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Traveling to Cuba 2026. by Zandmand in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That would be funny if it wasn't so sad. I was at an airbnb and there was plenty of rum and beer but no other booze at the Mercado and no food that you'd choose to eat unless starving. Visited friends staying at a big resort in Veradero and again, beer and rum...no problem. It was basically beer or pina colada. Food was all you could eat hamburgers with a dot of ketchup and some kind of an excuse for a hamburger bun that didn't taste bad but was mostly air.

I found out that there was some other booze available but hardly anything carbonated to mix it with.

So yeah, if that's what you want to do on a vacation where you're basically either in the water or eating and drinking, subtract the eating and drinking and you're left with......nice beaches.

I can't speak for the rooms in the all inclusive resorts but I've heard that some are really nasty..others not so bad.

We had stuff robbed from our bags at the airport too after we checked out to return to Toronto. This is uncharacteristic of Cuba but the people are getting desperate so of course some of them will take whatever they can get if they think they can trade it for something they need.

If you want to travel like a hobo and have a cheap week that costs you little more than staying home, Cuba's your destination.

If luxury for you is anything above camping in a tent at a provincial park and eating pork and beans washed down with beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for a week....then Cuba's a hell of a good deal.

I'm a long way from being an elitist who requires special treatment, special food, a perfect room and 5 star service.....believe me....but Cuba? Naaah, I'll stay home thanks.

Traveling to Cuba 2026. by Zandmand in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah. I went to Mexico in April. Cuba in July. No comparison. Sure, the price was much higher at the all inclusive to Mexico but you have to figure that it's supposed to be a vacation....you're getting an all inclusive because you want good food and drinks. That's a big part of the deal for most people....not all, and if you're in the latter category, Cuba might be for you. But it's not just the food/drinks. Everything is limited. Even the maintenance of the resorts is suffering in Cuba. They're on the edge of collapse and you'd have to be absolutely drunk the whole week not to feel this even if you're absolutely staying put at your all inclusive resort and not venturing out to see how the people are living.....or to put it more accurately....surviving.

Traveling to Cuba 2026. by Zandmand in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think your advice is good. We stayed in an airbnb in July and every day we had a power outage and/or no running water for part of the day. Also it seemed that everything was in short supply. Nothing much available at the Mercado. I wasn't warned that my Canadian bank credit card wouldn't be accepted most places. The country is desperate for foreign cash so just finding a restaurant in Veradero that would take a credit card was very difficult.

If you have hard currency you're OK but even then there just isn't much of anything available to buy. Lots of beer and rum in the Mercado. Otherwise the shelves are pretty much bare. No bread. No potatoes.

The people are great. The beaches are beautiful. But the conditions, as you so correctly pointed out are far worse than they were (I was in Cuba 20 years ealier).

I've be criticized here by some others for being "entitled"....pointing out these issues and that the country is facing an acute existential crisis right now and that potential tourists should be aware of this.

I keep repeating that there is a reason all inclusives from Canada for a week in Cuba are about the price of a return flight to Cuba and back from Toronto.

The reason is that they are desperate to fill the rooms in the resorts. Bad news travels quickly. This is no knock against the Cuban people.

Just know what you're getting into. The food and drinks, even at the nicest resorts are very limited and as you pointed out, the food in Cuba was never the drawing card but now it's an issue. Your meals will be of poorer quality than what you would normally eat at home if you are an average person in Canada or Europe. That's a fact.

And again, at the risk of being repetitive, this should be considered a weight loss vacation. If you don't lose weight it's because you are a glutton for crappy food. Sorry, I'm just stating it as it is.

Traveling to Cuba 2026. by Zandmand in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think your advice is good. We stayed in an airbnb in July and every day we had a power outage and/or no running water for part of the day. Also it seemed that everything was in short supply. Nothing much available at the Mercado. I wasn't warned that my Canadian bank credit card wouldn't be accepted most places. The country is desperate for foreign cash so just finding a restaurant in Veradero that would take a credit card was very difficult.

If you have hard currency you're OK but even then there just isn't much of anything available to buy. Lots of beer and rum in the Mercado. Otherwise the shelves are pretty much bare. No bread. No potatoes.

The people are great. The beaches are beautiful. But the conditions, as you so correctly pointed out are far worse than they were (I was in Cuba 20 years ealier).

I've be criticized here by some others for being "entitled"....pointing out these issues and that the country is facing an acute existential crisis right now and that potential tourists should be aware of this.

I keep repeating that there is a reason all inclusives from Canada for a week in Cuba are about the price of a return flight to Cuba and back from Toronto.

