Essence of Cuba Cultural Discovery Tour

Essence of Cuba: A People to People Cultural Discovery Journey Santiago de Cuba to Havana March 13- 26, 2014 Vinales and Pinar Del Rio Extension March 26- 28, 2014

We invite you to travel with us across the island of Cuba from Santiago de Cuba to Havana as we seek to experience the heart and soul of the country. We will learn of the history of Cuba from pre- Hispanic times to present. During the colonial period the island hosted Columbus, Pizzaro, Diego de la Vasquez, Hernando Cortez, and Ponce de Leon, to name a few. The mark of these bold explorers and Conquistadors provides a vibrant backdrop for our explorations.

Meet the people of the cities and the countryside as we visit Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa, Camaguay, Trinidad, Varadero, and Havana. Hear guest lecturers and local experts share their insights. Visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites, beautiful colonial towns, museums, beaches and more. Learn about cacao and tobacco production at local plantations. Stroll cobblestone streets. Swim in natural pools beneath waterfalls and in crystal clear water of the Caribbean. Savor Cuban foods. Dance to the soulful rhythms of the music.

Our Cultural Discovery Tour is fully compliant the U.S. Department of the Treasury regulations under the People to People cultural exchange program. We fly round trip from Miami on a licensed charter flight.

Please express your interest in this tour promptly so that we may reserve your space.

Mexi-Mayan Academic Travel, Inc. 8 N. Loomis Street Naperville, IL 60540 Contact Steve Carr steve@meximayan.com 630-878-8594

Detailed Itinerary Thursday, March 13, DAY 1: Day 1. Fly to Miami, group lodging to be arranged and billed separately Friday, March 14, DAY 2: Our Wilson charter flight Miami- Santiago de Cuba will leave at 8am, but requires a 5am check-in. The process is well organized but lengthy on both ends. You may want to bring a favorite snack for breakfast to tide you over until you can get lunch at our Santiago hotel.

Santiago de Cuba was the second ‘villa’ founded by Spanish governor Diego de Velasquez in 1514.

Formerly Cuba’s capital and harbor town, it is now a sprawling city in the hills with a population of 500,000. We will focus on the historic colonial center, where we will encounter incredibly friendly people eager to connect. Our Casa Granda Hotel overlooks Parque Cespedes. From this main square it is an interesting walk to shady parks, lovely streets (Calles) and music venues that all come alive after sundown.

A unique blend of colonial Spanish, French and West African influences have shaped this vibrant tropical city. Son, the intoxicating Afro-Cuban rhythmic music grew out of this milieu and is performed in casas de Trova, parks and accompanies meals all day long. (‘Trova’ arose out of the French troubadour tradition) We will reach our historic Hotel Granda at mid-day. The colonnaded patio will provide a shady spot for brunch. Then our rooms will be ready for a welcome siesta. Graham Green enjoyed this hotel and set part of his novel “Our Man In Havana” here.

In the late afternoon we will gather for a reception and orientation to Cuba, Santiago and our square. Then we walk to dinner at the elegant Zun Zun Restaurant.

B, D Saturday, March 15, DAY 3: Santiago de Cuba rivals Havana in historic significance. Cortez, Pizarro, and Ponce de Leon all made their homes here. This morning our exploration of the city will begin at Parque Cespedes. On the north side of the square is the 18th century town hall, where Fidel Castro delivered his victory speech in 1959. We see the Cathedral Santa Ifigenia, the Basilica Metropolitana, and the 1516 Casa of Don Diego de Velasquez with its gold foundry. Then we walk along Calle Heredia, a most interesting and lively colonial street flanked with distinctive mansions .

Next, we will visit San Juan hill and the Spanish-Cuban-American War Museum. Here we learn about Teddy Roosevelt’s raiders and their decisive influence in the War of 1898. Sadly the hillscape has suffered during Hurricane Sandy.

