"Thank you for flying Aeromexico and we hope you enjoy your stay in Havana."

AAAAANNNDD now for... The first Cuba post!

So, as it was and is currently still illegal for United States Citizens to go to Cuba without special permission from the government, my Dad, Juana and I had to go the sneaky way.

We actually flew out of the Tijuana Airport on Aeromexico, headed for Havana. Once you're out of the U.S., nobody really questions what you're up to. Cuba even refrains from stamping United States passports because they know that it's illegal for us to be there.

We arrived at Cuba around 4:30 am, Cuban time. It was completely dark out and there were very few cars on the road but quite a few people seemed to be awake. The cab driver who took us to our hotel told us that Cubans started their day around that time so that they can make it to work in the morning. Judging by this, I would not make a good Cuban.

On the way to our hotel, we passed through various districts of Havana. At night, it was hard to tell the difference, but everything looked... old. The buildings were literally half crumbling, the sidewalks cracked and grimy to let little weeds through... But despite the run-d0wn feeling of the city, there's a sense of history. Havana has known so much history and unlike American cities, Havana still reflects that and not just in museums and iron memorials.

Even in the early morning, Havana was HOT... humid hot. The first thing I did when I got to the hotel was take a completely cold shower (around 5:00 am Cuban time). Ten minutes later, I was dripping sweat again.

We stayed in the Hotel Lincoln every night we were in Havana. To give you an idea of this place: It's not even in the tourist books. It's definitely on the lower end of the hotel spectrum, but it felt like real Cuba. If there's one way to experience a culture, it's to live like the locals. The Hotel Lincoln was not pricey, decently comfortable and yet we got a sense of real Cuban culture there.

The first night, I stayed in a room separate from my parents. My room didn't have running hot water, but at 5:00 in the morning, exhausted and sweating, I didn't care. The bed was comfortable and made-up. (I was lucky with pillows that night though. The one I landed was nice and un-knobbly). The room even had a TV with a few channels. I later found out that one of the channels they had decent reception for was CNN.

I stayed up for a little while to write, but running on four hours of sleep the night before we left, I fell asleep almost immediately after jotting down a few observations...

And that was my first night in Havana...Ta-da! More to come... You see! I DID keep my promise. Laterz.