a little break? They were loud, confident and sexy, for they were far too far in history to just be wallflowers and do what they’re told in silence.

“Girls!” Y/N gathered up her group of friends. “’Lizabeth, are you drunk again?”

“Noooo.”

“Whatever, you still dance equally as well luckily for you. Anyway, so goblin-face told us to spice things up for the old customers. Let’s put on our costumes and see what we can do.”

The girls undressed from their daywear and put on their shiny sequined dresses, the sight of fringe shaking around everywhere.

“Hmm.” Y/N looked. The dresses arrived mid-calf, which was already pretty scandalous. She grabbed a pair of scissors and cut through the dress of one of the girls, so the hem arrived mid-thigh.

“Ooh I like it!” Exclaimed one of the girls.

And so the half a dozen girls grabbed scissors and tailored their dresses.

“I like how it looks very much.” Said one, winking and lifting her leg so it rolled up and exposed more thigh.

“GIRLS GET READY!”

This was Y/N’s favourite part apart from the show of course. The getting ready and the goofing off with her friends whom she called sisters. They did each other’s makeup, told stories of their mysterious lovers from the night before… Y/N didn’t have any to share but listened. After each “performance”, she would of course asked to dance by a gentleman along with the rest of her friends, but she did not go home with any of them.

+

“Oh c’mon Newt, it’s time we had a little fun.” Queenie clapped.

“Yeah, a wizard bar? I fancy what that’s like.” Jacob said, already tying up one of his shoes with a pastry in one hand.

“Look Newt, not even I like to indulge, but the Blind Pig is quite some fun.” Tina said.

“It’s dark, and jazzy and great for meeting strangers.” Queenie winked but pouted slightly when she still didn’t see Newt nodding to her idea. “Oh come on we only have one more creature to find! It can wait a night.” And then she whispered, “I bet he’d like the flappers.” closely to Tina’s ear which made her chuckle.

Before he knew it, the quartet were changed into evening wear and out the door. They were soon face to a poster with a red-headed lady and the words “Enchanting, beguiling, alluring” written on the bottom.

Queenie knocked and the poster separated and revealed a dark pub. They walked right in before the singer stopped and announced some dance number.

Soon, the dance floor cleared and a round of applause broke out, especially from male clientele, Newt noticed.

He felt a hand force his shoulder down into a seat and the man sat beside me.

“You look like a lonely fella. You won’t want to miss this then, trust me.”

Newt raised his eyebrows and turned his focus back to the dance floor.

The girls one by one descended the staircase onto the center of the pub, heavy fur coats on. Y/N followed behind without a coat, hidden behind her friends.

“break a leg ladies” she whispered behind them as the music started playing.

It was a slow sultry jazz song that began, sung by the woman-creature. The girls started slowly moving, together forming a big bundle of white fur with their boats.

Newt merely contemplated lightly, not finding a bunch of girls moving suggestively very interesting. Until, she came out.

The music suddenly changed and the ladies shimmied off their coats and kneeled down, revealing Y/N.

They carried on dancing popular dances with a sensual twist. They shimmied, hopped, shook their hips. The whole time, Newt was completely entranced by the lead dancer who seemed to stand out a lot, at least to him. Everything about her was perfectly sculpted; the way her face was designed, her deep red lips he would kill to kiss and bite, her sharp eyes fluttering under a bird’s wing like set of eyelashes, her velvety smooth thighs… he looked at every detail in close, and her entire body as a whole. How it moved, swayed. How her waist would look when she put her hands on her hips. Her red as blood lipstick. Her smooth as cream thighs…

For the first time in his life, Newt felt this weird animalistic desire in him. It resided deep inside his abdomen and all he could think of was her flesh and his lust to feel it.

Queenie sitting beside, looked at him astonished. She didn’t imagine Newt having such thoughts, but she liked this side of her friend and decided to give him a little helping hand. She excused herself from Jacob and wandered to Newt’s table.

“Fancy any of them?” She winked.

Newt blushed a deep red and didn’t respond. His focus remained on Y/N who’s skirt was now clutched in her hands so it revealed her quick feet, and even higher up of her thighs.

“She is lovely. She moves like a bird.” Queenie commented. She turned around and got two drinks and gave them to Newt. “for the nerves.” She said. “You know, when you ask her to dance once the performance was over.”

“I-I’m not going to ask-“

“You should, or someone’ll beat ya to it.” The man beside him suggested. “Suppose Y/N’s the one you’re staring at. The one in the middle with the hella beautiful red lips?”

Newt nodded shyly.

“Yeh after the show men just throw themselves at her. Well at all of them actually, but mostly at her.”

The Magizoologist’s gaze went back on her who was laughing a sexy laugh. He brought his cup to his lips and took a couple gulps.

Too soon to his opinion, the show ended and the singer came back and started singing as people stood up to dance. He saw indeed that men would go towards the fringe-covered girls and buy them drinks. He wasn’t too sure how to feel about this Y/N, for she was gorgeous but he could assume the reputation flappers had. To him, and most foreigners, they looked like young girls dancing and drinking their days away, and seducing their nights away. He pushed that possibility of Y/N out of his mind and could not deny that he was extremely attracted to her nevertheless.

Y/N cheered and down a shot with her friends.

“Amazing tonight ladies.” Her friend said.

“Hear hear!” Another cried out, before being led to the dance floor by a black-haired gentleman.

Y/N watched her friends get picked up by men one-by-one and sighed. There were cons to her life as a flapper, true, but it was way better than being a housemaid. It was fun. Just then she saw a man with honey curly locks looking at her from a table at the far end.

He seemed…different from the usual customers she usually saw. He seemed innocent, and almost kind. He was neatly dressed in a blue coat and a yellow scarf she didn’t recognize.

She decided to go toward him.

Newt was still admiring Y/N when slowly her figure drew bigger and bigger and before he could escape, he realised she was coming right at him.

“Hello sir.” She said, accepting a seat from the three men who stood up for her.

Her voice was fruity and playful, and words seemed to ooze off her tongue slowly. Everything about her screamed sex appeal. But the thing was, she acted in no way suggestively to give off that impression.

“Please, call me Newt.” He said, confidence slowly rising inside him from the influence of alcohol.

“Newt. That’s now a name I hear every day.”

“And yours is?”

“Y/N.”

Newt watched her say it, in a way a rose would say it was a rose.

They resumed with small talk, a bit of where are you from, and this and that but nothing too in depth. Eventually Newt grew tired of conversing and felt the urge to touch her again. He stood up and offered her his arm and went onto the dance floor.

“I must warn you, I am terrible at dancing.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Newt, I think it’s cute.��� Y/N winked.

Newt soaked in the feeling of the sound of his name in her voice, for this may be the last time he saw this girl. They danced and danced and laughed and drank and laughed some more. Newt’s eyes the entire night were turned in one direction only.

The night closing in and the pub emptying, it was finally time to go. Y/N watched her friends follow their newly acquired men home.

“Well it was pleasure meeting you Y/N. You are a delight.”

“Wait, you’re not asking me back to your room?” Y/N looked at him in stupor. Never once did a man dance with Y/N to not want her in his bed the next day.

Newt misinterpreted this. He sighed to himself.

“Look, I’m sorry. I know you are a beautiful lady and are young and go home with a guy each night but I’m just erm not that kind of guy.” He felt bad for her really, and longed to see her again if it weren’t for this promiscuity.

“I beg your pardon?” Y/N practically shrieked. So he thought she was a whore then? Wouldn’t be the first time. But still, she thought he was different.

“I’m really really sorry, Y/N. I genuinely don’t want take you home with me. I see you’re mad at that-“

“And I see you willfully misunderstand me. Good night.” Y/N stormed off.

How dare he think all she wanted was to sleep with him?

