Cuba was a place I didn’t think I’d ever get to go, a forbidden destination when in school, this world trapped in time, a secret that Americans weren’t allowed to be privy to. When we were able to go, I jumped at the chance to visit. All I knew about Cuba, really, was the fact that internet was extremely difficult to find and my phone wouldn’t work there. Say goodbye to GPS. As a diagnosed sufferer of the directionally insane, this was something I needed to find a way around.

If you go to Cuba, download the app Maps.Me and save yourself a huge headache trying to get around. It can be used offline, thank the travel gods, and has all the functionality of a regular map on your smart phone.

Taxis are a thing here, all old 1950’s cars of the era, loud and cough inducing but very cool to look at. Rachel, my travel pal, and I took a tour of Havana in what we termed the Barbie Dream Car. They are cheap and a great way to ride around the city.

During our short three day stay, we stayed in an Airbnb chosen house that was honestly a rare find. The home belonged to a couple who had established themselves in Cuba and knew next to no English, renting out two bedrooms to travelers. It was interesting to communicate with them, using my high school level Spanish skills, but we managed to get by with few misunderstandings. The home was very beautiful, immaculate, and it was clear that they took pride in taking good care of the place. Apparently this is a very common practice, since Cuba just recently had to deal with a tourist influx coming from America. You know when Americans find out about the hottest new place to travel, there will be a slew of new faces ready to soak up the new cultural gem.

Of course, the very first drink we had was a $2 US Mojito. It was great! Mojitos are always great. I don’t know if it was better or worse than a great Mojito I had back home, but hey, $2 is a great price for anything these days. I think we spent a total of $20 that day.

My Security Blanket, My iPhone.

What do you do without the internet while traveling? The answer is locked inside your parents’ generation, or in your childhood if you are said generation. I am vacillating in between millennials and generation X, whatever the hell that means. In my opinion it is anyone in their 30’s who remembers a strange time before the internet, who can recall the sound of a dial up to their AOL network, who had a single family computer that you had to reserve time for to surf the web. It was a dark time, but a happy time as well, more focused on the humans around you rather than your best angle for a selfie. I remember traveling back then as something of a production, where we didn’t need to find out the yelp reviews for a restaurant before trying it.

Without it, we were at the mercy of the locals, who luckily were very helpful and nice. Though, be aware that like any country with financial woes and desperation, there will be scammers!

Do not listen to anyone who takes you to a restaurant, they have probably been paid by that restaurant to lure in obvious tourists. Try finding a place without English on the menu, or just wander into a place that looks nice. We asked our airbnb hosts where to go, and I had done some previous research on good eateries. Be a savvy traveler and don’t trust random people who seem like they “just want to help”. That might be okay in a place like Japan but not here. You don’t need to be mean or rude, just politely decline if someone asks you to a mysterious cigar festival (they don’t exist), or insist that they can help you with directions somewhere.

I know this is counterintuitive since I just said you should put your phone away and enjoy the present, but that doesn’t mean you need to be taken for a chump! Be aware of your surroundings, and try not to look like an easy target.

A City of Beautiful Decay

Havana is beautiful and sad, a city of color and despair, with decaying buildings right in front of you and a gorgeous art museum next to you. It’s a city in repair, time paused for half a decade, restricted from tourism. It’s also a joyful place, with gorgeous beaches and an authenticity that isolation can bring. Colorful, gorgeous architecture stood right next to a slummy lot of buildings affected by a slow death.

But it was still lovely, strange as it was.

Old Havana is worth walking around, and definitely check out the museums in the area. I was amazed at the quality of art created here, and the contemporary paintings were stunning and thought provoking. After wandering around the city by foot, touring around by taxi, we decided to jet over to the beaches and soak up that Havana sunshine.

Varadero

The beaches are worth checking out; I mean, it doesn’t get better than the Caribbean, honestly. I could have stayed here all day. Take a taxi out here and just chill, and don’t forget your sunscreen!

The only caveat to the beaches is how early they close. At about 6 pm the beach was closed. No restaurants were open near us, and we regretfully headed back to the city right after, stopping for some ice cream along the way; Havana heat is no joke!

Can I be Honest for a Second?

I lost most of my photographs on my previous iPhone that was stolen in a Starbucks bathroom. This included, unfortunately, my Cuban photos! But I wanted to share with you my impressions regardless. I’m picturing in my mind all the beautiful shots of the Malecon and expanding on the juxtaposition between old and new. Cuban culture is beautiful, artistic, vibrant, and changing. I loved how easy it was to appreciate the moment for what it was, and not worry about what was happening on Instaland and Facebook Way. There’s a real freedom in exploring without a guide, a sense of quiet freedom. Rachel and I relaxed into Havana, ate really bad Cuban food, (bring hot sauce to mask the unworthy blandness that attacks your sense of propriety), and had wonderful conversations getting to know each other. Sometimes it’s refreshing to detach for a while, to feel out of place, to not worry about texting so and so back right away. Who am I kidding here, it’s ALWAYS wonderful to do this. That’s what a vacation is supposed to be about, right? So these magic captured moments are all I have from our journey, but one day when I return they will be updated…

You Must Party At Fabrica de Arte Cubano

Looking for a night life experience? Head over to this art gallery turned nightlife experience, Fabrica de Arte Cubano. We found this place on recommendation of the locals, which was not scammy because we insisted they tell us what to do instead of salsa dancing. Imagine multiple stories of contemporary art, showcased by a different live band on each floor. Stylish scenesters decorate the stairs, dance floor, and you’re more than likely to meet one or more interesting travelers like yourself. If I could go back to one place in Havana, this would be it.

Nail Salon or Spin Class Studio? Both, actually.

Our last day involved an interesting time at a nail salon down the street from our Airbnb, which was a $5 gel manicure. As we were talking to these women, we saw a man in the back of the salon wearing exercise clothing, talking about the spin class later that afternoon. The manicurists chatted with us and told us that they were going to his class that afternoon.

“You girls need to come!” they insisted, showing us the small workout room in the back hallway.

“I mean, ok,” we answered, and were back later that day geared up in spandex and enthusiasm. The class was wild, with disco lights and everything, basically recreating a SoulCycle experience as best they could. Afterwards I felt faint, because spin class has never been my game, but it was fun to dance cycle to reggaeton music with our manicurists.

The Magic Ended When we Landed in Orlando.

As most things end when you arrive in Florida (hope, decency, self respect), the magic of being abroad without any obligation to the real world ended very quickly. We looked at our phones and realized that there was a very real emergency in the airline, involving a power outage that had disrupted the entire operation. Since we hadn’t been able to access our phone networks while we were away, our friends were worried that we had been lost somewhere in the system, were trapped in a random city without a hotel room booking like so many of our flight attendant friends were.

The stress returned in full force, the anxieties of American life, the undercurrents of vague anger and resignation with current politics sitting in the air. I was sad to say goodbye to Cuba, to my new travel friend, to the freedom of exploration without the attachment to technology. If there’s anything I learned by traveling to Cuba it is that I enjoy travel without too many plans in the way of enjoyment of the moment in all its purity. I like solving problems in other places, figuring out how to exist in another place using my own intuition and street smarts, and sharing the discoveries with a friend who travels in the same way.

Havana oh na na...