Postcards from Cuba
 

On my recent (March 2016) trip to Cuba I mailed 51 postcards to family and friends. They arrived in the U.S. approximately 4 weeks later, most without cancellation marks, perhaps because ink is in short supply. I'm still waiting for arrival reports from Europe.

Determining the appropriate postage rate was a bit of a challenge. A shop in a government-run museum offered up 3-stamp combos for visitors (with a free paperclip!) totaling 70 centavos. Elsewhere, I was told postage is "more than 70" and "between 70 and 90". Our guides also did not have a firm idea. Another person thought 75 was correct. At a major hotel in Havana, I bought out virtually the entire supply of stamps from concierges on 2 shifts, again in various denominations, without being able to determine what the actual rate was. We had no opportunity to visit a post office, where perhaps greater clarity could have been obtained (maybe).

The stamps were colorful. One featured the pope and Raul Castro, another Hugo Chavez. Another had a cat using a telephone.

I mailed postcards from Cuba in March 2015. They have yet to arrive. What's different now is there are direct US-Cuba postal links. There were not one year ago. I'm glad to hear your cards arrived.

Cool! Thanks for sharing!

That got my attention. This must be the stamp:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...51a21baf59.jpg

I'm impressed. Not every cat can handle a rotary dial.

Thank you, scruffy. I love that stamp.