Newt stood aghast. All he was trying to do was help her, why did she get so mad at him? He tried to shrug it off for he probably wouldn’t see her ever again. Yet his body told his mind otherwise, for it yearned for those creamy thighs and red lips.

PART TWO TO COME IF YOU WANT

#newt scamander #newt scamander imagine #newt scamander x reader #newt scamander fluff

[xtruss]

As Harry and Meghan Arrive, Canadians Wonder if They Should Dump the Queen

The celebrity couple abandons their royal duties and moves to Vancouver Island. For Canadians, that rekindles an old debate: Why is a British monarch still their head of state?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s move to Canada has reopened a debate about the role of the British monarchy in Canadian affairs, Stéphanie Fillion writes.

By Stéphanie Fillion | March 05, 2020 | Foreign Policy

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making Canada their home—but support for the monarchy is looking shaky.

When Justin Trudeau first met Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom after he took office as prime minister of Canada, she greeted him by saying, “Nice to see you again … but under different circumstances.” That’s because Trudeau had already met the British monarch as a one-year-old infant, when his father, Pierre Trudeau, also served as prime minister of Canada. For both men, the queen was no mere visiting dignitary, but their official head of state—to whom they had been required, by Canadian law, to swear an oath of loyalty.

“I, Justin P.J. Trudeau, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors. So help me God,” the prime minister dutifully recited in November 2015 when he first took office, and again when he was reelected last year.

Canada, although it has been fully independent in all other ways since 1982, remains a constitutional monarchy with a British royal as the official head of state. When Elizabeth is not in her Canadian realm, her place in Canada’s political pecking order is taken by Julie Payette, the British governor general in Ottawa. Though the queen’s powers are mostly symbolic, her face is on Canada’s coins, Canadian citizens are officially subjects of the queen, and the loyalty oath to Elizabeth has to be sworn not just by prime ministers, but by every immigrant wanting to become a Canadian citizen.

The majority of Canadians don’t mind this state of affairs, a vestige of their pre-1982 history as a dominion of the British Empire. The royals are still popular, and Trudeau has kept a good relationship with them—not least because they offer great photo-ops.

So when Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, abdicated their royal roles and announced they’d live in Canada, they weren’t moving to an entirely foreign country, but one over which Prince Harry’s grandmother—technically, at least—still rules. Ironically, however, Prince Harry’s abandonment of his royal duties has rekindled an old debate over whether Canada, too, should liberate itself from genuflection before the British throne and finally become a republic.

The first wrinkle in Canadian-British royal relations was over who should pay for the duke and duchess of Sussex’s security detail. In the past, their frequent visits (Meghan lived in Toronto prior to their marriage) came at a substantial cost to the queen’s Canadian subjects. Now that the Sussexes are staying longer—they have rented a sprawling mansion on Vancouver Island—that bill looked set to rise to more than CA$10 million a year, about $7.5 million, which Canadians just didn’t want to pay. In January, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation launched a petition opposing public subsidies for the couple, quickly gathering 80,000 names. On Feb. 27, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which had provided the couple’s security in the past, announced it would stop footing the bill in the coming weeks.

Quebec, the French-speaking province with a long history of separatism, has been a particular hotbed of republicanism. In October 2018, lawmakers for Québec Solidaire, a separatist, left-leaning party in the provincial legislature, refused to give the required oath to the queen in public, arguing that elected representatives genuflecting before a monarch was an undemocratic relic. Since they couldn’t legally take office as legislators if they refused the oath, the lawmakers decided to do it behind closed doors. “Ideally, we wouldn’t have had to swear an oath to the queen,” said Sol Zanetti, a member of the party in the National Assembly of Quebec. “But if we don’t, we cannot exercise our democratic mandate.”Lawmakers refused to give the oath in public, arguing that elected representatives genuflecting before a monarch was an undemocratic relic.

Québec Solidaire has now put forth a bill that would abolish the oath to the queen in the provincial legislature. Three permanent residents in the process of becoming citizens have also challenged the constitutionality of the oath as a requirement for naturalization. But Canada’s Supreme Court upheld the practice. “The oath is secular and is not an oath to the Queen in her personal capacity but to our form of government of which the Queen is a symbol,” the court decision read.

With its French heritage and unique brand of politics, Quebec does not completely reflect how the rest of the country feels. The queen is still relatively popular, and the majority of Canadians oppose abolishing the monarchy. But even at the national level, the anti-monarchists are pressing forward. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the left-of-center New Democratic Party, which is currently the fourth-largest faction in the federal Parliament, has also called for abolishing the monarchy. “I’m a republican,” Singh said in a television interview in 2018. “It sounds a bit awkward saying that given the other connotation in the [United] States, but I believe that we should be a [republic]. I don’t see the relevance of [the monarchy], and I don’t think that most Canadians do.”

Singh’s push for a republic came after an even bigger controversy over the monarchy’s cost to Canadian taxpayers—in this case, the British governor general’s lavish expenses and pension. Figures from the past few years show taxpayers pay around 62 million Canadian dollars a year, close to $50 million, on the monarchy, mainly for the office of the governor general and the queen’s official representative in each province. Defenders of the monarchy point out that the total bill per capita is only around CA$1.68—the equivalent of about one cup of Canada’s beloved Tim Horton’s coffee a year.

Tom Freda, the national director of Citizens for a Canadian Republic, has campaigned against the monarchy for years, and he hopes the other provinces will soon reach Quebec’s level of discontent. The group wants Canada to replace the queen—and her representative, the governor general—with a president as the ceremonial head of state, similar to other parliamentary systems such as Germany’s. Canada would follow in the footsteps of other former British colonies that have abolished the monarchy and become parliamentary republics, including Mauritius in 1992 and Fiji in 1987. Australians voted in a 1999 referendum to retain the queen as their monarch.

But even if the debate over the monarchy has lately reignited, there seems to be little urgency to fix what most Canadians don’t feel is broken. “I feel like there’s a general consensus among politicians that abolishing [the monarchy] is an inevitability,” Freda said. “However, nobody is making it a priority.”Even if the debate over the monarchy has reignited, there seems to be little urgency to fix what most Canadians don’t feel is broken.

What’s more, even if Canadians agreed that the monarchy should be dropped, it would require a lengthy process of rewriting Canada’s constitution. The political will to tackle these onerous requirements seems to be missing, said Paul Heinbecker, a former diplomat and speechwriter in the premier’s office under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. “Even in Quebec, people do not care enough to invest the political effort to disrupt the status quo,” Heinbecker said. “To drop the monarchy would require the unanimous consent of the House and Senate in Ottawa, and all 10 provincial assemblies. If dropping the monarchy could be done readily, it would likely have been done by now.”

Many politicians also fear that any broad debate over constitutional changes could take Canada down a slippery slope, forcing the government to also discuss power-sharing with Quebec and the indigenous First Nations, two everlasting political struggles in Canada.

For some, it’s now or never. As the 93-year-old queen will pass the throne to her son Prince Charles—or her grandson Prince William—in the foreseeable future, the transition offers an opportunity to make the break, Heinbecker argued. Canadians should therefore make haste and “dispense with the monarchy before we are locked in again for the reign of Charles,” Heinbecker said. Public opinion seems to bear him out: While the queen enjoys an 81 percent approval rating, 53 percent of Canadians say formal ties with the British monarchy should end with her reign, according to an Ipsos poll conducted in January.

In the end, Prince Harry and Meghan’s move to Canada might even have the effect of reconnecting Canadians with the monarchy. Because the Sussexes are perceived as a “relaxed, multicultural young couple,” said Rafe Heydel-Mankoo, a Canadian commentator on royal affairs, they are “able to connect with segments of society not traditionally known for their monarchist sympathies.”

