[gary]

The US embargo began in October 1960. This included the import of automobiles.

Fortunately for the Cubans, old cars were built tough and combined with the
ingenuity that comes from necessity, an estimated 30,000 to 60,000 cars built
before 1960 ply the roads of Cuba today.

They are everywhere across the island and range from old clunkers painted with
house paint to beautifully restored classic cars that would fetch hefty prices
in the west.

For a country where the average income is some $20 per month, there is an
irony in the fact that many Cubans own cars that would probably be worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars on the market in the west.

The Cuban government recognizes their cultural and tourist value though and
has placed a prohibition on their export.

On our first day in Havana we found ourselves cruising in a 1949 two-door
Chevrolet convertible.

The Malecon is an iconic 8km long esplanade in Havana that stretches along a seawall.

At night, thousands of Cubans, including many young couples, come out and sit along
the seawall which looks over the Caribbean.

In windy weather, the waves crash over the seawall and onto the Malecon itself.