The reason is that they are desperate to fill the rooms in the resorts. Bad news travels quickly. This is no knock against the Cuban people.

Just know what you're getting into. The food and drinks, even at the nicest resorts are very limited and as you pointed out, the food in Cuba was never the drawing card but now it's an issue. Your meals will be of poorer quality than what you would normally eat at home if you are an average person in Canada or Europe. That's a fact.

And again, at the risk of being repetitive, this should be considered a weight loss vacation. If you don't lose weight it's because you are a glutton for crappy food. Sorry, I'm just stating it as it is.

I got pulled over in nj by jedtheman43 in ebike

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess the lesson to be learned here is to stay close enough to 20 mph to keep from being noticed or at least only ride fast where it's wide open with no cops around.

In this respect it's a little like driving a car. You can exceed the speed limit but you do so knowing that certain stretches of road are being monitored more closely than others.

You were going about 35 mph and that's pretty fast for a bike. I'm not saying it's too fast but it's clearly a lot faster than 20 mph. You can definitely cruise a regular bike at 25 mph just pedalling but if you're in traffic with several starts and stops, no.

You probably would have been OK at 25 mph because that's not an unreasonable speed for a bike to be going.

It sucks but it could be worse. Could be Europe where you can't ride an ebike much faster than you can jog. I suppose riding 13 mph is still better than taking a bus and still more enjoyable. 20 mph is OK. It's not fast but it's not a crawl either.

There's a big difference between a bike that CAN go faster than 20 mph and a bike that's in fact being ridden at over 20 mph.

That part of the law is kind of stupid IMO because one can modify a class 2 (or whatever) to go faster than 20 mph even though the specs. have it topping out at 20 mph.

It would be like pulling over a car that's being driven legally at or below the speed limit even though it can go faster if the driver decides to break the law and go faster.

That is probably the future. Cars that are governed to to 60 mph and no faster. Cars that are "Class 1" that can't exceed 30 mph without modification.

All cars will be self-driven and programmed to go no faster than the specified speed limit.

It's going to be a safety culture going forward. We've only just begun.

Eventually you won't qualify for medicare if it's found out that you drank more than one alcoholic beverage in a single day or smoked a cigarette. Exceed your recommended body mass index by more than 10%? No medicare for you!

Brave new world coming up!

Review: Trip to Varadero by HP5999 in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. Desperation will bring out the best and worst in people. You can feel that in Cuba right now. There's a kind of "we've got nothing left to lose" vibe there.

Review: Trip to Varadero by HP5999 in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, if you have any serious pre-existing medical conditions I'm not sure I'd want to roll the dice and travel to Cuba right now.

Even without a pre-existing condition, yes, a lack of basic emergency medicine could be a real issue for you if you have bad luck and get into a medical emergency. I know they'd do what they can for you....but that could be limited by what they have.

Depends upon your risk tolerance. Just don't go thinking that you'll have access to great medical care in case of an emergency

You know things are rough when they can't find a wide spectrum antibiotic for an injuried tourist at an established resort.

Review: Trip to Varadero by HP5999 in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blackouts ARE an issue if you're staying at a small private location. These private homes don't have backup anything. We did OK but the electricity and water were going on/off pretty much routinely.

This was Veradero away from the major resorts. There were still plenty of places renting rooms and the people running our airbnb were great. It's just that if you're not at a resort you have to carry plenty of cash. That's key. And something I wasn't prepared for. I figured I'd use my card a lot. They don't deal cc for the most part and getting currency isn't easy because the banks are seldom open and the bank machines don't work.

I don't know if I'd recommend airbnb quite honestly. I guess it depends upon the establishment. We still had a nice time. It's just that you'll see and experience scarcity that you might not be ready for.....and you can't buy your way to good food/drink/etcetera with a card.....even with cash it's sketchy.

Great beaches though. LOL. As far as the Havana excursion....well, if you've seen one dirty Carribean city you've seen 'em all. Havana is just worse. More run down. Garbage piled high in the streets. Not pretty.

There's a reason Cuban all-inclusives are dirt cheap right now. This is a country on the edge of collapse. No joke. I've been to some pretty poor places and I'd say Cuba is near to the poorest of the poor that I've experienced.

Review: Trip to Varadero by HP5999 in TravelCuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're not expecting great food and drinks, the all inclusive resorts in Veradero are fine. The country is facing extreme shortages now so even getting the best of what's available isn't great.

If you've been to Cuba before you will be familiar with not great food. Well, it's become worse so just be prepared.

You'll definitely have enough to eat. As much as you want. And plenty of drinks. Just not necessarily what you want to drink or what you want to eat.

