The Cuban Visa Crisis

I am going to Cuba this year. In about 12 days actually. On April 15.

Last week I got my passport. Which was good.

This week, I aim to get my Cuban visa. I sent the docs off yesterday. £17.85 next day delivery to Dublin. But considering that the visa can take up to 10 working days to get, and I believe that there may be less than 10 working days between now and my departure (what's with this Easter holiday business???), this is probably a bargain.

I am going to Cuba. I have

- no visa (yet)
- no Spanish (yet - see www.liquidelearning.com for my blog on language learning)
- accommodation for 3 nights only
- no itinerary
- no spending money
- a limited selection of bikinis
- a virgin credit card (as in unused, not the company)
- an inner ear infection that makes me dizzy
- no vaccinations (apparently I'd be best getting something for the typhoid and hepatitis A)

I think I may be a tad underprepared for this trip. Yet all I can really think is

- Where can I get myself some cheap but glamourous bikinis?

Primark/Penneys is the obvious answer, where I can buy a barrowload of bikinis for about the same price as a registered next day delivery to Dublin.

Solving the other problems seem to require more effort. Today I've to go on an emergency trip to Belfast to get jagged. I should drive, but we all know the driving is still A New and Scary Thing. Plus Su and Karen (my co-travellers) said they were both knocked sideways by the jag. And they're strong healthy types. Without inner ear infections.

Apparently it's cheaper to drink alcohol than eat in Cuba. And there's sunshine. And you can get arrested if you are found with a satnav device.

The breadth and depth of my knowledge on Cuba may require a little work prior to departure. But it is a long flight from Paris to Havana. Perhaps I'll have time to read up on the plane.

Or maybe I'll just try on all my bikinis in the plane toilets.