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I travelled to Cuba late last year. I really should publish a report on my visit, but I've been swamped with work since I got home :-(.

One of the things I noticed about Cuba was the wonderful gift the land was given in terms of modern infrastructure. The legacy delivered Cuba before the revolution consisted of sweeping roads, the superbly engineered Malecon seawall and lots of beautifully designed housing and commercial buildings. All of these things were collectively worth billions, far more than any Latin American country had.

The second thing I noticed was the condition of all of this. Apparently they took the infrastructure as a gift, and forgot that even gifts need maintenance. The beautiful homes and the highways and everything else are literally crumbling into dust before your eyes. I have pictures that are absolutely heartbreaking.

Cuban families live in partially collapsed housing, knowing that in any day, they may die in a building collapse. About 100 buildings collapse in the city every year.

I read plenty of books on Cuba before going on my little adventure. Many of them said that, well, it was great that they have all these crumbling buildings because they were preserved for an appreciative tourist market now, while the First World tore their old architecture down and built tasteless, ugly concrete block skyscrapers.

I was rather appalled at these statements, and after seeing what Cuba was like for myself, I became even more appalled. Do you think Cubans would prefer living in crumbling old masterpieces or new, gleaming state of the art high-rises, even if they're ugly? When the Agua Caliente isn't so Caliente [hot], I know what my answer would have been. And how about electrical wiring which would have caused the buildings to be immediately shut down and evacuated if they were here?

I left Cuba with a real appreciation of the wonderful, warm friendly people there. And I loved going, and I'm sure I will return. But I found the common attitude "Isn't it great Fidel is in power so we can see this unique place, sort of like a human aquarium" appalling. Even though I did love it there.

D