Changes

== Personal Experiences ==

hitched from Havana airport to town where i stayed 1 night in 5$usd hostel with craziest thunderstorm and lightening i have ever seen.  Then i catched a few of the retro 50s american cars to sandino but called it quits because of no traffic and mosquitos. on the way to trinidad, the highway was super quiet with few cars.  i got picked up by some nuns who kindly bought me lunch and gave me some money.  at trinidad i camped on the beach with no problems, just heavy rain but i was sleeping under a table shelter to keep me dry.  next on way to santiago i had to catch a few busses that were super cheap (1cents per kilometer).  i camped all the time except for the first night in havana, with no troubles (guys walked around me, one morning, with machetes but no aggression), lots of open space outside Havana.  i couldn't get enough of the 3-5 cents cold, natural refresco shot sized drinks (non alcoholic). i was eating 50cents mini pizzas all the time. in total i spent 30usd in 2 weeks.  watch out for pesky kids asking for money and checking your pockets (especially if you are foreign looking). when hitchhiking there were several other people stood under bridges trying to get a ride too, and would just stand infront of me, even had some guys looking disgusted at me asking why i am hitchhiking and have no money. to tackle this problem, i would walk 500meters-1km down the road and get picked up pretty easily.  average waiting time 1hr. just cars or caught and paid for busses. always make sure you change CUC to CUP at bank, otherwise you will get ripped off by locals as happened to me on first day, though it looks like they did away with CUC since i was there, so much easier.