by Alyssa Ramos Sometimes my head is so far in the wanderlust clouds that all I can think about is where I’m going to travel to next, and forget to appreciate all of the places I’ve already been to! There have been places (and moments) I’ve loved…and some serious travel fails that I’ve learned from. So in honor and in gratitude of the...
by Alyssa Ramos Even though I’m a compulsive travel researcher, there were definitely a few things I learned about traveling to Cuba when I got there that I couldn’t find on the web. Unfortunately, most of them were learned from my own travel fails, but luckily at least now you can avoid them! Traveling to Cuba is different than many places because...
by Alyssa Ramos If you don’t already know what “Hablo español, pero muy poco” means, we’re in some real trouble. Luckily this is a little cheat sheet for you to take to Cuba, where NO ONE speaks English, or any other Spanish speaking country! Here are the phrases I used the most while I was there: Greetings/Intros “Hablo español, pero...
No, you can't "just go" to Cuba now, you still need to apply for, qualify for, and pay for a specific visa/reason for traveling to Cuba. Here's sneaky ways how.
by Alyssa Ramos After spending 9 days in Havana working on the editorial shoot for Geo Chic Magazine, we finally got a day off to relax! Well, technically I was meandering around all of Havana during the photo shoots, but still. Unanimously we decided on checking out this famous beach in Veradero that everyone raves about. Veradero is about two hours from Havana, and...
By Alyssa Ramos (Note: Sorry if these posts seem rushed or have any errors or missing links – I only get one hour of wifi per day in Cuba!) Sometimes doing your research really pays off. While brushing up on my extremely rusty history of the Revolucion, and gawking at photos of Che on the flight to Cuba, something stuck out to me that no one had mentioned while...
All of the younger locals I’ve talked to have all recommended two places to go to at night – Casa de la Musica, or Fabrica de Arte. Some people will also recommend the Malicón at night, but it’s mostly for locals who go there to sit, talk, make out, etc., and unless you have a romantic partner to sit there and smooch with sans cell phone…it...
Havana nights are definitely hot, and not just because of the Carribean weather! While exchanging money at the Hotel Nacional, I was able to purchase an Internet card (7 CUC/Hour) to get ahold of some friends that were also in Havana from LA. I went to meet up with them at the prestigious, brand new, free-wifi-having hotel, the Saratoga, and from there we all went to...
It’s pretty incredible that I still have family living in Cuba, and even more incredible that I have the opportunity to not only visit them for the first time, but to see where my grandparents grew up as well. I found a journal written by my grandmother after she died about 4 years ago that she wrote in 1992, describing where she was born, grew up, and what...
Some more photos from scouting locations for the editorial shoot in Centro Habana. Lots of beautiful architecture and beautiful buildings and cars! Still feeling hostility from the people who don’t seem to like “tourists” taking photos of where they live (I don’t blame them) and being here in general. Most don’t warm up until I...