Cuba
(Scroll down to view slide show of all photos)
Cuba: A highly anticipated journey. It's one place I never thought I'd have a chance to visit (I always say this but we all know Cuba is a little different than most countries.) Not only has travel restriction for Americans been strict for many years but it just generally seemed like some forbidden land. There was so little I knew about Cuba all these years and now my eyes have opened up to understanding it a whole lot more than I ever thought. I find the political history to be very complex. I will not attempt to explain too much about the history as I'm afraid I will get it wrong or even speak badly as to offend the rich Cuban culture. One thing I know for certain, for a Cuban to speak harshly about it's political climate was basically forbidden and a punishable offense for many years. Those times have changed quite a bit and residents can now discuss more openly about the country's past, current, and future status. I was able to get a lot of information straight from locals, especially from my host couple in Havana, Monica and Jorge. They described the time during and after notorious Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's passing. "When Fidel passed away and the exchange of power was taking place the whole country kind of held their breath in fear of this next transition and then nothing really happened. Life here continued surprisingly without much disruption. It was like bracing for a terrible storm that never really came" said Monika.
Let's continue my Cuba story from the beginning. My cousin Miguel invited me to join him on his 3rd trip to Cuba in 6 months. When he really likes a place he has no problem returning for multiple visits. He also did about 3 trips to Colombia in 2 years. "Cubans are just really chill" he'd say. "So what's our plan when we get there? Should we book a hotel?" I'd ask. "No. Dont worry about it. We'll figure it out when we get there." "Don't worry about it?" "Yea its not like that there. Things are different. Cuz they don't got the internet there so you don't book things online. We'll probably stay at an AirBnb. My taxi driver friend will probably pick us up" Needless to say, I was skeptical about his whole Dont-worry-about-it attitude. His taxi driver friend? This whole plan sounded sketchy. But he and I are really close so, to be honest, I really trust my cousin.
Fast forward to our arrival at Havana International Airport. Who's there waiting for us with his car? None other than Miguel's taxi driver friend Victor. He picked us up with a big smile and a hug and we all shared a beer together before even leaving the airport. Victor was even nice enough to give Miguel his extra personal cell phone. This is my introduction to Cuba; super friendly people I've never met picking us up from the airport and giving us cell phones! Victor it turns out is a great guy. "I'm like Miguel's father when he's in Cuba." This statement completely won me over. This man really cares about my cousin Miguel not only as a friend but as a son. I'm starting to feel like we're gonna be in good hands on our trip.
Miguel is really surprising me with how right he was about everything. It was so chill immediately upon arrival and his friend Victor is all ready to take us on two stops before we begin site seeing in Havana. First stop, is to the home of a local resident to exchange our American dollar bills for Cuban pesos. This was this man's 'side hustle.' This might be a perfect time to explain some specifics about how Cuba works. Cubans average an income of about $10 a month, or 10 Cuban pesos (the exchange rate is basically 1-1.) Needless to say this is hardly enough to survive on. Even a doctor will make about $10 a month. Income can be higher for people of authority I believe, like a government official or police officer. In case you didn't know, Cuba is a communist country. So the idea is that all people are equals and no one should make more money than anyone else. Whether you're a waiter or an engineer, you should earn the same. The good thing is that you don't have to worry about being poor or going hungry the government will take care of you one way or another and you will be of equal status as anyone else. The problem is.... a waiter makes as much as an engineer! There is little to no opportunity to build a life for yourself beyond a life the government has basically provided you. There are few luxuries in Cuba. Saving up for a big house and big car isn't common practice because you won't make enough money to do it. Not to mention there's a limited number of 'big cars' to choose from as imported good are very limited and currently most resources come from Venezuela through an exchange agreement made some years ago. Specifically, you will mostly see 3 types of cars from 3 different time periods; the recognizable classic 1950's American classics you might notice from many photos, small 1980's Russian cars, and more recently Chinese. Anyway, whatever luxuries a Cuban might want to obtain they can do so by having one or more side job. Often legitimate, but occasionally you gotta break the rules (or the law.) In this case, our new friend is making a profit from trading our American dollars for pesos. And we get a better deal than the airport would give us. Thanks to Victor and Miguel's preparation I was able to save $50. Not bad.
