Cuba Before the Crowds: A Journey Through Time and Hospitality
Originally published May 11, 2017 • Refreshed layout and restored long-form narrative
Havana, Before the Tide
I went to Havana to feel it before the rush—on 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 Cristóbal Colón 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 ordinary—in 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 didn’t 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.
