If you’ve been wondering why I’m unable to blog and include pictures, I’ll explain Cuba’s communication infrastructure. They have a 2G network with wifi hot spots spread out in the cities. People gather at a hotspot and vie to log on with their mobile devices. As a tourist, I have to purchase a card (~$1.50 to $4) which provides 1 hr of internet use. These aren’t rechargeable so when the time is used up, you enter a new user ID and password! Very few Cuban homes have connectivity, sporadic, if they do. Large hotels generally offer network connectivity but users still need to purchase a card. So one can sit in their room or in my case, their lobby, and try to log on.
Card good for 1 hr of internet use at a wi-fi hotspot
Once connected, it can take a minute or more just to download email. Websites with pictures are nearly impossible if the network is busy due to the limited bandwidth.
We learned a difficult lesson with Air BnB. We hadn’t booked accommodations for 4 days near the end of our trip because we weren’t sure of our itinerary. Once we decided to visit Santa Clara, we opened the Air BnB app but it didn’t work well. So I opened the website in a browser and found a casa particular that looked good. When I tried to book it, a message said I could not do this in Cuba. Whaaatttt???? I checked with our host and found this was the case. You CANNOT book a room with Air BnB when you are IN Cuba. I don’t know if this is because I am using a US credit card or if this is the same for other tourists.
So Plan B went into action. We emailed our daughter, Caitlin, and asked her to use our account to book us a room. This process took us nearly a week to complete because the first room she requested didn’t respond and Air BnB automatically deletes the request after 24 hrs. But finally she was successful and we got a room. Since we are unable to use a US bank credit card, this was vital to our trip.
Going With the Flow 