A Simple Paradise

by Katie Rasmussen (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find Cuba

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We were about an hour into our drive through the Cuban countryside on our way to the tourist city of Varadero when the taxi driver mumbles something in Spanish to one of my fluent traveling companions. Suddenly, the white, vintage ford, the kind you would only see in a niche car show back in the states, veers off the main road. Going with the flow is the Cuban way and I've become relaxed into it by our third day. A small turn off the highway leads to a parking lot situated on an inclining hill. Vintage cars fill the lot, most of which are taxis, and create a colorful scene which seems to exist in a different century. Cuba is an augmented reality to the modern, U.S. born traveler. The lack of easily accessible Wi-Fi, the vast stretches of green foliage, and the constant smell of gasoline are enough to make one feel foreign in a place only 90 miles off of the Florida coast. Oil from the old car door smears on my white pants as I step out and it only feels natural. The sounds of steel drums and consistent conversational chatter welcome us to a wood hut that seems buzzing with life, a scene which seemed to have popped out of nowhere. There is a tiki bar that almost dares you not to indulge in a Pina Colada straight out of a pineapple. By the look of it, the drink is customary in this setting. I can hardly spot a hand without one. Tourists line the porch which gazes upon a deep valley that leads to a peak of a beach with impossibly turquoise water. In the other direction, an industrious looking cable bridge floats upon palm trees and green tropical plants. The sun shines through minimal clouds, the slight breeze rustles heads of hair around me, and the band keeps playing the perfect soundtrack to such a glorious sight. If I could stay in a moment forever, this one may be it. Despite my oil stained pants and being shorted change for a water, It felt impossible to find fault in this dream-like trance. The taxi drivers leaning on the back of the bar, patiently scrolling through their phones while the tourists take it in, reminds me that even paradise can get usual in Cuba.