Viva la Cuba
I just made it back from my first international trip of 2017! Havana, Cuba was truly an amazing cultural and humbling experience. Stepping off the plane was almost like stepping back in time with all of the classic old cars sitting outside of the airport waiting to pick up those that just landed to their destinations. I had a bit of a scare waiting for my sis/travel partner Ash to land. After waiting 2 hours for her flight to land I still didn't see her walking through the exit to meet me at the currency exchange. I finally asked someone for help and turns out her flight flew to another terminal which required a taxi to get to. I asked my driver that barely spoke any English (thank God for Google translate) to take me over there. So of course she wasn't there waiting for me. After searching the entire terminal a few times I sat down and took a breath and then I looked up and saw her and my driver walk up to me. He found her! Turns out she had went to the other terminal looking for me. LOL Without phone service or wifi in another country, communicating can be difficult so I'm glad we eventually found each other. So if you're meeting up with people in another country make sure you have a plan B!
After settling in at our Airbnb and meeting our amazing host, Ruben, we grabbed food and explored the streets! On almost every corner you could hear live music so of course we were pulled in to listen and drink mojitos. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The next couple of days were filled with more exploration. We took a tour of the city and stopped at many of the major landmarks. One of my favorite experiences was a cooking class at Cafe Ajiaco in Cojimar. It was so much fun! We were able to walk to the garden where they grew their spices and herbs before they taught us how to cook an authentic Cuban meal. There was so much food I couldn't eat everything. We also learned how to make the perfect mojito. I'll definitely be playing bartender with my new skills in the near future.
We ended our stay with a special 30th birthday dinner for Ash at San Cristobal, which is where the Obamas ate when they visited Havana. The food was amazing and the service was even better. After dessert we tried a Cuban cigar and sampled 15 year old Cuban rum.
This was definitely a trip to remember. Check out pics below from our adventures in Cuba.
xoxo
Victoria
Part of our feast