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Last time I spoke about traveling to Estonia.  Cuba on the other hand, was like a slice out of the 1950s.  Seeing the old Chevrolet cars rolling down the streets was incredible.  What’s even more amazing is that they’ve kept them running for so long.  I know my Toyota won’t be running in another 40 years!

The people were also incredibly friendly; everyone wanted to stop, talk, and tell you stories.  I met people who had previously lived in the United States and had moved back to Cuba before the travel restrictions.  Many people asked me what it was like traveling to cuba and I can honestly say it was awesome.  And for those wondering, no there was not a large Police or Military presence, even though I was staying across from a military outpost for part of the trip.  There were Police offices on corners of streets in Havana, but we get that in New York as well, so it wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

One thing I did think was very interesting was that when talking to the Cuban people, many of them said they would not be in support of lifting the embargo on trade between the US and Cuba.  The primary reason they wanted to maintain the embargo was the fear that if lifted, the travel restrictions would be lifted, and many of the younger generation (the future workforce) would leave Cuba and emigrate to the United States.  This would leave the Cuban economy in a critical position of being unable to support itself with a workforce.  I personally am not sure how I feel about the trade embargo and the restrictions on travel.

Has anyone else been to Cuba?  What were your experiences?