Archive for April, 2009
Hotel Havana Libre, Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 7:20 pm
Yesterday I had to sign up for my Spanish course at the University of Havana. The Campus of the University is an astoundingly beautiful collection of classical buildings and a Cuban tank graces the entrance to the library.
At 9 am all the foreign students, about 40 of them, met in the Edificio Varona and we were shepherded by various professors into a very antiquated lecture hall. (By the way, of the 5 or 6 washroom stalls in the women´s bathroom, only 1 or 2 have toilets in them, no toilet seats, and no running water in the sinks. Again a sign of rather run-down infrastructure…)
There they told us about the program, but only in Spanish, which was okay for me, since I speak Spanish, but about half the group was completely lost. We then had to do a quick written placement test to assess our existing Spanish skills and then the bureaucracy began.
We found out that we needed the following documents:
- a copy of our passports
- an official copy of the hotel guest card and/or a copy of the licence of the private Casa Particular
- 200 CUC (Convertible Cuban Pesos) in cash for a 2-week course or more for other courses
- 40 CUC for changing our tourist visa to an academic visa (in fiscal stamps which we had to obtain abuot 5 km away)
- 2 passport photos
- 25 CUC in cash to expedite our academic visa if we are in town for only 2 weeks.
I linked up with a bunch of foreign students and we headed off together on our quest to fulfill the Cuban desire for Burocratismo. We first obtained cash at bank at the Hotel Havana Libre, then got the passport pictures done (to be ready for pickup 3 hours later), then searched for the other bank on Calle 23 that would provide us with the 40CUC stamps for the academic visa. With extremely long lineups everywhere, this took us about 2 or 3 hours.
Then we got really hungry and we were approached by a local “Jinetero” (restaurant tout) who promised us a complete meal with main dish, salad and side dish for 6 or 7 CUC. We walked with him, only to find out that the wait at the Paladar (private restaurant) would be about 45 minutes to even sit down, not including food preparation time.
So we walked up Calle 21 and a private restaurant owner approached us for a meal and we gave in and came inside. It was a beautiful colonial villa, except that the guest room with is obligatory 3 tables and 12 seats was in a dark small dingy room completely without windows.
However, we had a delicious home-cooked meal, I had roasted chicken with rice & beans, salad and a lemon soft drink, all for 8 CUC (about 8 US$). 2 of my student colleagues were from Germany and the other fellow is from Toronto as well, but originally from Poland. We had some great conversations and it was interesting linking up with a bunch of Europeans in Havana.
After a brief rest in the hotel, my friend Pedro again picked me up in the evening and I couldn´t help but tell him about my experience with the Cocotaxi driver yesterday, who had tried to pick me up, despite my clarifications and statements that I was married and not interested in any amorous activities.
Pedro explained that sexual relations in Cuba are a relatively common, easy-going thing and that it is very common for people to link up for quick “meaningful overnight relationships”. He referred to the Cuban people as very “passionate and hot-blooded”, I guess that explains a couple of the advances that I have been receiving so far, particularly since there is also quite a lot of sex tourism where men (and even women) come to Cuba to engage in easily available erotic experiences.
Pedro and I walked through the old town and of course along the Malecon (the seafront boulevard) and saw the beautiful Plaza Vieja and the Plaza de la Catedral where a mass was being held for the passing of Pope John Paul II.
This was very interesting, since Cuba is a Communist / official atheist country and there are much fewer Catholics today than before the Revolution. Actually much of Cuba´s religion is a mixture of Catholicism and Santeria (religious practices of the African slaves). Regardless of religiousness, Cuba has declared a 3-day “duelo nacional” (a national mourning period for the Pope) and the mass was attended by hundreds of people.
Pedro and I then had a nice meal in the “Barrio Chino” (Havana’s Chinatown) for 5.60 CUC (less than US$6) for 2 people and 2 vegetarian meals and soft drinks. After a nice dinner he again flagged down a local private car driver and gave him about 1 CUC for picking us up and dropping us off at my Hotel. At midnight I dropped into bed, exhausted.
