Understand Photography
Understand Photography
Old Havana, Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad & Cienfuegos Tour
April 17-25, 2016
Only $4695 person/duo occupancy (deadline to register December 17, 2015)
Includes airfare from Miami, all transportation, lodging at the finest hotels in Cuba and most meals
Also included are the visas to legally travel to Cuba, health insurance in Cuba, two tour guides, two photography instructors.
We at Understand Photography are certainly becoming the experts in photography tours in Cuba. We’ve completely customized this trip by touring the most interesting places to photograph, all the while experiencing the rich Cuban culture, its fabulous music and colorful people. We travel on a People to People visa, which gives us the opportunity to see Cuba, meet the Cubanos and see how they live.
The US is starting to loosen the restrictions in Cuba so don’t miss your chance to experience Cuba NOW before all the developers change it. It won’t take long before there is a McDonald’s on every corner, just like everywhere else in the world!
The old ornate buildings in Havana, the colorful people, the music, the art and of course the OLD CARS are amazing to photograph! Cuba truly is a photographer’s paradise. This trip is designed for the most beautiful photographic opportunities, while honoring the rules of the People to People visa. We’ve added several more towns for a broader view of Cuba. Join us for this fun, educational and photographic tour!
We’ll travel mostly by air-conditioned bus with our group of up to 24 people. It’s a fun tour for photographers of every experience level, as well as for non-photographers! Peggy and Joe will be there every step of the way to help you with your camera settings, give composition tips and show you the view to get the best shots.
Our visas are obtained through Friendly Planet tour company: Operated by Friendly Planet Travel, U.S. Treasury Dept. OFAC License No. CT-2014-309385-1
Register here: http://www.friendlyplanet.com/sponsored/understand-photography-cuba-apr2016.html#tab2
Detailed Itinerary:
Your unforgettable journey to Cuba begins today with an overnight stay in Miami, Florida. If you are arriving at Miami International Airport, complimentary hotel shuttle service to the Crowne Plaza is available every 20 minutes from any 2nd level departure terminal, simply hail the driver as they pass. This evening at 7:30pm, participate in an introductory briefing to get acquainted with your fellow travelers and review your documents and program itinerary. You will be informed of the departure time of the group shuttle leaving the hotel tomorrow morning.
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Miami Airport.
Today, transfer to the Miami International Airport to board your non-stop flight bound for Havana, Cuba’s capital city and designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.Bienvenidos a Havana! You are welcomed by your private Cuban people-to-people representative holding a Friendly Planet sign outside the arrivals terminal at the Havana Airport. Board your air-conditioned coach, and jump right in as you head directly to your first destination in Cuba.
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant (Habana 61), followed by a leisurely orientation walk with your guide through the vibrant cobblestone streets as you immerse yourself in the colors of Cuba which surround you.
Explore the Used Booksellers Market, a cross-cultural treasure trove for readers of every genre. Meet local independent booksellers and engage in friendly conversation with Cuban readers about popular Cuban and American literature.Now that you’ve had a taste of what lies ahead during your visit to Cuba, it’s time to check in to your hotel.
This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at the hotel.
Accommodations: Hotel Nacional. Lunch & dinner provided.
Begin our day with a visit to a primary school (ages 5 - 12) located in Old Havana. Interact with the children in their classrooms and participate in a discussion session with some of the school’s administrators and teachers about Cuba’s education system and how it compares to that of the United States. Then continue on to the private studio of one of Cuba’s talented independent artists such as Eduardo Roca, affectionately known as “Choco”. During your visit you’ll learn different techniques of printmaking, sculpture and other art forms from innovative and internationally acclaimed Cuban artists and their teams.
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.
Visit the colorful Callejon de Hamel, one of the shortest but most interesting streets in Havana. Here you will discover how the African Cuban religion of Santeria, a fusion of African belief systems like spirit worship and Christianity, is portrayed in the street art and music. Meet with artists, including Salvador Gonzalez Escalona (when in residence), whose prolific murals that adorn the neighborhood reflect the culture and religious beliefs of this area.This evening, meet in our pre-reserved meeting room at our hotel and engage in a discussion with an English-speaking Cuban expert on the history of U.S./Cuban relations in the 20th & 21st centuries with the opportunity to ask questions in an uncensored format.
