i arrive at cancun airport early. went through some free tequila tasting. premium tequila everywhere. need it to ease the nerves but ended up making it worst. boarded Cubana Airlines at 4pm. i take my seat and the only other 2 americans on the flight happened to be sitting next to me. the guy visited Cuba 10 years ago and wanted to bring his girlfriend before things change. we had a great talk. still lots of uncertainty for all 3 of us. 45 minutes later, we land in Havana. then the nerves really kicked in. see, Cuba and America have been pretty much at political war for over 50 years. President John F. Kennedy set a full embargo against Fidel Castro and Cuba back in the 1960’s. ever since then, americans have been prohibited on visiting Cuba. meaning, no visitors or no import or exports. and till this day, there is a shady area on who can come and who can’t.
so i land in Cuba. so excited. exited the plane and walked through immigrations. then all of a sudden, a immigrations agent pulls me over “excuse me, please come with me.” what??? he pulls me to the side and interrogates me. i was thinking “omg, i will be either arrested or sent back to america.” after 30 minutes of full interrogation, he let’s me go. i tell him i’m here as a photographer and journalist. he asks me where my camera is and i pull out my iPhone. he asks me what company i work for and i say “go-naminori.” yeah, it’s always good to be honest. immigration officers in any country can spot out a liar very quickly. anyway, i walk out thought customs with my backpack and it was there when the full on culture shock kicks in. i felt like i went back in time. back to the 1950’s in a country i had no clue of. i jump in my taxi and head on the 30 minute drive to the big city of havana. my driver drops me off at where i was going to stay for the next few nights. a pitch dark alley looking more dangerous than china town in honolulu. even scarier than any third world country i’ve ever entered. i was really scared for my life to tell you the truth.
from the airport to Old Havana is 30 minutes. when you arrive at night, it just gets darker and darker, scarier and scarier. and with nobody speaking english, it’s pretty intimidating.
i ring the bell, the owner of the apartment i will be staying at greets me at the door. honestly, i was in total culture shock. i was scared, freaking out, shaking, and in total disbelief. i told myself “what the heck are you doing here? are you crazy???” then a voice came from deep inside. “yes, you are crazy. but hey, if you don’t go, you won’t know.” it was then, i could put aside my fears and enjoy this amazing country called Cuba.
i check in at 7:30pm. take a shower, unpack, then venture out to this amazing city. after a couple cubian beers and mojitos, i felt like i was at home.
