Isn’t there a saying that goes, ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me?’
After Havana, our plan is to travel by land throughout Cuba. It is a very ambitious plan considering that Cuba’s entire island length is about 1,200 kilometres and we only have 9 days remaining in the holiday to explore the rest of the country. Our itinerary involves touching base all four corners of Cuba. But yeah, we are seasoned road warriors and confident international travellers, but naïve enough to fall on locally fabricated tricks, haha.
Nevertheless, I booked our rental car ahead of time online with Cubacar (which is also Havanautos) through Cuba Travel Network. They asked for advance payment of the car, however, there are additional hidden costs as well that must be taken into consideration. These are paid on site and they are:
1) Insurance (can be paid with credit card)
2) Additional driver (can be paid with credit card)
3) Upfront payment for a full tank gasoline—they charged us CUC$63 for this (only cash)
Thus, total cost of renting a car (medium-sized sedan car) including insurance and additional driver for 9 days came out to EUR540. This is exclusive the gasoline expenses and the first full tank we received. A full tank gasoline is between CUC$50 and CUC$60 depending of course on the car—how many litres it can accommodate and the type of gasoline.
Some gasoline stations, especially in the big cities, they are part of the grand scheme of things, and that is charging the foreigner at the highest price. It is a conspiracy in the highest of levels. Gasoline station workers in the cities will not sell you the cheaper gasoline as they are not allowed to. However, in smaller towns you can buy the cheapest gasoline because they do not have the expensive option available.
We picked up our car in Old Havana and true enough in Cuban style, we were informed that our car is not yet ready. It took 2 hours of waiting inclusive of the payment procedure before we finally were able to hit the road.
If there is one thing that a visitor must be prepared with when driving in Cuba, it is the actual driving itself. Because in Cuba, they do not have proper signage. Firstly, the signage directions in Havana are not straightforward. Secondly, there is no smooth transitioning from signage to signage. Thirdly, some intersections and corners do not have signage at all. This spells: DRIVING NIGHTMARE.
So obviously, and eventually, we got lost. The highway seemed like 7 mountains away. We were already delayed with the car pick up, now we are truly and very much delayed because we have no idea how to get out of this jungle called Havana. You see, Blondine and I just exited a roundabout that has 4 exits but without a directional signage. We did a guessing game and picked the wrong exit, lol.
But seriously, can you imagine the frustration levels we are experiencing here? *scratch head and pulls hair* What to do!?
The locals we asked for help were very friendly, they were all smiles and very eager to help. In fact each of them have their own formula of getting to the highway, and they were talking at the same time, putting us into a much greater confused state. This is also what happens when their English is horrible and our Spanish is terrible.
To solve our problem, they proposed a brilliant idea. They said that they will ride with us in the car and they will show us the way to the highway. By this time, Blondine and I were utterly desperate to do anything. We are behind schedule and we are lost. Most importantly we want to arrive in Trinidad before 4 in the afternoon.
So we succumbed to the idea, and father and daughter quickly jumped in at the back of the car and showed us the way. It was a rather complicated route to the highway, and we realised that we couldn’t have figured this out ourselves, but we were wondering—How will father and daughter go back to Havana civilization?
The light at the end of the dark tunnel came shining through. We have reached the highway. F-I-N-A-L-L-Y.
Now, this is where the second time being scammed gets into the picture.
Father and daughter asked CUC$45. They said it is for their taxi ride back to Havana proper. When we heard the amount, Blondine and I were speechless for a second, and the first thing that came to my mind—WTF, we are scammed, again?!
To give an idea and to set this in proper perspective, the average monthly wage in Cuba is between CUC$20 and CUC$30 and the father and daughter tandem is asking almost twice the amount. ‘It is for the taxi.’ They kept saying. Which I doubt because in Cuba hitchhiking with buses, trucks and private vehicle owners is the norm. For all I know, they could have gone back to Havana on foot. Who knows?
We fell into their trap easily. Tricked. Owned. And I am fuming mad. But we were desperate as well to get rid of the father and daughter sitting at the back of the car. We also did not want to cause more trouble than what we already had experienced, plus the delays, oh well. We however tried negotiating but they were adamant in demanding the CUC$45 from us, so we gave in and handed over the money. Then the woman had the gall to ask for an extra CUC$5, she said its for COMER (food). WHAT? We just gave you CUC$45 and you want another CUC$5!? How dare you! OK, I did not say that directly to her face but Blondine and I both firmly shook our heads and said, ‘NO!’
Enough is enough. Ugh, how could these people…? They really do their best to milk you dry.
With a heavy heart we hit the highway to Trinidad. CUC$45 is around EUR 35. That is a lot of money to pay someone for showing the exit to the highway. Especially in Cuba. I am dumbfounded. Even up to now.
After this incident we became wiser and never asked the locals for help whatsoever. NEVER.
Travel Period: May 2012
Destination: Cuba
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)