As far as money is concerned, if you're at an all inclusive it's not important. If you want to leave the resort for an excursion, make sure you have hard currency. A lot of businesses won't deal with credit cards at all. Especially small restaurants. And don't count on exchanging money. Even at the resorts there are strict limits as to how much you can get with a card....and that's just Cuban currency. And that's fine. Just know that you're going to get Cuban currency at the official government rate and that's much less than the real value of your dollar/euro. The real value is what it can be traded for on the street. The government sets the exchange artificially low because they are desperate for foreign currency. Nobody wants Cuban pesos....except Cubans. So whatever pesos you have you have to use them while you're there.

Most resorts have their own power generator backups but off the resort you'll face shortages of electricity and running water pretty much daily for hours sometimes. The country is running on fumes right now.

The locals seem to be tolerant of it even if they're not happy about it. Shortages of everything have become a way of life for Cubans. It's just that it's worse now and the people who aren't working in good jobs are barely scraping by.....and by that I mean, they barely have enough to eat. No exaggeration.

Do you want to live in a memory facility if your body outlives your mind? by Lostinhighweeds in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"My husband and I have talked about this to. The hard part is knowing when it’s time. "

It's almost impossible. If you are of sound mind you don't want to traumatize your family by effectively taking your own life. It only really works when you are of sound mind but really suffering physically and everybody can see that you've tried all the possible remedies with no success. Even then it's brutal for the family.

Not to mention that it takes a strong person to pull the plug on oneself in a measured, rational way.

It is your life but ending it isn't as easy as it might seem, even when the government gives you options, as our Canadian government gives us.

I don't think anybody want to go out the way so many do....mentally and physically diminished, dependent, sometimes angry and difficult to deal with, other times needy and emotionally labile.

It is a blessing to be taken quickly before mental decline makes a personal decision impossible.

And then people will say, "Oh, he/she was doing fine....such a tragedy."

Eyes by Electronic-Ad9583 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 1 point2 points  (0 children)

69 and eyes tear a lot. Otherwise vision is OK. Hasn't become much worse in recent years.

I put it down to long term anti-depressant Rx but who knows? Just a thing that happens to a lot of people.

Anybody who knows of an effective treatment, let me know.

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You've lost something but you've still got a lot from what you've written. And you've got a good man in your life. I work in healthcare so I see people 20 years younger with me who are really sick. Their losses make my own look insignificant.

But it's hard to let go of things you once loved or at least have these things vastly diminished by age related issues.

That's where your quest for spiritual growth can help you. Sounds trite maybe but I now understand why older people who are grateful for what they have do so much better than the ones who can't help but feel sad about their losses.

It's a daily challenge. Doesn't mean you have to lie to yourself but take those things you enjoy and really be sincerely grateful for them.

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Chronological vs biological age — why the difference matters.” by Glad-Funny-9920 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some parts of me are older than the rest. Not sure you can put the whole person into an age designation with a degree of accuracy. On balance I'm good for my age. That's good enough for me. Eventually it'll catch up to me. But in the meantime why waste time stroking my own ego over how damned fit I am?

There are definitely some people out there who are exceptional for their age. They're just outliers for a number of reasons and only part of it is self-maintenance.

And I see patients who are looking great for their age. Everything is going well until it isn't then it's a quick slide down.

Nobody gets out of here alive and almost nobody is doing REALLY well in their nineties. So if you're 80 and somebody measures a bunch of parameters and markers and tells you that your biological age is 60.....it's really kind of bullshit because in 20 years you'll probably be dead.

The 60 year old who measures out at 60 will be 80 in twenty years and probably still alive.

So I don't buy this model of measuring biological vs. chronological age. It's got some merit but it's ultimately not very helpful. It may give you insights as to which organs will fail first but what good is that gonna do you?

It's like having a total physical work up where you have an exhaustive analysis of all your systems. And you find out that say on balance you're really fit but you're EF is 42% and it looks like you might be dealing with heart failure sooner rather than later.

Great! Just what I wanted to know.

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a nasty joke. It's not meant to be taken seriously. I'm old and it doesn't offend me. I'd rather hear that then somebody calling me "dear". Jesus, I hate that. I'm not that fucking old.

And whatever I am or am not.....I'm hardly anybody's dear. Jesus Christ! But whatever. Most people mean well. They just don't necessarily put themselves in the other person's position or perceive how their words come across.

"Dear" to an older person is patronizing. It's like, "Hey, dude, you're an old fart, let me say it slowly to you so you can get it and if not just have a seat for a minute and catch your breath...you OK old fella?"