Trudeau has also made it clear that he won’t press the issue. “There might come a time where a prime minister decides it’s a really important thing to crack open the constitution and rewrite it,” he said in 2018, “I don’t think I’m going to be that prime minister.” So if he is reelected the next time Canadians go to the polls, Trudeau will likely swear his oath to a foreign monarch yet again.

Stéphanie Fillion is a New York-based reporter specializing in politics and foreign affairs.

[lovelyfantasticfart]

How many Titles Rock Win

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At the moment, 7.6 per cent of the OPTrust portfolio is invested in renewable power and green real property. ] "South Korean money flows into U.S. actual estate" shows an ideal instance of the reasoning behind the hypothesis. Or, perhaps you鈥檙e a renter in the city and long for a place of your personal, near the city life but away from landlords, rents, leases and all the opposite complications. Your dominant shoulder must be lined up with the rim. While rising provide is negative for prices, empirical research present that the dominant impact from decrease curiosity rates is on raising demand, with the outcome that the web impact of decrease rates is optimistic for prices. It will prevent energy. By the top of 2015, about 8000 condominium units had damaged floor in downtown Montreal alone! With such triggers, you possibly can benefit from E-TTL / i-TTL flash metering and full on-digicam control of your flashes. After a interval regarding remembering along with going through Pune, you can cease which fast.

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[charllieeldridge]

Cost Of Travel in Cuba: A Full Budget Breakdown

When preparing and planning for a trip to Cuba, it’s important to think about your budget, the prices in Cuba and how you’re going to pay for things while travelling around this incredible island nation.

With the internet and wi-fi being scarce and a hassle to connect to (although, it is getting better), you must have your finances and your budget sorted out beforehand.

It’s not as easy to check your bank balance online, or acquire Cuban money as it is in other countries.

We travelled independently around Cuba for almost a month and I’m here to give you a full breakdown of what the best currency to bring to Cuba is, how much money to bring, how to get Cuban money, and how much you can expect to spend while visiting Cuba. 

What is The Cuban Currency?

Before even figuring out how much cash you’ll need to bring to Cuba, it’s important to understand the Cuban money (there are two currencies) and the rates.

The National Peso (CUP)

This currency is what most of the local people are paid their salary in.

Using the National Peso, you can purchase smaller items and the “basics” that one needs. It’s important to realize that this isn’t the “Cuban people’s currency”, foreigners can use this money as well. 

Here’s what you can buy with CUP:

Rides in the local inter-city buses (which are jam-packed full, no room to breathe)

Fruit and vegetables from the markets and side-of-the-road stands

Street snacks such as popcorn and fried plantains

Rides in a collectivo (shared) taxi

“Peso” food such as pizza, ice cream, sandwiches, rice & bean meals, and other smaller meals (pork & rice, spaghetti)

Fresh fruit juice

Basic groceries and produce

The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC)

This currency is used for “luxury” items and is the Cuban money you’ll mostly find yourself spending during your travels here. 

Locals who earn this currency rather than the National Peso are typically those in tourism (casa owners, tour guides, taxi drivers, hotel staff, etc.)

Being a Cuban and earning CUC is ideal.

With just 1 CUC (after exchanging it into National Pesos), they can buy 25 rides on a bus, 25 fresh cups of juice, or some rice and beans. This is the currency everyone wants.

Keep this in mind when musicians or dancers ask you for a tip — your 1 CUC goes a long way in Cuba.

Here’s what you can buy with CUC: 

Meals at a sit-down restaurant

Cocktails and beer

Bottled water

Tourist bus (Viazul) tickets

Internet

Hotels and casa particulares

Scuba Diving, horseback riding, and other excursions

Car and scooter rentals

Anything you want to buy, you can with this currency

How to Tell The Difference Between CUC and CUP

The two currencies actually look quite similar so when you first arrive, familiarize yourself with them to avoid being ripped off.

The main difference is that CUC does not have any faces on the note. It also says “pesos convertibles” in the center of the bill. Like this:

This is what CUC (convertible pesos) look like

CUP has faces of famous Cuban people and says “pesos” in the center of the bill. Like this:

CUP has a large face of someone famous on the bill

Always check your change to make sure that if you paid for something in CUC, you receive CUC back, (sometimes people will try to scam new travellers by giving them change in CUP, which is worth significantly less).

You can buy things that are normally charged in CUP with CUC and vice versa.

What is the Exchange Rate? 

25 National Pesos (CUP) = 1 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC)

1 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) = 1 US Dollar

Can I Use My Debit or Credit Card in Cuba?

If you have a debit or credit card issued by an American bank (ie: CitiBank), then it will NOT work in Cuba’s ATM machines.

If you have a bank card from any other nation, it should work at the ATMs, but a 3-12% fee will be charged with each transaction.

Even if you opened your account in your home country (ie: Canada), but the bank is affiliated or run by a US company (ie: CitiBank), your card will not work in Cuba.

Expect to spend cash when you’re in Cuba, rather than swiping your card. 

Note: Make sure to inform your bank of your Cuba travel plans. If your account gets frozen while you’re abroad due to “suspicious activity”, it’ll be a hassle trying to connect with your bank back home to lift the hold on the account.

What Currency Should I Bring to Cuba?

Many people have asked us “How much cash should I bring to Cuba?” and “What currencies are accepted in Cuba?”

Well, if you’re not an American citizen and you don’t have a bank that’s affiliated with the USA, I would suggest having only a couple of hundred Canadian Dollars, Euros or Pounds on you as back-up funds.

Otherwise, you can use your debit and credit card at the machines in Cuba to withdrawal local currency (however, you will be charged 3% at the ATM, so it’s up to you as to whether or not you want to bring your full budget in cash and exchange it in-country).

Do NOT bring US Dollars to Cuba, as you will be charged a 10% conversion fee when you try to exchange into Cuban money.

Also, note that Australian dollars are NOT accepted. The best currencies to bring into Cuba to convert into Cuban money (CUC) are Canadian Dollars, Euros, Pounds and Mexican Pesos.

How To Exchange Money in Cuba

If you’ve travelled to Cuba with one of the accepted currencies (Canadian Dollars, Euros, Pounds, etc.), then you will need to exchange this currency into Cuban money — CUC.

So, where do you exchange your money?

Look for a CADECA, which are the money changers that are found in the cities. Line-ups can be long at these money changers, but it usually moves pretty quickly. 

Make sure to bring your passport when exchanging money at a CADECA.

You’ll find a CADECA at the airport in Havana, or click here to find one in Havana on Google Maps. 

The upside to withdrawing money from an ATM is that you won’t need to travel to Cuba with a bunch of cash on you, and then have a bunch of CUC once you exchange it at the CADECA.

The downside is that you’ll be charged between 3-12% by the ATM (we were charged 3% by the machine using Canadian bank cards).  

How Much Money Should I Bring to Cuba?

If you’re American, and you’re wondering how much spending money you’ll need in Cuba, this will depend entirely on your travel style.

Your personal travel budget for Cuba might differ from ours, so check out the prices in Cuba for various activities (information below), and figure out how much you think you’ll need — it’s always better to err on the side of caution and have too much money, than not enough.

Our daily average in Cuba was $100/day for two people. 

Remember, you’ll want to bring cash in the form of Pounds, Euros or Canadian Dollars, which you can get beforehand at your local bank at home.

Read on to see how much we spent, and what everything costs in the country.

How Much Does Cuba Cost?

People often ask us “Is Cuba expensive?” Cuba is very strange in that (depending on how you choose to travel) it can be one of the cheapest travel destinations in the world or one of the most expensive.

For the sake of simplicity, prices in this article are in CUC / USD (they’re equal), unless otherwise stated.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the prices in Cuba.

