The Truth about the 4 Most Common Myths about Cuba
Walking to one of the main hotels to use their WiFi for an hour
Lately, with the rise of tourism to Cuba, I have been getting a whole lot more questions about some of the most common misconceptions regarding this beautiful island stuck in the 50's. The truth is, a lot of the most common misconceptions are just that misconceptions. They are simply myths that people have believed for years because of how little exposure Cuba has to the outside world. After having spent a little over a week in Cuba, I came to find out that none of these myths were actually true (and I wish someone had told me this!). So below, I am exposing the truth regarding the 4 most common myths I get asked about Cuba:
1. There’s no WiFi
When I found this written somewhere online while researching for my trip, I just about died. Sure I was looking forward to disconnecting for a bit, but not completely! How was I supposed to post about my trip on IG? How was I supposed to complete my collaborations or let my mom know I wasn’t dead somewhere in Cuba? Thankfully, while extremely limited there IS in fact WiFi in Cuba. It will just cost you. In Havana, I paid 3 CUC ($3) per hour for WiFI, so I made sure to limit my wifi use to once/one hour a day.
Climbing to the rooftop to get some WiFi signal
2. It’s Dangerous
Honestly this has got to be one of my biggest travel pet peeves. A lot of people assume something of a country or a city solely based off of what they see or hear on the news. The problem with this? The media is not always right. And even if they are (a very select few times), they have a tendency to over exaggerate and stretch the truth. I’ve heard so so many people talk about how dangerous Cuba is and how unsafe it is for Americans to go there, especially women (my dad included--sorry dad), but have they actually been there and experienced it for themselves? Most of the time the answer is probably no and it is just based off of what the media wants you to think.
I will personally say that I did not ever at any point feel dangerous and unsafe in Cuba. Everyone was so friendly and so helpful and never once did I feel threatened for my safety (even walking back home at night).
Calm, safe and beautiful streets of Habana Vieja
3. The food isn’t good
I don't know about you, but this looks pretty darn amazing. (El Chanchullero)
This was actually something I heard quite a bit during my Cuba planning stage. Being a big foodie and sometimes basing how much I enjoyed my time in a certain place based on how good the food was, so this was a very concerning thing for me. Also because I loved all the Spanish speaking countries I went to because of food.
This myth mainly stems from the assumption that because Cuba has very limited interaction with the outside world and other countries, they have very limited food sources. While this is true, Cubans have learned to make do with their situation and actually make some very yummy food.
The best croquetas I have ever had (outside of Spain, of course)
4. Americans are not allowed
For the longest time, Americans were not allowed in Cuba (unless you went for very specific and limited reasons). While this is still true, it is definitely a lot easier now and Americans are very much so allowed. I’ll go over the specifics on how you can get there legally in my next post. In fact, a lot of Cubans actually depend on tourism from Americans for their day to day living.
One of my favorite trips ever--so yes! Americans can go! (Legally too!)
Till Next Time,
