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| The view from USINT Havana |
One of the many perks of being a Foreign Service Officer is you are occasionally given the opportunity to TDY. TDY = a temporary assignment to another post (typically one month in Mission Brazil) to help out. In my case, that meant one month in sunny Havana, Cuba.
Cuba is an absolutely fascinating country. Walking around, you get the eerie feeling you have stumbled upon a beautiful wasteland– sort of a post-apocalyptic place time and space have forgotten. There is no WIFI. The beautiful art deco buildings crumble and peel all around you. All the classic cars spew black smoke into the otherwise fresh air. And, the island feels completely empty.
USG employees are restricted to a twenty-five mile radius of Havana so I didn’t get to see very much. But within those twenty five miles: the famous Malecon, Old Havana (with all its old Hemingway haunts), and the beautiful Praia (excuse me… Playa) Tropicoco. Needless to say, there was plenty to see and do within the short period of time and space I was given.
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| Checking out the view from Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro |
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| Taxi |
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| The famous Malecon |
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| Yes you can surf Havana. Just make sure to leave behind a surf board and wax. |
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| Pina Coladas on Tropicoco Beach |
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| Someone has to carry the luggage |
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| Relics and Writings of the Revolution |
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What? No power steering?
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| Old Havana |
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| Strolling Old Havana |
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| More famous than Fidel |