We got to try lots of different types of transportation in Cuba.
After finishing a tasty pizza in Havana’s Chinatown I wandered among the spaces between the buildings and found a lot where some guys were working on their cars. Hector tested the brakes on his Chevy by circling the lot gathering speed, and then aiming straight for the mechanic leaning against the concrete wall. He braked at the last second, and apparently both owner and mechanic were satisfied with the result. I asked him in broken Spanish whether he was named for the guy who got dragged around Troy by Achilles. I don’t think he was too offended; he asked me what size my hat was. When I took it off to examine the label, he snatched it from me and put it on his head. “It’s my size,” he said.
Havana is known for its maintenance and use of American cars from the 50s. Just to prove that nothing is ever that simple, I was recently briefly infatuated with the Lada Niva and did some research on US car clubs that fix up and race the aging Russian SUVs. It’s hard to get parts for them, and attempts to market the new versions in the US by GM have stalled over and over again. But they’re cool: they have a top speed of 80mph, get 30mpg and have full-time 4WD with the ground clearance of a VW microbus. Only the very well-heeled cool in San Francisco can afford to maintain one. But it turns out that new Lada Nivas are being produced and sent to Cuba for use by government ministries. Pictured below: a recently produced Lada Niva.
