When we were in the Dominican Republic we went to a rum and cigar factory to see how they hand roll cigars and distill the liquor. Bus pulled up to a 10ft tall concrete block fenced off building. 2 guys with camo opened a gate strapped with AK-47s. Made for an interesting visit.
Cuba
- Thread starter vraiblonde
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Yep, me too. And Honduras too...especially Roatan
You can see people roll cigars in Ybor City and there are distilleries all over the US - without that AK business. What else ya got?
My original rant was about how Hollyweirds and progbots (is that redundant?) rhapsodize about Cuba and the "worker's paradise" when chances are good they haven't even seen the real Cuba or interacted with real Cubans. They get set up to see the facade, not the underbelly. And then they come back from Disney Cuba to lecture us on how we should be more like a third world country, and how great Socialism is.
See, I'm the traveler who wants to see the area and get to know it. Experience what life is like for the residents. Most travelers to exotic locations cocoon themselves in their resort, and only venture outside the gates to see pre-approved tourist attractions. Now, I don't really care where people vacation - do you, it's all good. But I don't think you can say you've "been" to a place when all you've really seen is the Disney version. Tourists always say, "Oh, I could live here!" because they don't know the reality of the country. The locals aren't laying on the beach with a cabana boy bringing them fruity cocktails; they're busting their ass trying to get tourists to pay them to braid their hair so they can feed their children.
The US has awesome fishing and great people in pretty much every state. We also have running water and well appointed public toilets with toilet paper. And internet. So what's the attraction to a third world country? Just to say you've been there?
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That's where the business takes me...to third world countries all over the planet.
But would you voluntarily vacation there? If so, why?
Also, do you stay in your compound or do you get out and mix it up with the locals?
itsbob
I bowl overhand
OR the opposite is true.. they see as all as Bill Gates and we can afford to pay $100 for a $5 piece of crap.
When in Belize we stopped at a store and they had leather belts for sale, $149, I didn't haggle but before I walked out the door they were down to $19.. so you really believe he was going to LOSE money on a sale??
itsbob
I bowl overhand
We went to Guatemala and unless you were signed up for a Cruise Excursion you weren't allowed out of the port area (basically an Army base protected by walls and guns).
We went on an excursion to see the Mayan Ruins only to have our 20 year old bus break down (I think it was older but 20 is a good guess).. in the middle of Guatemala surrounded by people walking around with AKs strapped on their backs (COULD have been military or security, but they were all in civilian clothes).
We were the LAST Cruise Ship to do a port of call in Guatemala due to the political corruption and crime, the cruise companies deemed it too unsafe.
in many..most even..I'm working with local labor and maritime businesses, eating in local restaurants (calling a lot of places a restaurant is a real stretch) and staying in local hotels or rental apartments. It's the nature of our industry that the places we work are often far from the nice high rent areas.
There are a few third world countries I've really enjoyed working in but generally speaking, my idea of vacationing involves little to no travel. When it's what you do for work, after 30 years of it..doing it as a vacation is far from your mind. For me...Norway is an exception to that.
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Guess its just a personal preference. The only things I look for in a vacation are a good beach, nice room alcohol and food. Some all-inclusive places are cheaper to visit than getting a hotel and paying for food/drinks for a place here in the US. I'm not to interested in what the locals are doing (or not doing) with their time because every minute away from the resort is one more minute I could be drinking in a beach lounger.
Sidenote: I have been interested in visiting the Gulf, recommend any places? You or Monello recommend any base lodging down there?
Been to Costa Rica numerous times, and a good friend there is a pharmaceutical rep that delivers samples and orders west of San Jose to the Pacific. He has an armed guard in the car with him, plus a lead and follow vehicle each carrying two armed police officers whenever he is on the road. But it is a pretty safe country, overall, compared to the murder zones in neighboring SA nations.
Be prepared to sweat profusely on either coast, while the mountains are very pleasant weather wise.
Very first time I was ever given a firearm and told to keep it handy was when I was in El Salvador and had to travel some 150 miles of rough interior roads to get to a remote coffee plantation and drying operation. Four of us in an old Jeep Waggoneer..all armed and keeping a watch in all directions. This was back in the mid 70s and what eventually became a full-blown civil war was just getting started. But boy did I have some good times in that country and neighboring Guatemala...good times. The wealthy folks lived large and I was living with them. I still keep in touch with one of my friends there; he's since become a real titan of the cacao (chocolate) industry instead. Told me the family got completely out of citrus crops and has only a small coffee operation compared to the old days. Now its all about cacao..he even hosts a local TV show about the industry.
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I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going to the Dominican Republic. While we were on the shuttle from the airport to the hotel, I looked around and gave my girlfriend the stink eye. She laughed and said 'it's so much better than the last time I was here, they used to have snipers on top of the buildings" 
I wanted to go to Cuba until they started doing those sonic attacks.
I wanted to go to Cuba until they started doing those sonic attacks.
Some years ago...one of our Norwegian clients had been operating a 350-pax high-speed ferry in Venezuela and the contract ran out. He had an opportunity to do a demonstration period in Cuba. He calls us up with a sense of urgency and says "I need x, y and z spare parts to run and I desperately need new dress whites for the bridge crew..our uniforms are shot. Can you send me all to meet the boat when I arrive in Cuba?"
I love a challenge. We rounded up all the spares parts and sent one of our vet employees on base to buy up all the white uniform shirts and pants required. Found a "freight forwarder" in Jamaica that "knew a guy with a plane" in the Dominican Republic that was always headed to Cuba empty (imagine that) and happy to carry freight. Sent all of the cargo with personal escort by our head logistics guy to the DR...I'll never forget his phone call back to me when he arrived and was trying to clear customs: "Jeeebus man!..I'm here..the customs guys all have automatic weapons and are going through our stuff..hell..everyone around me has automatic weapons. Get me outa here!"
It all went as planned. As we'd been directed/advised beforehand , we used a bunch of cheap Walmart US-meme t-shirts as packing material on top of each box of goods. The DR customs guys stripped that layer off, closed the boxes back up and they were on their way to Cuba.
Gotta learn how to operate in the third world..it's not rocket science. ;-)
Not sure Gitmo counts...
