Took off a little early from work to make it to the bank to pick up euros (Cuba charges a 10% fee converting USD to CUC, plus a 3% transaction fee, so depending on USD to EUR, it’s usually worth the extra conversion). Made it just in time, got dinner and took off for the airport.
Our flight from SF was delayed two hours, so we took off well after midnight. not at it mattered, but we had a five hour layover at FLL, so ere was plenty of time. After arriving at FLL, we got to our gate, got visas, and then got food. Once we got back to our gate, we checked the boards and found our flight delayed. then we got a torrent of emails telling us our flight was delayed further. then we missed our flight. I’m really not sure how that happened, but after scrambling and almost purchasing tickets to Havana on Spirit (and only seeing three people yelling at Spirit agents for their horrible service, we ended up working with JetBlue to get on the next flight out, at 8am the following morning.
Throughout all of this, we tried to get in contact with our friends in Cuba to tell them our plans had changed, but couldn’t get through. It’s going to be really interesting to see what not having reliable internet access is like.
With 20 hours to kill, we checked into our hotel, took showers and started looking for a place to eat. If you’re ever in Ft. Lauderdale, do yourself a favor and find a little hole in the wall called Island Fusion Grill. It might take a bit for your food to arrive, but it is more than worth it. I ordered the churrasco, Dina had brown stew, and all we could do was smile and eat. The owners, Diana and Jorge, are the sweetest people you could ever meet, and their ability to cook is remarkable.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and passed out at 8pm.