US and Cuba – a journey of contradictions

During these past months when we´ve notified people about our travel plans we´ve gotten a lot of questions about our choice of destination. And of course you might think that there are calmer places to go in the world right now than the United States.  

Many different destinations was on the map for our adventure. We thought about Asia. Bali, Vietnam, Philippines are all popular destination amongst our friends with family. We also thought about Africa our South America. But in the end the choice was not so hard to make.

I always wanted to go to Cuba. I am so curious about this contradictory country and can´t wait to see it with my own eyes. Cuba, as I see it, is a mixture of love, color, music, history and proud and exuberant people. People who in the same time are very poor and during centuries have suffered from alienation from the rest of the world. Still, many of them have a strong belief in their system, in their leaders and in the community of the Cuban people. That they are also equipped with some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean of course helps a bit.

I was in the US two times in my life. The second trip was one of the best trips I ever had. Me and my husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) drove a car from LA up to Vancouver. The landscape we drove trough was absolutely stunning. Every time we thought that we reached all time high of the trip the next day would serve us with even more beautiful sights. From lonely beaches to high cliffs, huge trees and massive forests, big desert lands of sand, snow covered volcanos, vibrant cities and interesting and open people on the way was filling up the three weeks we had in the US. And we decided that we had to come back.

Camping in the Redwood forest, Oregon, 2009

Highway 1 heading north, California, 2009

The Dunes, California, 2009

The Dunes, California, 2009

Lost Coast, California, 2009

US is so many things – yes, it is a politically disaster at the moment but the country is so much more than it´s flaws. And sometimes the flaws is what also brings diversity and makes a country interesting to visit.

To hit all time high on the contradictory list it is not every day you get to experience the whole range of socialism and capitalism on the same trip.

Looking forward.

3 days before take off.