Posting letters into the Correos de Cuba box outside Nuevitas Post Office
The Cuban postal system (Correos de Cuba) is both a cheap way for locals to communicate and a source of foreign revenue. See, Cuba produces two sets of postcards and two corresponding postage rates:
- A touristic card aimed at foreigners costs approximately US1.50 to buy and post internationally
- A corresponding Cuban propaganda post card with the obligatory Fidel Castro or José Martí quote costs an unbelievably cheap ~US$0.06 (1.45 CUP) to purchase and send.
Rocío and I only discovered the latter at Nuevitas, a town in Camagüey Province off the tourist trail. Amazingly, the subsidised post cards I sent to Australia arrived! I can’t imagine Australia Post’s loss delivering such cards.
Cuban post cards posted to Australia; the touristic cards cost approximately US1.50 to buy and post whereas the medical propaganda cards with postage cost ~US$0.06 (1.45 CUC)
Cuba, Havana in particular has interesting letter boxes in differing styles, ages and conditions. Following are photos of several we saw on our trip.
This lion sculpture is an old Havana post box; the lion’s mouth serves as the letter slot
A Correos de Cuba post box in Havana with its base open
A not so ordinary, ordinary mail (correo ordinario) box in Havana
A stylish airmail (correo aereo) Havana mail box made by Cutler Mail Chute Co of Rochester N.Y.
This Havana letter box is in poor condition and has seen better days
