Taxis for the average Cuban are more like a giant ride share operation. Taxi operators drive different circuits around Havana and for a few Cuban Pesos will pick you up and drop you off along their route. It’s a good deal for Cubans. Although there are often five passengers with the driver, it’s more efficient and less crowded than the buses. It’s fun to observe the process of flagging down a taxi, making a deal for the fare, and crowding into the seats.
There are lots of old American cars in Havana. The ones in near original condition are reserved for tourists. A sightseeing drive will cost from 30 to 50 CUCs per hour.
October is still the rainy season in Cuba. Two or three showers day was common on my recent trip. Puddles and wet streets made for great reflections, a photographers dream. The smooth, wet, inlaid marble of the Prado also provided these youngsters with their own “slip and slide”. They would run a few steps and either skate on their feet or dive onto the marble and slide on their chests. They were happy to demonstrate for me. We all laughed.
I’ll admit that I’m a cynic. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Propaganda is still everywhere in Cuba. It’s the only thing the regime does well.
Everything is coming in the future. It’s the old Soviet “five-year plan”. Just wait. Things will be better as soon as …… (fill in the blank).
Three years ago everyone was talking about eliminating the worthless CUP (the Cuban Peso) and having only one currency. According to my Cuban host that talk disappeared. (and so did his job)
I wonder how old this mural is, who painted it, and what the promise was at that time.
This young man was injured in a military explosion. He called it a bomb. He lost one leg and part of another. He also has numerous scars from shrapnel wounds. His days are spent along the Malecon in Havana doing gymnastics and hoping for tips from tourists.
Is Cuba changing?
I think so. Most of the change benefits the government. More hotel rooms becoming available, better air service to the island, and better food will bring in more tourist dollars to the military. (lest we forget …. military=government).
However, the recent creation of wi-fi hotspots around Havana benefits anyone with a phone or computer. Cubans are now able to purchase pre-paid sim cards (?) for their phones. They use them to video chat with relatives and friends throughout the world. The cards are not cheap, but people find the money somewhere.
Of course, lots of things are still the same.
mstevensphotography 