Flying to Havana
I normally sleep like a rock, but I rarely have a good night’s rest before my trips to Cuba. Today it’s no different. I know the alarm is due to ring early, so early, and I find myself rising from the bed again and again, checking my phone, wondering if it’s time to go.
My restless action is one part nerves, for these are flights you really can’t miss, as they are complicated with longer check-ins and paperwork, even for journalists like me. But the excitement is playing a role as well. I’ve been going to Cuba since 1996 and have been more than a dozen times since, including one year where I went there three times.
Cuba is where fine cigars were born and perfected. As I write these words at 3:50 a.m. on Monday morning, I can almost taste the first cigar I will smoke in only a few hours. This week marks the start of the annual Habanos Festival, a time when cigar importers, retailers and executives gather with ardent fans of Havana cigars to smoke and network. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year, and I can’t wait.
Off to Havana...
