Cuba

Hey y'all, just got back from a quick vacation with the family in Cuba. We went to Havana for three days and then spent a week lounging on the beach at Varadero. Amazing country. Such a cool culture, the people are so full of dignity and humor. Amazing food, great weather. Of course, this is all juxtaposed on a background of severe poverty, pretty terrible living conditions, everyone scrounging to make some change however they can and the overwhelming feeling of being watched and controlled. Just to give you an idea, we brought some walkie-talkies. We always do on vacation so our kids can wander around and we can stay in touch with them. Long story short, my wife was not allowed to leave the country without the walkie-talkies and a special signed form from the customs police. Wouldn't want them getting into the wrong hands, whatever the fuck that means. So yeah, totalitarian weirdness and lack of freedom are my why-I-will-never-return reasons. Beautiful country, people and amazing culture are my I-totally-would-love-to-return reasons.

Pics below:

Gotta drink a mojito at the Hotel Nacional at least once. Didn't stay there, but the view and terrace are lovely. Mojito could've used a little more sugar, though

Naked woman rides giant cock with fork in hand (explanation unavailable):

It's nice to know what direction home is:

Whole lotta pretty sunsets:

Typical Havana street. The buildings are all beautiful but they're also all gutted and falling apart. People living in the corners of buildings that would be sealed off from the public anywhere else. Poverty is rampant and folks gotta do what they gotta do, which makes for a weird contrast with all the tourists everywhere.

My kids digging on the beautiful Atlantic Ocean...

José Martí. Intellectual founder of the nation. His name and likeness are everywhere. So are Che, Fidel and Camilo Cienfuegos, but unlike them, Martí was an intellectual, a man who fought with words and ideas until someone convinced him to pick up a sword, at which point he got skewered. Oh well, he was certainly not forgotten...

Papa Hemingway drinks his daiquiris at La Floridita. Too bad it's a total tourist trap. Walked in and everything was shiny and perfect, with a picture perfect band playing a typical Cuban song (Guantanamera) while Germans and Chinese and French folk snap pics. I took a pic of Papa, turned around and walked the fuck out. After a big fight with my wife who was tired and very hungry, we stumbled onto some dude luring us into his black-market, off the books restaurant. You see, if you have a state authorized restaurant, you gotta pay taxes out the ass. But if you set something up on the rooftop of your shoddy home and get some muchacho to pull in clients off the street, you find yourself in an entirely different and much more authentic situation. Delicious food, killer three piece band playing Cuban classics and Cuban jammed out versions of Beatles tunes, and you know the money is actually going to the family, not to the government. Same deal with La Bodeguita del Medio (where Papa drank his mojitos). Total tourist trap. One block over there's a bunch of family run joints that are much cooler, cheaper and tastier.

So this dude on the beach has the pelicans all trained. He sits on a bucket with a bag full of fish and starts calling them to him. Pretty cool, environmental considerations aside. Of course the tourists all run up and take pics, and then give some cash to the dude. Like I said, everyone's trying to make a buck one way or another. Humans are humans and no matter how much the government tries to control everything, people always find a way around the rules.

El Malecón. The walkway along the ocean front in Havana. It's not that pretty, but it's historic and full of cultural symbolism (mentioned in so many songs). People walk and the waves get them wet. Sometimes there's food, music, dancing. But to get back to the other side you have to cross like 8 lanes with no cross walks or traffic lights. It's all good though, people are used to it - they won't run you over...

Did a little snorkeling while there. Again, they pretty much have the fish domesticated at one spot. It's touristy as hell and probably not the environmentally correct way of doing things, but there sure were a ton of fish. ​

If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it. If I had had more time and wasn't with my kids, I would've loved to rent a scooter and just jaunt around the island. So many cool towns, cheap lodging, fresh fish, amazing music and beautiful culture. And yeah, there's a ton of flaws there and I certainly wouldn't want to live in a totalitarian nation that restricts my freedom, but I greatly admire the Cuban people. Their resilience, their overwhelming positivity in the face of adversity, their love of art and music. They have withstood the forces of the USA and the world for so long that they can all stand with their backs straight and look anyone in the eye. They don't have a lot of things that we do, but they have dignity, and that's in high demand around my parts...

Hope you enjoyed the pics!