Cuba

Perhaps ask for some tasty llama recipes.

I published my Grids and Datums column on Cuba in June of 2010 at www.ASPRS.org. If you want me to email it directly to you, let me know at cjmce@LSU.edu.

Our family was there for about a week in January. I didn't see any cadastral work but did notice what looked like a T-1 being used to align formwork on a bridge deck that was being resurfaced.

If you have any questions please go ahead and ask.

Thank you for your interest. I found your 2010 posting very challenging. I'm interested in the every day use or application of land surveying on the island. Is it at all involved in the day to day affairs of the community at large, or is the practice more or less a government endeavor serving the "department of the interior"?
How does Cuba apply today's technology to it's internal needs and how does it interact with the world community of land surveying? When I'm there, my more immediate interests will be with those there who are my contemporaries. What do those guys do all day?

What was the premise of your visit? Do you have family there? I would appreciate any insights you may have on life there in general. Any luck bringing out any cigars?

> What was the premise of your visit?
Canadians can go there for vacation. No reason needed. I hear it's nice.

> What was the premise of your visit? Do you have family there? I would appreciate any insights you may have on life there in general. Any luck bringing out any cigars?

Purely vacation in Varadero, with a day trip to Havana. Most of the tourists who do the Havana day trip go in a tour bus. Because we were a family group of five, and my father has a lot of difficulty getting in and out of vehicles we decided to rent a van with driver and tour guide. The tour is essentially the same but we had a lot more flexibility in schedule and places to see. Our guide was excellent, and spent a lot of time explaining the history of the places we drove through and talking about how people live etc. We learned for example that Cuba's defense forces go on alert every US election day - no idea of why.

People in Cuba are just like folks anywhere else. Everyone works, or goes to school or whatever. The weird thing is just how deeply the government is entangled into everyday life. Almost everybody with a job is a government employee, including the staff of every hotel, all of the tour companies, people working in the oil fields etc. In Havana almost all of people rent their apartments from the government for something like 25 years, and then gain title after that.

If you want more details about what to expect as a tourist in Cuba then I recommend that you spend time reading the TripAdvisor Cuba page.

I highly recommend that anyone who can take a trip to Cuba should take it. It is a wonderful place, with some very interesting dynamics, like the government involvement as Fieldguy mentioned. It's great and so rare to see a place that has not been heavily Americanized.

Stephen

My friend has been there and he said it is Sovietized a lot, he said people there are poor but happy. I did not really understand him.

They are poor in the sense that they don't spend an hour an a half each day commuting to work in an expensive, oversized vehicle. They do spend perhaps that long walking which keeps them fit and healthy and allows them to stay connected to their community.

They are poor in the sense that they can't walk into a supermarket (after driving 15 min. to get there) and buy a frozen chicken. They take one from their yard or the community yard, wring it, clean it, cook it fresh and eat it with rice. Costs less, more healthy, and tastes better. Side dish of fresh pineapple or plum (mango) or even coconut.

They are poor in the sense that they don't wash their clothes or dishes in automatic washers which needs heavy current. They do it by hand. It works.

I don't want to romanticize everything, but there is definitely something to be said for living more simply than we have grown accustomed to.

Stephen

:good:

Well said Stephen

IF you go to Havana, check out their monumentation in the center of the rotunda at the government building. Its a huge diamond if I recall correctly....

I got pulled into a room at the airport customs because of an artist's rendition of my wife and I, Apparently the painting was a national treasure and we were stealing it. You are suppose to have "special documentation".

Needless to say I got out with all my money (no bribe) in my pockets and the picture, I just don't know why!!!

Enjoy!

My wife is a history professor and the university political science dept has arranged this "working trip" to Cuba. I'm used to grubbing in the dirt bringing up corners so I'm going to have to behave myself. There will be meetings with artists, scientists, public health officials, and agricultural types interested in "sustainable development". Since I will not be able to take home fine cigars and rum (this due US policy, not Cuba's), I will be forced to consume in country. Wish me luck.

I hope you enjoy your trip, I envy you.

Your wife may like this, or scoff at it:
Unofficial Envoy, An Historic Report from Two Capitals (1963)
United States Cuba Relations - JFK's Lost Opportunity

....
The tranquil cottage in the grove
You call a paradise, I know.
In such a cottage once I dwelt
And there my first hot tears were spilt,
My early tears! I know no vice,
No wrong or evil anywhere
That's not within that cottage fair ...
And yet they call it paradise!
....

I am not sarcastic, or something... but it is good to live in country where you can have a choice.

Ukraine. hmm. That's interesting. Poet Surveyor?

You tweaked her interest. Congratulations. Mine too. I'm old enough to vaguely remember that whole fiasco. I definitely remember the day Kennedy was shot. 7th grade.

🙂 that is not me, it was written by another guy back in 1850 when times were real terrible here, that piece is called If You But Knew (seventh from the top).