Back from Cuba, volume 1.

I'm so glad to be home after nearly 3 weeks of travel. I went to Cuba to pick up my daughter, whose father brought her there to visit family.

Cuba always saps me of my strength. No, it's not because it's a socialist dictatorship. It's the weather, pure and simple. That, and keeping up with rapid-fire Spanish the whole time. And spending every dime I brought with me, too.

I suppose I could be arrested for traveling there and for spending money there, which according to the Treasury Department "Trading with the Enemy" act is the real crime for an American visiting Cuba.

The sad thing is, as I write these words I experienced a little shudder of apprehension -- big brother could be watching, searching for words like Cuba, dictatorship, arrested, crime. Here in our increasingly fearful land of the free.

Cuba isn't much like anyone perceives it, at least anyone who hasn't traveled there. Yes, there are the old American cars. (We went to the airport in a gigantic silver Plymouth that had been in our driver's family since 1956.) There are cigars. There are mojitos. There's fabulous music like timba and salsa that makes you want to get up and dance. Even better is Cuban son which inspires you to drink mojitos, eat congri, and smoke cigars while appreciating its subtle beat and plaintive, humorous lyrics.

But mostly Cuba is people just trying to live good lives with their families, "inventando", as they say. Nearly everyone I know there has to be very very resourceful, just like they do in most third world countries, just to get by. "Hay que resolver" is a popular saying there: you have to solve the problem, to get the bicycle tire you need, to get some part for some stereo that came in to your hands years ago.

Everyone there reads. I even found out this trip that my ex-sister-in-law loves romance novels, subscribes to a library service that gets her new ones every so often.

Everyone there can go to the doctor whenever they want, for free. Which I have taken advantage of more than once. Granted, the offices aren't fancy, but the wait is never long and again, it's free.

This time, I went with big plans for my five days there. I was going to rent a car, rent a house at the beach for the whole family, visit everyone.

Then I came face to face with the difficulty of "resolvando". There were no rental cars left that cost less than $95 a day. The beach houses were all taken (they cost about $40 a day). So I visited friends in Panataxi (just call 555559). I rented a minivan for a $60 round trip to the beach with all the kids and aunties. We hung around the house and read.

Somehow it was all okay. Which is how it always works out in Cuba.

Now here I am back in the hood. And it kind of feels like Cuba, at least on the very thin surface.