CUBA: Those Cars! Those Amazing Old Cars!
Needless to say, I have many tales (and more than 300 pics, culled down from 1,000+) to share of my adventures in Cuba. It may well take a while but over time, I hope to whittle them into a goodly series of Cuba posts here at TL.
But first – I simply can’t WAIT to share with you the most striking aspect of my visit to Cuba: those legendary old cars from the 50’s. They were EVERYWHERE! All gussied up with shiny new paint and (amazingly) still running all over Havana, Vinales, and Trinidad.
Indeed, as a child of the 50’s myself – I felt like I’d been teleported back to my childhood. In the juicy-fruit colors of my youth, every time I turned around, another bright Happy Days jalopy was zooming by.
But let’s start with a couple of reeeeealy oldies (that I found in the antique car museum near the Artisan Market in Havana):
Upper: Chevy of course, but anybody know the year? Lower: 1930 Cadillac
Followed by another truly oldie – this still running amid the cobbled streets of Trinidad!
Any guesses on make? year?
And closer to my birth year – a collage of a most delicious butterscotch honey:
Chevy Bel Air – but what year???
A trio of shiny cherries:
Make, model, year on any of these?
Pretty blues and yellows (note the “Apple” icon on the side window):
Make? model? years?
A gaggle of purpley pinks:
On the left, a Ford – model? year? And the pink convertible – make? model? year?
And finally (ta-daaa!) Most all these old cars are used as tourist taxis. But as a “solita” (solo lass) I wasn’t about to drop $30 for a spin in one of them. Nonetheless, my magnetic attraction to travel serendipity struck once again as I was admiring a particularly winsome set if wheels near Central Park in Havana. The kindly owner took pity on me and invited me to sit in this utterly awesome candy pink convertible:
1956 Buick Special?
and the “Happy Days” tune on the radio:
Btw… please do feel free to drop a note in the comments as to what make, model and year the cars above might be – thanks!
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
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Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
Woah looks amazing! I know nothing about cars, but I do know that I love them brightly coloured and shiny and those ones tick both boxes. I need to get to Cuba stat. Love the photo of you in the pink one!
I KNOW Stacey, I too know nothing about cars, nor have I ever been all that interested in makes, models, etc. Have always owned plain ol’ vanilla Toyotas (more often than not – used, cheap and extremely dependable).
But oh my! Those 50’s American classics, ever so yummy. And of course amazing to see them still on the road in Cuba. Indeed, those Kodachrome jalopies reason enough to visit Cuba. But stay tuned – there’s much more!
Great pics, those cars are so cool. I’m hoping to get to Cuba in 2016 so I’ll be following along with your posts!
Yep, those honeys were everywhere, Scott – those Cubans are wizard mechanics to keep them running all these years.
And yes, many tales to tell – of Havana, Vinales, Playa Larga (a.k.a. the Bay of Pigs), Trinidad and more. Stay tuned!