Top o’ the Bucket List to Ya!

Y’all. I’m going to Cuba! This has been a DREAM of mine for a while and it’s finally coming true! I cannot freaking believe it. It has been at the very top of my bucket list for a long time and it’s finally happening. To cross it off feels surreal. Well, I guess I shouldn’t technically cross it off until after I get back, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but once I booked those flights, it was so official. I was like, is this really happening?!? The opportunity came in the form of my friend, Andria, alerting me to cheap airline tickets to Cuba during July. I had just looked at my PTO the day before, realizing I had a few days left to burn this summer, so the timing could not have been more perfect. It was like God put a little present right in my lap! It took me all of 30 seconds to decide my answer was yes when she asked if I would be interested in going. I think flights are cheap this time of year because nobody is crazy enough to go to Cuba in July since it’s hot as the depths of hell, but apparently, we are! So us crazies are off to Cuba in just a matter of days. I mean, the weather has been so oppressively hot in NC that it really won’t be that different anyway. Plus, I’ve done Puerto Rico in the summer with no air conditioning (a PR post to come soon) so if I survived that, I can surely survive this. The thing about the Caribbean in the summer is you just have to accept you will be drenched with sweat all day and just roll with it, stank and all.

Now, I’m not stupid – I do understand that Cuba is not your typical country to visit. As a Communist country with strict rules over people that have been oppressed for decades, I don’t want to make assumptions about an idyllic getaway, but I still have a vision in my head similar to other Latin American countries I’ve visited. I don’t know what it is– I’m not Cuban, I’m half Puerto Rican, and the cultures aren’t necessarily that similar. But I love Latin culture in general and there’s never been a night I’ve spent dancing salsa, merengue, bachata, whatever, that was not an absolute blast! Maybe it’s because I fell in love with Miami when I went for the first time because all I did was dance every night away. And that’s the first place I had really authentic Cuban food. I love Cuban food and I always judge a place off their food and drink culture. So maybe I simply love to eat Cuban food and that’s why? Let’s be real, I just love to eat in general… Whether it’s been my experiences in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador, Nicaragua, every culture has their own unique vibration – but the focus is always on FUN and that’s the common denominator. I have never met people who love to have more fun, embrace joy and live life so openly and fully. There’s just something about Latin culture that speaks to me. I have always felt ALIVE when in these places. I guess you could say it naturally runs in my blood since I’m Puerto Rican. I will never forget a party I went to in Puerto Rico with my grandmother where she was about 70 and I was 20-ish and she danced me under a table. Literally. She actually fell down dancing and slid under a table into a puddle of beer. It’s not every day you can say you had to clean a huge beer stain off your 70-year-old grandmother’s pants. But man, that was a damn good party.

Despite my love for dancing and good food, I think my interest in Cuba honestly boils down to the concept of a place frozen in time. The thought of seeing the architecture from the 50s and the classic cars is so interesting to me. I know this is a big reason why most people go, so I know I’m not unique. But the idea of “going back in time” and almost being a fly on the wall in a time gone by in history is appealing. Now, clearly, I’m not trying to romanticize that an entire culture of people has been hindered from living freely and under the rule of a strict government for decades on end. The stories I hear about some of the Cuban people making $20-$50 an entire month are astounding and shocking. But to me, that’s even more of a reason to go support the Cuban people. Support for the Cuban People is the category you have to travel under in 2018 versus the People to People category that was allowed before the Nov. 2017 changes. So we are hoping our tourism and learning about the history of the Cuban people, staying in an Airbnb and all that will help support Cubans on a local level. Here’s what else I know about travel to Cuba in 2018:

-Your travel must fall under 1 of the 12 categories of authorized travel

-Before Nov. 2017, many used the People-to-People category, which can still be used, but under that category you have to operate under a tour company

-We chose Support for the Cuban People because it provides a bit more flexibility, even though we are still going on many guided tours

-Stay at a casa particular (Airbnb), which falls under this category, as you are supporting locals in their homes (most hotels are restricted since government owned)

-Visit local museums, take local workshop type dance classes (salsa, anyone?), visit local cigar farms, etc. – all this falls under this category as well

-Activities of at least 6 hours per weekday must fall under this Support for the Cuban People category

-Basically, just don’t support restricted government entities (that list is here)

-A tourist visa (you can obtain this through your airline or Cuba Travel Services)

-Proof of health insurance coverage abroad (your airline often provides this as well if flying from the U.S.)

-CASH ONLY – American credit cards do not work there. Their currency is the CUC and you can exchange money at the Havana airport

-A valid passport (obviously) So many people have asked me if I’m scared or worried about traveling there. I’m like, ummm no. Again, tip top of the bucket list, remember? 🙂 As long as you adhere to these rules, travel to Cuba is fine! And it is a safe country with relatively low crime. Every story I’ve heard coming out of there from friends who have been recently is positive. They all say the Cuban people are so hospitable, incredibly friendly and nothing but helpful, all while still having a strong love for their country and can’t wait to show off its beauty and treasures. I have my own expectations and assumptions about what this trip will be like, naturally, as before any trip. But instead of blabbering on about what I think Cuba will be like, I’ll just wait to post after my trip of what you can actually expect, since I will have been there. So that being said, I’ll close with the travel quote from the late Anthony Bourdain that has been floating around: “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you – it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart and on your body. You take something with you… hopefully, you leave something good behind.” I’m ready for permanent marks on my soul and mind. I’m willing to be broken open, if that’s what is required. And I can only hope I leave a little something good behind.