Fla...... Cu.....

So I've been in Florida the most of the past 5 days, with a one day detour to Cuba. I went to Florida to shoot their state IDPA match with a friend from CA.

I've only been to Florida for tourism once before, Universal Studios for two days. Being there a few extra days this time was nice and I thought of going to the Everglades and see alligators and other wildlife. Or go to the Keys and just see that area. Maybe even do a half day of catch and release shark fishing.

What ended up happening was some going out to eat, the match for 3 days, going to the movies, going to the Keys for an afternoon and a whole day in Cuba.

There seems to be a lot of worry and misinformation about going to Cuba as an American in 2017; so let me share my experience and research with you.

-Flights are out of Miami or Fr Lauderdale. You can go on Delta, Jet Blue, American Airlines or regional Latin American based carriers. Flights are cheap, anywhere from $115 to $200 at the most. The flight isn't even two hours.

-Going for tourism as a US citizen is technically against the law. You are supposed to go for one of the 12 reasons. The most nebulous is "Support for the Cuban People". The only time I was asked to state this was during the electronic portion of printing my boarding pass. No one in America in either direction personally asked me about this. Cuba didn't at all as it's not a Cuban thing, but US.

-Lots of Americans are going there. My day, it looked like most where part of a tour group who did things such that there was a well defined connection to one of the 12 reasons, like "Person to Person Cultural Exchange". Trust me, they were still tourists. Visas are variable in price depending on when and where you buy them. $50 from online vendors well in advance to $100 at the airport gate before take off.

-Nothing there is cheap. The tourist money you use, a "CUC" and pronounced like "kook", is 1:1 with a dollar. Want to buy stuff like food or trinkets and they'll be cheap-ish but not super cheap like say, SE Asia. Lunch will be $10. A tshirt the same. The taxi ride from the airport to downtown Havana is $30. You can only get CUC in Cuba as an American. If you can get Euros before you go, do that. About $2-300 per day of your stay is a good conversion. You will not be using your plastic AT ALL except in less than a handful of places. Never out and about.

-If you don't speak even a little Spanish it's not as fun. There are tons of Canadians there as tourists, hell cruise ships dock in Havana so English can be had. But walk half a step off the path and you better have some Spanish. Or good confidence.

-It is like a third world country. And you will have no wifi, no internet, no cell service with anything you brought from the US and definitely not at all outside of a few hotel that cater to foreigners. Prepare to unplug.

-It felt safe. No one was anit American. Beggars and such were very very rare. Prostitution was apparent. General infrastructure is run down.

-There are a lot of museums, galleries and performance spots. Into any of the arts and you'll find all sorts of things to appreciate. Food in Cuba is simple, sparse. I don't smoke or drink so can't comment on Habana Club or cigars.

-Retail places are very few and far between. It is difficult to buy goods.

-Get Global Entry. I got back into the USA in 30 minutes versus 3 hours!! Seriously.

So go. Walk around. Be respectful. Reduce your "USA! USA! USA!" clothing and attitude, you'll get farther with the locals and they'll know where you're from quickly anyways. Get there before there are McDonalds and KFCs in Havana. Before there are Hiltons and Marriots. Go to Havana. Go to the beach. Eat fish. Talk to people. Spend money. Get your passport stamped and come back knowing you went first, before it became another Jamaica.