Cuba Before the Crowds: A Journey Through Time and Hospitality
Originally published May 11, 2017 β’ Refreshed layout and restored long-form narrative
Havana, Before the Tide
I went to Havana to feel it before the rushβon a budget, moving slowly, and trusting the kindness of strangers. I slept at a family-run casa where dinner tasted of the sea, rode in vintage Chevys that purred like old stories, and found quiet at the Capitolio and CristΓ³bal ColΓ³n Cemetery before ending in the sun at Playa del Este.
The first hello that made me feel at home.
Home, for Ten Days
I chose La Casa de Ana because it looked ordinaryβin the best way. Ten nights under $350, a neighborhood that breathed through open windows, and a front door that learned the sound of my footsteps by day three. Ana welcomed me as if we were resuming a conversation, not starting one. Each evening, the table filled with what I didnβt yet know I was craving: lobster one night, shrimp the next, a grilled fish that tasted of smoke and sea salt. Clean linens, small kindnesses, and a sense that someone cared I was there.