Afterwards, enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure.
Breakfast & lunch provided.
Today we visit El Morro a fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay in Havana Cuba. The design was drawn up by the Italian engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli; originally under the control of Spain, the fortress was captured by the British in 1762, and was returned to the Spanish under treaty terms a year later or we’ll pay a visit to Casa Blanca.Photo Tour.
Lunch at paladar Las tres monedas.
Visit to the Fototeca de Cuba (exhibit space of great Cuban photographs). Breakfast & lunch provided.
Shortly after breakfast this morning, depart from Havana and drive along Cuba’s “autopista” highway. Visit the town of Santa Clara.Enjoy a special visit to the Santa Clara Music and Performing Arts School, with dance, theater and music performances by the students. Participate in a discussion with faculty and students about the role of music and education in the USA, and the impact of music on Cuban life and its importance in education in Cuba. Please note that this visit is only possible during the school year (September through early June). Should this school not be available, or in session, during your trip, an equally enjoyable and interesting visit to another community project will be substituted.
Lunch will be served buffet style in the Los Caneyes Hotel in Santa Clara.
After lunch, we continue on to the picturesque town of Sancti Spíritus, one of the original seven cities founded in Cuba by the Spanish five centuries ago, and home to Cuba’s oldest church, the Parroquial Mayor.
Accommodations: Hotel Jaqua. Breakfast and lunch provided.
Early morning photography session. After breakfast, we will visit the Casa del Alfarero, a pottery house that was founded and has been managed by the Santander Family for generations. Continue to one of Trinidad’s many “casas particulares” or bed and breakfasts, where you’ll enjoy a tour and a discussion with the owners.Then, we will continue to Templo de Yemaya, where a Santeria Practitioner along with some of the religion’s devotees explains the basic principles of Santeria. Lunch today is at the beautifully restored Hacienda de Manaca Iznaga, located in the heart of the Valley de los Ingenios, a series of valleys once known as a center for sugar production.
Dinner on our own this evening.
Breakfast & lunch provided.
After breakfast, we drive along the Caribbean coast and through small towns and villages en route to Cienfuegos, known as the “Pearl of the South” and the capital of Cienfuegos Province on the southern Caribbean side of the island.Your next visit is to an enjoyable and interesting community project in Cienfuegos.
Enjoy a lunch at a local Paladar in Cienfuegos and then explore the main square and the Punto Gordo peninsula.
After lunch, return to Havana.
Accommodations: Hotel Nacional. Breakfast & lunch provided.
This morning, we will visit the Cemetery of Christopher Columbus before our drive to Finca Vigia, Hemingway’s Cuba retreat.
Then, we drive to the district of Alamar on the outskirts of Havana. Started as an expansive social housing project in the 1970’s, these Soviet-style pre-fabricated concrete apartment blocks are now home to hundreds of thousands of Cubans.
Among the buildings in Alamar are community gardens, called Organoponicos, where residents grow fruit, vegetables and herbs for their own consumption and local sale. Similar to co-op and community gardens in the United States, these Organoponicos facilitate community development and offer Alamar’s residents access to fresh produce. Enjoy a visit to one of these Organoponicos, which few visitors to Cuba have the opportunity to do.Visit Cojimar, the fishing village that was the setting for Hemingway’s book, The Old Man and the Sea and enjoy lunch at a local paladar.
Our farewell dinner this evening is at La California Restaurant (or similar).
Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided.
After breakfast this morning, we will visit Habana Compass Dance Company. Today, bid farewell to Cuba as you transfer to Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport and check-in for your charter flight back to Miami. Adios Havana!
Breakfast provided.
Register here: http://www.friendlyplanet.com/sponsored/understand-photography-cuba-apr2016.html#tab2
Hi Peggy-
Please put my name on the list for your April Cuba trip. Do you send reminders about payment before Feb. 1?