| Yesterday morning I had arranged to meet one | | | | the table. This is one of the things in Cuba, |
| of the women from the from the university, a | | | | many things are forbidden, but there is |
| very nice lady in her late 50s, who agreed to | | | | usually a way of working around it. |
| show me around the Vedado area and take me | | | | |
| through some local markets. | | | | I was also taken to a special market hall |
| | | | where locals buy food at certain allocated |
| Vedado is a beautiful residential | | | | times on their ration card. Food is still |
| neighbourhood with many mansions and villas | | | | scarce in Cuba and every person receives a |
| dating back maybe 80 to 100 years or so. | | | | "libreta"which allocates a certain quota of |
| Before the revolution it was the | | | | basic foods such as butter, eggs, cooking |
| neighbourhood where all the doctors, lawyers | | | | oil, flower etc at very low prices. I was |
| and business people lived, most of whom | | | | told that the monthly ration is 8 eggs per |
| emigrated around the time of the Revolution. | | | | person and that if you want an extra carton |
| (Business people and professionals were | | | | of 30 eggs, they cost about $2 (CUC) (about |
| expropriated as part of the Communist | | | | Can$2.50), which is equivalent to about 1/10 |
| reorganization after the Revolution, as a | | | | of a person's monthly salary. No wonder |
| result hundreds of thousands emigrated to the | | | | everybody tries to set up a little side |
| US, where there are substantial | | | | business to obtain extra money, since |
| counter-revolutionary and Anti-Castro | | | | survival in itself takes a lot of energy. |
| sentiments. The emigration of thousands of | | | | |
| professionals in the early 60s apparently | | | | We also saw a local neighbourhood repair |
| caused a real braindrain in the country). | | | | place, where they repair shoes with sowing |
| | | | machines that look like they are 100 years |
| We walked through the neighbourhood and | | | | old. This is definitely a society where |
| visited local markets where they sell fruits, | | | | things are reused, mended, fixed and recycled |
| vegetables and meat. We saw local vegetables | | | | time and time again, and it's actually very |
| like yucca, malanga, boniato as well as | | | | refreshing to see a different way of living |
| fruits such as frutabomba (papaya), | | | | that contrasts so strongly with our modern |
| pineapple, mamey, mangos and others. Most of | | | | way of living where we buy stuff we don't |
| the meat that they sell in the markets is | | | | need, just to throw it out later. Of course, |
| pork, and there is no refrigeration at all in | | | | the recycling here is due to necessity, but |
| the markets, although the meat is inspected | | | | it does feel like there is a great |
| by the government. It is forbidden to sell | | | | appreciation for life here, not just consumer |
| beef because beef officially is only to be | | | | goods, despite all the difficulties. |
| used for milk production. Equally forbidden | | | | |
| in local markets is seafood like lobsters | | | | This 2-hour walk was a great way of getting |
| since it is destined for big hotels and | | | | to know a little bit about the authentic |
| exports only, but we were approached by a | | | | Cuban lifestyle and some of the practical |
| couple of people who were selling both | | | | ways that Cubans try to make do in their |
| lobster and beef "debajo de la mesa" - under | | | | daily lives. |