After leaving the Finca Vigia, we rode in the passenger van back to Havana. It’s about a 12 mile drive. I had never seen Havana before, and I had no idea what to expect.

We found the city clean, but strangely empty. As we drove along the harbor front, there were dozens of tall buildings that sat empty. The economy has really suffered: between 2015 and 2022 prices rose 24-fold, while wages dropped by 96%. The average wage is a bout $13.00 per month.

Cuba suffers from an unreliable power grid that frequently fails. Power is usually rationed, so that electricity is available only 12 hours a day or less.

I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had to catch our flight back to Key West. My overall impression of Cuba in that short trip was that Cuba has so much potential that is wasted by a government that has no idea what it is doing. So much opportunity exists for the Cuban people, so much potential prosperity, if only the communist/socialist power structure there could be wiped away. It’s a real shame. The poverty and failure there should be a warning to anybody who champions so-called “democratic socialism.” It sounds good, and promises the moon, but never delivers.

Going back through Cuban customs, the customs officer made a big show of sternly stamping my passport. When I examined it later I saw there was no stamp. No ink was in his stamp.