Cuba as you've never seen it before
June 5, 2015 6:03 AM Subscribe
Those pictures are so beautiful, really makes me want to visit now that I can.
The advertising overlay that pops up over each one as you scroll is *obnoxious* though.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 6:51 AM on June 5, 2015
The advertising overlay that pops up over each one as you scroll is *obnoxious* though.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 6:51 AM on June 5, 2015
Bad news on that going to Cuba thing.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:11 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:11 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Those are great. Add me to the list of those ready to book a trip. But I do believe there are prior aerial photographs of Cuba.
posted by TedW at 7:18 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by TedW at 7:18 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
not counting the cia spy planes that have been documenting the island for fifty years...
beautiful photos though
posted by brainimplant at 8:08 AM on June 5, 2015
beautiful photos though
posted by brainimplant at 8:08 AM on June 5, 2015
The GOP really, really does not want to open the "doing business on stolen land" argument.
But at the same time, please face check that field for mines, idiot brigade.
posted by Slackermagee at 8:36 AM on June 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
But at the same time, please face check that field for mines, idiot brigade.
posted by Slackermagee at 8:36 AM on June 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
I visited there in 2003, and one of the things that sticks out in my memory and in these pictures is the smog. There are no pollution controls, many small-engined vehicles, much agricultural burning, and the oil produced there has a high sulphur content. The gradient from the tropical blue overhead to the greasy tan at the horizon is distinctive, especially around Havana.
posted by Wilbefort at 8:43 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Wilbefort at 8:43 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was there for 2 weeks in December and accidentally hit a few of the spots in the pics.
Our resort was on Cayo Santa Maria (the sand really is powdery) which is accessible only via the El Pedraplen causeway. We also took a two day trip south which took us through the Valle de los Ingenios on our way to Trinadad. Trinidad was beautiful, historical and very cool to wander around. We also drove up into the "mountains" near Trinidad. The view back towards Trinidad at sunset was stunning, my camera just couldn't capture how special the light was.
I was struck by how trash free Cuba is. Here you will see garbage blowing in the streets (McDonald's wrappers etc.). I am sure that will change once the fast food companies get a foot in the door. I hope Cuba changes for the good. The locals we spoke to are eager for change but they want to keep their education and medical programs intact.
posted by Gwynarra at 10:36 AM on June 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Our resort was on Cayo Santa Maria (the sand really is powdery) which is accessible only via the El Pedraplen causeway. We also took a two day trip south which took us through the Valle de los Ingenios on our way to Trinadad. Trinidad was beautiful, historical and very cool to wander around. We also drove up into the "mountains" near Trinidad. The view back towards Trinidad at sunset was stunning, my camera just couldn't capture how special the light was.
I was struck by how trash free Cuba is. Here you will see garbage blowing in the streets (McDonald's wrappers etc.). I am sure that will change once the fast food companies get a foot in the door. I hope Cuba changes for the good. The locals we spoke to are eager for change but they want to keep their education and medical programs intact.
posted by Gwynarra at 10:36 AM on June 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
I met a Pakistani girl who went to Cuba in order to attend dentistry school, not knowing anything about Cuba beforehand. The students got one pencil. If you lost your pencil, you had to borrow one from another student when they were done with it. The professor had a pencil sharpener, which a student could use upon request. One of the student's parents heard about this and sent a real elementary school-style hang-on-the-wall pencil sharpener, and apparently the Cuban professors were impressed by this high technology. She wanted to leave the program, and had to have a effort involving the Pakistani embassy/consulate or something to get her out (via Moscow).
posted by goethean at 11:21 AM on June 5, 2015
posted by goethean at 11:21 AM on June 5, 2015
Tried clicking from my iPhone and got stuck in mobile advertising hell, with the occasional App Store launches thrown in there for extra fun!
posted by Stu-Pendous at 11:30 AM on June 5, 2015
posted by Stu-Pendous at 11:30 AM on June 5, 2015
I went there in 2001 - at least then, it was that beautiful.
We went home early because the poverty and totalitarianism freaked me out. In retrospect, I feel I should have stayed on and travelled more around the island.
That said - the level of education and research in all fields was really impressive. It might well be true that they had only one pencil pr student, but what they did with that pencil was world-class. When I was there, they had a lot of collaboration with Spanish universities, and I still have joint publications from those collaborations for reference.
I went there from Brazil, and Cuba seemed much more "western" in terms of services and access to internet than Brazil at that time.
The corruption was absurd, though. I don't think there was one single service or product one couldn't get for a twenty-dollar note in a nice wrapper. As said, I wanted to get home early. I got my plane ticket changed for $20. I didn't like the luxury hotel I was in. $20.
And again, the poverty. Back then, tourists were separated completely from normal people. Now, there is more of a tourist industry. One day I was mistaken for a Cuban and was brought into the real world of Cubans. When I got home, I sent a huge relief package to the Cubans I met. You cannot imagine what they are dealing with.
posted by mumimor at 1:12 PM on June 5, 2015
We went home early because the poverty and totalitarianism freaked me out. In retrospect, I feel I should have stayed on and travelled more around the island.
That said - the level of education and research in all fields was really impressive. It might well be true that they had only one pencil pr student, but what they did with that pencil was world-class. When I was there, they had a lot of collaboration with Spanish universities, and I still have joint publications from those collaborations for reference.
I went there from Brazil, and Cuba seemed much more "western" in terms of services and access to internet than Brazil at that time.
The corruption was absurd, though. I don't think there was one single service or product one couldn't get for a twenty-dollar note in a nice wrapper. As said, I wanted to get home early. I got my plane ticket changed for $20. I didn't like the luxury hotel I was in. $20.
And again, the poverty. Back then, tourists were separated completely from normal people. Now, there is more of a tourist industry. One day I was mistaken for a Cuban and was brought into the real world of Cubans. When I got home, I sent a huge relief package to the Cubans I met. You cannot imagine what they are dealing with.
posted by mumimor at 1:12 PM on June 5, 2015
Beautiful, thanks Flap. I will get there soon, con mi madre.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 5:14 PM on June 5, 2015
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 5:14 PM on June 5, 2015
The locals we spoke to are eager for change but they want to keep their education and medical programs intact.
Unfortunately, I can see Cuba turning into Florida 2 (but not Electric Boogaloo, the original is bad enough already) when it moves into a democracy and the Kochs decide to back a new puppet, free-market loving, government to do their bidding.
And then, someone in the CIA will slap his forehead.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:21 AM on June 6, 2015
Unfortunately, I can see Cuba turning into Florida 2 (but not Electric Boogaloo, the original is bad enough already) when it moves into a democracy and the Kochs decide to back a new puppet, free-market loving, government to do their bidding.
And then, someone in the CIA will slap his forehead.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:21 AM on June 6, 2015
Mumimor, where in Brazil were you? I've been going frequently to the historically more economically depressed areas of Brazil (the north and northeast, including rural areas) since 1994, and the notion that Cuba would have more access to services than 98% of Brazil doesn't at all match my experience.
posted by umbú at 1:19 PM on June 8, 2015
posted by umbú at 1:19 PM on June 8, 2015
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posted by Fizz at 6:35 AM on June 5, 2015