As a
visitor you are a target, in the nicest possible way. As you walk Cubans will
be constantly at you. You want taxi? Cigars? Tour? But a quick shake of the
head and they're gone. There are some who ask for money but these are few and
most Cubans engage you in conversation and have a story to tell that can
meander on for some time before the hook comes. Sometimes you don't even notice
until it's all over.
In
one of the many city plazas we were approached by a young man who wanted to
practice his English and we chatted about music and the many music festivals.
He said he played the congas at a tourist venue, but not to go there as it was
really bad! Then he mentioned a cigar festival nearby and did we like to smoke?
No neither of us smoked and soon the conversation ended and he was gone. It was
only as we were walking away it occurred to me that he wanted to sell us some
cigars, and as soon as he found out we didn't smoke he politely, but swiftly
ended the conversation and left us to find someone who did smoke.
Sometimes
the request is for something so small that you'd have to be made of stone to
refuse. A very pleasant Cuban man chatted to us on the street as we walked and
told us he was in Cuba from just outside in the country as his wife had just
had a baby boy and was in the hospital. Lots of congratulations and shaking of
hands insued and he told us he was a teacher. As we left him he asked if we had
a pen. That was it, a pen. Chris rummaged around in her bag found a pen and
gave it to him. He thanked us both and we went our separate ways. I have no
idea if the story he told was true or entirely fabricated, but either way he
deserved the pen.
Havana
is a great city to walk, everything seems so close and it's easy to wander from
plaza to plaza, cafe to bar, bar to restaurant, as long as you are careful to
avoid the random piles of rubble, stubs of metal posts sticking out of the
concrete and occasional holes. Some of the old buildings look neglected to the
point of collapse while others are freshly painted and beautifully restored. A
metaphor for a country in transition perhaps - together with the classic cars.
Old
1950s American cars are everywhere and like the buildings some are beautifully
restored while others are wrecks staggering along the streets spewing black
smoke. Many are used as taxis or for tours around the city, our two hour trip
from Havana to Vinales was in a 1950s Pontiac and carried seven passengers and
luggage along the sometimes beautifully smooth and sometimes randomly appalling
road on a rolling, bouncy, noisy, fumey, too fast, too slow but generally
enjoyable ride.
Here's
an entrepreneurial tip for any Cuban. If you have any money buy as many of
these old wrecks as you can, as like the old VW Campervans they will be worth a
fortune in years to come. Especially as America discovers Cuba and transforms
the country from what it is now. What it will be transformed to is the big
question, but as soon as direct flights from the USA start the genie will be
out of the bottle, and it might take another revolution to stop the
westernisation of Cuba. Many other tourists are here for the same reason as us,
to see Cuba before the Americans arrive and fuck it all up. I must have had the
conversation half a dozen times already. Just last night while in a queue for
the restaurant I chatted to an older, elegant, educated and beautifully
spoken Danish couple who were visiting for the first time 'before the Americans
get here and ruin it'. But whatever happens I've a feeling that these old
classic cars are going to become highly valuable.
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