Cuba has been closed off to Americans ever since the Bay of Pigs in 1960. But that changed when President Barack Obama ended the United States embargo on the country in 2016. Thousands of Americans have begun applying for visas to the visit the country. While Americans are still not able to visit Cuba for tourist purposes, and with the future of that status currently up in the air, my wife and I recently booked a six-night vacation to Havana. According to our visas, we were there for ?journalist activity.? My particular ?journalist activity? was to test out my latest eBay acquisition?an analog-digital (ana-digi) Gul watch.

To read more about digital and ana-digi watches, read Children of the Digital Revolution.

Made by the same company that makes wetsuits, Gul watches are designed in Sweden, made with a Miyota movement and assembled in China. The watches were originally made with water sports?particularly windsurfing?in mind. It was a perfect companion for the Cuba trip. It was cheap enough (there’s one currently selling on eBay for $70) to where I didn?t mind banging it around and to where I wouldn?t mind it being stolen in a pinch. A search of recent Gul watches shows a lot of sub-par timepieces, but luckily I found one that was solidly built with great retro styling. And for the price, there’s some great built-in functionality, too. I thought it would make for a nice, summery alternative to my G-Shock. The unidirectional bezel features 360-degree bezel. ...