Why go to Cuba? That is the question that I was asked so many times. 🙄 Well I am from Florida, and I grew up learning so much about Cuba, Fidel Castro and the entire Cuban missiles ordeal. As I've gotten older, I've wanted to know more about it, so I decided to do a trip to Cuba. 🤷 I didn't want to go by myself because I have heard so many horrible stories but no one wanted to go with me. I never let that stand in my way so I booked the flight anyway. In the end, I'm glad that I did go by myself because I learned so much and was able to truly enjoy the country.
When I arrived at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, there was a 2 hour wait. There was paperwork that I had to fill out in order to go and I was the only black person in line. So, I was a little nervous. While in line, everyone was telling me all of these horrible things about Cuba. I was beginning to think that I had made a mistake. As soon as I got off the plane, I noticed that everything that they said, was not necessarily true. First and foremost, the people were so nice They greeted me and were warm and welcoming. That's the first thing I noticed. The second thing that I noticed is many of the Cubans looked just like me and embraced me.
My driver was already at the airport, so we got in the car and drove to Havana. It was about a 30-minute drive. As I was looking out the window, which I always do when I'm on a drive in a new country, I noticed that Cuba kind of looked like any other country that I've been to. 🤷 It looked like it could have been Egypt or Guatemala. I really want you all to understand that I had been told horrible things, so I was expecting the worst in every way imaginable.
After the pictures we went to drinks for Mojitos and talk. This was my first introduction to Obama. Well I'm lying. Anita also spoke about Obama when I arrived, but this was my first in depth talk. It would NOT be my last. The people love him. My mojito was just okay which was a little disappointing because I had heard that the drinks in Cuba were amazing.
I went back to my Airbnb and there is a new restaurant right next door to my Airbnb. So, I decided to have dinner there. The tacos were amazing. The pina colada was pretty good. At this time, I'm kind of realizing that everything that people have told me about Cuba so far is not the truth because the food was flavorful. They made me bring salt and pepper with me, filling my head up with lies, and I didn't need it at all.
On day two, I did a tour of Havana. We did it in the car. It was the best tour. I really enjoyed it. We went to the Jesus statue that I didn't even know that they had. Then we went to Revolution Square, which I was very interested in because I wanted a picture with the infamous Che Guevara building. I really enjoyed my time there. We went through this forest where they sometimes do Santeria rituals and the smell...... Oh my God...... Because they do animal sacrifices out there the smell was good and terrible, which was kind of sad because the forest itself was so nice. However it was really beautiful and inside the forest there is the oldest tree in Cuba, which was breathtaking.
Another thing that's going on in Cuba is there's a huge movement, kind of like the Black Lives Matter movement. It's called 2 + 2 = 5. You will see this all-around Havana.
Afterwards we went to another Airbnb that is also a bar. I love this Airbnb because they have the cutest little chairs that were made out of bicycles. They were so cute. I really want one from my house and we had some drinks. I had a limonade, which was amazing. Cuba really has the limonade game on lock.
Next, we to a Rumba. We were warned before we got there to not take any big items with us, to stay close to our guide and etc. So, I was a little nervous because why do we need to be warned???? 🤔 But when we got there, the party was not happening because the host of the party was in Mexico. Whew! Instead we ended up just walking through the hosting site. They are very, very much into African religions that were brought on to the island when the slaves arrived. As we walked, our tour guide pointed out different things that went with the different religions like the goddess Oshun or like this chair that was representing good luck.
After lunch we walked through old Havana. I didn't really like this part of the tour because when you travel you always have the option to go into a slum, favela or shanty town. I never go because I don't feel like their life and/or their lifestyle is something for me to look at as if they are an exhibit at the zoo.
We went to a flea market. I was very, very hot by this time. The heat in Cuba is not like anything else that you will experience and I'm from Florida! 😂 I decided to go to this ice cream market that ended up having the best ice cream. Oh my God... it was called wafer. But in the United States, especially amongst the black community, we call it bananas pudding. It was so good but ooh I don't know what they put in that ice cream but later on that night my stomach did not agree with me..... so be careful if you have it.
We ended the tour by visiting the community that is the birth place of the movement the 2 + 2 equals 5. The first thing that I noticed is there were a lot of cops and the second thing that I noticed was the energy of the people. There were a lot of murals around in that area The people were dancing... poor but happy ... beat down but vibrant ... lied on but still smiling... resilient ... and that that is what stayed with me the most about my time in Havana, Cuba.
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