An American in Cuba
Fact vs. Fiction: Can U.S. citizens visit Cuba?
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For many years I thought it was illegal for Americans to visit Cuba. Even when I heard President Obama had started repairing relations with the Cuban government, I didn't quite understand the rules about visiting. I had heard of others visiting on cruises or organized tour groups, but that's not my style. I love to step into the life of the locals as much as possible when I travel, so I scoured the internet and tour books to find out how I could legally do that in Cuba.
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First things first- Cuba welcomes Americans. It's the U.S. government that doesn't want Americans patronizing businesses owned and operated by the Cuban government, which includes most Cuban tourism companies and many hotels. That means you have to spend your money with the locals to be in compliance.
When you book a plane ticket to Cuba, you will have to select a reason from a drop down box of choices. If you're going for a visit on your own, you select "In Support of the Cuban People." You don't need to apply for a visa to go. All you have to do is purchase a "tourist card" before boarding your flight for $50. It says "visa" on it, but it's not the traditional type of visa that involves a bunch of paperwork. After you book a flight, you choose a place to stay. A "casa particular" is a private residence available for rent from a Cuban citizen. Ours was an apartment we rented for a nominal price on AirBnB. There are also a few privately owned hotels.
Finally, you need to create an itinerary. American citizens can visit Cuba, but you can't just lay on the (gorgeous) beaches the whole time. Because you are traveling "In Support of the Cuban People" you are required to learn about Cuban culture. Weekends are free to do what you want, but weekdays must consist of at least 6 hours of cultural activities. It sounds like a lot, but it's really not. Things like visits to museums, art displays, salsa dancing classes, cooking classes, and architecture or history tours all count. Sitting down and discussing life in Cuba and Cuban politics with your AirBnB host counts, which we did a lot. We created a detailed itinerary of everything we wanted to do, and came up with plenty of activities to meet the requirements, most of which we would have done even if it wasn't required. You should save your itinerary after your trip, because the U.S. government can ask to look at it for up to five years after traveling. We were a little nervous about traveling into an unknown like Cuba, but had no issues going in and out of immigration in either country.
When you book a plane ticket to Cuba, you will have to select a reason from a drop down box of choices. If you're going for a visit on your own, you select "In Support of the Cuban People." You don't need to apply for a visa to go. All you have to do is purchase a "tourist card" before boarding your flight for $50. It says "visa" on it, but it's not the traditional type of visa that involves a bunch of paperwork. After you book a flight, you choose a place to stay. A "casa particular" is a private residence available for rent from a Cuban citizen. Ours was an apartment we rented for a nominal price on AirBnB. There are also a few privately owned hotels.
Finally, you need to create an itinerary. American citizens can visit Cuba, but you can't just lay on the (gorgeous) beaches the whole time. Because you are traveling "In Support of the Cuban People" you are required to learn about Cuban culture. Weekends are free to do what you want, but weekdays must consist of at least 6 hours of cultural activities. It sounds like a lot, but it's really not. Things like visits to museums, art displays, salsa dancing classes, cooking classes, and architecture or history tours all count. Sitting down and discussing life in Cuba and Cuban politics with your AirBnB host counts, which we did a lot. We created a detailed itinerary of everything we wanted to do, and came up with plenty of activities to meet the requirements, most of which we would have done even if it wasn't required. You should save your itinerary after your trip, because the U.S. government can ask to look at it for up to five years after traveling. We were a little nervous about traveling into an unknown like Cuba, but had no issues going in and out of immigration in either country.
The Food
What's available to eat in Cuba is largely determined by what the Cuban government imports and what they allow citizens to produce. Pork and chicken are the two main proteins, and are served with just about every meal. Shrimp and some fish are available too, but beef is hard to find and very expensive for the average Cuban to buy. There is no fast food in Cuba, since the country is still closed off to U.S. businesses. Most meals are freshly prepared and consist of a meat, rice or beans, and locally grown vegetables.