Cost of Accommodation in Cuba

$20 – $30 / night for a double room in a casa particular. Solo travellers can get a discount.

$25 – $180 + / night for a hotel room.

For authentic Cuba travel, Casa Particulares are the way to go!

If you’re wondering where to stay in Cuba for cheap, this is it. Casas are affordable, comfortable and you will enjoy a more local stay while in the country.

This is the best way to get to know the locals — feel free to chat with them about their life in Cuba, and practice your Spanish!

The food served by the casa owners is also very good. I highly recommend eating at least a meal or two at your casa particular.

Read more: What is a Casa Particular? All You Need to Know, with Video

Check out this video where we give you a tour of a casa so you can see what it’s like.

I recommend booking your casas ahead of time because once you’re in Cuba, finding internet (or at least, a solid connection) can be a hassle and it’s expensive.

It’s best to have your accommodation sorted out ahead of time unless you’re prepared to wait in queue for internet.

These days, you can book casas on Airbnb. Click here for a list of the top casas, guesthouses, villas, apartments and more in Cuba. Or, if you’d rather book hotel stays in Cuba, click here for a list of the best on Booking.com.

Another option is to just show up at each city and look around without booking ahead. Many casa owners will greet you at the bus station and offer you a room. But still, it’s best to book ahead so you can read reviews and have it all sorted out beforehand. 

Cost of Food & Drink in Cuba

The prices in Cuba for a meal out varies greatly. Some cities are cheaper than others, such as Camaguey, while some are much more expensive. The cost of alcohol varies as well depending on where you choose to drink.

Cocktails at your casa are often cheaper than at a bar. Expect to spend $2 for cocktails and $1 for a beer.

At a nicer restaurant or bar, cocktails and beer are often similar in pricing, $2 – $3 each. Go for a mojito, trust me, you’ll love it!

Bottled water is what you need to watch out for. It’s hot in Cuba and you’ll want to make sure you stay hydrated. The cost of a 1.5L bottle should be $0.70, however, most shops charge tourists $1.50.

Shop around until you find the real price, or better yet, just hand them $0.70 and act like you know what it should cost. Also, some casas have potable water and juice for free. Just ask.

Better yet, bring a reusable water bottle and a SteriPen so you can purify the tap water and won’t have to use so much plastic during your travels to Cuba.

Here’s a chart showing some of the prices in Cuba for food — notice how cheap it can be!

RESTAURANTS

Pizza: $2.50

Tapas: $1.50 – $3.00 each

Beef stew with rice and salad: $8

Spaghetti: $5.50

Fish in sauce with rice and salad: $9

Lobster/fish with sides at a restaurant: $8-$10

Fish, pork or chicken meal at casa (too much food to finish): $7 – $10

PESO FOOD

Egg sandwich w/cheese: 9p ($0.36)

Cheese pizza: 6p – 30p ($0.24-$1.20)

Fresh fruit juice: 1 – 2p ($0.04 – $0.08)

Ice cream cone: 1p ($0.04)

Grilled pork & rice: 35p ($1.50)

Check out our video where we sample peso food around Cuba!

Contrary to belief, the food in Cuba is pretty good! Don’t believe us? Check out our article about Cuban cuisine.

Cost of Attractions and Activities in Cuba

All of the museums, sites, and activities that you’ll want to partake in will be paid for in CUC.

For tours, I recommend booking them online beforehand so you don’t need to deal with the wifi in Cuba.

In Havana:

Museo de la Revolucion (Museum of the Revolution): $8 entrance fee

2. Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana (Fort of Saint Charles): $8 entrance fee

3. Museo de Bellas Artes: $8 entrance fee

4. Ride in a Classic Car down the Malecon: $25 for 30 minutes depending on your bargaining skills. A better idea is to book your Classic Car ride here, and enjoy 2 hours of cruising around Havana, with a cocktail — plus, you won’t have to deal with tourist pricing problems. Check out the 2 Hour Classic Car Tour here:

5. Walking Tour: $40/person. On this walking tour, you’ll discover the UNESCO listed Old Havana with a knowledgeable guide. At the end, you’ll enjoy an authentic local lunch. Click here for details, or check out the walking tour here:

For some really unique and eye-opening tours in Havana, check out this list of Airbnb Experiences with locals. 

Costs in Other Cities

If you’re going to pay for some tours in-country, here’s what you can expect to pay. 

Viñales: Horseback riding tour – $25 for a 4-hour trip

Viñales: Santo Tomas Cave – $10 entrance fee (with guide)

Trinidad: Horseback riding tour – $15 for a 3-hour trip

Cayo Jutias: One tank scuba dive, including equipment – $40

Geared up to go caving outside of Viñales

Cubans can enter museums and other attractions using the National Peso. For example: If it’s 5 CUC for foreigners to get in, it’s 5 CUP for locals ($5 vs $0.20).

This is one situation where it feels like there is a currency for foreigners and a separate currency for Cubans.

Although it truly is tourist pricing in this case, we do believe that if it weren’t this way, then many of the local people wouldn’t be able to visit the historic sites of their country.

Tourist pricing is a hot topic, something we’ve covered in length before, but we won’t get into that here.

Cuba Transportation Costs

Transportation in Cuba is comfortable and reliable, and the options are plentiful. The cost of transport varies with each city, and with all of the transport options I list below, make sure the price is per vehicle, not per person.

Here’s a rundown on the types of transport, and their costs:

Private Taxis: $2.50 – $7 for a journey within a city.

From the airport in Havana to Central Havana, the cost is $25 for a taxi.

An intercity, 60 minute private taxi costs around $30. Cuba taxi prices are quite high compared to other modes of transportation and although taxis have meters in them, they won’t be turned on. Arrange a price before you get in.

Shared Taxis (Collectivos): $0.50 / ride in the city (paid with 10 CUP. Don’t pay with CUC)

In Havana, very old classic cars run up and down various streets, on a set route. They will pull over and pick up people who are going in their direction, but you must flag them down. If you don’t know the route, this can be confusing.

You can also take shared taxis in between cities for (often) the same cost as the bus. From Trinidad to Havana, the cost is $25 / person. Ask at the Infotur offices for more details, or at your accommodation. 

A collectivo taxi in Havana

City Bus: $0.04 (yes, 4 cents!)

This transportation is very cheap, but the buses are packed to the brim with people. If you know the route and where you want to go, this is a good option.

Astro Bus: (generally around 1/2 the price of a Viazul bus)

This is the regular choice for intercity buses in Cuba. The prices of the Astro are cheaper than the Viazul below, however, there are only a few seats reserved for foreigners, the buses aren’t as new, and they aren’t as reliable.

Note: locals pay in CUP, while tourists pay in CUC.

Viazul Bus: $4 – $5 / hour

This is the tourist bus, which has air conditioning and runs on a reliable schedule. Some sample costs:

Havana to Viñales: $12

Havana to Varadero: $10 

Havana to Trinidad: $24

Viñales to Cienfuegos: $35

Viñales to Trinidad: $37

Cienfuegos to Trinidad: $6

Trinidad to Camaguey: $15

The comfortable Viazul tourist bus

Cycle Taxi: $1 – $3 (depending on your bargaining abilities)

This is one mode of transportation where we always felt bad for the poor guy who had to cycle our big butts around in 35-degree heat! Bargain with the cycle drivers, but remember that this is a very hard job.

Scooter: $25 / day ($20 if you rent for 3 days)

This is the best way to get around in our opinion…especially in Viñales!

Check out our video of us scootering around Viñales!

Total Daily Cuba Budget

After spending 25 days in Cuba, we spent $2,500, including accommodation, tours, food, in-country transport…everything.

That’s $100 / day for two people.

