Cuba Explored
nomadic note
I grew-up listening to my mother talking about her Cuban classmates from her boarding school in Jamaica. I fell in love with a place I’d never visited. Visiting Cuba was a multi-decade dream that felt more like a pilgrimage than a vacation.
“If it is rich history, art and culture, ecological wonder, and people who are the salt of the earth, then Cuba should be on your list.”
Ever feel inexplicably drawn to a place?
I’ve only had one thus far, and I’m proud to say I “scratched that itch.”. Visiting Cuba was a multi-decade dream that felt more like a pilgrimage than a vacation. It became a “done and dusted” destination in October 2016 - a mere seven months after the US announced the beginning of a process of normalizing relations with Cuba.
“I look for what a place makes me feel and teaches me about humanity.”
My connections to the island are a part of my earliest memories. I grew-up listening to my mother talking about her Cuban classmates from boarding school in Jamaica. She hoped to reconnect with her friends as an adult. Her plan died with the island nation’s last revolution and her emigration from London to New York City in 1968.
Four years later, her connection to the island was re-established when she was referred to a retired Cuban couple who would become my first care-takers. The Nunez’ were proxies for my grandparents and were a stable foundation for my mother as she managed life in a new country, with a newborn and a terminally ill husband. What they did for us had me fall in love with a place I’d never visited.
What makes you fall in love with a place?
If it is rich history, art and culture, ecological wonder, and people who are the salt of the earth, then Cuba should be on your list. The US-Cuba relationship is complicated and it is easy to romanticize and/or demonize Cuba. However, I’ll do neither, because life is equal parts messy and magical. There are no perfect places in the world, so when I explore, I look for what a place makes me feel and teaches me about humanity.
Nomad Notables
Cuba taught me that:
Pride is an essential part of identity
Past and present can coexist
Necessity is the mother of invention
Spirituality sustains us
We create art as regularly as we blink
We’re all looking for our best us/selfie
Kids are kids are kids
Smiles come easily and often if you let them
A week sans Wi-Fi and phone is bliss
They knew I’d come and wrote my name on a wall
You should always prioritize a destination that tempts your heart and mind
Everyone should consider adding Cuba to their list
My trip to Cuba explored: Habana, Viñales, Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Santa Clara
My favorite meals were had at: Mediterraneo Havana and San Cristobal Paladar
The world is waiting!
Wendy ♥️
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