An old and restored car in Havana, Cuba

A Little Consideration… Echos of Cuba’s History on the Malecón

The thunderclouds hung low for hours over Havana, Cuba before Louise and I decided enough was enough—if the rain was playing a game of chicken with us then we planned to spend the afternoon exploring the city instead of hiding indoors in anticipation of the thick sheets of rain that had, for six long and …

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A Little Perspective… What Does Cuba Look Like Now?

You know that idyllic image of American life in the 1950s? You know the one I mean: Neat yards aligned up and down the streets of pretty suburbs, complete with white picket fences and neighbors pruning their roses while tossing friendly hellos to passerby? I wasn’t alive back then, so I don’t know how much …

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A Little Confession… Cuba Gets an “ish” from Me

(Story from a trip to Cuba in January 2010) I have a confession to make about why I rarely mention the eight days I spent in Cuba a year ago … I stayed mum because much of it’s lukewarm. And I steer clear of overtly negative posts on a country or city because travel is …

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Cuban Men Hanging Out of Window

A Little Travel Memory… Cuban Men Chatting Through Windows

I haven’t talked much about traveling through Cuba but this image is pretty iconic Cuba in my memories. The cities in Cuba are filled with crumbling houses once painted with an array of blues, yellows, and oranges but the wealth that built most of Cuba decades ago has simply faded over the years—zero maintenance and …

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A Little Lesson… I Surrender to the Mas o Menos

Ok Central America, you win. I lay prostrate at your feet and am willing to surrender to your charm, your eccentricities, and even the downright annoyingly ridiculous phrase mas o menos which, in translation means “more or less,” but in Mexico (and Cuba) actually means “I-can-tell-you-whatever-I-want-even-if-I-know-I’m-wrong-as-long-as-I-slap-on-a-mas-o-menos. I fought Central America for the longest time…and that’s …

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