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Question: Recently I had eye surgery and follow up treatment for my retina. If a retinal complication occurred in Cuba, can you provide a reference so that I can establish contact prior to traveling to Cuba?

“Sure, I don’t have a boss and I get paid daily. If I get just 20 pesos in one morning for one delivery, added together for 30 days that comes to 600 pesos (about $24 USD, or more than the average fulltime Cuban wage). But the truth is that it’s rare for me to have just one customer per day; usually there are two or three. So if you add all those up, you’ll see that the advantage is significant, though there are also days when I don’t have any business,” says Carlos who delivers gas cylinders for a living.

There are no casas particulares or apartments for rent in Varadero. This is also the case in other resort areas such as Playa Santa Lucía and Guardalavaca. In these three areas, all of which are among the country’s most popular tourist destinations, legislation prohibits the operation of private rental of accommodation and the encouragement of formal hotel operations.

“When time starts to change, no one can stop it,” says a character in “El canto del pozo ciego” (Blind Mouth Singing), a play that is reviving the cultural exchange between Cuba and the United States, which has been virtually nonexistent over the past 10 years.

Alfredo Despaigne hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the tenth inning to give Cuba a comeback 4-3 walk-off win over the United States to win the World University Baseball Championship played in Japan on Saturday. The hosts defeated South Korea 9-0 to win third place.

The oil spewing from the April 20 explosion of the BP drilling well —with existing and potentially dire consequences— has put the whole Gulf of Mexico, the coasts of Mexico, the coast of the United States and the coasts of Cuba in danger, as well as threatening other Caribbean nations such as The Bahamas.

In terms of personal safety, there is seldom a problem in renting a car and driving around Cuba. However, as in any part of the world, one should always exercise caution and good judgment when offering rides to people one meets on the road. That said, it is important to note that Cuba has a very active, and comparatively safe, tradition of hitchhiking.

The Second HT Photo Contest is down to the wire with 20 judges both in Cuba and abroad making the hard picks in each of the three categories (Rural Life, Cuban Daily Life (Urban) and Unusual Photos). Stay tuned to see the winners of the contest by this Sunday.