However, at 4 am this morning I awoke with major intestinal problems. Apparently my Chinese meal had not become me so well and I had serious digestive issues emanating from both sides of my body. This morning I realy felt rotten and I ended up using my own medical kit for the first time and took some Immodium.
I was unable to eat breakfast, but I made my way to the university where at 9 am our classes started. Surprisingly the placement test had put me into the level of “perfeccionamiento”, the highest level and the level of Spanish in my class was indeed very high. The class consists of 7 students, a young woman from England, a young female medical student from Denmark, a middle-aged female doctor from Finland, a young male law student from Sweden, a young woman and man from Norway and myself from Austria/Canada.
Obviuosly there is a very heavy Scandinavian slant in my class and it seems everyone in the class is a hobby sociologist, political scientist, environmentalist and historian. We asked some rather tough questions about Cuban life, the political system, the economic hardships, the double economy, the situation of women and blacks in Cuba, machismo and the situation of the environment.
Some of these questions made our female professor feel extremely uncomfortable and it seemed like she was squirming under the barrage of probing political and sociological questions. She got very defensive a few times about the Cuban system and only after we discussed the good and bad aspects of European and Canadian societies did she loosen up a bit and become a bit more open and frank about the real Cuban life. It seems that to this day Cubans have to be very careful about what they say in public.
For example, she frankly admitted that racism still exists in Cuba and to this day it is still a country with a lot of machismo. However, she did not admit that Internet access and access to non-Communist media is forbidden for Cubans, she simply explained it as an economic issue. (Several of my colleagues had heard otherwise in their travels in Cuba, simply that a Cuban is not allowed to have access to the Internet). She also admitted that it is not allowed for Cubans to visit the tourist areas of the Cayos (e.g. Cayo Coco) which is exclusively reserved for tourists and Cubans have no access to that area whatsoever, a definite point of contention among the locals.
Class ended about 1:20 and my upset stomach did not allow me to intake any food. I headed back to my hotel, slept a little and have been on the Internet for the past 2 or so hours (racking up a bill of about $US 20.00 or s0), documenting my trip.
It´’ll be a quiet evening tonight since I am trying to settle down my stomach. But I am sure the adventures and the learning will continue tomorrow.
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After a beautiful breakfast in the garden at Roxana’s place with Helga, the young lab with shiniest black coat, dancing all around me, I went to my private tutoring session at the Ideal Language School where my teacher Estela and I talked at length about various dental procedures, funny doctor stories, and stories of unexplainable events and psychic happenings.
We also touched on the topic of personal security, and that a number of years ago there were quite a few kidnappings and robberies of buses. Additional security has brought the situation under control and safety has improved considerably. I also asked Estela about some practical safety advice for myself, traveling as a woman alone.
She gave me a few basic common-sense pieces of advice:
- don’t wear any ostentatious jewellery or extravagant clothing
- never walk by yourself at night
- never walk in deserted streets
- leave your jewellery, valuables and documents at home
- curry your bag in front of your body
- at night always take a radio taxi that is called from the restaurant where you are staying. They are much more trustworthy than street taxis.
Around 11 am a local street merchant came by to sell typically Mexican sweets and I ended up buying thin sheets of oblates (obleas), stuck together with honey and decorated with pumpkin seeds. I also bought a square of peanuts glued together with caramel ? all very yummy treats. I don’t know how the locals can resist all these tasty foods that are available everywhere….Then I headed off onto the public bus again and into downtown Cuernavaca. I had to change buses and exited one on the Zocalo and hopped on the second one below the Palacio Cortes. The Cuernavaca public transit system is a breeze for me at this point.
A demonstration was in full swing in front of the Palacio del Gobierno, local inhabitants of nearby villages were demonstrating and when I enquired, they told me it was about the fact that the government is developing areas in their villages which they would rather see designated as protected nature areas. The main issue, they explained, is a shortage of water and this issue has apparently being going on 70 years.
