Widespread use of public phones struck me as quaint, since ears are usually glued to a small portable device. Communication in Cuba is not easy.

The Granma newspaper, four TV channels and radio are puppet media. The internet is inaccessible to most. Several young men met have diplomas in "informatics" (computer science), but are waiters or hostel hosts. One of them, Alberto, seemed unaware of the Arab Spring but cocked an ear at the description of how young people and the internet propelled uprisings against decades-old dictatorships. One outspoken guide boasted about her having an idea of what is going on in the rest of the world since she meets foreigners in her job in tourism. The average Cuban doesn't.

I tried to use the public internet access, Etecsa, having happened upon one where there was no lines and computers were running with no one using them (rare). However, I was told I had to have a Telepunto card to use the internet. I couldn't buy one there, and I went to two other Etecsa offices, but no one sold this card. I gave up.

On the other hand, Cuban bloggers are increasingly visible (to everyone but Cubans). The best known, Yoani Sánchez, started her Generation Y blog in 2004 (desdecuba.com/generationy). Since then she has been been beaten, jailed and harassed, but manages to feign her way as a foreigner into hotels to use internet facilities reserved for tourists. She sends partial installments to helpers in other parts of the world who assemble and post her comments. She cannot see her blog, since it's banned in Cuba.