Cuba The Heart and Soul

Depart today on your flight to Cuba. A flight schedule will be announced as the tour approaches, likely to have everyone connect in Florida to be on the same round trip flights to Havana. Once the group arrives in the Havana Airport, you will collect your bags, go through customs and meet your local guide. After exchanging some funds, you will depart for Viñales, with a possible lunch and photo stop at Las Terrazas Eco Village along the way.

*Depending on your home departure airport and flight schedules, it may be required to travel to Florida on March 5.

The  Pinar Del Río Province is known as the home of many sugar and tobacco fields. It has an economy based on agriculture, mainly tobacco farming, and its soil is considered to be some of the richest in the world. Photograph rural family life amidst the tobacco fields and traditional buildings of this region. In the Viñales Valley, another UNESCO World Heritage site, we’ll see mountainous “mogotes”, made of hard limestone left over after millennia of erosion, as well as rural farmland vistas. An overlook offers commanding views of the landscape, which we will capture at sunset one evening. Karen & Joel will lead an early morning photography walk the next day in town before breakfast. We will then head down into the valley and walk the paths through fields of tobacco and sugar cane, meeting the farmers and photographing their homes, farms and families. Lunch will be at an organic farm overlooking the valley. Overnight Casa Particular: participants will stay in various local homes to experience the family hospitality and central location in town. Rooms have private baths and are the Cuban version B&B’s. (L,D; B,L)

Continue on to Playa Larga, at the head of Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). It was one of two beaches invaded by US-backed exiles on April 17, 1961. These days it’s the best base for exploring the Zapata Peninsula, Cuba’s largest wilderness area. The next day, explore Zapata Peninsula with your leaders and local guide to photograph amidst the wildlife and diverse eco-systems of the Zapata National Park. It has some of the country’s most important and diverse birdlife. Enjoy two evenings here with sunset and sunrise photography on the beautiful beaches, weather cooperating of course. Be sure to bring your bathing suit for a swim in this most beautiful bay. Overnight Casas Playa Larga.  (B, D; B, L, D

After sunrise photography and breakfast, we drive east to Cienfuegos, referred to as the Pearl of the South. The City of Cienfuegos is a very modern city by Cuba’s standards, offering architectural photography of the historic square, as well as a beautiful harbor, two of the reasons this city is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy photographing in the city’s main square, Parque José Martí, the Tomas Terry Theater, and the neo-classical cathedral. Walk along the lovely Malecon, bustling Paseo del Prado and one of Cuba’s longest waterfront walkways.

Leaving the city you will continue on to Trinidad, founded in the early 16th century on the southern coast of the country. It was designated a UNESCO site in 1988, and it’s the perfect example of a traditional colonial town, with red tiled roofs and an array of pastel colored houses lining cobblestone streets. Walk with your leader or wander on your own capturing the simplicity of this quaint town and its villagers. For sunset one evening you will drive to Playa Ancon, which provides an opportunity to capture the beautiful, sandy beaches of Cuba lined with palm trees. Both evenings there will be opportunities to listen to some wonderful traditional music and a chance to dance away the night.

After breakfast, your guide will join you for a walking tour of the city streets, where you may have an opportunity to photograph artisans as they work or school children as they interact with one another and their teachers. Travel to the Valley of the Sugar Mills, photographing the beautiful landscape and a ruined 19^th century sugar estate. The landscape speaks of the transitions this country has seen. Explore with your local guide as he educates you on the sugar plantations of yesterday. Overnight Trinidad hotel. (B, L; B)

After some early morning photography and breakfast in Trinidad, we’ll depart for Havana, with photo stops along the way and the possibility to visit a rural school as we drive through the mountains.

In 1982, Old Havana was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is brimming with a variety of historical landmarks and interesting things to do. In November, 2019, Havana celebrated it’s 500^thanniversary, with many cultural events and galas, as well as restoration of El Capitolio, Gran Teatro Alicia Alonso and the Plaza del Templete, the monument that celebrates the city’s foundation. Walking the streets of Old Havana is a favorite pastime and will surely result in an unforgettable experience with many varied photo opportunities. Your guide will orient you to the highlights of Old Havana on a walking tour. As you stroll the streets, you will be overwhelmed with sights to photograph, from the antique American cars, children playing in the streets or in abandoned lots, from the beautifully restored hotels to the paint peeling off dilapidated buildings. Havana’s architecture is the most beautiful in the various plazas, where locals and tourists congregate to share stories.  Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Cathedral, Plaza Vieja, and Plaza de San Francisco, are a few that are within walking distance of our hotel. You will be able to return late at night while music fills the air, or early in the morning to photograph as the streets come to life again.

One morning, after photographing with your leaders, return to the hotel for breakfast, then meet your guide for a driving tour of some of the area’s highlights (time and weather permitting): La Torre (the tower) with a bird’s eye view of the harbor and city; Morro Cabaña (fortress) just across the harbor, which provides another perspective of the waves crashing on the lighthouse and fortress, along with the skyline of Havana; Fusterlandia, where a Cuban artist reclaimed his impoverished neighborhood as a dreamy folk art kingdom; Ernest Hemingway’s former home, Finca La Vigía, where we can view the remembrances of his 20 years in Cuba; and Cojimar, Hemingway’s beloved fishing village.

There will be free time in the late afternoons to walk the promenade down to the harbor, with incredible panoramic views and the historic Malecón. The rooftop terrace of our hotel offers outstanding sunrise and sunset views of the city. Overnight Havana hotel (B; B, L; B, L; B, D)

There will be a transfer to Havana airport for your trip home (exact time to be announced). Confirm with Strabo Tours, prior to booking flights. Be sure to leave three hours between flights if you are making a connection after the Havana flight. This will all be worked out when we are closer to our trip date. (B)

 Participants should know that Cuba is a special destination. Please understand that all elements of the itinerary are subject to change and that activities listed are examples of opportunities that may present themselves. Since the program is authorized by the U.S. Treasury Department, we have to abide by any changes to regulations that may take place. Please remain flexible as these circumstances are beyond our control. Be assured that all efforts will be made to provide a comparable alternative should an item on our itinerary need to be changed.