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<\/p>\nIn January of 2018, Michael and I went to Cuba for our 10-year wedding anniversary. Originally, we were scheduled to go in September of 2017, but Hurricane Irma had other plans. We were only in Cuba for six days, but it felt like three weeks. It was an incredible trip and we hope to go back there someday with Lucas and Henry.<\/p>\n
There are some restrictions for traveling to Cuba, but it is not impossible for Americans to travel there.\u00a0 If anyone is interested in going please reach out and we can tell you how it is possible.<\/p>\n
We flew into Havana and took a prearranged taxi two and a half hours west to the city of Vi\u00f1ales.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
We had an interesting conversation about Cuba with a friend our driver picked up along the way. \u00a0She told us:<\/p>\n
Vi\u00f1ales is named for wine, but when the people tried to grow grapes for the wine they found the climate was not right.\u00a0 We stopped at a paladar (privately-owned restaurant) in Vi\u00f1ales for lunch. We had salad, sweet potato plantain chips, two types of rice, beans, chicken, and tuna. It was 10 CUC ($10) per person.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_0019.jpg\")
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We visited a tobacco farm where we learned about how they make cigars. We got to try a cigar and see how one is rolled.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_0026.jpg\")
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We arrived around 4:30 to our casa particular, Casa Juana. Casa particulars are like Airbnbs. People host tourists in their homes. Outside of Havana, there aren\u2019t any Holiday Inns, so tourists stay in people\u2019s houses. It is a way to support the people of Cuba while visiting. Also, there are several government-owned hotels in Cuba where Americans are not supposed to stay.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_0205.jpg\")
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We chatted with our host Pedro for a while. He used to be a physics professor. His wife is a doctor. Pedro told us that they make more money off Airbnb than being a professor and a doctor in Cuba.<\/p>\n
On day two of our trip, we woke up with the roosters around 5:00 am. We had a lovely breakfast in our casa particular (fruit, bread, eggs, lemon pastries, juice, and coffee).![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_9725.jpg\")
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At 9 am a guide picked us up for a horseback riding plantation tour. Michael rode Ni\u00f1o a stubborn horse who would not gallop for him (Vamos! Ni\u00f1o!). I rode a tired and hungry horse named Carmelo. I almost fell off when Carlmelo\u2019s legs slipped going up a muddy hill, but it all worked out. We met a solo traveler named Philip. He is from Hong Kong but studying law in St. Louis. His horse was named Tequila.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_0086.jpg\")
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The scenery in Cuba is breathtaking. We visited a small lake with a beautiful backdrop of the mountains, another tobacco farm, and a coffee plantation.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nOn day three we explored Vi\u00f1ales on bikes. We borrowed our hosts’ bikes and rode to the Mural de Prehistori. It is a 120-meter long painting on the side of Mogote Pita. It was designed by Leovigildo Gonz\u00e1lez Morillo. It took 18 people 4 years to complete.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nWe bought some souvenirs, had tacos for lunch, and headed in a collectivo taxi to Havana. A collective taxi is a shared taxi that is a popular mode of transportation in Cuba. The taxi was an old 1950s station wagon and it was crammed with Six passengers besides us.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_0212.jpg\")
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After 2 hours stuck in the very back of the collective, we made it to our casa particular in Havana. Our host Ana and her husband greeted us. Our casa particular was a small room in a house with three other rooms. It had a downstairs where we ate breakfast.<\/p>\n
On our first night in Havana, we walked along the Malecon at sunset all the way from old Havana to Hotel Nacional. We ended up eating dinner and seeing a high-energy cabaret show at the Parisien Cabernet.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nWe headed back to the hostel in a 1950s taxi that seemed like it was going to fall apart. When people think of Cuba, they often think about the iconic old cars.\u00a0 They are everywhere.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_0131.jpg\")
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On Day 4 we started with a lovely breakfast in our casa particular. We started walking in Havana Viejo and it immediately started raining. With our umbrella safely in the room, we ducked into a farmacia. It looked like a set from Harry Potter.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_9866.jpg\")
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Luckily, we realized we were right next to the hotel where Ernest Hemingway stayed while writing three of his books. We went in to get out of the rain and explore. I went into his room, which has been turned into a museum.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nThe hotel also had a rooftop bar with great views of the city.\u00a0Once the rain cleared, we walked down towards the rum museum- which was closed but we found a great restaurant next to it called Circo Club.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nAfter lunch, we took a ferry over to Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Caba\u00f1a and walked around.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nWe ended the night having a drink at the Iberostar hotel listening to more music.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_9979.jpg\")
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On day five we took a classic car ride. It was a beautiful red and white classic car. Our driver Pepe took us all over town. He played\u00a0Cuban\u00a0music and the weather was perfect. \u00a0We saw the revolution square, several hotels and drove around parts of Havana we had not yet seen. Michael stopped at Hotel Nacional to buy cigars.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nWe spent about two hours at the Museum of the revolution. It is fascinating. The museum was created to teach Cubans about their own history.\u00a0 There is a lot of information about the events leading up to, during, and immediately after the Cuban Revolution.<\/p>\n
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