For our next stop Victor takes us to check in and drop off our bags at our AirBnb in an upscale neighborhood just outside of downtown Havana called Miramar. Our hosts, Monica and Jorge live about a 15 minute cab ride from Old Havana. Not too far. Both Monica and Jorge are very smart college educated people. Monica studied design and her art work can be seen displayed all over the home. I enjoyed discussing my photography with her. Jorge studied engineering. He loved to talk about everything and I tried to learn as much as I could from him. By the way, only Spanish was spoken throughout this entire trip. Thank you to my Abuela for always letting me practice my Spanish with her. Gracias, Abuela. Also, Monica and Jorge's 'side hustle', is housing tourists in their home as a bed and breakfast. All sources of business and income must be reported to the government. Which technically is no different than here in America. But still, in Cuba you can't do anything without permission. No one wants trouble with the authorities in Cuba. And in fact I was told on multiple occasions that compared to other countries crime in Cuba is virtually nonexistent.
Finally, Victor drops off me and Miguel at a restaurant near Old Havana. We're starving and immediately enjoy our first meal in Cuba. It's a nice large restaurant that I believe was also a brewery. It was located along the harbor. Local Havana food is a bit hit or miss in my opinion. Most plates you find are not big and elaborate dishes as we might be used to in the United States. Most dishes are usually a rice, beans and meat type of dish. They're generally pretty good. I find any type of fish or sea food to be the best option. Finding a restaurant that will impress you might be a bit more challenging but it's a big city and if you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find something to please you. Here, at this brewery, I enjoyed rice, beans, and fish. It was good! And I enjoyed the live Salsa band. Cubans basically only listen to Salsa music all day and night, no exageration. I basically just heard salsa everywhere I went. However, later in the evening I came across an acoustic act who played the Cuban classic tune Guantanamera. Cuban beer is typical latin style. Light and crisp.
Anyway, after our meal we began exploring Old Havana by foot. We continued as long as the light rain would allow. A cyclone had been circling the island for the past month and it's been raining on and off daily according to the locals. After about a 60 minute walk we came across a historic beautiful plaza called Plaza Vieja. Here we decided would be a good place to relax and enjoy some drinks, including some of the local favorite Havana Club rum, and a classic cuban coffee. Coffee is served in small servings but as a stronger espresso style. The restaurant we chose was on the second floor where the entire restaurant opened up to a balcony over looking the plaza. We spent the first part of our evening here until dark. And just to fast forward a bit we also spent our next sunset in the same exact spot. We really enjoyed this restaurant for its location mostly, but also the service, the view, and it was basically empty and all to ourselves both evenings. We ended our first night in Havana enjoying an energetic and young live salsa band at a very small bar/lounge. It felt very intimate and hip and was located just on the other end of Plaza Vieja; a 5 minute walk from the other restaurant.
Let's discuss mornings in Cuba. Every morning of our stay in Cuba began with a freshly made Cuban style breakfast prepared at the hands of our very own hosts. For $5 our breakfast included fried eggs, toast, cream cheese, freshly made fruit juice, freshly sliced fruit, coffee, and fresh yogurt. For me, the best part is the fresh juice. It is a staple in many Latin American countries. Perhaps the meal might not sound like much, but when it's fresh and prepared with love you can taste the difference. Our hosts in Trinidad would later provide the same. Our second day in Havana the sun came out and the memory of the cyclone seems to be disappearing. We spent the whole day just walking around Havana. We had some difficulty finding a spark of excitement. It was mostly just site seeing and looking at the architecture. After a long day of walking we decided to end the day at the restaurant in Plaza Vieja. Here we celebrated our second day of our trip with lots of rum. We made some friends. And had a great rest of our evening. Miguel made a few phone calls to our good friend Victor. They arranged a driver next morning for our 4 hour journey to another part of Cuba called Trinidad.
After an early breakfast, we met with our driver Alayn who was ready to take us to Trinidad. I had heard that Trinidad is a beautiful picturesque beach town. Very peaceful and quiet. And we left New York City for some peace and quiet. So we were ready to go. The drive was supposed to be 4 hours. After our first hour we came across a road block where officers said we were required to take an alternate route that would add an extra 2 hours to our journey. We were a bit dissapointed but It wasnt too much trouble as neither Miguel nor I were driving. I had my book to keep me busy and Miguel had a bottle of rum. The officers also informed us that the roads we closed due to flooding from the storm that had been hitting the island the past month. Apparently a car got swept by the current while trying to cross the road. A tourist got trapped inside the car and was unable to open a door or window and drowned. At this point I'm noticing the first thing I don't like too much about Cuba. The cars are really unsafe. I drove in about 5 different cars during my stay and not a single one of them had seat belts. And in the 6 hours I sat in Alayn's car I never could figure out how to open the door. Or even the window. Most vehicles in Cuba are self maintained. Repairs are not necessarily professionally done. Cubans don't have money or resources to have things professionally repaired. They kind of just fix things themselves.
