Cuba, of course, is famous for its old cars and, specificially, the ingenuity of their owners who are able to keep 50 year old Fords and Chevys on the potholed roads. It´s so famous, in fact, that a documentary, ¨Yank Tanks," has been made on the subject. Even if you´re not interested in old cars or Cuba, it´s a documentary worth seeing.

I´ve had some first hand experiences with old cars over the course of several trips here. One of my early experiences was in a slightly larger than a golf cart sized truck. The driver could never really go anywhere alone... he needed a second person to jump start the engine by pulling up a trap door in the truck bed and turning a belt and a dangerous looking fan with his fingers. The truck would sputter to life, and off we´d go. The driver was a 20 year old guy whose parents had left him behind here when they decided to move to the US. He was still intouch with them and he was absolutely enchanted with the idea that one could buy a car by making monthly payments. It was this dream of going to the US and making car payments that kept him motivated, and I knew I´d made a terrible mistake when I said casually, "Äh, it´s not all that. You have to have credit, if you dont have credit, the payments are really high, and besides, you have to get insurance." His face contorted like that of a child who had just learned that Santa Claus is not real.

My second experience was in a taxi particular, an old Chevy that is a taxi, but which operates a bit like a bus. Picking up people at different stops, 6, 7, and even 8 people crowd into the car and call out where they want to go. The driver constantly adjusts the route based on the new riders, a route which is by no means direct or linear. Depending on your luck, you may need someone in the front seat to hop out and open your door when you arrive at your stop... many of the cars lack door handles.

Yesterday, we got in a newer state taxi, a Russian or Yugoslavian car from the early 1990s. As four of us crowded into the backseat, the driver rolled down his window and called out to two other drivers... "Oye! Dame un empujon!" We laughed as the drivers gave us a running push from behind, the engine and radio competing for life.

Today, a neighbor took us out to do an errand. His 55 Chevy has some special features, and I wouldn´t recommend that you ask to borrow his car. The left passenger side was pooled with water, we had to use one door, and the neighbor had to pace his driving so as not to hit any red lights. Don´t step in front of a car in Cuba... it´s not that the driver doesn´t want to stop, but ít´s entirely possible that he can´t.