I can not really say I saw more poverty than other places, I did see housing buildings that looked less than desirable. Certainly better than my trip to India. What I saw was lack of maintenance or upkeep. A slow deterioration of what was probably really something back in the day. I see that sometimes here in my home town but not at this scale.

We walked through a bit of town, did not do any museums. We were near where the cruise ships come in but did not cross the street to that area. It was hot and humid so we only covered so much ground and we were not there very long. Tough to make agendas where you are in a group of six.

I always wondered why more Canadians did not go there for their vacations noting that they could. Clear as a bell to me now and surprised meeting some travelers from Europe that go to Havana on a regular vacation basis.

Havana is not bad, may sound like I am telling you it is but it is not. But for my vacation dollar I would choose a different place. Note that I work hard and travel a fair amount. I like to have my St Maarten and other vacations where I can really relax be comfortable and when I go to the Caribbean that is what I am looking for at this point of my life.
T