However, I have to say that we lived pretty well while we were in Cuba as it was our vacation from blogging and being online. It would be possible to travel here for less if you ate more peso food, and took the local transportation, rather than Viazul buses.

We did stay in casa particulares, we often ate peso food, we limited the number of entrance fees we paid, and we took many cycle taxis.

However, we did drink mojitos and beers on the regular, ate good food and did a few activities (scuba diving, horseback riding, and caving). We also rented a motorbike in Viñales.

I think that $100 / day for two people to travel around an incredible Caribbean island is worth every penny! But, as I said before, your travel budget will differ from ours.

I recommend booking your tours and accommodation ahead of time before arriving in Cuba, and then use the cash for food, booze, entrance tickets, bus tickets, tips, souvenirs, etc. 

Now You Know The Prices in Cuba

There you have it. When it comes to travelling Cuba, even though it’s not as straight forward as other countries, it’s worth every minute of extra travel planning time!

I hope this article helped you plan your Cuba budget and that I was able to shed some light on the (confusing) Cuban currency as well. Happy travels!

Note: Some of the images in this post are courtesy of Shutterstock. Check them out for royalty-free photos and videos, here.

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[yourowncuba]

DO’S AND DON’TS AS A TOURIST IN CUBA

THE DON'TS

1. Do not leave home without a valid visa.

Some people gamble and wait with buying visas until they are in the departure airport. In some instances - especially in Florida - this is generally possible, but you run the risk that it will not happen. No visa = no boarding. Get your visa in your hand well in advance of your trip. There are several online agencies that can help you or contact the nearest Cuban representation's consular department.

2. Don't be hustled

Cuba, especially Havana, has several hustlers who will "help" you with anything, from finding the best restaurant in town, a "music festival" that happens right now, the cheapest cigars, the best rum. The list goes on. Nobody is doing this to help you, except help you get rid of your money. Don't let anybody whom you meet in the street show you anything. They will expect to be paid, they will take you to expensive places where they get a kick-back from the establishment, and you will pay sky high prices. There are examples of mojitos costing more than 10 CUC ($10). The male hustlers are called "jiniteros" and the female "jiniteras".

3. Don't eat at state owned restaurants.

In general state owned restaurants serve dull food and have a low level of service from less motivated staff. Go instead to privately owned "paladares" where the food is better, service a lot better and the prices just slightly higher.

4. Don't take pictures of uniformed staff

It is illegal to photograph police people and military staff as well as various types of security personnel. Furthermore, don't take pictures around the security areas in airports and near military installations.

5. Don't hand out gifts at random

If you bring gifts for people who deserve or need it then be careful how you hand them out. Don't randomly distribute candy or gifts among children. If you want to give things to kids it's fine, but give to a school or nursery and let the leaders there distribute your gifts, so every child gets a fair share of the spoils.

6. Don't flash your wealth

Leave your most fancy jewels and most expensive suits at home. Dress casually at all occasions, everywhere. Whether you stay in a 5-star hotel or in a casa particular have a relaxed attitude to the way you dress.

THE DO'S

1. Do ensure you bring enough money

Do not rely on just one credit card. Preferably bring Visa and MasterCard issued by non-US based banks. And bring spare cash in hard currency. Euros, Canadian dollars and Pounds sterling are always welcome and you just pay the normal exchange fee. US dollars can be exchanged but carry an extra exchange penalty of 10%. So for Americans it is actually smarter to bring other hard currencies. Remember to bring enough cash, especially if you are American and your credit cards won't work. For other travelers it is also worth noting that your credit cards, even though working properly in Cuban banks or ATMs, most restaurants do not accept credit cards. In Cuba cash is king.

2. Do only use CUC

There are two currencies circulating in Cuba. CUP, the local currency and CUC, the currency for foreigners. The CUC is officially 1:1 with the US dollar (minus the exchange costs). Make only your exchange at official places like banks and Cadecas (exchange offices), never at hotels and never ever in the street, not only is it illegal, but you risk ending up with low valued CUP instead of CUC. While some online advisors recommend to have some CUP for buying small stuff, tips etc., in our opinion it becomes a bit tricky to understand the different values and probably doing the conversion to your own currency at the same time. And all Cubans will love to get some CUC, which they regard as hard currency.

3. Do interact with local Cubans

On all holidays it is a nice touch to have a dialogue with local people - apart from the waiters and hotel staff. Many people come to us and ask for "the authentic Cuba". We can bring you to amazing places with a really authentic feel to them. But in order to get the maximum out of being there you yourself should make a deliberate effort to engage with locals. Cubans are extremely open minded people, they love to meet foreigners and talk about their country, but also to learn about your country. Don't be surprised if you after a short chat are invited to a private home. Don't be shy, go along, it's not dangerous - but for sure it's a lot of fun. You may bring a couple of beers or a bottle of rum to seal your new friendship.

4. Do go to paladares = privately owned restaurants

While you often hear stories of bland, Cuban food, this is rarely the case in the better part of the paladares. These private enterprises have understood the power of satisfied guests and their TripAdvisor reviews. In all major tourist destinations throughout Cuba you will find excellent paladares. You can either ask to have restaurant reservations included in your itinerary or do some homework on google and TripAdvisor. Just ensure that the reviews are of a recent date.

Paladares in Cuba are consistently improving on their menus and several of them serve vegetarian food. The local beers are excellent, especially Bucanero (recommended) or Crystal (nice but ordinary). You do get wine in Cuba, mostly Chilean, Argentinian and Spanish. The locally produced wine is best avoided.

5. Do explore

A good way to immerse yourself into the local culture of Cuba is to start out at all destinations with a guided walking tour. Depending on destination they vary in length from 2 - 4 hours. The best is to book a local guide up front and learn from her/him what is worth to know about the local area. After that you can explore the location on your own. Cuba is quite a safe country, so don't hesitate to take the side streets and the side streets of the side streets. Go into buildings, talk to people, ask where you can go, and you will find interesting stuff. From your "own guided" tour you will probably bring home fantastic impressions and photos.

Even if you are not the typical museum lover you will be likely to find a museum to your taste. Especially Havana has an abundance of interesting museums. Several museums are located in or near Old Havana.

There are museums for any interest, from arts to historical to automobile museum. Google for a list and plan your museum visits as part of your itinerary, and meet up afterwards at a paladar with lovely views from the roof top terrace, e.g. La Moneda Cubana. Their lobster is delicious.

6. Do enjoy the music

Cuban music is famous and in all neighborhoods you will hear music from cafés and restaurants. The Havana night life is renowned for its many music clubs. Join locals and foreigners and experience the best salsa on earth.

In Havana there is a few cabarets of a high international standard (Tropicana, Le Parisienne) which will take you back to the 1930'ies Paris. Quite an experience if you don't mind the decadence.

7. A final word

In Cuba there is a saying - whenever something does not go according to plan or a change is made for no apparent reason: "ES CUBA". Simply meaning "IT'S CUBA". Cubans have learned to live with this as fact of life.  Tourists alike should adjust their mindset to prepare for the unforeseen. Streets can be closed due to water leakages, partly demolished houses, sunken surface etc. - Water can be cut off as well as power and don't expect to be pre-warned. - During your transport between destinations there can be a few obstacles that your driver has to negotiate. Take it easy, you will get to your destination, eventually.

The internet is not as fast as you are used to and most casas particulares do not have wifi. So you will have to go to larger hotels and buy a voucher or find a local hotspot. This can often be spotted by people lining up. But just ask anyone in the street, they will know.

For more detail visit:  www.yourowncuba.com

#PATIENCE & ENJOY #Cuba Tour #Cuba Travel #Cuba Holiday #Cuba Vacation

[ckgalloway]

A trip to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt

We turn away from the coast and cross an invisible line between green and orange. The UK government advises against all but essential travel here. We are about halfway into our seven-hour-drive from Alexandria to Siwa, an oasis in the Sahara Desert. The landscape changes subtly as we drive, scrubby bushes getting thinner and scarcer. The desert is a flat rocky floor, stretching until the curve of the earth hides it from view.

