Traveling to Cuba

Cuba, like any country, is complicated and is best taken with an open mind and open heart. But for Americans that can be particularly challenging. Related story: When visiting Cuba, forget the preconceptions

Section:Gallery

Sat., May 11, 2019

Residents of Trinidad, Cuba stare out at the street on March 14, 2019. Trinidad, a port city on the southern coast, was often raided by pirates. Thus, the streets are designed in an intentionally confusing manner in hopes of confusing invaders.

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A pizza cart as seen late at night in Trinidad, Cuba on March 13, 2019. As in many Latin and South American countries, pizza is a popular food.

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A Cuban farmer drinks water near his Vinales farm on March 7, 2019.

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Daan Smit, left, and Freek Borlee pet a tree rat in Vinales Cuba. The tree rat is a docile and friendly animal. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989 the Cuban economy crashed leading to widespread famine. Hungry Cubans started hunting and eating the animals greatly reducing their population.

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Jason Partin, left, shows a Cuban farmer a photo of the two of them on March 7. Nearly 19 percent of Cubans worked in agriculture in 2017. Since the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s the Cuban government has pushed agricultural reforms aimed at building self-sufficiency, with mixed results.

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Although known for its classic cars, Cuba’s car ownership relatively low with 42 motor vehicles per 1,000 people in 2015. For comparison, the U.S. has 837 vehicles per 1,000 people in 2016.

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A taxi driver waits for a tourist to enter his vehicle on March 5. Cuba is famed for its classic American cars. Most of the oldest cars have newer Russian engines keeping them going.

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Daan Smit and Freek Borlee walk toward the Vinales town center while a man carries onions on his bike March 5. Vinales is a popular destination for tourists looking to hike, climb, ride horses and do other more active activities.

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A classic car sits in the driveway of a house in Vinales on March 4, 2019.

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Tourists walk through a tobacco field in Vinales, Cuba on March 4, 2019. Vinales is near Sierra de los Organos mountains and the Viñales Valley.

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A dog sits on a roof of a house in Vinales, Cuba on March 4, 2019.

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A cigarette box sits on the back of a child’s toy on a tobacco plantation March 3, 2019.

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Tobacco leaves dry in a storage shed on March 3, 2019.

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Daan Bart smokes a Cuban cigar during a stop at a tobacco plantation outside of Havana on March 3, 2019.

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A building façade as seen in Havana on March 2, 2019.

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Freek Borlee sits under a menu at a restaurant in Havana. Cuba has two types of currency, the Cuban convertible peso is for tourists and foreigners and is worth, roughly, one U.S. dollar. The Cuban peso is for Cubans. There are 25 Cuban pesos in one Cuban convertible peso.

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Two men watch as the Havana shoreline slides past while taking a ferry to Casablanca, a Havana neighborhood.

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The Havana Harbor and promenade as seen March 2, 2019. For centuries Havana has been an important port for ships plying the Atlantic Ocean.

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A man leads a dance class in Havana, Cuba’s capital city on March 2, 2019.

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A Cuban tour guide explains the history of a tobacco plantation to a group of tourists on March 3, 2019.

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Michelito, a tour guide at a tobacco farm outside of Havana, shows a history off to Freek Borlee. Michelito speaks, conversationally, five languages.

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Havana harbor as seen from Casablanca on March 2, 2019. For centuries Havana has been an important stop for ships crossing the Atlantic.

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Tourists take photos next to missiles from the Cuban missile crisis on March 2, 2019.

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More than 11 million people live in Havana, the capital of Cuba. Here the downtown sector of the city as seen from Casablanca on March 2, 2019.

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