“Once we arrived at the factory the tour was fascinating. We practically got a private tour since there were very few tourists that made the journey out to this part of the city. Clearly, for those employed making the cigars this was not an ideal job by U.S. standards. We were not allowed to take photos. Row after row of men and women sat side-by-side rolling cigars in a hot, humid room. Even the Lonely Planet author, who to me comes across as an apologist for the Cuban government, did not hide her displeasure for working conditions in the factories when she stated that these workers were forced to toil making cigars for up to 12 hours a day and it smacks of a “human zoo.””–Peter Mork, a blogger who blogs at Economics w/ A Face, giving his account of a discussion he had with a Cuban family, during his current visit to Cuba