A Week In Cuba

Visiting Cuba left me with a complicated mix of impressions, and it's hard to put them into perspective just yet. I can't say that I enjoyed myself, other than the time spent with family. Yes, the joy of riding in a fat 50's Buick on dirt roads cannot be overstated. Of course Havana is a beautiful relic full of photo ops. And I'm well aware how fortunate I am to have visited a place that most Americans can only romanticize. But I'm here to tell you, life in rural Cuba is rough. And while that doesn't surprise anyone, the people's lack of freedom to visit and learn about the outside world only added to my sense of discomfort. It's not that anyone's dying of malnourishment or living in filth like in other third-world slums - Castro's success with delivering basics human needs is well propagandized. It's just that everyone's poor, and almost no one can leave. It's a frustrating situation, and one that I don't pretend to understand. I certainly didn't understand the language, so take my impressions with a grain of salt. Here's a sampling of the 600+ photos we shot traveling in Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, Isabella de Sagua and Havana: