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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged

MATANZAS, Cuba — I’m not a world traveler.

I mean, I’m not a good world traveler.

I pack too much. I’m a picky eater. Mostly, I prefer my bed at home to global adventure (unlike my colleague Erik Tryggestad, who has plenty of mosquito net stories).

Yet I am an inquisitive journalist and a big fan of on-the-ground reporting, so I’ve kept my passport up to date and covered stories in 20 countries during my 35-year career.

My most recent trip took me to this Caribbean island nation, where — as I noted in last week’s Plug-in — I reported on Christians keeping the faith at a trying time for Cuba.

Inevitably, such trips produce a memorable moment, be it frightening, frantic or funny. Sometimes, the notable occurrence relates to the actual story. Other times, an indelible personal experience stands out.

Here in Cuba, I interviewed longtime preacher Tony Fernandez in the dark as one of the island’s rolling blackouts hit the short-term rental house where I stayed. I used a tiny flashlight to see the questions in my notebook.

Fernandez didn’t seem to notice the power outage. He’s used to such inconveniences.

But the circumstances were new to me.

So, too, were these five unforgettable experiences during past international reporting treks:

Read the full column.

This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.

Photo by Candice Pinzón