I can’t even begin to describe how incredible this last week has been. You may have noticed I dropped off the face of the (digital) planet, and it was because I spent eight days in Cuba during which I entirely unplugged.

I traveled with about 20 other students and stayed in a villa outside Havana that was absolutely incredible during my first four days in the country. The first two mornings a group of us got up early to go in and explore the city, which felt like time traveling back to the 50s everywhere you turned. You think people are exaggerating when they say it feels like a different world, but it is entirely true. Almost every car is an old convertible and the buildings are all in some state of decay. It’s clear that the recent embargo lifts have already changed the city drastically, but the magic definitely hasn’t gone away. The people of Cuba are incredible and even with my limited Spanish speaking it was amazing having the chance to get to know some of them. Otherwise, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves 🙂

If you’re thinking of traveling to Cuba my biggest piece of advice is ask for recommendations from everyone who has gone before. All of the restaurant recommendations we got from others were the best meals I had in the city (see some listed below!). At the same time though, make sure you have time to wander and explore. One of my favorite moments was accidentally wandering into a Mexican Art Museum in the most beautiful building (it’s the pink walls below!).