Cuba was LIT!
Cuba will always and forever hold a special place in my heart. The people. The culture. The land. The air, food, heat, all of it. E V E R Y T H I N G !
Sun? Kissed.
Life? Changed.
Sitting on the floor in the farthest, dirtiest corner of the Fort Lauderdale Airport I had no idea my life was going to change forever. Actually, in all honesty everything leading up to my trip felt somehow big and significant; getting my passport, brushing up on my Spanish, even picking my outfits for the ‘gram all seemed like intentional steps along this path to a really great experience.
Stepping off the plane was like going backward in time.
The relationship between Cuba and the US is…let’s go with ‘strained’ as far the governments are concerned which made for an even more exciting trip.
Now full disclosure: I don’t like surprises. I think they can be really cool for other folks but, as for me and my house…imma need a heads up.
Suffice it to say, as far as Cuba goes I wanted to as prepared as possible. Cuba doesn’t accept US currency or credit cards (Cuba & America have BIG BEEF) and charges hella fees for roaming if you even think about using your cellphone. It honestly sounds bad but, it ended up being one of my favorite things about the trip. Walking into the airport I soon realized I DEFINITELY did not practice my Spanish enough because HONEYYY that is ALL anyone was speaking. Baggage claim went smoothly enough and customs was a breeze. A large part of the Cuban economy is supported through tourism and everyone made me feel super welcome despite my subpar Spanish and sweat soaked T-shirt’s.
I flew solo into Havana and the plan was to meet friends at the airport so we could head over to the airbnb downtown. The plan was simple enough and we all felt super good about not being able to use cellphones and coordinate a meetup. I love a plan and this was a really good one, especially with me having mild anxiety about arriving first.
Fun fact: Havana has TWO airport sites FULLY across town from each other!
An hour and a half after my friends’ arrival time I slowly came to terms with the fact they had been fully kidnapped ‘Taken’ style but more importantly had left me alone in the airport reeling from the disorientation of a plan being changed. At the two hour mark I did the unthinkable: turned on my cell phone data and texted the group chat. Turns out they flew into the other airport and had been waiting on me! Y’all! I. Was. Hot. I mean definitely excited they made it blah, blah, blah but I mean I was BURNING in the Cuban heat.
Some kind of self preservation mechanism switched on in my brain because babyyyyy I ordered a taxi PERFECTLY and ended up beating my friends to the house!
I had the most insane and amazing time! My plan is to detail our activities ina separate post but let me just say…2-for-1 MOJITOS are both a gift & a curse!
