SCU: Day 7

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I had my first dive in Cuba! Two reef dives lasting an hour each. The water was saltier than I've experienced and stung the hell out of my eyes. Some the fish I saw were amazing, one looked like it was made of mother of pearl and another looked like an RHI lightshow.

I've never seen so many lizards as I have in Cuba. Bucanero had large iguanas walking around the dining tables, like how you'd see cats and dogs wandering around in Balinese and Thai restaurants. Some were quite big. Tiny lizards often scatter up the walls in my bedroom like you'd see a cockaroach or spider do back home.

Driving to Bucanero I saw another sign referring to the five Cubans in US jails. Reference to these men can be seen throughout Cuba. Essentially, five Cubans living in the US were jailed for infiltrating anti-Castro political groups and reporting back to Cuba on the anti-Castro terrorist plans. Ironically, the five Cubans were jailed for terrrorism and are now scattered throughout the US in jails far away from their families with ridiculously long sentences, eg. three life sentences plus ten years -- how does that even work? America is so dumb.

The shower at my host family's house has a water heating apparatus which I read about in my travel guides. You flick a switch and it's supposed to heat up the water coming out of the shower head. Surprisingly for me, as someone who needs hot showers even during summer, it's so hot here in the mornings and at night that I haven't had to use it. Cold showers get you through the heat, morning and night.

Katrin dropped by tonight to see if I would join the other girls for some drinks. I declined her invite because I've had enough of walking the streets aimlessly just so the younger girls can recruit Cuban men to our group for whom we end up getting stuck buying drinks for. The reality is I wouldn't be hanging around with straight girls back home so why would I hang out with them here? We have nothing in common, all they want to do is pick up Cuban men. What I'd prefer to do is meet queer Cubans to see how their lifestyles are here and perhaps meet some cute Cuban women who aren't interested in picking up Western men.

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