Wandering around the streets of Havana most people, myself included, don't take much notice of people's personal belongings on display for everyone to see or why. It's only been recently that I've become aware of this everyday occurrence and the reason why. A person's laundry isn't something anyone thinks about when they travel to a foreign country except when they themselves need something cleaned and even then all we do is find a local cleaners or have the hotel we stay at take care of it, including if we stay at a Cuban hotel which offers the same service. However, most or almost all Cubans don't have the luxury to be able to afford to take their clothes to a Cleaners, even if they were able to find one. Having said that' it doesn't explain why everyone in the city (or country) hang their clothes out to dry. It's very noticeable when you're in an area that's mostly apartment buildings since they don't have a backyard or may not have access to their building's rooftop. Nobody in Cuba owns a clothes dryer, or at least I haven't met anyone or heard of anyone in the 16 years I've been traveling to the island. So what is one to do when one lives in an apartment with or without a balcony? They hang their clothes out to dry wherever they can, either on their balcony or outside a window. It leaves little to the imagination and makes a colourful collage for an otherwise drab backdrop of grey and dirty buildings. Recently I've taken a number of pictures of this curiosity and coupled with some others I've taken in past years I've put this post together to share my experience. Perhaps on a future visit you yourself might take notice.
