4 de Diciembre 2010

We stayed last night at the Backpackers Hostelling Center in Cancun and I have to say, it is the worst place we have stayed so far. We stayed in the dorm room and there were two snorers in the group that snored so loud Mari and I had a hard time sleeping. So this morning we awoke in search of a new place to stay and we found it. We moved locations, and are now staying at a place called Hostel Laurel. A drastic improvement over where we stayed last night, but at a steeper price as well. Last night cost us 110 pesos a piece, where tonights accomodations is 300 pesos for our own room with private bathroom. A good investment for a better nights sleep.

Today we took care of some business necessary for our trip to Cuba. As many of you probably dont know, correct and verifiable information about Cuba is hard to come by. So we have been researching things like Visa costs, exit fees, housing costs, food costs, and tips and tricks and warnings and stuff like that.

Heres some facts:

Return tickets from Cancun to Cuba - $8128 pesos

Also, we paid 710 pesos ($59 USD) for two visas, and two 5 days alottments of medical insurance. We heard and read that its recommended (or required?) for foriegners to purchase medical insurance during their stay in Cuba. We were quoted somewhere between 2 & 3 dollars a day. The tip from our travel agent was to purchase a few days of insurance so that when Cuban customs ask the question "Did you purchase insurance for your vacation" when entering the country we can answer with a whole hearted yes. Therefore we are proud owners of a 5 day medical pass. As far as I can make out, our Visas were around $18 USD dollars each, and the medical insurance was about $10 USD each.

Surprising to us, Cuba is a relatively expensive country for a foreign traveler. Within Cuba, there are two types of currencies. Foreigners use a currency called the Covertible Cubanos, or C.U.C. The exchange rate is rougly $1.00CUC = $1.08 USD. The Cuban people that live within Cuba use the peso, which exchanges atroughly $1.00 CUC = 24 pesos. Thus you can see how the foreigner exchange rate is much higher than the local exchange rate. The key to budget traveling is watching the locals. Do as the locals do. Our prime goal is to locate how to get on the peso budget, thereby stretching our budgets. Its gonna be a good time for sure.

From what Ive heard, there are not hostels in Cuba. There are hotels in Cuba, but I hear they are quite costly. The method we will be using during our stay is Casa Particulares. The Cuban government has allowed licensed houses to open bedrooms for travelers to rent and use during their vacations. For this priveledge, the owners of the Casa pay large monthly fees to the government. Anyway, it works out to cost us anywhere from $20 - $35 dollars per night to live in house with a cuban family. The real question is how we locate and move around between these casas. We have a lot to learn along the way, and we are on the cusp of a major cram session. Its funny to imagine our stay in Mexico is almost done. But its nice to know we will be heading back this way in the near future.

Mexico is wonderful. It has gorgeous weather, beautiful landscape from beachs to mountains to jungle, and most of all. The Mexican people are very warm and graceous. Our time here has been a wonderful experience and we are both excited, and sad to be moving forward.

I assume there will be no internet while we are away. Thus, I hope everyone has a wonderful buildup to christmas. We will be returning to Cancun on the 25th, and wish everyone the best. We miss our family and friends and want to let you all know you are, and will be in our thoughts during the upcoming holidays. I will check back in when internet and time allow. Cheers!