Revolución Cuba here and now (spring 2016) is a place filled with rides, walks, talks, and thoughts inspired and daunting. Bureaucracy percolates with mixed emotions and messages among people enthusiastic and anxious and complacent. Holes a half-metre wide & deeper appear unannounced between horse-drawn carriages & pedal cabs & Edsels & dumptrucks laden with produce & animals & people & whatnot. Worn roads glazed with diesel & grease feel like surfing without a fin — after any rain I ride my motorbike with my feet connected/sliding across slick surfaces like training wheels thru cityscapes. In the countryside sugar cane barks thrash off the backs and sides of fast moving trucks and slower wagons to lash my visor. The national four-lane highways are populated with horses, bicycles, motorbikes with sidecars, giant trucks, chicken, goats, buses, fast Peugeots and slow Ladas and pedestrians young and old. All of which can stop on a dime in any lane without warning, to let off a passenger or just have a discussion. Constant vigilance required. Communications are convoluted and expensive. 2€/hr for super slow intermittent internet in limited hotspots that are recognizable by swells of humans with illuminated faces hovering over glowing screens. There are several economies. Cubans and foreigners alike navigate both CUC (convertible currency) and CUP (national peso) markets. Cubans face challenging wages and markets that vary in shades from grey to black alongside the ever-present diesel fumes. A highlight of the past 3 weeks was finding a shop w toilet paper. 4 thin rolls for 2.70 €. Crazy expensive, as that represents a significant portion (~10%) of the average monthly salary. Instead of loo roll I believe most folks op for using water. Street food hygiene is a big variable. Nonetheless, Cubans are very clean and, like much of the world, they pride themselves on neat shoes. Breakfast often consists of a pineapple for .60¢. Today a ham omelette sandwich with guava juice and coffee cost 10 pesos (about .40¢) at my local cafeteria. Yesterday seemed to be the start of potatoe week. All 5 stalls at my neighbourhood farmer’s market are filled with potatoes – a Slavic paradise… this week. The government distributes food. What will be available is seasonal. What will be in the market tomorrow, will be a surprise. Over 500,000 Cubans flocked to catch the Rolling Stones’ live show in Ciudad de Deportivo ~ more than half of Havana’s population! And they got one helluva show. Gratis. A :20 minute Midnight Rambler with Mick jamming the harmonica. More wardrobe changes than Lady Gaga – probably due to the humidity. You Can’t Always Get What You Want and Satisfaction encores ushered out a flood of pedestrians who sprawled peacefully across Havana in all directions. A few months ago I read a funny line: “what kind of planet do we intend to leave for Keith Richards?” It is rumoured that The Rolling Stones received a request from the Vatican to refrain from playing Sympathy For The Devil. Seems they didn’t get that memo… The Stones fucking rocked a Sympathy en La Ciudad Deportivo de La Habana 2016. Well well well, it’s only rock ‘n roll and we like it! OneTank caught the experience from a rooftop apartment overlooking the City of Sport’s playing fields. Click here and catch a glimpse of the Cuban police, military, and Red Cross dancing in the streets and on the roofs with Sympathy For The Devil en La Habana! The Stones show was much smoother and less disruptive than the ill-attended Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cuban All-Stars baseball game. The Castros & Obamas sat behind home plate. Multinational canines cased the scene. Traffic was light, where roads were open. All of the Cuban people I’ve spoken with appreciated Obama’s speech. It was broadcast live and not replayed. In 1973 Fidel reportedly said “the US would talk with Cuba when there’s a black President and a Latino Pope." While there’s little evidence of violence, theft is rampant. Everyone locks everything up behind gates. My motorbike, Bleu, attracts as much Cuban attention as classic cars draw tourists’ eyes. I found a secured parqeuo full of pedi-cabs for 15cuc / month. The attendants are usually hammered. Recently I moved into a flat in Havana Vieja on Calle Sol. Both rooms have fans, hoorah!