Cuba: Searching for Electricity

A hurricane and another widespread blackout forced us to go out in search of some power to charge our cell phones and batteries to last a few more days.

Less than 15 days ago, Cuba was plunged into darkness overnight. The country's power system was compromised, leaving over 7 million people in total darkness, disconnected from the world and frozen in time. I wrote this post from that moment.

This time, I want to share a bit more about the reality we experienced.

It had been more than ten years since a hurricane had struck the capital with such force. Not since Hurricane Rafael had we felt such proximity.

In my case, we didn’t suffer any damage, and in this part of the city, only a few poorly secured roof tiles flew off.

Fortunately, the best news came hours after the event: there were no reported human casualties. Although in the first hours, more than 400 collapses of varying magnitudes were counted.

A figure that horrifies anyone.

What we did have to lament was another fall of the country's electricity system. We were left in the dark again, knowing that the minimum recovery time would be 72 hours.

This post is from the second day.

With no power, we set out in search of it.

It was the first time we ventured out after the hurricane. Recovery efforts were immediate, so the marks on the asphalt from excavators and heavy equipment were the most striking.

Many more trees had fallen than I would have thought.

Our destination was deeper into the municipality of Diez de Octubre (I weathered the hurricane far from my home, with my grandmother).

As we walked, we only heard words of discontent with the island's "government"

Other neighbors were throwing away what little food they had left, but it was common knowledge that no one had electricity and it would take time to return.

The only hope was to reach the municipal government, where they said there was a power plant.

We kept walking, disillusioned by the sadness of the streets, the reality of something that is no longer a country.

Cuba hurts, but we must keep fighting; there’s no other choice.

Finally, we found the municipal government (it was our first time there). To our "luck", the plant had stopped functioning due to a lack of fuel.

Nothing new. Electricity has become as scarce as water in the desert.

Without hope and with less than thirty percent battery, we decided to return home and wait for a miracle.

After midday, and with our phones in power-saving mode, the call that would save us came...

A family friend had managed to charge his tricycle in the city center and was bringing us some power.

How? It was time to activate MacGyver mode. Cubans know a lot about this.

You strip a wire from both ends; one end goes into a power outlet in the house, and the other connects to an extension cord.

You must turn off the house's circuit breaker to prevent an overload when the power comes back and burns the line.

And Voilà! you can now charge your devices and connect some LED lights.

Is it safe? I don’t think so. Well, if the installation is done properly and not tampered with, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

The reality is that we were able to charge all the devices in the house, help some neighbors, and have some light for over 24 hours.

Is this the solution? Of course not. The refrigerators still weren’t getting power, but it’s the only thing we can do at this moment.

As I write this post, many areas of Havana already have electricity, and life is returning to normal. In my house (well, my grandmother's house), there is still no power (80 hours without electricity)

How are we surviving? We ran an extension cord to the "neighbor (5 meters), and there we were able to connect the refrigerators, which are now the most important thing.

We don’t know when electricity will return; it doesn’t seem like it will be today, as we have already been without power for more than 90 hours now.

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All images are mine