So, about a month ago, I went to Havana, Cuba. And I can whole-heartedly say it was the best experience I’ve ever had.
But let me explain and give you the deets why I feel an extreme connection to Havana, Cuba, and why I think it is a place that everyone can fall in love with. And oh yeah, how I almost did not go!
A brief preface is needed before I start my story:
I’m from a small Southwest Florida beach town, and before going to Cuba, I had never left the United States (aside from the occasional family cruise to the Bahamas). My grandmother, known as Abita, was born in Havana, Cuba. Her family in Cuba was very well off and well-known politically; my great-great-grandpa was like a modern-day John Roberts.
But everything changed in 1961 when my grandmother was sent on a “peter pan” plane with only her older brother, cousins, and dozens of other Cuban children fleeing to the United States due to fear of Fidel Castro’s rising control. Abita was only ten years old when she had to say good-bye to her home, her parents, her Cuba… not knowing she would never return again.
Growing up, I had this great illustration of what Cuba was. Abita made sure to keep the legacy of ‘her Cuba’ and family alive by sharing stories with all my cousins and me when we’d visit. She had made it sound like it was a paradise island, and what kind of kid would not want to see a place that they’ve been told is unique and wonderful their whole life?
How I Ended Up in Havana, Cuba: (on the day I was supposed to driving back to college)
I had just finished up spending my summer at home, and on my last day, before I was planning on driving back to my university, I decided to have lunch with Abita. When I arrive at our lunch spot, I see my two aunts and my grandpa all in the booth I was designated to sit in. They explain to me how they are finalizing these plans for all of them to go to Cuba for my Aunt Sterling’s 40th birthday.
Rewind for a second: I knew about this trip they were planning at the beginning of summer and was all for joining them, but I found out I could not because their trip date falls on the first day of my fall semester classes. My university has a strict policy that automatically, if a student misses the first day, that student is dropped from that class. Bittersweetly, I decided that securing my classes was more critical in the long run.
While at lunch, though, I could tell that something was up like everyone had something on the tip of their tongues they were holding in. Until finally, Abita told me. She explained that there was a complication in getting her visa to go back to Cuba since she was born there and that her papers ultimately would not come in time for the trip. She was asking me to take her place… she wanted me to go to Cuba for her, explicitly saying, “If my eyes can’t see it, I want my granddaughter’s eyes to see it and see what Cuba is.”
I was speechless, to say the least, and I just remember my aunts and grandfather egging me on to go with them. All my grandmother’s expenses had been paid, so it would have all been wasted if no one had gone, and she wanted me to. Out of everybody, she knows she chose me. Not only did I want to go, but now I almost felt a duty or responsibility to go and see Cuba for Abita and to try and keep her memories of it alive.
After what seemed that 50 phone calls within four hours, I decided Havana or bust!
What Went Down in Cuba: (‘The Paradise Island’)
Living super close to Havana from Florida, we decided to take a boat to the island. Once we arrived at the docks and I could see the tops of the Cuban buildings, I could feel a giant bubble in my chest, like a mix of nerves, excitement, and the coffee I had drunk on the boat. I remember thinking, “I am here, I am going to see the place that I have heard about my whole life… it’s in front of me!” Once we all got through customs, which seemed to take a lot longer than it should have, we walked out of the building and right into the middle of this town square. Once I felt the Cuban soil beneath my feet, I started balling like a baby. I just kept thinking about Abita and how it was her home and how she was forced to leave. It was all a lot to take in, and I was getting really emotional, and we had just been in Havana for less than five minutes. But as I am trying to get myself under control, I look forward, and I see both my aunts crying too. I instinctually run over to them and hug them, and I just remember hugging them and crying. As we start walking from the square, we meet our tour guide and walked all over Havana, Cuba. We grabbed lunch, and growing up eating home-cooked Cuban food, I was in heaven. Being vegetarian and in Havana, I never really felt left out of trying foods. I think I had rice and beans with almost every meal and so much Cuban coffee I hardly sleep our first night.
