In January Kamran and I got the opportunity to visit that little forbidden island off of our southern shores – yes, Cuba.  I have desperately wanted to visit since my days as a confirmed salsa-holic and student of Afro-Caribbean music.  So when Kam called me out of the blue and asked if I wanted to go, I didn’t hesitate – YES, DEFINITELY, WHEN DO WE LEAVE????  Afterwards, I wasn’t so sure that Kamran and his uncle Hadi, who came with us, were actually serious about the offer.  But by then it was too late.  We were booked!

Cuba is many things, and it did not disappoint in living up to its reputation of being beautiful, enigmatic, and other-worldly.  I love the Caribbean and feel like I have spent considerable time there, yet Cuba was completely different from other places I have been.

First, ok, the cars.  Cuba is known for being a heaven for vintage car enthusiasts, and it does not disappoint.  I’m not even a car person and I couldn’t help myself from getting excited at all the old, beautiful cars.   The deal is that most Cubans just can’t go around buying cars.  In fact, the only cars that people are allowed to have title to are those cars that were on the island before the Revolution.  After the Revolution, you couldn’t buy a car.  (There are some newer, mostly Russian, cars around the island.  But I’m not exactly sure how ownership of those cars works – if somebody knows send me a message.)  But anyway, you can just bet that if you have one of those precious car titles, you will take care of your car.  Apparently Cubans are wizards at innovating repairs for parts that no longer exist or are hard to get.

 

Although I was ready to see lots of old cars, I was not expecting the widespread use of horses for transportation.  Horse-drawn carriages are all over, especially in the little towns around the island, and they dominate local traffic.

Cuba is also extremely popular with Canadian tourists, some of whom visit the island multiple times per year.  I think they’re happy there aren’t so many Americans there to drive up the prices on anything.  The number of American visitors is growing, though, with apparently hundreds of thousands visiting each year.  There are plenty of resorts, hotels and tours available that cater to English-speaking visitors, and many locals finding creative ways to get involved in the tourism industry.

There were billboards all over the place, but instead of selling products they all had unity-building slogans, and many featured Che:

And then there’s just random gorgeousness: