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Just to the east of Cuba is Hispaniola, the island
which is home to Haiti on the West and the Dominican
Republic on the East. Despite sharing one island, the
culture and people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are
very different. When in Haiti, you will hear Creole being
spoken as the language of choice, and you may witness the
traditional presence of Voodoo. Cross over to the Dominican
Republic and you will hear Spanish and notice that the Dominicans
have discarded their African religions and instead embraced
Christianity. Although Haiti is the poorest country in the
West and the Dominican Republic and Cuba also face their share
of monetary problems, any visit to this region will surely
be rich in cultural experiences.
Cash
Cuba
The problem with the national currency in Cuba is they don't
just have one currency - they have three! This can make matters
more confusing for the average westerner because you have
the Cuban Peso (or the moneda nacional), the US dollar
and the Convertible Peso.
However, as a tourist you will usually only use the US dollar,
which is the stronger currency, and something that can be
used almost everywhere in Cuba. Roughly speaking, you can
expect to find a medium priced beach resort costing anything
between US$50-$100 per night, with the higher range often
including food and drinks. In the cities, a mid-range tourist
hotel might only cost $30, and you will find a buffet lunch
or dinner for anything between $5-$15. A can of beer costs
between $1-$2, with higher prices mainly found in beach resort
areas.
Haiti
The official currency in Haiti is the gourde, with
100 centimes to the gourde.
$1 US = 36 HTG (Haiti Gourdes)
£ 1 Pound Sterling = 60HTG
1 Euro = 37 HTG
Just as in Cuba, the currency of Haiti also has a few complications
to fool tourists. The Gourde was fixed to the US dollar in
the past, at the rate of 5 Gourdes to 1 US. Although this
is no longer the case you might hear the 5 Gourde bill being
called 1 Haitian Dollar, with 2 Gourdes being 2 Haitian Dollars,
and so on. Therefore a hotel room may be quoted as 200 but
the locals may say the rate is 40! Haiti is a relatively cheap
country, however, the true bargains of Haiti are often well
hidden to the tourists by clever salesmen, so bargaining is
always worth a try!
Dominican Republic
The currency in DR is the Peso. You should be able to exchange
money quite easily, though you will receive better rates at
the bank. If travelling from a smaller country, it might be
worth remembering that US dollars will be exchanged with more
ease than, say, New Zealand dollars.
$1 US = 20 DOP (Dominican Republic Pesos)
1 Pound = 32 DOP
1 Euro = 20 DOP
A decent budget hotel in the Dominican republic could cost
around US$25 per night however food and transport costs can
be quite cheap if you are willing to travel on public buses
and eat local food or shop at markets.
For up to date currency information, check the Currency
Converter.
People
Cuba
Although Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean it is
still a mean feat that they manage to squeeze 11 million inhabitants
in. Of these 11 million people, official statistics say that
a third of people are white (mostly of Spanish origin); with
12% black and 22% are of mixed race (mulatto).
Haiti
In Haiti, about 80% of the six million inhabitants live rurally.
Predominantly black, 95% of Haiti's population descends from
Africa, with the remaining 5% being either mulattos, white
or people from the Middle East. Interesting minority groups
have formed and there are small Syrian and Lebanese communities,
as well as some descendants of Poland who deserted Napoleon's
war in the 1800s and settled in Haiti.
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is home to more than 8 million people,
with about 70% of these people having mixed ancestry (either
mestizo or mulatto), with smaller Spanish and African minorities.
Unfortunately, less than 5% of the Dominican population are
classed as wealthy and it seems that wealth and power is held
by the whiter classes and the darker the peoples skin is,
the poorer they tend to be.
Travel
To experience the life of the local inhabitants, one of the
best ways of getting around Haiti and the Dominican Republic is by bus.
In Haiti the local buses are called the taptap, in
the Dominican Republic they are called gua-gua. To
get a ride on these buses you just need to flag one down from
the highways edge. The buses are manned by a conductor who
will ask for your fare after you have managed to find a seat
on the often crowded and uncomfortable bus.
However, when in Cuba, you will find that train travel is
the method of choice. In fact, Cuba is the only country in
the Caribbean with a functioning train service. Getting a
ticket is said to be quite easy, and whilst the trains are
often old, they are comfortable and full of character but
very infrequent. Public transport around the island is virtually
non-existant and so are private cars. There exists an egalitarian
system of organised lift shares where people have to share
their cars. It's unlikely as a traveller you would be able
to enter into this, so hiring a car is your only viable option
if you are travelling outside of a tour.
Food
Cuba
Eating in Cuba is unlikely to be a gourmet experience. Food
shortages and the general state of the economy means that
you might have money to spend on food but you may find that
there is little to buy with your cash. If Cuba was to name
a national dish you could bet that their rice and kidney beans
with chicken or pork dish would rank highly.
