First time to Cuba

[chucksie]

We are traveling from Montana to Santiago de Cuba, licensed to visit
heretofore unknown immediate family. Our journey will take us north to
Canada for a flight to Holguin (HOG), then by bus to Santiago de Cuba.
There are two of us, neither speaks Spanish more than a few choice
phrases. This is a first time to Cuba for both of us.

We have a thousand questions from where does the bus stop in Holguin,
to what is a good thing to take along as gifts and how much of that
kind of thing are we allowed to bring into Cuba? Any suggestions short
of "don't go" would be most welcome, we've already bought non-
refundable tickets.

[Sarah Banick]

A few years ago, I would have told you to take lots of dollars....don't know
what that situation is now since Fidel cut that back.

Take stuff that seems mundane to us: aspirin and other OTC medications,
lotions, cremes, etc. Soap, shampoo. Women's makeup items. Clothes. Kitchen
items. Anything else we rely on to make life easier, they don't have (or
have only a little). Take old clothes that you can leave behind. You've
never seen such a resourceful people... Anything you can bring, they will
put to good use.

Sarah

[FL]

When I asked the gift question, the gentleman in question indicated politely
that anything was appreciated, but singled out over the counter remedies for
things like headache and stomache problems. As he put it, hard to
appreciate a new shirt if you're not feeling well and have nothing to take
for it. He also said it was nice to have something to give a child on their
birthday, and mentioned good quality chocolate as an example.