This past Memorial Weekend I was able to spend time in the enchanting and forbidden Island of Cuba. It’s always exciting when you have a dream and it comes true. In the 1990s I spent a lot of time sailing in Key West and always was intrigued by the idea of Cuba. So close and yet so far away. The rebel in me almost hired a charter one time to sneak on over to this banned and illegal Island, a 90-mile sail, but sobered up the next morning.

At one time, the wealthiest island in the world, now a crumbling, decaying place with over 50 years of embargoes and political chaos.

I spent the night in Miami’s historic South Beach and caught the morning flight a mere 45 minutes away on Swift Airlines. Once arriving on this Island they call Cuba, the energy captivated me. An incredibly easy trip, and now I was here. Fascinating … the history, the architecture and the music, the beaches, the art and HEMINGWAY. And of course, the cars!

What most impressed me, were the people. Even with so much poverty, they were so full of joy. Beautiful people, very present in their lives. With communism, the US embargo, and the poverty, came no internet and computers, no iPhones and headphones, all the gadgets that distract us from really being present with one another. You actually made eye contact with people walking by, you have real heart to heart connections.

I highly recommend a trip to Cuba in the near future before it changes. No Starbucks, no McDonald’s, no Walmart. A clean slate so to speak for development and renewal. It will be interesting to see how this little island now unfolds with the new age of The United States and fresh opportunities of capitalism.