Cuban food may be a little blander than you are used to because
Cubans don't seem to use many spices or herbs. The food ranges
dramatically in health terms. On one hand you will have the
grease from a pan served with your meal as 'sauce', however
their fruit and vegetables are mostly organic, because the
trade embargo with the US means that pesticides and chemicals
are hard to import.
It goes without saying that when in Cuba you should ensure
you try a selection of Cuba produced rum. The most
popular rum is Havana Club and all good barmen will know how
to whip up a daiquiri for you!
Haiti
When in Haiti you have two types of cuisine on offer, French
and Creole. Again, you will find that beans and rice
features heavily in both types of cuisine. There are plenty
of food stalls set up at markets and bus stations. A tasty
treat to try is fried plantain, a similar fruit to
the banana, which will only set you back around five gourdes
for a quick snack.
Dominican Republic
Unlike Cuba or Haiti, food in the Dominican Republic is often
more spicy and flavoursome. La bandera (the flag) is
the national dish which consists of rice, beans, salad, stewed
meat and fried green plantains. A great celebratory dish that
the Dominicans are very proud of is the sancocho de siete
carnes (seven meat soup), which lives up to its namesake
and contains seven types of meat. Whilst this is not a vegetarian's
dish of choice it is proudly served at family celebrations,
parties and festivals.
Language
Spanish is the official language of Cuba and the Dominican
Republic. Whilst Haiti may claim that French is their
official language, it is important to note that only about
10% of the population speaks French who are mostly the ruling
class, with the other 90% speaking Creole.
Climate
The pleasant tropical climate of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican
Republic are one of their key selling points. With an average
annual temperature on Hispaniola of 80°F and similar temperatures
on Cuba. The only downside to all this beautiful heat is that
Hispaniola can get quite humid, although this is less noticeable
in Cuba due to the island's long and narrow shape with encourages
a beautiful sea breeze. At any rate, you can leave the woollies
at home and expect a holiday in the sun!
Dress
Throughout this region, you will be better received if you
dress neatly and conservatively. Naturally you should cover
up when in churches; some government buildings won't allow
shorts or tank tops. Use the locals as a guide try to match
your clothing style to theirs. Despite much of the population
of the region being poor, the people take pride in their appearance
and therefore cannot understand why a 'rich' foreigner would
travel around looking shabby.
Visas
Cuba
Travel to Cuba requires a passport with at least six months
validity and a tarjeta de turista (tourist card). You
can obtain your tourist card when you book your flight to
Cuba, and if necessary you can pick up a tourist card on arrival
to the airport at Havana (but not at other airports). If you
are a US citizen you are not allowed to enter Cuba due to
a ban imposed by the US government in 1961, which was introduced
to stop American citizens holidaying and thus supporting a
'repressive Communist regime' and government.
Cubans don't hold any grudges against Americans visiting and
will admit any American who has been able to work around the
US ban and fly via Canada, Mexico or some other country. Americans
in Cuba should be very careful not to lose their passport,
and try to avoid getting a Cuban stamp when arriving or departing.
More typically now, they the authorities will stamp a bit
of paper and insert it in your passport rather than stamping
the passport itself, thereby anyone planning to visit USA
at any stage avoids the Cuba stigma. The ban on Cuban travel
was softened slightly in 1995 when the list of people who
can receive a 'license' to visit Cuba was extended to include
students on exchange, people attending conferences, freelance
journalists, religious missionaries, as well as researchers
and funded journalists. Despite this small concession, the
ban on American travel to Cuba is still strong, and for your
ordinary US citizen wanting to visit Cuba in the near future,
travelling there on the sly appears to be the only option.
Haiti
If you are from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Monaco, South Korea, Switzerland,
UK and US, you won't need a visa, just a valid passport. If
you are from any country that is not listed above you require
a tourist visa, which is valid for three months and be applied
for at an embassy/consulate or upon arrival.
Dominican Republic
All visitors require a valid passport and then tourists will
either require a tourist card or a visa depending on their
home country. Any citizen from Canada the USA and a number
of European countries are eligible for a tourist card, all
citizens from Australia, UK, New Zealand and some European
countries instead require a visa. Check with your embassy
for up to date information and application procedures.
Health
Communism has allowed Cuba to be a well-immunised and healthy
country. Excellent medical treatment is available to both
locals and foreigners and tourists will find that medical
treatment is quite cheap.
As a precaution, do not drink the water in Cuba, Haiti or
the Dominican Republic. Make sure you are healthy before heading
off on your holiday and are up to date will all the required
immunizations for the region (Hepatitis, Tetanus, Diphtheria,
Typhoid and Yellow Fever). You can give yourself
a healthy advantage by packing a good insect repellent, because
many of the more nasty diseases in this region are spread
by mosquito.
For more information on international travel and health, check out the World
Health Organization website.
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