Talking Reds

Another day spent roaming the streets of this unbelievable city, and already another blip of a classic American car. I'll try to keep this kind of snap to a minimum from here on out, easier said than done when I have about fifty like this come the end of each day.

In the morning we drank coffee and got more acquainted with the family we're staying with, as well as chatting to a few other people in the building. Many people leave their apartment doors open and neighbours come and go, chatting, helping, doing favours - or bringing some all important business each others way.

I've always been led to believe Cuba is a lesser but similar version of North Korea - a police state where the people are scared and personal freedoms are non existent. I was once told by someone who took a trip here that the people 'are like zombies' and that Cubans are terrified of striking up a conversation with you, fearing they'll be taken away by the police.

This isn't the Cuba I'm seeing at all. Just by walking around it's clear there are a lot of problems that desperately need fixing, but Cubans talk frankly about politics and the state of their country, and they are open, passionate and friendly people. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure standing in the town square chanting 'democracy now' would be a fast track to a jail cell, but at the same time what I'm finding isn't exactly what I expected.

Cubans are fully aware of the problems in their country, and also what's happening in the rest of the world. In discussion, they seem to feel their real lack of freedom is in choice, or rather the lack of it - if Fidel decides something is bad for the country, no one gets the chance to experience it whatever, and however harmless, it may be. And of course produce here, ranging from essential products right up to luxury items, are not available in the limitless quantities we're accustomed to back home. Supermarkets stock small amounts of similar items, and at times it feels like borderline rationing.
Despite this, the son in our casa told us, 'if you have money in Cuba, you can get anything'.

It seems that in Cuba all people are equal, it's just some are more equal than others.