The bus took me to Martha Elena’s house who was already waiting for me and had put together a wonderful picnic basket. Then the two of us adventurous mujeres took off in her vehicle and we went towards Las Estacas, a local riverside resort that she had never been to.
I got a chance to see the southern parts of Cuernavaca, and the traffic exiting the city was the usual chaotic mess, but somehow it all works out. It would certainly take me a while to get used to the driving conditions here. People squeeze in wherever they can, particularly the drivers of the rutas, the small local buses. The bus in front of us squeezed in and cut across 3 lanes to make a left turn. This guy was certainly not taking any prisoners?
We drove out of town through a hilly but extremely dry area. All the hills were brown, spring surprisingly is the equivalent of our summer ? everything is hot and dry with very little rain. The rainy season actually begins in late May, early June, and summer is cooler than spring. A strange concept to get your head around.
After about an hour of driving through Mexican country villages with horses and donkeys grazing right next to the street and men riding in the back of trucks, we arrived at Las Estacas.
We started our walk through the grounds, across a hanging bridge over a river with extremely clear and blue water. Marta Elena was explaining to me that the fish that we saw were extremely good for chowder, but not useable for other dishes since they contain so many bones.
Since it was about 1 pm by this time, we plunked ourselves down beside the river and unpacked our beautiful picnic bag, she had made three different types of sandwiches, brought a wonderful container of refreshing juice and some brownies, and the girls started to talk and compare notes about growing up in Mexico and Austria respectively. It’s amazing how two people can come from such different backgrounds, i.e. Marta Elena grew up in a very well to-do family while my family background is much more humble, but somehow we had a great connection.
We took a stroll through the grounds and saw the various swimming pools and playgrounds and also checked out an area containing 31 units with 3 bunk beds each which is used for children’s camps. A fishing pond was right next door.
After our nature outing we stopped at another local attraction: a well-known local market for orchids. Of course, Marta Elena is an avid gardener and I, although equipped with a black thumb, like to look at flowers, so off we went to look at several greenhouses full of different varieties of orchids. Marta Elena, being the expert, could tell me in Latin which varieties we were dealing with, I on the other hand was fascinated with the alien expressions on these horticultural beauties. Apparently these orchids are shipped all over the world.
The day was immensely hot and I was melting in the sun, so I sat down under a lovely palapa and I asked the lady working at the greenhouses to bring us some popsicles, and three popsicles later I finally felt that my thirst was quenched a little. As a small gesture of appreciation for her time and the lovely lunch, I got Martha Elena a special yellow variety of orchids for inviting me on this special outing.
With our aesthetic senses appropriately satisfied we made our way back through the dry mountains south of Cuernavaca and rejoined the hustle and bustle of the city. Marta Elena dropped me off right in front of the cathedral and after a cordial hug we decided to definitely link up again before my departure next week.
Alberto, my friend Vanessa’s cousin, and a local resident of Cuernavaca had recommended me to visit his friend Jose Manuel who owns a little café, appropriately named El Cafecito, right across from the main entrance to the Cathedral. I plunked myself down at one of the tables outside the café on the sidewalk and watched some of the colourful street life pass by.
Several local women carrying what seemed like hundreds of different necklaces approached me, displayed and promoted their attractive jewellery items. I caved in and bought several very decorative necklaces that were supposedly made of semi-precious stones like malachite, tiger’s eye, coral, etc. although I have a feeling for about $4 each they are probably made more of attractive plastic than real stone, but you never know….. I found them quite enchanting.
After a while Jose Manuel came and joined me at my table. He mentioned that me has a brother who is working in Toronto. This is not surprising, many local Mexican people that I have met have a Canadian connection. He even said that he has experienced temperatures of up to ? 5 degrees in Arizona once, which was barely bearable for a Mexican who is used to 25 degrees + all the time.