As I mentioned, this whole trip was planned for my Aunt Sterling, who was turning 40. Our group was me and about 15 other 30-40-year old’s. My Uncle really spared no expense for her. We stayed in an Airbnb with 12 rooms and 12 bathrooms and A/C, which is very rare for where we were. Highly recommend Airbnb in Havana. Ours was almost like a hotel, except we were conveniently right outside the city and got to have genuine conversations with the landlords. Since we were celebrating my Aunt’s birthday, we did some fancy tourist things. We started our first night off at Hotel Nacional de Cuba with mojitos and Cuban cigars. The hotel was stunning, kind of reminded me of like roaring twenties old-money type of place. And the view… it is placed perfectly on top of a hill that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. After we grabbed a quick bite to eat, we went to the Tropicana. I would compare the Tropicana show to like seeing something on Broadway. I do not know if I’d put it on my “must-do” list just because it is pretty pricy. But I think if you are into exotic shows with colorful costumes, it could be worth it.
Our second day in Cuba was probably my favorite, mainly for personal reasons. Around 8:00am, my Aunts and Uncles and I walked five blocks from our Airbnb to the house Abita used to live in. As we got closer to the house that my grandmother remembers being pearl white with a checkered tile front porch, we see two ladies standing on the balcony. Once we arrive, we immediately get teary-eyed as the house that Abita described seems to be completely different. It was now different purple and green shades and was now separated into four separate “apartments.” We see the ladies looking at us while we all are pointing, staring, and taking pictures of the house. My Aunt Monet explains to them in Spanish that this is the house her mother grew up in.
Instantly the ladies began to smile and open up; they asked us her name when she left, how she left, and about a thousand other questions. They even go so far as to invite us in to see the inside! Being inside Abita’s childhood home was surreal. It was nothing like she had described. It was not one house anymore, and four families lived in it. While being in her house was unreal, I also could not believe the amount of compassion the Cuban ladies living in the house had for us. Just the fact that they see these Americans looking at their house and pointing and taking pictures and realize the sentimental value it had to us and invite us in to see their home, to see how they live. I mean, they even made us Cuban coffee to have while we talked. The hospitality that these women showed us is something I will never forget. They even told us the next time we are in Cuba, we have a place to stay because this will always be our home.
Pro Tip: Highly recommended refreshing on some of that required high school Spanish you took because, if my Aunt Monet had not spoken any, we would not have formed the relationships we did with the current families living in my grandma’s house. If you know Spanish, I highly recommend going up to the Cuban people and just talking to them. We all agreed that while they seem stand-offish toward Americans and tourists once we initiated a conversation, they had so much to say, and for the most part, very helpful!
It was tough to follow the incredible experience I had had at only eight in the morning, but as we were wrapping up our second and last day in Havana, we ended with a tour of the city by 1950s convertibles. Riding around Havana in a convertible was definitely my second favorite memory in Cuba. I was sitting shotgun with my Aunt Monet and Uncle Tommy in the back, windows down, feeling the Cuban air hit my face and flow through my hair. As we are cruising, our driver puts on the song Havana by Camila Cabello. At that moment, I was ecstatic, because of course, that song was on repeat in my brain for the past two days, and now I hearing it in Havana while riding in an old-time convertible. But my farewell in Cuba gets even sweeter.
Just as we are finishing up the tour and the driver is headed en route to the boat docks, a sprinkle of rain becomes a heavy one. Since we are in a convertible with the top down, our driver has to pull over to put up the top manually. As my Aunt, Uncle, and I get out of the car onto the city block, it just begins to rain harder and harder. Now for many, I am sure heavy rain in the middle of your convertible tour ride would kill your vibe…but on the contrary, I embraced it. I got out of where we were standing undercover and just danced in the rain. I was in complete bliss. Growing up in Southwest Florida, afternoon rain showers were a typical occurrence, and every time Abita and my cousins and I would get stuck in the rain, she would always embrace it. Abita would call out to my cousins and me, “It’s time for your Cuban showers!” as when she was growing up in Cuba, it was something she would do. Now here I am in Havana, Cuba, dancing in the rain, getting a “Cuban Shower.”
While I boarded our ship home wet and cold, I don’t think I would have wanted it any other way. Many odd and lucky coincidences allowed me to hold this trip to Cuba so close to my heart. Looking back, I would not have traded it for anything. Thinking about it, the fact that I almost did not go really makes me sad. Through my story, I hope you get a greater appreciation for Cuba and are inspired to just shut up and go like I did because you never know when you are gonna have the best time of your life, but you will always remember it.
