Traveling to Cuba – Our funny and not so funny stories during our 1-month Cuban road trip

We went to Cuba for a full month with my family, my babies and my sister. As we were traveling across the country by car, we’ve visited many cities and we slept in many different places. Sometimes we were staying in someone’s home and other times in an Airbnb, a sure thing is that we saw the real Cuba. During that one-month trip, many things happened some were funny, some were disgusting, and others were even frustrating.

We have so many stories to tell you about, that we had no other choice but to write them down. So, there it is!

Cockroaches flying off the air conditioning unit

Yes, this is exactly what happened! Hahaha! At one of the casas we rented, each time we would turn on the air conditioning cockroaches would be jumping off the unit (probably because it was living in the unit or in its conduct). The tiny detail… is that they were falling right into our bed as the unit was located over it. #Eurk

Mosquitoes and larvae living in our toothbrushes

As you may know, mosquitoes like to lay their eggs on wetlands. Yep! There so many mosquitoes in Cuba, as it’s always warm and humid. One evening when opening our beauty product bag, mosquitoes kept on flying out. When shaking the bag, we saw the mosquitoes were flying out of our toothbrushes. As we looked further, we saw that the mosquitoes had laid their eggs into our toothbrush cases. #IWantToVomit

Maria’s Malanga potatoes

Her Malanga potatoes are probably the best thing I ate during our trip to Cuba. It’s Maria’s own recipe. We stayed in her casa during our trip and we shared every meal with her and her family. It was an awesome experience as we got to taste their everyday meals. It was so delightful.

Sugar with a side of ants

Let’s say that insects couldn’t choose a better place to live than in Cuba. Therefore, there are a lot of ants in this country and you can find them anywhere but mostly in the sugar jar… and in your mojito.

Mango puree topped with cheese for dessert

You won’t find the best food in the world in Cuba. They have good traditional dishes, but most of the times they are simply trying to make the best out of what they have. #CommunistCountry One evening, we went out for dinner and we felt like having a dessert afterward. We ordered the mango dessert, thinking it would be delightful. We got a bowl filled with mango puree and topped with cheese. HAHAHAHAHA Don’t ask why… We are still trying to understand!

Undercooked chicken

That evening, we opted for a dinner at the casa where they served us chicken… that was way undercooked. Half of the chicken was still bright pink. Our host felt so bad, she then took the chicken away to cook it longer. Scared of what had just happened, we stick to eating side dishes for dinner!

Haunted room

As I was saying earlier, we often slept in a casa, where locals lived as well. At some point, one of the rooms where we slept, felt haunted (I usually don’t believe in that, but it truly felt like it). The room had such a weird vibe, it smelled awful in there and the air was very heavy (more than anywhere else in the house).

Ants in our bed

Yes! Not only they are everywhere, but there’s many of them as well. We usually find them in places we don’t wish to find them in, such as your bed!

The tourista

When visiting Cuba, you have to follow the primary bases of food to avoid being sick. It’s not recommended to eat something that hasn’t been cooked, boiled or fried. But ONE evening, my boyfriend and son didn’t follow the rule and they both drank fresh juices and a salad topped with fresh tomatoes… They both got really sick for many days. I ate exactly the same thing as them, except the salad and the juice and felt totally fine. Just so you know, you should stick to the rule! 😉

Animals everywhere (dogs, cows, chickens, goats and etc.)!

Animals are everywhere in Cuba, mostly on the roads. It’s quite special to see when you’re not used to it. You could be on the road going at a high speed and you have to stop to let a cow pass… at their own pace!

Everyone will be holding your baby

In Cuba they ADORE babies! I had “babysitters” almost everywhere I went with my kids (restaurant, hotel, casa, etc.) At the restaurant, I never had to eat with one of my children on my lap because they were tired of being in their seat per instance. There was always someone a waitress or a cook that would gladly ask to hold my baby.

Poor waste management

That was really sad to see… I know that Cuba isn’t the only place on the planet to have poor garbage disposal. I still find it sad though. What they usually do with their garbage is stack them up on the corner of a street until they have a big pile and then they burn them.

The roads are extremely bumpy

Oh, Cuba! The people of this country sure know a lot about driving on a bumpy road. We often complain about our roads and that’s because you haven’t seen theirs!

We stayed in a casa in Trinidad that was under construction, without electricity, a/c and hot water

At the time that wasn’t such a funny story. We had planned on staying 5 nights at a casa and we ended up leaving after 2 days. The casa was under construction and therefore there was a lot of noise during the day as well as no electricity, a/c, and hot water. When we would go back to the casa at the end of a day, it would be scorching hot inside as the air conditioning wasn’t functioning. I find those little details are very important when you have 2 babies to care for, mostly that we had paid extra for a place with a/c. After 2 days, we had to find another place to stay as the situation wasn’t getting any better.