Like it or not, Cuba will soon never be the same. There exists a degree of innocence and contentment preserved within the locals. This phenomenon will soon vanish along with the mild socialist flavor unique to the backwards country. And anyone who knows anything about travel knows it.

La Cuna del Daiquiri, Havana

Last September, a family friend alarmed me of the situation. It sank in that this small piece of land off the shores of Florida, a neighbor to whom I never gave a second thought, was an urgent destination.

Cuba is

• Full of fiery, revolution-filled history, perfectly preserved architecture that lines narrow streets in wonderful pastels, and classic American automobiles.
• Very similar to China in the 80’s. Having been raised in America by Chinese parents, I was killing myself over wanting to see the world my parents left behind. What would Dad say is the same, what would be different?
• On the brink of being flooded by cruise lines, McDonald’s, the entire population of Miami, and more generally, as the loads of Europeans also rushing there put it, Americans period.

Airport greetings

Plaza de la Revolucion, Havana

Yes, you can go to Cuba as a US Citizen under 12 approved licenses. You can also fly in through a third, gateway country. For example, booking tickets with Cubana Airlines through a Canadian travel agent. Do I think dealing with two plane tickets and spending an extra night Mexico may be worth it?

Heck yes!!

Some of my favorite moments to convince you:

The view from Trinidad’s high point

Rooftops, mountains, and the ever faithful sea

¡Que linda, Trinidad! This town is a top hit for all visitors looking to appreciate Cuba. For a second you might believe you’re in Europe, but at the same time this place is so deeply Latin America. The dirty, cobblestone streets rest underneath restored facades painted in aquas, yellows, maroons, mints, and pinks. The landmark cathedral is in the center of the Lonely Planet walking tour on foot in La Plaza Mayor.

The palm trees blocked the cathedral front from every view

We checked out the Museo Historico Municipal and joined almost every other foreigner in town in climbing the tower, because LP said it was worth it. And it was. A light drizzle cooled us at the top of the sweeping view. The buildings were organized in rings, the red scaled roofs were just like those of Florence.

Until next time

My Coconut-Eating Cuban Puppy

Who needs bones when you can gnaw on this vegan, GF treat

We wove through the Limestone formations in Viñales National Park. Our guide (there’s actually no maps) led us to a coffee plantation where three-month-old Nina playfully bounced over to our table. I can practically see her smile in joy for every sliver of coconut flesh her puppy eyes earned her.

THOSE EYESSSS

The Wild Automobile Scene

Not tasting the rainbow, just drooling over it

The signature Cuban look in the 21st century. You can’t miss these bad boys roaming the island. Really—you’ll hear them before you even see them. The drivers take pride in the maintenance of their babies and will yell at you if you slam the doors. They actually gently snap shut. I miss sinking down into those oversized cushions and eyeing those crazy metal steering wheels. Find more car porn here.

Cheesing with Cuban children

In the working class barrios

I’m not a kids person. I usually don’t connect. My experience with Kenyan orphans improved my tolerance and love for them, and I found myself inviting them to jump in my picture. Because they were too cute.

That red lip classic thing that you like

The Hospitality of Casa Marisel

The lovely Marisel, her son, and her daughter-in-law

All meals are impressive in the Casa Particulars. These are the homes of host families who provide lodging for tourists. Dinner is far from cheap, but this time in Playa Giron, our 20CUC investment turned out to be our most memorable dining experience. We feel forever humbled by the detail and presentation of every dish. This family chatted with us on the porch after preparing our food all afternoon. They fed us fried plantains, fresh watermelon and salad vegetables, steamed beetroot, savory rice, veggie stew, and a whole fish that practically doubled the size of my face. Oh, and dessert. Marisel used to have her own hand-decorated cake business, and showed us photos of her creations larger than the size of the dining table. Somehow, somehow, my dad and I killed all the food, save maybe a third of the vanilla guava cake.

But seriously, look at this cake!!

The Swim of My Life

 

Source: ryanphotographic.com

I waddled over and the next 40 minutes were spent  in awe at the diversity of colors and shapes. I could even touch some fleeing tails if I was sneaky enough! As I put it in my journal, I was surrounded by “sapphire,”  and “it was like the pet fish store but I was inside the fish bowl.” I had never seen so many in my life. My favorite was reddish with multicolored bold scales and a veiny face. Evidently named the Spotlight Parrotfish. Our guide stayed with us the entire time and frequently checked on how we were doing. The cherry on top was playing with a tiny tropical crab like it was a balloon in the air. The little guy couldn’t swim away and I bounced it for a bit before letting it escape in relief.

As a college student who embraces the simplicity of having no ragrets, I definitely have one.

That Viñales salsa scene. 8pm first night I’m slowly fading out of consciousness in my comfy little bed after a giant, multicourse lobster dinner (the hosts obtained the seafood from the black market which is standard practice). The fan is gently blowing away the stifling humidity, the remnants of African jetlag seeping out of me. Doesn’t get much better than that. Meanwhile, the entire town is getting ready to dance the night away. They literally don’t stop until 2am. The speakers are out in the plaza and everyone—young, old, foreigners, natives—congregates for hip-swinging salsa, wild singing, and minty mojitos to keep fueled. The next day everyone we met raved about the fun memories we’d missed creating.

Viñales

If you’re an American considering having all your friends inform you that you’re out of your mind, or maybe that’s already happened, here’s some further tips:

• You will end up with two Mexican entry stamps. In Havana, kindly remind the customs officers not to stamp the actual pages of your passport. They seem to already know to stamp visas and boarding passes which are both removable. However, we later ran into one girl who had no such luck, and wasn’t sure what to do. I wouldn’t worry; officers almost never open my booklet coming back into US customs.
• Pre-order Canadian dollars to avoid the nasty 100CUC to 87USD conversion rate. It’s a government standardized price across the island.
• Don’t decide to go on a haul for fat cigars and Havana Club.
• Ask ask ask locals about public transportation. Specifically, what THEY use. I noticed the passengers on our busses were consistently all tourists. Turns out a dual system exists here, similar to China back in the day. In Havana, no matter if your trip is across the harbor or nearly an hour out to the airport, it’s less than three cents a piece on the local P busses. The six hour ride from Trinidad to Havana is 25 per person using Viazul, and you’ll get some weird looks if you ask about other options, but the Cubanos were definitely taking a less cushioned less AC-ed 3CUC ride. What’s more, the casa particulars have blue symbols (looks like a funky capital ‘i’) for foreigners and charge 25CUC for a room that sleeps three, but a red symbol will take care of the locals for 1CUC.

Soon this article will be a useless resource. But I’m telling you it’s not too late, so don’t put it off any longer! Cuba is romantic. Rustic. Rich in nature and wildlife, delicious, and absolutely sexy. Soon, you too could land in Havana and be greeted with Taylor Swift’s face singing Blank Space on the outdated TV screens (it’s not fair, how does she get to take over SOCIALIST countries too?!).