Cash Converters

Well shock of shocks I'm ill and bed ridden again. Lucy ventured out today though, and returned with this shot of a weird lizard that I assure you is a genuine real life animal..

Today's crippling stomach pain and explosive diarrhoea can most likely be blamed on our first foray into the world of Cuban pesos yesterday. Cuba has an incredibly confusing dual currency system, some items being sold in national pesos, others in the more valuable convertible pesos.
A convertible is roughly one US dollar, whilst twenty four nationals make up one convertible. To add to the confusion, Cubans refer to both as simply 'pesos' and look borderline bewildered when you enquire which one they mean.

We got hold of some of the national stuff and headed straight for a burger restaurant dealing in nationals. We decided on three cheeseburgers and two drinks. A quick look at the menu and some not so quick mathematics told us it would cost an astonishing thirty pence (about 45 cents US).
We felt like millionaires as we ordered our almost-free lunch, but as it turned out the term hamburger was being used pretty loosely. The cook's area where we picked up our order had more flies swarming around it than there were customers (and it was busy). Lucy seemed unfazed, but as I observed the bluebottle's favourite pastime of sitting merrily on the orders waiting to be taken out, I began to wonder if this was a good idea.
The 'hamburger' itself was a small bread bun containing an even smaller patty of meat that even the most experienced butcher would have been hard pushed to identify. Still giddy at the amazing price though and painfully hungry, we devoured them with gusto. They weren't all that bad, and I had no problem seeing off a couple of them, much to my later regret.

They say hindsight's a wonderful thing, and I think I'll be laying off the cheaper option for a while. Even the Cubans we're staying with said they don't touch the stuff.