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Title: Ontario teen returns home after 3-month Cuba ordeal
Category: Misc CDN
Posted By: wildrosegirl
Date: 2010-08-06 20:22:27
Canadian

   

happy for the kid but honestly..
its hard to feel bad for someone "stuck at a resort in cuba"
I've been to a resort in Cuba, I didn't want to leave.

   

It's funny how, as soon as External Affairs pointed out to the Cubans that this story might make Canadians leery of travelling to Cuba, the kid gets released. So much for Cuba being anti-capitalism.

   

Just add this to the long list of reasons to avoid Cuba's "workers paradise".

   

Exactly!!! Yet there will be lots more who will continue to go because it's a "deal" and will ignore the safety aspect........until it happens to them.

   

I went once and never again. Giving soap as tips says it all. Corrupt, impoverished with an air of ever prevalent menace. Plus the food sucked. The whole place reminded me of Ethiopia in the mid 1980's.

I like Playa de Carmen way better.

   

Well I have no sympathy for this guy at all. How dumb was he and his mother.. you don't rent cars in Cuba. Sure they will let you but you have to be 25.. they knew that. Its posted.... so you pay for being stupid. Its like going to Mexico.. you can buy drugs in the corner store, they are on the shelf.. but the catch is even though the shop keeper sells them to you, you need a script from a doctor.. lots of guys think oh hey! they have viagra beside the cigrettes.. you buy and get caught your in deep dodo... play by the rules in any country you visit and you don't have problems.. I go to Cuba 3x a year and I love it there.. I tip with Cuban pesos or Canadian. I take gifts as well... don't put blame the people for their system of government.

   

And another reason not to go there!

   

It's not anti-capitalism as much as anti-lifeline. I can only imagine how many Canadians spend a large amount of money in Cuba. Pissing off Canada in 2010 would be Cuba pissing off the USSR in the 1960s.

   

I bet bookings to Cuba take a hit over this though Ken.

   

They probably wouldn't let you in

   

I'm sure it was down, but its the time of year. We will have to wait until later in the fall. I'm sure that for the most part people will still go there. Its reasonable and Varadaro has one of the best beaches in the Caribbean Islands and Cuba is rated # 1 top pick by lonelyplanet.com.. I usually take 4-5 trips during the winter months from Oct...May and I prefer it over Mexico, Dominican, Cayman or Barbados. The Bahamas is another favourite of ours.

   

Went there in '95. Seen what an absolute shit-hole the 'workers paradise" was and haven't returned. There are far better, cleaner and friendlier islands to visit in the Caribbean that won't throw you in jail on a whim.

I'm glad you go there though, it means I won't ever run into you at the better islands!

   

Turks & Caicos is my favourite, though I like the Bahamas too. Curacao was amazing too, but I hate the longer flight. My wife and I are scuba divers, so we're looking for good dive destinations, as well as the usual fun-in-the-sun. Caymen is way too expensive. Cuba, Mexico, Dominican and Jamaica: crime zones. I'll stay away until they get their shit together. This winter we're going to check out St. Maarten.

   

Went to Curacao this past March and the weather was excellent and the diving was even better!

I never had any problems with crime in the Dominican but Mexico and Jamaica are places I tend to avoid now due to the crime.

St. Maarten looks great but does come with a litte bit higher price tag.

   

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