Every so often we are stopped at a checkpoint and our passports are examined by soldier. Turrets with guns overlook us. As we approach Siwa, a few trees appear, then fields of palm trees. The sand coloured dessert is broken by the blue of the lakes. Salt sheets edge the lake like ice.

My excitement grows as we turn into our lodge, the Talist Ecolodge and Farm. The colour of the buildings matches the wind-carved sandstone hills behind it. A still pool mirrors the landscape. The tranquility is somewhat marred by the persistence of flies, and we retreat to the screened-in porch.

Within minutes of our arrival, the kids are all off exploring. Our son, Oscar, and the two children of Lou and Andy, our travelling companions. They find caves, sand hills, and petrified shells, when this desert was a sea bed. They proudly take me on a tour of the caves. I’m told they are named first cave, second cave, third cave and fourth cave. Evidently they are saving their imagination for games involving dragons and other fantasies. Jemima shows me a magic trick where she disappears into one crack and appears out of another. 

Our hut is simple but comfortable. There is no electricity so we go to bed soon after nightfall. At night I can hear the wind in the trees and feel the cool breeze on my skin and I’m feel like we are camping.

Breakfast on the second day is felafel and foul, eggs and bread, and a cheese and tomato mixture. Before our afternoon desert tour, we head into Siwa town. There are many men and children, but not many women. The women are at home. The few we do see are fully covered. Their faces are hidden by loose black cloth and they are hooded and draped in more fabric. Their garb is vaguely sinister, reminiscent of the wraiths from Lord of the Rings. My eyes slide off them uneasily, I feel like they don’t want to be seen. It’s hard to imagine that regular women ore under all that fabric.

Most of the people we come across are friendly, we are greeted with smiles. "Mumkin soura, low samaht," I ask. Can I take a photo please. Aywa, yes. I'm given a good luck scarab at a shop where I perused without making a purchase. Life is unhurried here, tourists welcome.

We drive through town again on our way to the desert with our tour guide Ibrahim and his son. On our way to the desert, Ibrahim waves at most of the people we pass. Young boys in pairs or groups drive donkey-drawn wagons down the streets. Down an alley we see a small boy hit a smaller girl with a stick. “La! La!” Ibrahim shout out the window. No, No. I think this is a small town where everyone look out for each other, where the adults are parents to all the children.

At the edge of the desert Ibrahim’s son takes some air out of the tires. Soon we are speeding along the sand, revelling in the slip and slide of the vehicle. We go up a steep dune and pause on the the narrow edge. Then we are plunging down, fast. The vehicles fills with gasps, laughs, screams and low exclamations. I laugh, maniacally, a huge grin splitting my face. 

We come to a stop and the kids are out, running. They climb a dune and run back down, laughing and falling. I marvel at the smooth wavy line where the sides of sand meet. This is the desert of movies and adventures. I can imagine slow, laborious steps along the peak with the sun beating down, lips cracking and dry mouth craving water. But today it is fun, we run around and expend energy freely.  There is water in the vehicle and tea and biscuits for later.

The next stop is for sand boarding. Andy jumps on a board and pushes off. He is always first, says Lou. The guides encourage us to sit on the boards like a sled, but we are mad English people and one mad Canadian. We strap in our feet and sail down the sand like we are snowboarding, or surfing. 

I try it once. I sail down the hill, picking up speed, and bump over car tracks until one finally spills me. I fall into soft sand, unhurt, laughing. The climb up the sandy slope is another matter. The sand slips beneath my feet with each step until I make it to the top, gasping. After that I am content to watch the others play, and photograph the landscape as it changes with the light.

We stop at a hot spring pool on the way back. I would jump in with the others, but there are only men and children in the pool, the woman here are mostly veiled, so I dip my toes in the spring and wander the small oasis.

Back in the 4X4, we crest another steep hill, this time in the dimming light, and then stop and watch the sunset with small glass cups of tea and biscuits. Then it’s back to roads and slow driving and a dinner in the town. Next to our restaurant, crowds of Egyptians spill into the street watching the football match of Egypt versus Morocco. The crowd erupts into cheers and shouts when Egypt scores. I cheer along with them.

The third day we explore Shali, the old part of Siwa. The broken finger of the old town ruins reach up, as if a stone giant is poised to escape the earth. We climb up stairs and winding paths and wonder what it was like when these were rooms and people lived here. Was this a well? Could this have been a dwelling? Now, it is hard to tell.

We walk further into the other side of town. Here, the old ruins are patched up inhabited. There are no women here, no girls. A group of boys hang out on a wagon. “La, la,” they says as I lift my camera. A man sits on a stoop and his eyes follow us as we pass. A few children chase us. “Take, take,” it sounds like one boy shouts. Take a photo? Or is it Arabic? “Ana mish fahma,” I say. I don’t understand. 

The homes here edge the street and we walk softly, as if we are treading in people’s backyards. This is not a touristy area. I feel like I don’t belong here. I feel like it’s real. Then the street opens up into souvenir stalls and I am half relieved and half disappointed. 

On the fourth morning I wake up with the sunrise and take my camera to the salt shelf of the lake, stalking a patch of still water where the flat-topped hill will be reflected. I find my photo and stop, gazing at the sand and water in the silence. I feel completely at peace and am in no rush to leave. I feel like I’ve found a place with no time. A noisy truck approaches and the spell is broken.

After lunch we leave on another tour. We go to the Temple of the Oracle, a temple where Alexander the Great was told his father was the god Zeus. Next is the Temple of Amun. It looks like a pile of rubble. At some point it was blown up in search of treasure. We elect to just drive past. At the spring of Cleopatra, the men and children jump into the deep circular pool. Lou shops and I take photos. The bathing suit I brought is modest by Canadian standards, but it would be scandalous here. I’m told I will be able to swim ash the next stop, a salt lake.

We drive out into the desert. Jonah and Oscar are deeply involved in a discussion about Plants vs Zombies. They have been inseparable for most of the trip. My eyes are usually glued to the window. We drive beside another large lake and on the other side are salt mines. Empty trucks drive in, and trucks piled high with salt drive out. Every once and a while there is a rectangular pool of water. 

“Maybe this is the Salt Lake,” jokes Andy.

It was the Salt Lake. 

Andy is in first, of course, and immediately bobs up. The others join him. Two of the children are soon out again, the salt stings their cuts. I pour water over Oscar’s scrapes and jump in once he has recovered. I float effortlessly in the dense, salty water. I could easily have a nap. But today, frolicking is far too much fun. Soon the children are all out, playing in the piles of salt, and the adults bob in the pool. Is this what it is like to float in space?

We discover that while the salt is pleasant in the water, once it dries it becomes progressively more painful. Ibrahim takes us to another hot spring. This one is behind a gate and full of foreigners, so I have no doubts about plunging into the deep hot pool. The stinging salt is washed away and replaced with a soothing warmth as the setting sun casts everything in a warm glow.

Back at the lodge we enjoy another lovely meal. The main dish features the unlikely combination of eggplant and ground beef and raisins. Nevertheless it is delicious. The kids go to bed, exhausted. The adults stay up late, talking about politics and books, drinking wine and rum we brought from home.

The next day we decide to stay and enjoy the Talist Lodge. Oscar and I climb the “mountains” of sandstone, swim in the pool and enjoy leisurely meals. We watch the sun dip low in the cloudless sky. It throws out a blanket of warm light before it disappears, leaving behind a pale pink glow. It is Samhain and the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is thin. That night we chat by the fire while the kids make robots out of bottles and mud.

