HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE

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January 1st 2007

Published: January 10th 2007

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cuatro gringos

3 Wise Men...

Drawing parallels between Bush and Hitler.

Oliver: we have arrived EN CUBA! and have begun stocking up on che guevara shirts and memorabilia. Its amazing to see how these people have survived through the us embargo. But they persevere.

Cuba is very different because unlike most of the world it is a planned economy as a opposed to a market driven economy. However it is not the socialist government that has at all crippled the cuban economy but the US embargo and its banning of all flights into cuba. The cubans have free health care and free education (all the way through uni), the life expectancy is around 77-80 (highest in all latin america and higher than parts of the US EVEN) and every1 can read and write also it has quite possibly the lowest people per docters in the world ( 5000 in 1958 -1 year before the revoloution- and then 400 in 1988). All cubans recieve government rations. (violent crime rates are enviably low) we are staying with a cuban family so we are told the good and bad things about cuba, some bad things include: no travel rights, not any real freedom of speech and lack of freedom of enterprise - very few

Terrorista!

Couldn't quite figure our what this bit of propaganda means - but the emotion is clear.

private buisness´ bigger than a stall - all other buisiness is nationalised.

Martin: We enjoyed trying out our spanish on the many political bill boards adorning the roadsides. They don't photo well at 50kms/hr, but am attaching a few. The 'planned economy' failed to provide us with a rental car ("no hay coche") so we were unable to get out of Havana except on day trips. Met several engingeers who had given up being engineers to become taxi drivers because the pay was better. Healthcare is very available and free, parlty becuase the healthcare workers (inl doctors) are paid so little. The kids in schools looked very happy. And the grandmother in the house we stayed in was clear that live was much better than before the revolution - which she remembered well. But the young people seemed pretty digruntled at not having the freedoms most take for granted. And there were almost no computers around - Cuba has missed the information revolution. Also we saw almost no bookstores and the ones we saw had very few books. Depressing.

Then on New Years day first Louis then Oliver and I sucumbed to an abominable vomit and diarhea virus.

viva la cuba

Disgusting - several days of "no wonder I vomited - my stomach's full of puke". Paula was staunch thruout, and refused to eat anything in soldiarity with us (and because she was terrified of getting the bug).

The family we stayed with were great. Included two doctors who were dismayed that we became sick in their house.

Struggled to get vegetarian food for Puala and the boys. Even the Moors and Christians (rice and beans) were suspect since people couldnt help adding a bit of ham as a garnish...

All up Cuba left a rather bad taste in our mouths - though we found people pretty united in favour of fidel and in hatred of Bush. An interesting contrast to Guatemala. Cubans looked happier and healthier- united in their poverty.

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