古巴冷知识： 满街都是老爷车

古巴的马路经常出现在各种旅游帖子里面，因为真的很有特色，五颜六色的老爷车满街跑。

还有五颜六色的房子。图片来源：图虫创意

这是因为在2011年以前古巴一直禁止进口汽车，古巴人买不到新车，也买不到新的配件，所以只能够不断翻修几十年前的老车。

Cuba’s cars are world famous, and it’s a popular tourist attraction to go for a ride in these old American cars. Vintage American cars from the 40s and 50s are still driving on Cuban roads. This is because, until 2011, there was an import ban on cars in Cuba. Cubans couldn’t get spare parts to their cars. This forced them to solve the problems in other ways, for example, putting an engine from another brand into another car or inserting a real sofa as the backseat of the car. Cubans call vintage cars “almendrones” (big almond) and their drivers “boteros” (boatmen). There is a law preventing Cuba’s vintage cars from being exported from the island. Only Cubans and foreign residents (temporary or permanent) are allowed to purchase cars in Cuba. 

古巴汽车世界闻名，乘坐这些美式老爷车兜风是备受欢迎的旅游项目。目前古巴大街上仍有四五十年代的美国古董车。这是因为2011年之前古巴一直禁止进口汽车。古巴人无法获得汽车配件，这促使他们用其他方式来解决问题，例如，把另一个品牌的发动机装到另一辆车上，或把一张真正的沙发安到汽车的后座上。古巴人称古董车为“almendrones”（大杏仁），称其司机为“boteros”（船夫）。古巴有一项法律，那就是禁止从该岛国出口古董车。只有古巴人和外国居民（临时或永久身份）可以在古巴购买汽车