Jose Manuel graciously called me a taxi, a “Radio Taxi”, which is highly recommended after dark which whisked me up into my beautiful residence at RX Villa in the Rancho Cortez area. Time for some laundry and for writing up some stories and resting up my leg for another day of discoveries tomorrow?
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Coober Pedy is without a doubt one of the most unique outback destinations in Australia. Set in a stark arid landscape often compared to Mars, this outback mining town where many people live underground is the source of most of the world’s precious opal production.
Coober Pedy is located about 850 kilometres north of Adelaide in remote outback Australia. The name Coober Pedy comes from a local indigenous language, Kupa meaning ‘white man’ and Piti meaning ‘hole’, and translates as ‘white fellas hole in the ground’, reflecting the fact that Coober Pedy is the Opal Capital of Australia and the world. It also reflects the fact many residents live in homes excavated underground due to the extreme climatic conditions of the area.
Opal mining commenced in Coober Pedy in 1915 and continues today. In that time the outback town has evolved in to one of the most unique places in Australia and perhaps the world. A cosmopolitan town of 3,500 inhabitants from over 45 different nationalities, it is today a relaxed and friendly town characterised by cultural tolerance, diversity and acceptance.
Apart from opal production, Coober Pedy is known for its unique style of underground living. Visitors can find a range of underground accommodation in addition to above ground accommodation for those who prefer it. There are many often luxurious underground homes to explore in addition to underground shops, museums, art galleries and mines.
Coober Pedy enjoys a typical semi-desert climate. Between April and October the weather is pleasant, with mild daytime temperatures of 16 to 20 C but cold desert nights. From November to March, summer temperatures are hot and range from 35 to 45 C, and occasionally reach as high as 50 C. No wonder the locals prefer to live in the relative comfort of underground homes! Annual rainfall is unpredictable and minimal at an average of around 175 millimetres.
Opal was first found on the surface at Coober Pedy in 1915, while the New Colorado Prospecting Syndicate consisting of Jim Hutchison, his son William Hutchison, P Winch and M McKenzie were searching unsuccessfully for gold south in the area. This was on the 1st of February 1915, and the first opal claim was pegged eight days later. Originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Field (after early explorer John McDouall Stuart, the first European explorer to traverse the area in 1858), this name was changed to Coober Pedy in 1920.
Opal prices fell dramatically and production almost came to a standstill during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. As has been typical of Coober Pedy’s history of cyclic boom and bust periods over the decades, an Aboriginal woman named Tottie Bryant made a sensational opal find in 1946 which initiated a new rush to the Coober Pedy opal fields. Mining activity grew rapidly during the 1960s as many new European migrants arrived seeking their fortunes. Since then, opal mining has develop into a multi million dollar industry and Coober Pedy has grown into a modern outback mining town.
Opal is a type of silica similar to quartz, but it contains water within its mineral structure. Precious opal typically contains 6% to 10% water. Opal occurs in many varieties, including precious opal and potch. In precious opal, brilliant colours are created by the diffraction of white light by silica spheres and voids within the opal structure, similar to a prism effect. The colour range of a precious opal is determined by the size and spacing of the silica spheres. Smaller spheres produce blue opal only, while larger spheres produce red opal. Red opal can also display the entire spectrum of colours. Opal colour is influenced by the angle of the light falling on it, and can change or disappear as the stone is rotated. Potch opal has silica spheres which are too small and irregular to produce colour.
If you are interested in purchasing precious opal, be aware that to date attempts to establish guidelines for setting opal values have been largely unsuccessful. This is because of the infinite variation in colour pattern found in opals. The most important factors determining the price of opal are the background colour (black opal being more valuable than clear or crystal opal, which in turn is more valuable than white or milky opal), the dominant fire colour (red-fire opal being more valuable than a green opal, which in turn is more valuable than blue opal), and the colour pattern (harlequin opal with patches of colour is more valuable than pinfire opal with speckled colour). Be aware also that there is a significant difference between the value of uncut opal and that of a cut and polished stone.
