Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Habana Vieja, Cuba



Habana Vieja (Old Havana) is a great place to stroll aimlessly. Colourful and atmospheric the old town is a hotchpotch of crumbling houses standing next to elegantly restored hotels and museums. Habaguanex uses the money brought in by tourism to renovate the old town. It's a slow process and while this is happening several generations of family are living together in small dilapidated apartments. The high ceilings allow extra floors to be added to create more room.

The buying and selling of houses is not permitted in Cuba as they're effectively all owned by the state, as are most things. Relatives tend to live together and younger generations naturally inherit their parents or relatives houses.

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