Cuba changed my life because it wasn’t what I expected it to be—in fact, it was quite the opposite. You see, being the avid traveler that I am, prior to my trip to Cuba, I read practically everything I could find. I had to read it if it mentioned Cuba. Everything suggested that traveling to Cuba would be simple, and that the people there would be kind and welcoming.

My time in Cuba wasn’t all that great. Yes, it is a beautiful country, and now that I have more travel experience and knowledge, I am ready to go back a few years later. However, it was awful back then. During my 23 days there, it was always hard to stay away from scams. Sometimes I was successful, but other times I was terrible.

It was disappointing. I felt like no one could be trusted. Where were the lovely Cubans that everyone in blogs talked about?