The Cars You Meet When Walking In Cienfuegos
My time in Cienfuegos was quite short - just a few hours, but I think I managed to cover a good amount of ground during that time. Walking along the prado reveals one worn down colonial building after another. A beautiful and interesting site to see, filled with various shops and people to fill them. The side streets however, reveal a different story.
Cuba is literally filled with Ladas. Something like one in every three cars is a Lada. I'm no car buff, but I never felt so ignorant about cars as when I was in Cuba. Everyone seems to be an expert in identifying the make, model and year of all the classic American cars. As getting car parts is a bit difficult, people have to become experts in figuring out what specific parts they need for their cars so they can get them ordered and imported somehow.
Little tidbit on the license plates in Cuba - plates that start with a "P" like this one indicate a private vehicle. The cost of buying a new car in Cuba is insanely high. A car that might cost $20,000 in the US is going to be $80,000+ in Cuba. For a relatively poor country, this puts new cars out of reach for normal people.
Photo shot with the Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) paired with a Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH lens. This camera only shoots in black & white.
