AGENDA
DAY 1
HAVANA
- We will be staying in a Beautiful Spanish style private home in central Havana, yet with all of the modern conveniences also.
- Meet artists and musicians in the colorful parque Prado (Havana’s central park)
- Enjoy a guided stroll in Old and New Havana.
- In getting to know the city we will spend time in shops that are privately owned, thus
supporting free enterprise in Cuba.
- Go bar-hopping, Hemingway style. Also, this is for tasting, and showing support for those bars that do not operate under government control. After thinking about it for so long, you’re finally in Havana! And all of your thoughts, ideas, and images will begin to crystallize to give you a true sense of this fascinating city and country. Starting immediately, you get an inside look at everyday life in Cuba.
- Later, you’ll go for a stroll in Havana Vieja (Old Havana) with a local historian for their personal take on Cuban history. This 500-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site is the original heart of Havana, built by the Spanish, burned to the ground by pirates, and still a fine district of baroque and neoclassic buildings. While many of the buildings are well preserved or restored, you also get a sense of the challenges that lie ahead as you see a number of buildings that fell into ruin over the past half-century. Our guides are not government guides. They are paid by our group. Our intentions in Cuba are not to be tourists but sincerely to support the efforts of the Cuban people to function in the small but growing free market economy within their country. This becomes a wonderful cultural endeavor and provides many opportunities to capture the real Cuba and the culture of its kind people.
- Not long ago, the government of Cuba finally allowed entrepreneurs to start their own privately owned and operated restaurants known as paladares. Your evening begins with dinner at one of our favorites. Afterward, you can retire for the evening, or you can join your guide to retrace Hemingway’s footsteps on a nighttime walk that ends up at El Floridita, a small bar Hemingway loved, where you can catch some live music and sip a daiquiri.
- Later that evening we will enjoy some live music at a Latin jazz night club and enjoy refreshing Mojitos
DAY 2
LAS TERRAZAS / SOROA
- We will drive the countryside to Western Cuba and visit 2 Sites, Las Terrazas and Soroa,
each offering a unique experience in interacting with and support the efforts of the local
people as they go about their daily lives.
- Las Terrazas is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Cuba that was the site of the earliest
coffee plantations in the country. The oldest plantation, built in 1801 by French slave
owners in Haiti, is well preserved. At the top of the hill, there’s a huge coffee mill for
grinding the beans, and numerous terraces that were used to dry coffee beans.
- Las Terrazas Village is a small community and nature reserve in the Sierra del Rosario
mountains in the Artemisa province of Cuba. It’s located in the municipality of
Candelaria. Las Terrazas was created in 1968 as part of Cuba’s Green Revolution. Fidel
Castro started a reforestation project on the terraced hills in the area. The project led to
the creation of villages where 1,000 locals live in a self-contained community. Here also
free enterprise is starting to become real and we give impetus to that by patronizing
numerous of their private businesses.
- Soroa is a village in western Cuba, located in the province of Artemisa. It’s about 69 km
west of Havana. Soroa is known as the “Rainbow of Cuba”. It’s a natural park with
rolling hills and tropical scenery and waterfalls. This beautiful place is not frequented by
the international tourists that spend their time on the beaches and the government hotels,
and so our visit is meaningful to them.
Soroa is a Biosphere Reserve protected by UNESCO. It is home to many species of trees,
shrubs, wild orchids, and ferns. It also has the Soroa Botanical Gardens and an orchid
garden.
DAY 3
HAVANA
- Parque Almendares and Bosque de La Habana (Havana Forest) is located in La Habana,
Cuba. It’s the greenest area in the city, with lush vegetation and trees brought from
Africa. It also has some of the last remaining old growth forest in Cuba. Wonderful
Banyan trees, and lily pads to the left or the right were something wonderful to see. Very
relaxing and nice for walking about. The water and the colors of the greenery and scenery
are awesome. Mother nature at her best. Here also we avoid the government restaurant
and find even more creativity in the privately owned establishments.
- El Morro is a fortress in Havana, Cuba that guards the entrance to the harbor. It was built
between 1589 and 1630 by the Italian engineer Battista Antonelli. The fortress is named
after the three biblical Magi. Our local guide will bring us to the hill overlooking this fort
and from there we will walk to the huge Christ statue at the top of the hill overlooking
Havanna.
- El Morro’s full name is Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro. It’s located at the tip of a
peninsula across the bay from Old Havana. The fortress is a monumental structure that
dominates the narrow entrance to the harbor.
El Morro was built to protect Spanish American cities and their ports from foreign
attacks. It was one of the first military garrisons built in the Caribbean.
Other information:
From the Tampa area, you book the early 7:25 AM flight for Friday morning, and the late 6:15
PM return flight for Sunday night.
A visa is required to enter Cuba. The visa is sold by two agents at the very beginning of the counter where Southwest will take your suitcase and give your boarding pass. The visa costs $85 and the friendly visa people will help you fill out the small form. Keep that visa paper in your passport.
Next you proceed to the Southwest ticket agent. They will mark for you on their system that you are not going as a tourist but in the US Department of State allowed travel type called “general license section 707 to support the Cuban people“.
The average round-trip flight to Cuba with Southwest is $560 and the visa is $85.
Health insurance – in order to travel to Cuba, all customers must have Cuban health insurance, which is automatically included in the cost of your ticket, Check with Southwest for details.
Foir any questions please don’t hesitate to email me at
Max.Bokeh@gmail.com
This three day, two night guided excursion includes
the guided photography tour, meals and lodging, pick up and drop off to the airport.
Limited capacity available,
please register soon if you have an interest.
Tour Date : Friday April 5th through Sunday April 7th 2024.
Cost per person $1980.00
Secure your spot
Tour Date : Friday May 3rd through Sunday May 5th 2024.
Cost per person $1980.00
Secure your spot
Tour Date : Friday May 31st through Sunday June 2nd 2024.
Cost per person $1980.00
Secure your spot
Much more information to follow once registered.