More Cuba Trivia

Machismo
Machismo is alive and well in Cuba. Men greet each other with a forceful slapping handshake (women get a kiss but only on one cheek). The men in the towns look as though they have just come from the gym where they have been toning their pecs and abs and the women wear short skirts and are made up to the nines. In the country male headgear is a practical,large straw stetson.  In the towns men would not be caught dead in such a thing and prefer a baseball cap.In the towns men seem to be clean shaven. In the country the prosperous ones sport luxurious black moustaches.....Now how is that for a barrage of generalisations?

Chambermaids
Chamber maids in hotels have devised a stratagem for ensuring that you do not forget to leave them a tip. Every day on your bed you will find an extraordinary elaborate towel sculpture with a gushing note wishing you a lovely day. The problem is that they use the towels from your bathroom and if you forget to collect them before you hop in the shower you have to drip across the floor to fetch them.

Christmas
For some reason the Cubans are so partial to their Christmas decorations that their Christmas trees are still well up into mid January.

Flowers
Although the bougainvillea and other flowers grow profusely in every hedgerow and on every wall, only plastic flowers in the hotels.

PR
Someone--maybe Fidel himself--has given the Cuban tourist officials lessons in hyperbole. To read the signs and brochures you would think that Cuba was the Garden of Eden returned. It is nice but it is best not to get yourself too excited at the written word.

Earplugs
Do not come to Cuba without earplugs. The chances are that your hotel will be in the main square next to a disco or bar which will be going strong at 2 am and thereafter the enebriated customer will continue the party in the street under yur window--last night it was a party of Russians but the Cubans are just as fond of the late nights and the rum.
If the party has finally finished by 5 am you have an hour to sleep before the birds begin. There are lots of birds in Cuba and the leafy central squares  next to your hotel will attract huge flocks of chattering starlings.

Beer and water
I have not drunk so much beer for years. There are two brands. The light one is Cristal and the stronger one is Bucanero. Cristal is not bad and is cheaper than the mineral water which is a dreadful price in hotels and restaurants.