The central streets, though swept and free of garbage and offal, are gritty from the smoky effusions of buses, trucks and autos. This may be due to a shortage of petroleum, only a portion of which is produced by the island itself. Withal, life seems to move on, in many ways normally, despite politics and shortages. Mothers pull insistently on their foot-dragging toddlers. Young couples stroll along the Malecon, or ocean drive.
People try to get by, make a bit of money.
Cuban officials admit the opening of tourism to attract foreign capital and hard currency has stirred an unwanted resurgence of prostitution. They also expressed concern that tourism could make Cuba a transit point in the illegal drug trade and held this out as an item for increased cooperation with the United States if and when the U.S. embargo ends and normal relations resume. Some private restaurants, for example, routinely provide meals for more persons than they are legally allowed to accommodate. The police presence and security, though evident, is not palpably overwhelming to the wary visitor. The driver was promptly waved over by a gendarme, who quietly took his license and rental papers and issued a citation.