An authentic Cuban dinner prepared especially for our group. On the table is chicken, pork, rice, beans, fried plantains, cucumbers, avocados, and a boiled Cuban root vegetable. Delicious!
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A typical meal at a restaurant in Cuba. Chicken, black beans, cucumbers, and some other boiled root vegetables. Bottled mineral water on the side, since you can't drink the water in Cuba.
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A breakfast prepared especially for our group by the cook at our AirBnB. Sliced meat and cheese, white bread, plantains, some pastries from a box, and fresh fruit- pineapple, mango, and guava.
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Street fairs are common in Havana. We walked from vendor to vendor sampling different meats roasted over open spits. Meals in Cuba are cheap for the average American, costing only $1-$5 at street vendors and about $10 at sit down restaurants in tourist areas.
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The Russian influence in Cuba is still noticeable. Nazdarovie! is owned by Russians that stayed after the fall of the Soviet Union. This restaurant was one of the finer ones we visited, with chocolate cake- a delicacy- available on the menu.
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A Russian-inspired Cuban meal at Nazdarovie! Real mashed potatoes, stroganoff made with pork, and beets.
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The Art
What do you do for fun when you aren't constantly scrolling through Facebook on your smartphone or binge watching Netflix?
You create beautiful music, dance, and art.
You create beautiful music, dance, and art.
A mosaic at "Fusterlandia", one of the highlights of our trip.
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Cuban artist Jose Fuster has created an Alice-in-Wonderland-like oasis in his neighborhood.
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It's filled with colorful, quirky sculptures. Mosaic tiles cover nearly every square inch of the neighborhood in Havana.
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The best part is that it's free to visit. Just walk right in and explore the wacky world. You might even run into the artist, who lives in this magical landscape.
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Throughout the rest of the city- graffiti and other street art fills the walls of abandoned buildings.
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You'll even find gigantic pieces of art sprinkled randomly throughout Havana's streets.
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The Architecture
Havana is the city that once was- or maybe it still is- if you can look past the dust and dilapidation. Havana can't hide it's history, and that's all part of the charm. You'll find buildings that have been newly renovated situated right next to others that are in crumbling ruins. There is a movement underway by the government and Cuban people to bring Havana's buildings back to life, but there's still a long way to go. It's easy to see the art deco influence in Havana's architecture, the brightly colored pastel buildings a sign of the city's heyday in the 20s and 30s.
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Our AirBnB is the green one above.
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The Cars
Before visiting I read all about the retro cars we'd see in Havana, but I was surprised at how many there actually were on the roads. While there were some modern cars, the majority were decades old. Vehicles and gasoline are very expensive for Cubans, and most people do not own a car. Many of the brightly colored vintage American cars serve as taxis and tourist cars. They're parked on just about every block near the main hotels. You can hitch a ride in one of the always popular pink convertibles for $40 USD an hour. You can easily squeeze 4-5 people in one though, as there are no seat belts in any of the older vehicles.
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The People
The best thing about Havana, by far, is the people. Our group rented an AirBnB for the week, in an authentic inner city Havana neighborhood. The sidewalks were broken (and we had the stubbed toes to prove it). There were exposed wires in buildings. There were potholes in the roads, and garbage piled sky high on the streets...but the Cubans we met didn't seem to notice or mind. They were some of the happiest, friendliest, warmest people I've ever met. We talked to people everywhere, and most of them greeted us with a little curiosity and a smile. Very few people spoke English, but they were patient with our group of Americans as we tried our best to communicate in Spanish. We felt safe everywhere we went, and felt welcomed by everyone.
Our awesome translator Alexander who works for the AirBnB's owner. He taught himself English as a kid and has been able to make a living as a translator. He helped us arrange anything we needed that was above our Spanish level!
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Yeli is the housekeeper and cook for the AirBnB. She made us delicious, authentic Cuban meals and gave us tips on the best beaches to visit. We loved hanging out with Yeli and asking each other about life via Google translate.
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