So after we settled in and changed out of our travel clothes, we decided to walk around the town and explore what was around us. Photographically speaking, I’ve always been drawn to architecture (vintage, modern, broken down, abandoned, clean, etc). So you can imagine my fascination as we were walking up and down the blocks of Vedado. 

see some of these beauties below…

While we were on our Dora the Explorer(s), we ran into a Cuban man who spoke a bit of English. He was well-mannered and was kind enough to walk us to his restaurant, which was located outdoors aka no air conditioning. Due to the excruciating humidity and sweat literally dripping down our faces into a puddle on the menu, we decided we were going to look elsewhere for a bite to eat. Divas, I know right?! Our original quest was to find food on the Malecón anyway (Cuba’s version of a boardwalk which stretches 8 km along the Havana coast). We told the nice guy we’d be back later that night to try the drinks. We left there and as we were crossing the street, a handsome fellow in a suit and tie, who spoke even better English came up to us with his menu and swindled us in. Ol’ boy across the street saw the whole thing and all hell broke loose! He walks up to the steps of our newly chosen restaurant and has words (very loud words) with the suit-and-tie guy as well as the other staff who had come outside to mitigate. Our first day in Havana and us damn Americans caused a raucous and stirred up some restaurant street beef. Rest assured, everything settled down once we explained that we were going to go back there for drinks (plot twist: we never did). This would be yet another humbling experience. Cubans take their businesses (and most importantly their money) very seriously. I felt really bad. And for what it’s worth, the food at this new place wasn’t the greatest, but the piña colada was made to perfection. 

peep the cinnamon at the top, so delish

I bet you’re wondering if we ever made it to the Malecón. We did! We made it just in time to catch the sunset and dance to some good Spanish music. I felt like Selena in that one scene where her mother teaches her how to do the Washing Machine. LOL. This guy was playing this one song that caught my ear and I’d go on to hear it everywhere we went.  

Alas! My friends and I arrive in Havana, Cuba. We’d literally stepped off the plane into a land that would change our perspectives forever. For me, it was like stepping back into time. Instantly, a giant hush fell over our ears. Toto, we ain’t in Kansas no mo’.

Still at the airport, the first humbling encounter was el baño (for those who don’t know a lick of Spanish, I’m talking about the bathroom). We were greeted by a cute, little old lady who was rationing out toilet paper. To my surprise, as I went to take a tinkle, there were no toilet seat covers. Just plain toilet. Oh the things we take for granted!

Fast forward to us changing our Euros to Cuban pesos. It took us about 30-45 minutes for the task to be complete. Onward to finding a nice taxi driver who’d transport us to our first Airbnb in Vedado - Cuba’s central business district and urban neighborhood. Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by yet another cute, older woman named Marina. Before showing us our rooms, she handed us each a glass of fresh mango juice. ’OH MUH GAWWW’, I thought. ‘Is this what real fruit juice is supposed to taste like?’ No pulp, no additives, and it glided down ever so smoothly. I could get used to this.

Aside from what we learned in secondary and post-secondary education, none of us were that fluent in Español. The language barrier was the second humbling experience as we quickly realized we were no longer the privileged natives. Every host we encountered would predominantly speak Spanish but with the help of our memories and the Google Translate app, we managed to hold it down.

Me, being my own photographer as always lol

Jess and Jas

Krystal, the birthday girl