For Michia's mom's birthday this April, we wanted to spend time together, but neither wanted to travel to the opposite coast. So we decided to meet elsewhere — in Cuba. Best decision ever.

We were initially worried about the politics between the U.S. and the island nation, but quickly realized that our worries had been for naught. I'll write a second post of what we did to prepare to legally enter the country, but it all went much smoother than we had anticipated.

We stayed in a Casa Particular AirBNB in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, and this was our view.

Our first day in country, we explored Viñales, a rural town in Western Cuba. This natural, culture-rich town was beautiful, and that blog post is coming soon!

The rest of our time in Cuba, we spent in Havana, learning its history, drinking its rum, and exploring its streets.

History

One of Havana's main attractions is the Museum of the Revolution, or Museo de la Revolución. Here, we learned about the country's many revolutions, Cubans' sentiment of Fidel Castro, and how the U.S. Embargo of 1962 affected the country.

During the Cuban Revolution, wealthy mansion owners emigrated, leaving neighborhoods (like Vedado) with vacant mansions. Today, some of these mansions are occupied by people who would otherwise be homeless; walking around Vedado, you can often see a dilapidated mansion with a single lighted room with a chair and a bed. Others have been restored to a state of their former glory, welcoming people as art galleries, restaurants, or bars.

I learned that the Embargo is basically what caused Cuba to seemingly stop in time. Prior to the Embargo, Havana was a bustling city, known for its alcohol, gambling, and prostitution. After it, they couldn't import cars from the U.S., which is why almost all the cars they have are from the 50's and 60's. And when I spoke with those who had these classic cars, they told the same story — these cars were their father's father's, then their father's, and now theirs. These cars are precious heirlooms, and the care with which they treasure them reflect this love.

Now, these cars are used for city tours, and they line up in bright, colorful lines to wait for tourists.

Currency and Poverty

There are two main currencies in Cuba, the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), primarily used by foreigners, and the Cuban Peso Nacional (CUP), primarily used by locals. The conversion rate is 1 CUC : 24 CUP, and I was shocked by the price of some local goods.

The difference in currency highlights the poverty of this country, the severity of which I first read about in this Munchies article. The local market was the first time we saw the other currency being used, and we realized that we had been spending way too much money on food.

This market also had a ration station (mentioned in the Munchies article), but we weren't allowed photos. The ration entitles every Cuban to:

five eggs (0.75 CUP/0.03 cents)

0.25 kilos of oil (0.40 CUP/0.01 cents)

2 1/2 kilos of rice (1 CUP/0.04 cents)

1 1/2 kilo of white sugar (0.45 CUP/0.018 cents)

one package of coffee (4 CUP/0.16 cents)

one kilo of salt for six months (0.35 CUP/0.014 cents)

125 grams of beans (0.28 CUP/0.0112 cents).

Rum

As one of Cuba's main exports, rum is as prolific as beer in Germany, or coffee in Colombia. Every restaurant offers daiquiris, mojitos, and/or piña coladas, and I had no complaints.

At the Rum Museum, we learned how rum is created, and sampled some Havana Club rum.

We also visited La Bodeguita del Medio, rumored to be one of Hemingway's favorite destinations for mojitos.

The City

Havana is an incredibly beautiful city, and we took a two-hour city tour that was worth every penny.

Our guide took us through Chinatown, and we learned that all the Chinese left during the Revolution, leaving a Chinatown with no Chinese people.

And we saw a non-replica replica of our own capitol building.

We even ran into a friend from church in this super cute alley of art, Callejon de Hamel.

Plus, who wouldn't love riding around in this convertible?

After our tour, we spent time walking around old Havana, where we got to enjoy the architecture, photograph locals, and even play soccer with a group of boys.

It was a stunning country, and the best compliment I can pay to it is to say that we'll be back.