UKC

"Adrián Pérez Martínez, a 20-year-old art teacher with a joker tattooed on his shoulder, says that police showed up at his house recently to warn him against climbing, especially with foreigners. "Good Cubans don't do this," he says they told him. "Climbers use drugs. And you shouldn't take foreigners to militarily significant areas." Indeed, some caves in the climbing area are designated as civil-defense sites in the event of a U.S. invasion. "

Read more.....http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

News or american imperialist propaganda?

He'll be dead soon anyway. Got a monkey on it.

In reply to Ste Brom: Who Adrian?

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com: Shame they've got a paranoid and authoritarian streak (Cub. Govt. that is), but then have you seen their neighbours?!

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Was out in Vinales last January - this sounds like American imperialist propoganda to me.

The 2003 'crack-down' was part of a larger move to make life easier for tourists on the streets, which it did, with a loss of civil liberties for some, and a gain for tourists in almost zero hassle). Didn't seem to be crazily repressive in/around Vinales and lots of climbers enjoying the area. Thoroughly recommend going to stay with Oscar (in his casas particulares), one of the guys who started it all.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:
..a 20-year-old art teacher with a joker tattooed on his shoulder..

what's the relevance of him having a tattoo !?

In reply to cornishben:

Maybe easier to identify him if you see him at the crag so you can crack down on him!

In reply to jallopino:

I'm off to Cuba in a couple of weeks' time. I wonder if you can give me any more info about Oscar in Vinales? Can I email him to sort out some accommodation, or should we just turn up and hope for the best?

Thank you!

In reply to Fiona Mcgowan:

Lucky you! I think he's in the lonely planet - I got his details off Cuba climbing website but am flying back home to Italy tomorrow for the w.ed and think I have details there. So, possibly more later.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:
Not really digging on the pro US anti Castro vibe of the article. Objective reporting would be preferable to blatant propoganda...

In reply to whispering nic: What exactly is the blatant propaganda? It says the Cuban sports ministry is very supportive of the climbers, its just other bits of the govt. who seem worried about Cubans hanging out with Americans.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Funny, when I try to follow the links from UKC News I get a virus warning from cuba_climbing.com and the other one seems dead.... how strange!

In reply to Bruce Hooker: Try the supertopos link Bruce. The full WSJ article is about the second postibng down.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

Not strange at all......those links can detect conspiracy theorists. They work fine for me.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

The topo link is working now, I had to reboot the pc though. The cuba one still gives a virus warning as follows:

Malware name: Win32:Mhtplo-26
Type: Trojan

I have the free version of avast installed.

Incidentally the forum concerned have a neat "edit" button when you post... quicker than going back, correcting, re-posting and the deleting on ukc. I'm not complaining, their interface is not so pretty as yours, but it's a handy feature for those of us who type badly

In reply to TobyA: Yes that is mentioned right at the end of the original article, and nowhere in the ukc report. Wholly objective, I'm sure, no Florida based Cubans conspiring to destabilise the current governmet at all. Bay of Flying Pigs...

Fiona ! En route to Turkey right now but if you haven't got the info you need in a weeks time mail me and I'll dig out the info re Oscars place. He's a great character and most of the climbing can be reached easily on foot from his place. - Make sure that you stop in his "penthouse suite" !!

In reply to CDL:

Great - yes, please can you give me the info about Oscar's place! I'm getting desperate to find somewhere – anywhere – to stay in Cuba. Seems like every hotel in the country is booked up, adn of course the casas will porobably be heaving over Xmas. Anyone ever camped in Cuba? Is it safe?

In reply to jallopino:

Thanks for that! Yes, please could you pass on the details about Oscar if you get a moment. I'm sure it'll be fine to wing it on the accommodation front, but it would be nice to have *somewhere* sorted before I leave.