They are easily recognizable, with the fullest cheeks, the highest demands in services and behind the wheel of the most modern vehicles: the Cuban emigrants fill the island’s roads during these days of summer vacations. But despite their wallets with dollars, they must also overcome problems with fuel and the poor condition of the roads.
Most of them, residents of the United States, flood the highway and the national highway with rented cars at this time, mainly from the state-owned Transtur, a carrier of the Ministry of Tourism. They take their relatives out for a walk, who see in the arrival of the emigrated relative the opportunity to move within the country or stay in a hotel.
Although the traffic on these roads is still not comparable to that of years before the pandemic, the increase in tours -as vehicles intended for tourism are popularly known- is very notable after last June the US annulled the restrictions imposed on air connections with the Cuban provinces. The high flow of Cubans residing in the northern country was immediate, driven by the flight deals from miami.
Most of them arrive on a family visit, laden with luggage and with a long list of orders to fulfill to entertain their relatives who stayed on the Island. It is time to buy that refrigerator that the mother has been asking for years, take the nephews out to take a dip at the beach or haul a case of beer to a cousin’s party. All that about the tour which, in those days, becomes a cargo truck, a tent and a motel.
Most of them arrive on a family visit, loaded with luggage and with a long list of requests to fulfill to entertain the relatives who stayed on the Island.
There are even some émigrés who, to show their origin, hang the US and Cuban flags on these cars or walk around with clothes that have the US flag printed on them.
And as if that were not enough, national drivers not only recognize these people for these details. Several drivers residing on the Island with whom she spoke 14ymedio They refer that the tours they are a danger on the roads because they are not aware of the poor condition of Cuban roads, with many potholes and narrow, and they travel at high speed (between 120 and 180 kilometers per hour), invade opposing paths and “at force overtake other vehicles” in very dangerous sections such as curves.
Several accidents where these cars have been involved have recorded deaths. One of the most recent happened on June 19, when Two people died and four others were injured. at a point between the municipalities of Lajas, in Cienfuegos, and Ranchuelo, in Villa Clara.
As reported by users on social networks, the incident originated when the driver of a tourist vehicle, a South Korean Hyundai i10, tried to avoid a pothole in the vicinity of kilometer 225 of the national highway, lost control and hit a Moskvitch, Russian-made.
Despite these ups and downs, a ‘tour’ parked outside any home gives economic enhancement to the family that lives there
In addition to carelessness and accidents, emigrants also run into difficulties of all kinds. It is very common that during the trip to their final destination they have to spend hours to get fuel. Many gas stations remain closed because there is no electricity due to long blackouts across the country.
The situation is repeated in the central provinces of the island, an area where many drivers try to refuel after hundreds of kilometers traveled, and then, when they find a gas station providing service, they have to stand in a long queue, along with the vehicle drivers. state, private and official taxis that are dedicated to the transport of passengers between different provinces.
But despite these ups and downs, a tour parked on the outskirts of any house gives economic enhancement to the family that inhabits it. It doesn’t matter if it’s rented, has a half-empty gas tank or doesn’t have a spare tire, a car like this means that some close relative achieved the dream of emigrating, of leaving the Island and returning with enough money not to have to move in a car. Soviet Lada or in a clattering Chevrolet of the last century.
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