Havana, Frozen in Time
Havana is absolutely beautiful. Such a classic and vintage city! As you walked down the street, the colorful vintage cars passed by on the street, more variety of colors in the buildings than ever, bicycles zooming by, and the smell of the ocean fills your nose! All of this “newer” city, taking almost 100 years to build, has been “frozen” since 1959. The city has received no maintenance, hardly even a paint job, for the last 50 years. There is truly a sense of cultural beauty without franchise name ads like McDonald’s, Starbucks, or KFC. Instead the shops and stores are all owned by “Ma and Pop stores”.
An example for when I say frozen, the old 1950s Philco refrigerators are still in use and working, old TVs, and even the fans. The architecture is absolutely phenomenal, with painted concrete columns and shading the sidewalks, so that you can walk for miles. The entire city, when you walk into any store, home, or restaurant, everything for the majority is from the 50s. Plus, there are no billboard ads, or neon signs flashing in your face. Added on to the vintage feel, there is a nature feel in the city, with trees filling as you walk through the city streets. This is an absolutely gorgeous city.
South of the city is completely untouched by travelers. All of this constitutes a huge field of decaying houses, huge mansions, and broken buildings. It is, however, where most Havana dwellers live, and where adventurous tourists should go, to meet and know the real Cubans, and discover the real hospitality of the Cuban people. They welcome anyone in their homes and help in any way they can.
Cuba could very well become the next top travel destination for American tourists.
After the decision by the Obama administration to re-establish normal diplomatic relations with Cuba, and easing some of the prohibitions concerning travel by American citizens to the island nation, everybody is talking about visiting Cuba, and trying to do so before things change too much. Let me tell you, if you want an experience that is classical and vintage, a step back in time, Havana, Cuba should be number one on your travel list!
