Cuba

If you visited Cuba 25 years ago, you'd have found a different country. House owners were renting rooms to tourists covertly whispering their availability. You never saw a sign on a restaurant or accommodation. It was all word of mouth. Shiny vintage cars slowed down beside you on the street, quietly calling through an open window, "Taxi?".

And even today, when you ask someone about the government, they look around to be sure no one is listening before talking about Castro, or wages, or not being able to buy a loaf of bread.

​Today, the overwhelming feeling of the country pulses steel drums on street corners, Afro-Cuban music wafting out of windows, braless women dance-walking on the street, and ​billboards praising Fidel, Chavez, and Che as reminders of Cuban triumph, power, revolution, and socialism. You won't find a McDonalds, Burger King, Costco, Walmart, or Kentucky Fried Chicken. You won't find strip-malls, Geico ads, Ellen, Amazon delivery trucks, or gluten-free anything.

If you can get into the country, Cubans will welcome you with kindness. You'll find poster worthy beaches, classic old cars, sensual and contagious rhythms, old people dancing, and the least commercialized island in the Caribbean.