Cuba - Curious, Vibrant, Segregated and Cordial Land. Photo Diary.

I am a highly sensitive and susceptible fellow traveller. No country or city has ever failed to impress me. I do feel wows and awes left and right, as long as I am in a new place. Any place. That being said, Cuba made quite a unique impression on me - ambivalent, with bitter aftertaste, yet so touching and heart-warming.



I fell in love with Havana. Havana is full of life. At every corner, every turn of the labyrinth of narrow streets, every wide open window and wobbly balcony there is life. Havana is versatile. Italy reminiscent architecture of Old Havana, Miami spirited Malecon promenade, blocks of identical cement buildings of Communist era. Havana is in decay. It is covered in dust of years of negligence and poverty, yet the city seems proud and noble and not on its knees.

Havana is home to cordial, hopeful, hospitable and curious people, who smile at you from across the street, wave at you from their balconies, send kisses from three-wheeled motorcycles and badass cool old classic cars. Whenever my eyes would cross paths with a local's eyes, I would witness smile and curiosity. I felt safe and welcomed.

Havana smells. It exudes an array of aromas, just as versatile as everything else in Havana. Heavily polluted air is difficult to breathe and you can literally feel how it flows into your lungs. And then come the fragrances of the street life. Diesel, sweat, urine, and garbage, and dust. But also greens, sweet perfume, salty sea breeze, cigars and coffee, rum. US is deprived of scents and I often miss that fragrant Babylon that occurs in other countries.

Then we visited Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Cienfuegos is quiet, polite and suburbian, with a lot of horse carriages, Russian old cars and subtle charm (The entire historic center of Cienfuegos became World Heritage Site in 2005). Santiago de Cuba is loud and more noticeably neglected, with industrial trucks in place of public transportation, pesky beggars and intrusive glances.

Cuba is so worth your visit, your interest, your involvement and compassion. This trip was introductory for me. I shall return to make friends with Cuba soon. 😊





































We travelled to Cuba with Fathom cruise line. Aside from taking these awesome pics (below), I would highly recommend going on your own and spending time exploring this wonderful country versus growing love handles consuming endless food plates on the ship. 😜