Somewhere between Hunter S. Thompson & Lonely Planet
It was the culture and the politics that originally drew me to Cuba, but that didn't mean there was no time for relaxation. If you've already read Peter's Guide To Traveling To Cuba As An American, you know that relaxation is not *technically* even allowed for Americans in Cuba... but we're punk rockers and we broke the rules. Cuba has some of the Caribbean's most pristine beaches, so we decided to take a couple days to enjoy them.
A unique set of geo-political circumstances dating back more than half a millennium have made Havana, Cuba into one of the most unique cities on this planet. To fully understand Havana as it is today, you'll need to brush up on your history, but the most recent development is that U.S. and Cuba have taken meaningful steps towards deescalation. And as of August 2016, Americans like me can legally visit Cuba—so that's exactly what I did. And one of the first things I learned is that internet is tough to find in Havana. That means that you won't be able to re-read this article once you land, so you might want to take some notes. ✍️
Landing in Havana was, in some ways, surreal for me. This city had been cloaked political taboo for so long that it occupied a mostly theoretical space in my mind. Seeing rural Cuba fly by as we made our landing in Jose Martí Airport removed this cloak quickly and unceremoniously. Despite all the build-up this trip had had, all I could think about was how surreal it was to finally be in this country.
“Cuba. Here it is. It’s real. And I’m in it.”
After decades of harsh political rhetoric, assassination attempts, international crises, violent incidents, and economic sanctions, the American and Cuban governments have taken the first step towards making nice. The first direct international flight from the U.S. to Cuba touched down in August of 2016 so, for Americans, Cuba is now open for business!
Er, well, sort of.
I've been itching to travel here for too long, and now that America has normalized relations with this little Latin American jewel, I don't have much time left. Things in Cuba are going to change as American tourist dollars begin flowing in. I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of the old Cuba, or whatever is left of it, before the age of globalization is fully realized. In America, talking about travel to Cuba often garners some raised eyebrows. Cuba and America haven't gotten along very well in the past 60 years, and that's putting it mildly. Cuba has long been considered a mortal enemy of the U.S., but aside from a few bullet points about the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs, how much do you ACTUALLY know about the history here? Be honest.
And so the saga continues of my much-anticipated trip to San Francisco. I was tired, but this city was so compelling to me that I found the energy to walk all over it. With a couch in the Marina District as my home base, I walked (and Uber'd) all over town, from Russian Hill to the Mission District. San Francisco unfolded before me like a unending yuppie playground. It was diverse, beautiful, and hilly.
Prior to my arrival, I had no concept of how huge this place was going to be! San Francisco is deceivingly large because it’s hilly to the point that if you stand at the top of the right hill (and find the right angle) you can get the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the city all in the same shot. Seeing my friends post these sorts of photos had, throughout the years, given me the false impression that San Francisco was a small place. Adding to this fallacy was San Francisco’s position at the end of a long peninsula, which can make it look pretty small on the map. Well let’s set the record straight right now: San Francisco is anything but small.
Nashville has a vibrant coffee shop scene. All across the city, these coffee shops are oases, filled with entrepreneurs, musicians, students, and more. And between Nashville’s many small, office-less companies, budding start-ups, and already-huge-but-still-rapidly-growing community of musicians, many of these coffee shops function as co-working spaces during business hours. Coffee in Nashville is a world unto itself, and if you ask me, the following 18 establishments embody the best of that world.
From the craggily, black mountains, to the mossy green volcano-scapes, to the endless stretches of artic desert, to some of the world’s last glaciers, Iceland is the stuff of legends. And, as it turns out, Iceland has quite enough legends to go around!
Before leaving for this trip, a friend of mine, who had recently returned from her own journey to Iceland, loaned me a book called A Traveller’s Guide To Icelandic Folk Tales by Jón R. Hjálmarsson. Now that I’ve lived to tell the tale, I want to share with you some of the more compelling tales that (supposedly) occurred in the places that I visited on my trip.
It’s been a long trip through Iceland. We hiked up volcanoes, crossed glacial rivers, and drove hundreds of miles in the process, but there is still one dimension of Iceland that I have yet to cover: food. I ate a lot during this trip, and whenever possible, I tried to incorporate something "authentically Icelandic" into my meal.
The following five foods were the outliers from my time in Iceland, but I'd be lying if I said they all tasted good. In fact, it was mostly the opposite.
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![Peter Goes West: San Francisco [Part I]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5876d8d6e3df28c4d83ae377/588b939205b037cee8e7fa68/588baa2d05b037cee8ea6c42/1495557904731/san+francisco+california+streets+1.jpg)
