Vintage Cars

Long ago, tales of of a city populated with  decaying vintage American cars cruising an embankment along the Atlantic Ocean captured my imagination.  It was a romantic image of Cuba, different than the ideas I had formed from history lessons about the missile crisis, botched assassination attempts, and a crippling trade embargo.  It was an image I wanted to step into, and experience before time finally erased it.  On the drive from the airport, I had an immediate feeling of time travel.  The mid century vehicles, in varying degrees of restoration, are everywhere. They are not just for tourists, but the common mode of transportation.  I'm reminded of burning man and the expressive art cars driving across the playa, functional yet also objects to be admired.  Both backdrops are relatively monochromatic with pops of vibrant color.   My first few hours in Cuba, my eyes don't know where to settle, and it's impossible to capture the grand effect in photos.