Monday, 31 May 2010 01:39
"Almendrón", Old American car.
In the 1st part, I explained the “taxi phenomenon” and provided some recommendations/explanations for leaving the airport. The city of Havana has a bus system, and residents call the buses “guaguas” (pronounced “wawas”); keep in mind that this bus system is probably unlike any you’ve taken before (it’s worse).
There are two different types of buses: the first are a series of big buses that can carry a large number of passengers and have long routes through the main arteries of the city. They’re identified with the letter P (P1, P2, P4, P10, etc.) and by different colors, like green, pink, yellow, and others. The other type are smaller buses, all of which are white, which have shorter routes on the outskirts of the city or within different neighborhoods.
Most Havanans use the buses to get around every day, especially because of their low price (40 Cuban pesos per person). But as a general rule, they’re always very crowded, so if you see a bus that is too crowded to board, you may have to wait a while until a less crowded bus comes. Plus, their frequency is a mystery. The air conditioning system doesn’t exactly correspond to what you would expect in a tropical country, which, given the large crowds on the bus, may allow you a nice sauna session while you’re on board…
There is also a system of informal taxis called "boteros", or "almendrones", (literally big almonds), that are old American cars from the 40’s and 50’s that have been expertly maintained by their owners, and run mostly on diesel engines. You can also see the occasional Soviet car, like the Ladas, used as boteros.
They’re also usually packed with passengers, piled one on top of the other. These cars usually run the same route, through the main avenues of the city, and a ride from, say, Old Havana to Vedado costs around $10.00 CUP… but if you’re going out to Marianao, the prices doubles to $20.00 CUP. The boteros compete with official taxis, and have some sort of visible identification. And then there are other cars whose drivers simply drive up to bus stops and flash their headlights to indicate that they’re going on the same route.
If you’re in an “illegal” taxi and you’re pulled over by authorities, don’t worry: the driver is fined, but not the passengers in his car. You can easily find an official taxi anywhere in the city, and there is a very old telephone system available to call them. Do keep in mind what I said previously about those taxi meters, though…
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