You’ll find me with a cigar & some rum

When we were preparing for our trip to Cuba, we did the usual research – read some blogs, looked at TripAdvisor, tried to figure out how to enter the country. We pictured it to be like stepping back into the 50s, replete with Marilyn Monroe, CocaCola machines, Hemingway photographs, and kitchy, old-school diner 50s style here in the States.

By the time we left Cuba, we had a completely new appreciation for the island, it’s people, and it’s culture. Havana was at once gorgeous and crumbling.

The first thing we learned when we got to Havana was how generous the Cuban people are; something we experienced every day we were there. Due to the US government shutdown, our flights were extremely delayed – despite being four hours delayed without any real way of making contact and arriving at our Airbnb closer to midnight, our Airbnb host was there, waiting to help us get settled, give us some pointers, and answer any questions we had. Even through our stilted conversation (neither Chris nor I speak Spanish, and his English was rudimentary at best), he was gracious, warm, and inviting.

Our first morning, I woke up to a chorus – roosters crowing, dogs barking, and men on the street four stories below trying to start a car. From the minute they wake up to the wee hours in the morning to when they finally turn off the lights, Cubans are loud, passionate people.

Dancing, listening to music, arguing about baseball – even in the heat adults are constantly on the move, while children race each other and play with marbles in the streets.

You won’t see any Cubans in suits rushing off to work. Instead, Monday morning we saw a lot of people working to revitalize the city – safety vests, scaffolding, and the smell of paint filled the streets in various parts of Habana Vieja as we walked.

Walking down the many streets we saw buildings with magnificent French and Spanish architecture, painted bright and bold colors, but those same buildings were also in despair, crumbling before our eyes.

Even with the wear and tear, however, there were glimpses in there architecture of what was and what still could be. The Spanish and French architecture, mixed with the bright Caribbean colors and the crumbling facades made for an extraordinary visual experience.

The Cuban people are lively, content, and hard working. Everywhere we went, they were generous and appreciative of our excitement to learn about their country and their culture.