CUBA : LIVE LIFE | France 5 | Les Routes de l'Impossible

Most roads in Cuba are in good condition. But it’s a different story in the countryside! Especially as there are very few cars in running order. Of course, Cuba has been isolated from the world for almost 60 years. The United States has imposed an economic embargo. New cars are virtually non-existent and replacement parts are almost impossible to find. So, Cubans have become the kings of make-do. They keep vehicles, mostly dating from the 1950s, running. Like the people, they are a wonderful mechanical cross-breed. The front seats of Diosmar’s Chevrolet come from a French 404, the steering from a Romanian car, the rear seats from a Toyota… in short, enough to give a European car tester a cold sweat! Especially as the engine is a generator! Not able to deliver top speed but sufficient to pull the beautiful American 77-year-old. The taxi driver gives himself the shivers on downhill stretches as the Chevy’s steering is rather approximate. On the banks of the river Toa, Luis is building his bamboo raft. There’s no road to his farm so going down the river is his only means of delivering his crop of bananas. A hair-raising adventure awaits him in the rushing currents. Impossible Roads takes you deep into an unknown Cuba far from the tourist routes.