Hasta luego

When Castro gets a cold, we sneeze, so there was a great a-choo around town when he turned over power to Raúl.

In the end it meant nothing immediate, of course. But I still know that someday we will be the gateway to Cuba by boat. (We were that reverse gateway Saturday morning, when 24 Cubans came ashore at Smathers Beach on a handmade craft powered by an old Mercedes diesel, the indigenous lust for freedom being what it is. Since they met the "dry foot" test, having actually made it to shore, they're now our fellow Americans. Bienvenidos.)

This burnt-out wall on Petronia, and the fancy deck behind it, always remind me of the potential that lies ahead.