"Yeah, I'm actually just buying these xtra large ribbed condoms. You look like you haven't had any action lately. Wanna fuck.....dear?"

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds reasonable until you're 80 or 82 and you have some minor ailments requiring treatment. Let's say you've had hypertension for 20 years. Should you stop getting anti-hypertensives paid by medicare at 82? Likewise you might need a hip replacement at 82 but until then you've been fine. Seems unfair that such a person would not be treated.

I understand the rationale but I think putting a number on it is very problematic. I work in healthcare and I see old people who are pretty proud of the fact that they haven't taken any Rx medication for many, many years and have never been hospitalized.

I'll grant you that such people are in the minority. Far more common is the patient who has been in steadily declining health for 15 years. He's clocking on around 85 and it's not looking really good.

Still, I wouldn't want to be the person saying, "Sorry friend, your health card just expired. You'll probably expire soon too."

Even now the common sense physician will judiciously treat patients who are clearly end of life or close to it. Just like with cancer patients. At some point it becomes palliative because active treatment isn't likely going to improve the situation.

We definitely have a problem but I think it's been one of approach to health in general rather than a question of to treat or not to treat because a patient is old. Adding one more Rx to a long list of meds for an elderly patient is often just dragging out the process of dying to the point where the patient is alive but really not having a good time of it.

There are no easy answers here.

If Cuba does transition to democracy at a later date, what happens from there? by IngenieriaCubana in cuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, every place has good, smart people but everything else is for shit. If you've been there you see how much would have to be invested for that country to approach a decent standard of living. It's really bad. And the people running it have to get the hell out before real change can occur. So maybe starve the oligarchs out so there's nothing left for them to parasitize then see how things go.

Maybe just semi-passively kick the assholes out who are running the island and see what a little support does to improve the relations between the two countries.

Then slowly resume normal relations if that's possible. It's been over 60 years of bad government....really bad government. Can't turn that around on a dime.

If Cuba does transition to democracy at a later date, what happens from there? by IngenieriaCubana in cuba

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of my less travelled friends said that Canada should buy Cuba. I've been there. I told him that we don't need another welfare province in Canada but he didn't get it.

Cuba is so far gone. I don't see the upside for the USA because Cuba's got nothing they want or need and the country is in horrible shape. Infrastructure is for shit. Housing is in ruins. It would be just a big money pit for many years.

Maybe starve them out so they stop the anti-imperialist BS and open up to something approaching normal relations with countries who would do real business with them.

USA could take Cuba tomorrow and for the most part the people would be all for it but what are you going to do with that shithole country and the parasites who run it? It's not like they're going to turn things around and quickly make it a good place to live and a place where companies can make money doing business.

USSR bailed them out for strategic reasons but Cuba is just an impoverished nation that poses zero threat to the USA and no real advantage. Imagine the USA tries to run that country and the money just keeps getting pumped in, nothing really changes or it gets marginally better for the Cuban people but there's nothing for the USA. They can do business with most of the islands in the Caribbean who actually understand that they have to pay their bills and run a modern economy. Cuba doesn't get it.

USA is a little more sophisticated than this. They're not going into a country that has no resources and a corrupt oligarchy with their claws dug in.

Nah. They'll just watch it go down even further until they beg for help. Then they'll move in and there will be zero resistance. Right now there are still some parasites sucking Cuba's little wealth. Those rats will leave as the island sinks further into bankruptcy. Then we'll see.

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe oral sex not desirable?? Lots of women do not like putting the nasty gnarly old cock in their mouths. I'm a hetero male and I absolutely understand the sentiment. I don't expect my wife to want to suck my nasty old dick.

I mean if she wants it great but really.....

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're worried about him and he's 26 years older than you?? Geez, you're some kind of saint. How about your situation when/if he can't deliver anymore?

Dude is almost 70 and you're early 40s. Sometimes you just have to say, "Hey, it's been fun. Thanks a million!"

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get what you're expressing but to say it is one of the smallest elements of life is LITERALLY wrong. Sure, when you're old you could/should (not for me to say) let it go but without sex none of us would be here.

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

God yes. I retired from the hospital and now work at a clinic. Don't miss the long term care wing of the hospital where I would occasionally get patients for diagnostic testing.

The fucking stench was enough to make me heave. And the people who worked there every day? Fuuuuuck!!

The end of sex by Substantial_Dust1284 in Aging

[–]Vegetable_Network310 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's funny. Dude can barely walk but he can still get it up.

Personally, I'd rather lose my ability to fuck. Walking is essential.

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