Upon arriving in Trinidad at around 5pm we enjoyed a meal at a restaurant recommended by Alayn. The sea food was great. As I mentioned, always go for the sea food when in Cuba. While speaking to Alayn I learned that he studied film at university. People in Cuba will always surprise you with their education. It's because, you see, in Alayn's case being a driver was his 'side hustle.' Everyone has a side hustle. They don't make enough money with their originial profession so in some ways their education will go to waste. This is also why in Cuba you see a lot of people just hanging around socializing. You wonder what they do all day. It's because they choose not to work. To them it is not worth it to be paid so little if the government will provide them food and shelter regardless.
We spent the evening at the beach where I got attacked by mosquitos. Worse than I've ever been attacked in years. They come out much more aggressively at night. Please, bring bug spray to Cuba. I was bit about 50 times this evening.
During our stay in Trinidad we stayed with another host family in the city center. It was actually an even nicer place than our house in Havana. Trinidad is a small historical city. I use the term 'city' loosely as it is quite small and quiet. It's very beautiful. It's basically a tinier, more warm, more relaxed version of Havana. You can see most of the town by foot in one day. The colorful architecture is so beautiful and looks great in photos. We returned to the beach the next day where I got badly sunburnt. Bug spray and also sunblock, people! The water is calm and quiet. Very few people at the beach. Just the peace and quiet I was looking for. We were told this part of Cuba had better weather and we would not have to worry about the cyclone disrupting our fun. We heard correct. Beautiful hot sunny weather. At this point it is our third day on the island and also our third day without internet. Now would be a good time to talk about internet in Cuba. Internet was non existant until about 10 years ago. Now, unless you are staying at a fancy hotel, tourists get internet the same way most locals get internet. You must go to a local telecommunications store where they sell a limited number of cards, similar to long distance calling cards you might find here in the US. These cards are sold for about $1 each providing 1 hour of internet with a login and password. The wifi connection can be found at specific local parks. In Trinidad these parks are easy to spot. It is the only place in Cuba where you will see people staring at their phone. I bought my card and logged in for the fastest 40 minutes of internet ever. I was happy to log out as well. I really enjoyed being disconnected during my stay. This hour card was the only internet access I had. 1 hour for 5 days.
In Trinidad, Miguel was familiar with a restaurant that he highly recommended. It did not disappoint. From the outside it was very unassumming but inside opened up to an oasis. Flowers and plants surrounding the walls and there wasn't much of a roof. The door opened up to an outdoor seating area. Indoor seating was also available. We ordered the lobster and it was amazing. It was here I discovered that Cuba is actually quite famous for their mojitos. They are modestly served but the flavor from the mint herbs is to die for. It was the best mojitos I've ever had. Even if you're not a fan you need to have one good mojito before you leave. Choose your source wisely. Trinidad is filled with $1 mojito deals where you will get what you pay for. We spent the evening enjoying the popular nightclubs and bars all within walking distance of each other. We saw some traditional Cuban music with more African root and of course salsa. Another great night for us.
On our last morning in Trinidad we had just enough time to arrange for a taxi ride to the nearby mountains where we could find a hiking trail which lead to a beautiful waterfall and lagoon. And that's exactly what we did. The trail started off hot and sweaty but we remedied that with a quick dip in the river. The current can be quite strong at times but was mostly calm during our visit and certain parts are perfectly calm and easy to swim in. The waterfall was worth the 45 minute hike. It was rock area surrounded by stalagmite rock formations and a cave-like structure. It was blue, clear, and refreshing. A true paradise all to ourselves. Visiting a waterfall during your stay in Trinidad is a must so make sure you do it. I understand horseback riding, sugar cane, and tobacco plantations are also popular where I hear you can get a freshly rolled Cuban cigar.
Thank you, Cuba for treating us so well. On your way back make sure to exchange your money back to dollars before leaving Cuba. It is virtually impossible to exchange your money once in the US. I learned this the hard way.
I learned a lot and have nothing but great things to say. Cuba really is unlike any other place. Their way of life is completely differently than anything you will find. The laid back culture was reminiscent of my time in Thailand but without the violence and corruption. It was the land of smiles but where the smiles were real. If you want to really escape it all come to Cuba.
