Dec 19

Dec 19 Actually, I'm in La Habana

#Glowbabies! I can't believe it's been so long since we've talked but life has been so crazy and such a blur (yeah, I know, excuses excuses, amirite?). Seriously though, I blinked and we went from July to December just that quick! Of course, I've done some awesome things in between: family reunion in Maryland, Universal Studios Hollywood horror nights(yes me, the scardy cat!), FAMU homecoming and a ton of other things with the friends I met in Meetup which I told you about in an earlier post. Please, don’t ask me about Christmas though because I haven’t purchased one gift (I’m on strike). I've been too busy having the time of my life. I'm in love with South Florida.

Also, if you didn’t know (because you’ve been under a rock) Bound 2 Glow was recently featured in VoyageMIA which was super exciting and such an honor! If you haven't read the article, check it out here.

However, can you believe with all of that going on, I was still able to plan and execute yet another trip to Cuba?! Yeah, I know, I'm a crazy person but I had so much fun the first time and I knew before I left that I wanted to return ASAP. Fortunately, I had another awesome group of friends ready to make that trip and the rest is history. Just as before we had an amazingly beautiful time. Let's get into the deets, shall we?

Where we stayed.

La Huella 1930 Bed & Breakfast

On my last trip to Cuba we stayed in an awesome Villa with beautiful views of Havana from afar but this time I wanted us to get the experience of staying in the city and this Airbnb did not disappoint. With 5 rooms it provided more than enough space for our group of 7. There was a staff member there 24/7 to assist us and breakfast was served daily (I hope you like ham and eggs…a lot😉). We were only a short walk from Calle 23(the main road in Havana) and a short cab ride from Fábrica de Arte.

What we did this time.

While we mirrored a few of the same Airbnb experiences (Barhop and beach day) I added a couple of new activities to the itinerary.

Havana History tour with Alfredo

We were picked up from our Airbnb for a jam-packed tour of Havana from East to west. Alfredo was insanely knowledgeable and personable which made for an awesome time. We had the chance to get amazing photo ops at the Christ statue of Havana and Fusterlandia (a beautiful work of art made of thousands of glass pieces). We wrapped up our tour with an authentic Cuban lunch. Once complete, Alfredo personally saw to it that we were taken back to our Airbnb. What made this experience so great is it felt like riding around a beautiful city and catching up with a friend.

Viñales tobacco tour

We braved an almost 3-hour ride to get to the countryside of Viñales. There we saw beautiful mountains and lush greenery. We had a boat ride through a cave, an authentic family-style creole lunch and explored a tobacco farm where we received a lesson in the tobacco growing process as well as how to roll an authentic Cuban cigar. To round off our adventure we took a scenic ride through the farm on horseback! Although it was a long, sometimes uncomfortable ride there and back, the beauty of it all was worth it!

What was different?

As mentioned in my last post about Cuba, we previously stayed in the outskirts of the city. This time we stayed in Vedado, the heart of Havana. Therefore we were able to experience more of the day to day life of the Cuban people. This also allowed us to explore more on foot which helped us save on taxis, the primary way of transportation in Cuba. Fortunately, with it also being winter, the weather was a lot less humid which made for perfect walking weather.

At Mambo, which quickly became our favorite restaurant to walk to for affordable and quick dinner options

What was the same?

The people, the spirit, the warmth of Cuba! It was just as welcoming this time as the last. However, speaking candidly, we also experienced the same struggles as before. Splitting checks and taxis while in a larger group is enough to make your head spin. Many times we found that it was a task to make “change” while doing things and getting smaller bills in CUCs (Cuban convertible pesos) seemed to be a challenge. There is also the stealthy mission of finding wifi. If your Airbnb doesn’t have wifi then you'll have to seek out a WiFi park which may be difficult depending on the area you're staying in. Although I don't mind the idea of being “unplugged” it is a bit harder to manage a larger group when you can't send out simple communications to one another.

With that being said, none of the aforementioned things are deal-breakers but it's helpful to remember them when traveling to Cuba, especially in a group of 4 or more people.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, GO TO CUBA!! You'll likely be pleasantly surprised to find it's not what you may have expected.

With Christmas just around the corner, you could even gift a loved one a Cuba trip 😉 If that’s not really feasible and clothes are more your speed, shop Shein. Each of my looks, with the exception of Vinales, came from Shein. I got some really cute and affordable sets and dresses, starting at under $10, exclusively for this trip and beyond so check them out!

Happy holidays #Glowbabies

More Pics below!

I don’t know what kind of animal this was but it seemed content snacking on its lettuce and not me so I was fine, lol

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