Cuba: Vintage cars and cigars in Havana

Cuba is a time capsule in the Caribbean. Five days and four nights, encountering colorful moments suspended between vintage cars and cigars in Havana.

On the waterfront avenue of Old Havana, colorful vintage cars (American cars from the 1950s) flash through the streets, their paint shining so much they reflect. Chartering a car for photos is a must-do for tourists.

Cigars are the soul of Cuba, and the tobacco fields of Binar del Rio have nurtured world-class brands. Watch the roller hand-roll it, paired with a cup of Mojito, and the Hemingway-style flavor hits you instantly.

Trinidad, a living colonial town, cobblestone streets, colorful wooden windows, and bands in the square. Climb the lookout of the Ignacio Valley, where sugarcane fields stretch to the sky.

At night in Havana, salsa music overflows from the door cracks, dancing alike young and old. A drink at La Bodeguita, Hemingway's handwriting still remains on the signature on the wall.

Cuba's slowness is an old dream preserved by embargo. When you watch the colonial church redden from the square at sunset, you'll understand: some beauties survive precisely because of the shutdown.