Beyond The Grid, Vol. 09 - Cuba, 2014 (Still Offline)

It’s been 10 years since I landed in Havana with five cameras, two laptops, and exactly zero preparation.

Jul 17, 2025

Back in 2014, I threw a handful of photos on my site. This is basically that same post, mostly unedited. Felt right to bring it back.

The photos still hold up. So does the feeling;

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO INTERNET??

But how will anyone know I’m having a good time without any Instagram updates?

A weathered vintage American car sits parked on a dusty Havana street, its red paint faded and windshield clouded. Behind it, pastel buildings with peeling facades and hanging laundry line a sunlit block, while locals walk and gather nearby. Captures the layered textures of Cuba in 2014. — This one was parked like it had always been there.

Cuba, welcome to the land of no internet.
A foreign concept to me, but surprisingly, a welcome relief after my initial wtf?

My first interaction with the country was a grueling hour of heavy questioning from Cuban customs, in Spanish, which made me second-guess my flippant decision to ‘hop’ over from Mexico. Fair to say our five cameras, two laptops, two iPads, and two iPhones didn’t go down so well in a communist country. But once inside the city, Havana was much more forgiving, and I was won over instantly.

A Cuban police officer on a Yamaha motorcycle faces the camera wearing a helmet and mirrored sunglasses. The bike's windscreen reads “Policia 256.” Shot from a low angle on a dusty road, the image was taken candidly, capturing the quiet intensity of the moment. — I took this one quickly, quietly, and kept walking. Didn’t feel like asking for permission.

The nostalgia from the crumbling walls, the warmth of the people, the ever-lingering cigar smoke... it's a place that's hard to resist.

A weathered turquoise wall in Havana features two old doors — one boarded, one bright blue — framed by ornate metal bars. In the center, a small sign reads “NO CARTELES” (No posters). Soft, late afternoon light cuts across the scene, revealing decades of wear and subtle graffiti. — As if anyone would dare cover this wall.

Not to mention the women are beautiful, and there are quite a few fun waves around.

This is just a small selection of snaps I took.
Welcome to Cuba.

A 3x3 grid of nine photographs depicting life in Cuba. Images include: a boy diving into water; children sitting by a wall; flamingos in a lake; colorful colonial street scenes with classic cars and horse-drawn carts; a cat and a dog in a window; and a lamp-lit cobblestone street at night. — A few frames from a world without a refresh button.

That was 2014. Now it’s 2025 and the WiFi’s everywhere, but I still think about those empty streets, hot light, and how good it felt to not be reachable.