Having recently spent the better part of 4 weeks in Palm Beach, FL, where I was becoming a regular at Havana’s Restaurant (order the Lechon Asado con Cebolla!) I was looking forward to traditional Cuban food. Unfortunately I was in for a big surprise. Apparently the best Cuban food is at Cuban restaurants outside of Cuba (like in Budapest believe it or not). You see, Cuba has limited resources due to the embargo, so most meals consist of rice, beans, pork, beans, pork, rice, rice, pork, beans, rice, beans & pork. Or pizza. Really cheap bad pizza sans sauce. One of the few exceptions is breakfast where you can at least get some eggs, and some fresh fruit smoothies to hold you over until your pork, rice and beans meals. I’m surprised they haven’t yet concocted a rice-bean-pork-smoothie for when you need a meal on the go. Fortunately we we’re lucky enough to stay at a casa particular in the city of Cienfuegos where the host was a chef and he was able to delight our taste-buds with some non-swine soup and salad. Once we left there however I started resorting to some drastic measures as you will see in the last photo.
This will be the first in a long series of posts about “the forbidden island,” Cuba. I’ve always been fascinated to the country ever since my trip to Czech Republic where I had the chance to experience what was once a communist country. In Cuba I would have the chance to experience first hand one of the last remaining communist countries in existence. It would be the next best thing to a time machine and would allow me to see what life was like in much of the world decades before I even knew what communism was.
On top of the historic aspects, there’s this silly idea that the government in my country of birth thinks they can control me and tell me where I can and cannot go on the planet. What a bunch of bull! It’s not your planet. I’m not your prisoner. I’ve never been one to play by all of the rules, and so going to Cuba despite the embargo was something I felt I had to do. With Fidel’s deteriorating health and the relaxing of restrictions by Obama, there’s no telling how much longer Cuba will be preserved in it’s current state. The time is now.
And so I woke up bright and early to catch a flight out of Nicaragua, connecting on Costa Rica, before finally touching down at Aeropuerto Internacional Jose Marti. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous. I had done plenty of research ahead of time, and knew it was possible. But there was the feeling deep down in my gut that said told me there was still some risk. Almost missing my connecting flight didn’t help. Were the powers that be trying to tell me something? Screw ’em! I sprinted through the terminal to make sure I would not be left behind on this trip of a lifetime.
The excitement grew and grew with every mile that we got closer to the island. When I finally saw the land below I had a perma-smile on my face until landing, and all the way up until the point that a pre-customs agent started grilling me with questions on my intentions in the country. So to all those who follow in my footsteps if you can avoid any (or all) of the following when arriving in Cuba, please do so: traveling solo, having two backpacks on you person, using the bathroom BEFORE going through customs. All those I feel were red flags that made me look suspect. Luckily I was able to pass through to level two of customs where they willingly AVOID stamping US passports. SCREW THAT! I want it documented that I accomplished my goal. Stamp please!
“Make purchases that improve your happiness. For many, that means spending on experiences, not things.”
And it is exactly these type of experiences that they are referring to:
Four-wheeling through the country side of Leon Nicaragua on dirty and dusty roads
Grabbing a make-shift ‘volcano-board’ and a liter of water and scaling the face of Cerro Negro
Sweating profusely in the scorching sun combined with the heat emanating from the most active volcano in Nicaragua
Reaching the summit where a cool breeze evaporated all the sweat and brought my body temperature back down to normal
Donning a fluorescent green and yellow onesie, eye goggles and gloves in preparations to get DIRTY!
Making “snow” angels in a pile of soot
Strapping a wooden plank to my feet and hurtling down the rocky & ashy mountain
Picking rocks out of my teeth and shaking the dust out of my orifices
Getting to the bottom and wanting to do it all over again!
Sorry, but you just can’t go down to your local Target store and buy this kind of happiness. So, stop going to Target and start getting out into the world to EXPERIENCE what it has to offer you!
