The Adventures of a Cuban Mistaken for a Tourist

The Adventures of a Cuban Mistaken for a Tourist
October 15, 2014
Photo Feature by Luis Rondon Paz

HAVANA TIMES — On October 10, I was at home feeling a little bored. I
had finished studying early and done the house chores the day before. It
was a holiday, I didn't have to go to work and I wasn't in the mood to
go out.

I didn't take me long to remember that, that day, I had to go to Nuevo
Vedado to pick up some medicine for my mom and sister. I said to myself
that it was the perfect pretext to go out and satisfy my curiosity
regarding a gigantic metallic structure I had seen a number of times
from afar, out of the corner of my eye, while crossing the tunnel on
Linea street.

From there the outskirts of the city, I traveled to 26th avenue and
boarded a bus that would take me to the very foot of the metal bridge
connecting the neighborhoods of Playa and Vedado, separated by the
Almendares river.

Even though the bridge is currently blocked, I was able to admire its
structure from up close on arrival. It is a kind of gigantic crane. I
wanted to see more of it, so I did something adventurous. I had to find
a way of taking a picture showing the entire structure, I thought as I
walked down the street hugging the river.

I got my chance: thanks to the way I was dressed; I was able to pretend
I was a foreigner and played that card to my favor. Not only was I able
to photograph the structure, which turned out to be like a gigantic
vessel, I was also able to see the wharf where the barges, ships and
speedboats belonging to local fishermen are docked, up close.

It was quite the adventure. The young man who kindly served as my guide
in the wharf area told me that they aren't doing too well there, as they
don't have the resources they need to fish properly.

Before saying goodbye, I asked him if the rumors about the abundance of
walking catfish in the Almendares River were true. He smiled and said:
"Here, you look in a drain pipe and see them partying inside."

I took some other pictures of the area surrounding the mouth of the
Almendares river before finally going off to pick up the medicine for my
relatives and heading home.

It wasn't a boring holiday after all. I was even mistaken for a
foreigner and got to know a wharf in Havana up close for the first time.

Source: The Adventures of a Cuban Mistaken for a Tourist - Havana
Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=106742