Couldn't Stay Away....

I'm glad to see you back! Can we kiss and make up?

I agree with your assessment of the impact of the new tourism that will arrive from the USA as well as the conundrum it poses for the suspicious party liners. I expect once the tourism starts back up there will be some incidents between a few crudish loudmouths and a few true believers, but I'm sure the resort AIs where those folks will undoubtedly stay are already well accustomed to such types.

I'm just glad I got to see Cuba before the USA normalized relations, because it will never be the same afterwards.

A few things have changed since your last visit. Some food is more plentiful because small private co-op markets are now permitted, certain small businesses are now permitted, and Cubans can now actually buy and sell their homes instead of having to trade them on the black market as they had done previously. Certain restrictions on freedom of movement have been lifted, and now Cubans who can afford it can actually stay at the same hotels as the foreign tourists, a privilege they had previously been denied.

Nevertheless, a stark reminder of where you are occurs when going to a waterfront seafood restaurant that offers some dish made with tuna, and since Caribbean tuna is so delicious you will of course be tempted to try it. But lo and behold when that dish arrives there is no mistaking the fact that the tuna came from a can (likely from China or Vietnam). If you aren't a fisherman you may ponder the reason why for quite some time. But any fisherman knows that tuna schools tend to run quite a distance off shore, a place where Cuban fishing boats are not allowed by their government. As a matter of fact, one thing that will strike anyone on a fishing trip to Cuba is the fact that it seems all the fishing vessels have undersized motors and plod along at extremely slow speeds. ¡Viva Cuba!