The last few days in Cuba were interesting. We spend two days in Pinar del Rio, a province in the far west where they grow tobacco and there is a natural park. We saw fields plowed with teams of oxen and horse carts sharing the road with cars. Driving on the autopista (highway) was an experience. Although we were going 60 miles an hour, people were walking and hitchhiking along the side, and even strolling across the road between the cars and buses. (Okay, there weren't all that many vehicles.) Toward Pinar del Rio, there were even horse carts on the sides of the road. At one point halfway there, the driver suddenly slammed on his brakes and we couldn't understand why because there was nothing in the road and no obvious mechanical problem. Turns out the paper with the address we were going to had flown out the window. He crossed the median and drove back slowly until he saw it lying in the road. They he parked on the shoulder, got out and walked across the highway and chased the paper. Then he walked back to the car, drove it across the median again, and we were back on our way. Very pleasant rural interlude in Pinar del Rio with a hike through the tobacco fields and to a stalactite cave.
You won't believe what happened the morning we left for Pinar del Rio. We were leaving at 1:30 so I took a cab to the Hotel Nacional to read poolside. Still enjoying the wide range of cars on the road, I took a Lada from the 80's. Coming back, I went in a '28 Model T convertible painted royal blue. Henry Ford would roll over in his grave. The Model T was driven by a woman, the first I had seen driving. And it turns out she studied English in the university so we discussed American music. Anyway, when she dropped me back off at Central Park, I thought I was on the other side of the park and walked 180 degrees in the wrong direction. (Okay, my kids will have no trouble believing this part of the story. Since I can't tell east from west, I do this frequently.) I couldn't figure out why I couldn't find my house. Three blocks in and two up, but it wasn't there. I asked directions three times and they all pointed in the direction I had come from. The first two times, I thought they were morons. The third guy was a policeman and I finally figured out what I had done. So now I'm late and I know I'm holding up the whole group and I'm walking on a crowded pedestrian street as fast as I can to get back to the other side of Central Park and I see … Colin's girlfriend. I run into the one person I know in the entire city of Havana. Go figure.
After returning from Pinar del Rio yesterday, we spent the entire afternoon with a charming 26 year old fifth year economics student who gave us a walking tour of the university and discussed life and the economy in Cuba, including their ration cards and food system. Really interesting.
And that was Cuba. Very fast. Off to Guatemala.
No comments:
Post a Comment