The drive home is mostly uneventful. Soldiers do the same cursory check of the trunk at each checkpoint. There is a bit of excitement when we pass through a desert storm. The driver slows, uncertain. The storm passes and we are on our way again, careening down the desert road at 140 km/hr, bouncing jauntily. The empty desert is replaced with buildings and light, the silence with cars honking and engines revving, and we know we are back in the city, home.  

#Siwa #Oasis #Egypt #Salt Lake #desert #Shali

[touristguidebuzz]

Attracting American Tourists to Cuba Remains a Tough Sell

Ground staff celebrate JetBlue's first flight to Cuba in August. For many airlines, including JetBlue, new Cuba routes have not been as successful as they had hoped. JetBlue Airways

Skift Take: Americans are not flocking to Cuba, and there's not enough infrastructure on the island to support large-scale tourism. Who could have seen this coming? Probably everyone who was paying attention.

— Brian Sumers

When JetBlue flight 387 took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for Cuba last August 31 — the first commercial flight to the island since 1961 — its vapor trail seemed to write history. A new beachhead in the Antilles for U.S. airlines! A long forbidden destination opened at last for U.S. tourists! Suitcases of dollars for ordinary Cubans catering to the new arrivals!

But hold the mojitos.

One month before spring break, JetBlue became the third U.S. carrier to announce cuts in service to the island. No one is pulling out, but the travel industry’s new mandate is adjusting to the reality beyond the Cuba hype. Pricey cabs, so-so infrastructure, limited internet and scalper-level hotel room rates, which reached $650 last year according to the Economist Intelligent Unit, have put off travelers. As a recent Bloomberg story put it, “Now that Cuba is Open Americans Aren’t Going.”

There’s still plenty of charm in the streets of La Habana Vieja and on all those unblemished beaches that necklace the Caribbean island. But tapping it will depend on the ability of Havana’s floundering regime not just to adapt to the disruptive global economy, but also to write a new narrative that promotes the island’s future as much as its past.

This is not the first time Cuba has tried soft power to rescue the revolution. Fidel Castro warmed to tourism, in part as a lifeline after the Soviet Union collapsed and left the island’s accounts bereft. He talked up the country’s natural beauties and its crime-free streets. Still, he was determined to control not just the levers of the industry but also the behavior of its visitors, abhorring the “tourism of casinos and prostitution.” Instead, the island’s dysfunctional economy beckoned sex tourists, while prostitution and black market dollars offered desperate Cubans a bridge to escape. Talk of tourism was revived as Cuba’s latest underwriter, Venezuela, slid into disarray. Now the normalization of ties with the U.S. (assuming Donald Trump won’t rebuild that wall) has seemingly turbocharged that prospect.

So how will the new Cuba flog its wonders to the world, and can the reform-minded Raul Castro do what his brother could not — leverage the revolution and have it, too? A lot depends on the tourists. For years, Europeans and Canadians flocked to the island for a frugal equatorial getaway, with a dollop of communist realism. Many Latin Americans went in for ideological tourism, pulled by the historical aura of an island nation that played the tropical David to the gringo Goliath. Havana became the dream stop on the lefty Elizabeth Arden circuit and a safehouse for rebels on the lam. Brazil’s Jose Dirceu, the onetime guerrilla fugitive, got his face lifted in Cuba to fool his country’s dictators. (He had less luck under democracy, and is now serving time on multiple charges of political corruption.)

For the moment, pioneering U.S. travelers seem enchanted less by a new venue for spring break than by the allure of a once blacklisted nation with last century’s automobiles and last century’s politics. One of the key attractions of Cuba today is Fidel Castro’s tomb. Visitors in search of that sepia postcard have stoked demand for private guest rooms, giving AirBnb its fastest growing market in 2015. Notwithstanding the recent pullback by U.S. airlines and travel companies, international arrivals surged 14 percent last year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. In a recent Brookings Institution report, Richard Feinberg and Richard Newfarmer project arrivals to rise threefold to 10 million by 2030, as tourism’s share of annual export revenues more than triples to $10 billion.

But tourists also know that Cuba is a brand in transition, and as the legacy of Fidel fades, inevitably so too will the island’s most reliable cachet. “Today, Americans are saying, ‘I’m going to see the place before it changes’. That’s fine, but I don’t know if that will translate into return visits,” Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban-American executive in human resources who shuttles frequently from Miami to Havana, told me.

Selling the rest of the Americas on Cuba may be just as tricky. Latin Americans once held up Castro’s Cuba as the exemplar of public health care, literacy, poverty-busting and anti-imperialist brio. Now with the region’s “pink tide” of leftists governments in retreat, neighbors in the hemisphere are as likely to see the island regime for the clapped out autocracy it is, where stifled expression trumps socialist encomiums, and Cuba’s vaunted cadre of global physicians is better known as a flying cash machine for foreign reserves. “Cuba always served the Latin American left as a political cave. From the inside, you could ignore the failure of the socialist world,” said Demetrio Magnoli, an international relations scholar at the University of Sao Paulo. “With Cuba’s decline and Fidel’s death, however, all that has changed. Cuba no longer has any geopolitical importance, and if it sank into the Caribbean it wouldn’t make a difference to the global economy,” said Magnoli. “The question now is, can Cuba normalize and still prosper?”

Cuba has plenty of splendors, urban, natural or historical. (The National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana boasts some of the finest works of Spanish colonial and contemporary Cuban art, while the capital is jeweled with stunning architecture like the Hotel Nacional and the Saratoga.) Properly managed, they could be a magnet to world travelers eager for hidden wonders. Enthusiasts even tout Cuba’s potential for medical tourism.

The island’s authorities still appear to be banking mostly on beach-bound big spenders: Only about one in five Cuban hotel rooms and just 13 percent of four- and five-star accommodations are located in the capital, Feinberg and Newfarmer reported. That predilection may trace to Cuba’s lingering siege mindset, by which foreigners were deliberately cocooned in outlying resorts, where presumably they wouldn’t pollute the revolution. Only last decade were Cubans allowed to stay in beach hotels, Feinberg and Newfarmer note.

But if the country wishes to ramp up tourism, it needs to move beyond the identity it built and nurtured during the Cold War. For that the authorities will have to hasten reforms. Though private initiative is growing, funded increasingly by dollar remittances from Cuban expatriates, state controls still weigh on the economy. Keeping two official currencies — the CUP for Cubans, the far more coveted CUC for foreigners — distorts prices, encourages a black market, and crimps trade. Curbs on the internet hamper bookings, and restrictions on foreign capital hold up investment. As for island adventures, “There’s much better food and infrastructure in the Dominican Republic,” Saladrigas said. The risk now is that the country loses the glories of the socialist revolution without attaining those of the capitalist one.

That applies even to cigars. A quarter-century ago when a new glossy called Cigar Aficionado launched its list of the world’s greatest smokes, Cuba won all the big prizes. Now Nicaragua and Honduras make some of the finest smokes, and the top award last year went to the Dominican Republic. “The other countries invested in innovation and caught up,” executive editor David Savona told me. In order to keep the island’s economy from dissipating in the smoke, Cuba will have to do the same.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Mac Margolis writes about Latin America for Bloomberg View. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of “The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier.”

To contact the author of this story: Mac Margolis at [email protected].

  ©2017 Bloomberg L.P.

This article was written by Mac Margolis from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

[junker-town]

MLS has finally become a grown-up

In its 22nd season, Major League Soccer has finally done away with gimmicks and unfounded arrogance. It’s decided to just be itself.

On Friday, MLS kicks off its 22nd season. And at age 22, MLS finally appears capable of settling into adulthood. You shouldn’t wonder anymore whether it’s a league you really want to spend time with. It’s different now, and you’ll probably like it.

If you’re older than 22, the following paragraph will make a lot of sense to you. If you’re younger than 22 and you’re wondering if you fit this description as well: you absolutely do. I’m sorry.

Much like a human person, MLS entered the world amidst excitement over its arrival. It didn’t take long at all for it to get into trouble, though, and people got over how cute it was very quickly. As a pre-teen and through its early teenage years, MLS was a poser, desperate to show everyone that it was cool. By its late teens, it developed unfounded arrogance and told everyone who would listen that it had the whole world figured out. But as a young adult, MLS started to figure out who it really was. Now, at age 22, it has a decent grasp of its strengths and weaknesses. It’s starting to come to terms with what it is, and what it could realistically become in the future.

MLS is different now, and you’ll probably like it.

A self-assured and realistic MLS is a significant departure from the days when commissioner Don Garber told anyone who was willing to listen that MLS would become a top league in the world by 2022. Whether rooted in delusion or a need to entice expansion bidders, it didn’t make sense to anyone who was paying attention — Europe’s top clubs are growing revenue and increasing salaries just as quickly as MLS clubs are.

It was a bombastic claim, and one that did more harm than good to the league’s cause among knowledgeable fans in North America and abroad. But Garber has no reason to trot out this stump speech anymore, since the league has more solid expansion bids than they have teams to give out.

Those new teams will thankfully avoid being saddled with horrible poser names, or so we hope. Whether you’re a fan of the current naming convention — Minnesota United FC, Atlanta United FC — or the old one — New England Revolution, Los Angeles Galaxy — we should all be able to agree that both are better than the cringeworthy franchise names produced by middle-era MLS.

With big apologies to fans of Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas, these team names are entirely rooted in insecurity. They could not possibly be more corny. They scream: “SEE, WE’RE AUTHENTIC! PLEASE LIKE US!!!” People did like those teams (a lot!), but not because they offered an “authentic European soccer experience,” which is a fake thing marketing executives made up. Instead, people liked them because having a local professional soccer club to support is awesome.

And supporting your local club is getting better all the time, no matter where you live.

@MNUFC on Twitter

If you’re in Minnesota, go hang out with Dark Cloud and True North Elite.

This season, two expansion teams enter the league. Minnesota United has one of the best supporters group sections in the country before they even play an MLS game. Atlanta United appears to be the most ambitious expansion franchise in history — they’ve hired former Barcelona manager “Tata” Gerardo Martino, broken a league transfer record to sign Miguel Almiron and set up an academy that produced United States Under-20 star Andrew Carleton.

Even the league’s signature joke franchises aren’t jokes anymore. Toronto FC took nine years to make the playoffs, but made it to the MLS Cup Final last season. Their star, Sebastian Giovinco, is arguably the league’s best player, and TFC is among the favorites to win Supporters’ Shield this season. Last year’s last-placed team, the Chicago Fire, had an excellent offseason by signing former New York Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty and Hungarian international striker Nemanja Nikolić, among other players. There are no hopeless, laughing stock teams in MLS anymore. Every fanbase has something to be excited about.

Rich teams are a bit less worried about their brand these days as well. New York City FC and LA Galaxy appear to have abandoned their former strategy of signing the biggest name Old that was willing to sign for them, regardless what they could do to help the team win. Frank Lampard has retired and was replaced by Maxi Moralez, an attacking midfielder still in his prime. Steven Gerrard has retired, opening up a Designated Player spot for 27-year-old Frenchman Romain Alessandrini. It’s likely that most Galaxy fans had never heard of Alessandrini before he signed, but he’s expected to play better than Gerrard did, and that’s what matters now.

Even the league’s signature joke franchises aren’t jokes anymore.

Players like Moralez and Alessandrini are inarguably better for MLS than most of the first generation of Designated Players. For every genuine superstar like David Beckham or young talent like Fredy Montero, there were three duds. Most of these players were signed because they played for a famous club in Europe, or as a cynical ploy to appeal to Latino fans. This line of thinking has gone by the wayside in recent years, and teams now sign Designated Players based on what they can contribute to results on the pitch.

The league’s American players should get a bit of a boost from a USMNT coaching change too. Jürgen Klinsmann, a frequent critic of MLS, is out. Bruce Arena, a big believer in the league, is in. He’s been very open about his belief that the majority of USMNT players should be developed in the United States and spend some time in MLS. A number of MLS players who found themselves marginalized or frozen out entirely over the previous five years will have their national team prospects revived, and that can only be a good thing for their club teams’ drawing power.

Arena has better reason to believe in those players than his predecessors did as well — they’re facing increasingly better competition. MLS’s biggest foreign stars are no longer in their mid-30s, but in their primes. The average age of all players signed from abroad during this winter transfer window is 26.

"Wherever you travel, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador or in Europe, MLS is a destination right now,” FC Dallas technical director Fernando Clavijo told the league’s website. “We are a place where people like to come. They know what it is, they know the league, they watch games. That has changed drastically from 20 years ago ... Today you can compete with teams around the world to sign those players; before it was not the case."

MLS might not be able to sign world class players before they’re well past their prime, but they can sign very good mid-level South American and African players, as well as occasional impressive prime-age talents from Europe and Asia. When given the option of trying to fight for their place on European relegation battlers or being first choice on an American team, the latter option is looking increasingly attractive for players who want to leave their current league for a new challenge. Slowly, over time, American and Canadian players get better from competing against superior competition from other continents. And that, in turn, attracts even better players to the league — Nicolas Lodeiro and Miguel Almiron are the latest examples.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Nicolas Lodeiro starred at Boca Juniors, and he helped turn around Seattle Sounders in 2016.

The league also gets a little bit more serious about developing their own talent each year. The 2017 roster rules were released this week, and they include two more Homegrown Player slots than last season. Teams are also allowed to use up to $200,000 of Targeted Allocation Money to buy down the contracts of Homegrown Players, so they count less against the salary cap. Previously, TAM was only used on players with salaries over the Designated Player threshold.

But about those Designated Players: teams are spreading the cash around their rosters now, rather than putting big money into attackers and fielding mostly cheap replacement-level players in defense. According to Jeff Carlisle at ESPN, teams have made 15 defensive signings with a financial commitment over the DP threshold, which is more than double the number of players signed that met that criteria in both 2015 and 2016. Carlisle spoke to Orlando City manager Jason Kreis for the above story, and he offered up his opinion on why the league has started valuing defensive players more.

"I felt like there's been an unevenness almost that the attacking groups of most teams were better than the defending groups of most teams," said Kreis. "Now I think it's only natural that now the market is starting to correct itself, where everybody is saying, 'Wait a second, I've actually got to be able to defend against guys like Giovinco and Altidore and David Villa and those types of players.’”

“Today you can compete with teams around the world to sign those players; before it was not the case."

That correction wasn’t always a certainty, though. It’s one that required owners to start valuing wins and losses over everything else. They had to believe that the core value proposition of their product was similar to that of every other sports product. People who like sports, for the most part, want to be a fan of their local team, and they want their team to win. MLS is no different, but it believed that couldn’t possibly be the case for most of its life. After spending decades trying to be more of a pure entertainment product and cultural experience than a sports league, MLS has decided to be itself. It is now, finally, primarily about soccer.

And that’s why MLS is more worth your time now than ever before. It has given up on gimmicks. Every team’s primary goal is to win as many soccer games as possible. They believe in themselves enough to trust that results on the pitch — with or without internationally famous stars — is enough for them to draw fans. Every team has been given an incentive to develop their own young talent and to sign prime-age players who can help them win, regardless of name recognition. If you go to an MLS stadium or flip on a game on TV, you are more likely to see good soccer than ever before.

In year 22, MLS has finally grown up.