I’ve been to Cuba several times. Four, to be precise. And like most Canadians, I initially didn’t go in search of culture; I went seeking cheap rum and good times when the February blahs had taken hold of my sanity. I landed in resort zones like Varadero and Cayo Guillermo...

Not too long ago, watching the World Cup in Havana wouldn’t have been an option, unless you had access to a broadcast feed coming in from the USA. Football (or soccer) has only recently become a popular sport in Cuba. Because it always had to compete with the national sports...

Havana is one of the most unique cities in the world — it’s seemingly frozen in time at first glance, but you soon realise this city, and the country as a whole, is so much more than just a time warp. The place is colourful, charismatic, and buzzing with energy. Before...

Havana is a hard city to “get.” I think that’s why I like it so much. It’s not easy for foreigners to climb inside. The government has long put a wall up between locals and tourists; if you’re a visitor, you ride in different taxis, visit different nightclubs, and even...

“He’s not Castro to us,” said Rolando. “He’s Fidel.” Rolando, my friend Whitney and I were seated around a small table on a sun-drenched terrace, overlooking the Malecón, the main seaside strip in Havana, Cuba. The terrace was on the sprawling, manicured grounds of the Hotel Nacional, one of the...

Cuba’s Afro-Cuban religion is a colourful mix of local customs, folklore and beliefs, with roots in African-derived religious practices. As a result of colonialism, these practices went through a long process of adaption, as millions of African slaves were brought to Cuba to work at the sugar cane, tobacco and...

The TripAdvisor ‘Certificate of Excellence’ is the equivalent of receiving a gold star on your homework from your favourite teacher after weeks of study. Or the ‘MVP’ award from your respected football coach after months of training. Or finally collecting the honourable Eagle Scout badge after years of orienteering. A...

If you’ve ever ordered a cocktail anywhere in the world (like, say, a mojito in our city of Havana), it’s probably come with a plastic straw. But did you know that many cocktails actually taste better when drank without a straw? The ‘mafia mojito’ is a lesser known (but more...

We recently asked our travellers about the best souvenirs they had picked up on their travels. And the answers were hilarious, cool, charming, precious and sometimes a little weird… Vintage records, a handcrafted kaleidoscope, an alpaca jumper from Peru, an ogre mask, a good ol’ bottle of hot sauce from...

When the earthquake struck on September 19, 2017, the residents of Mexico City had just finished their annual drill. It was the anniversary of the 1985 8.1-magnitude quake that killed some 10,000 people. Every year on that date, the city runs through safety drills, in the hopes that if a...