Our lunch spot will be restaurant El Morro. The patio has a stunning view overlooking the Caribbean.

Refreshed, we explore the imposing Spanish fortress Castillo El Morro built in 1633 on a cliff controlling the entrance of Santiago Bay and its dark history of slave trade and pirate Henry Morgan. Next we explore more recent history at the Moncada Garrison where Castro and his men made the first assault against Batista. Then we see the giant Plaza of the Revolution and an impressive Equestrian sculpture of Maceo, leader in the Spanish-Cuban-American War and local hero. The hill is flanked with a bold modern sculpture and the museum beneath may be completed.

Dinner at a private family run paladar will be independent. Perhaps at Company Gallo, but other recommendations will be made.

Later, we enjoy Trova Santiaguera, the root of Cuban Son

(B,L) Sunday, March 16, Day 4: Let us first visit the Museum Bacardi Moreau, one of Cuba’s oldest, founded in 1899. It is a stunning building on a beautiful square and features art and history of the 1st War of Independence. We may have time for rumba Sunday at the small Carnival Museum or find it later in the park.

Santiago's Ifigenia cemetery where José Marti is buried will be our next stop. Is a lovely serene place and provides interesting insight into history and funeral traditions.

Later, a ferry takes us across Santiago Bay to the small island named Granma. This former retreat of the

wealthy is today a community of fisherman living in red-tiled houses. Our fresh local seafood lunch will be delicious. We will walk around the small island, visit the wooden schoolhouse and meet children enjoying their Sunday.

This afternoon, let us climb up to the stunning Basilica of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre and perhaps join pilgrims for a Sunday service. The Virgin is the patron saint of Cuba and equally revered by Catholics and Santeros. This basilica is Cuba’s most important pilgrimage site. Pope Benedict visited here last year.

Let us deliver flowers to the Virgin and light a candle. Then, we tour the pre-Columbian copper mining community in the valley beneath We will enjoy another dinner at a private paladar, perhaps ‘El Palenquito’.

(B,L) Monday March 17, Day 5: Our early drive to Baracoa will be memorable. First the route takes us past farming communities and ranch lands in Guantanamo province. Then we follow the stunningly beautiful arid rocky southern shoreline and finally climb the mountains through tropical forests and past cacao, coffee and fruit plantations. We will travel on La Farola “The Beacon.” This is the only road over the mountains with new grand vistas at every switchback. This engineering feat was completed 1962.

Lunch may be a picnic.

Columbus made his first landfall in the new world here at Bahia de Miel. He planted a wooden cross and you will appreciate, why he named the place Porto Santo.

Baracoa was the first settlement founded by Diego de Velasquez in 1512. It became Cuba’s first capital and the staging center for the Spanish Conquest. The small town and harbor were guarded by three fortresses and by El Yunque- ‘The Anvil’- a distinctive flat mountain.

There will be time for an orientation walk through the quaint Caribbean town that has preserved its distinctive way of life through centuries of isolation and neglect.

We will overnight at Hotel el Castillo. Let us gather at the pool for fantastic sunset views.

Our welcome dinner will be at the family run Paladar La Colonial.

(B,D) Tuesday March 18, Day 6: Drive into the lush jungle to visit Finca Duaba, a cacao plantation. We will see how the beans are processed into chocolate. Later, we cruise down the Tova River. When we return a delicious feast will await us at Rancho Toa. You will enjoy the tastiest palm-seed- fed roast pig with traditional side dishes and desserts. A Santeria dance troupe performs for us and we will have a chance to interact with them.

There is a small Municipal Museum, housed in Fuerte Matachin, built in 1739. It provides a good insights into local history. There is also a display of brilliant shells from the polimita snails, which are characteristic in the region. The curator is M. Alejandro Hartman. He is very knowledgeable and personable and we hope that he will be available to share some intriguing town lore with us.

Shady Parque Independencia is the heart and main social hangout in town. Here, we learn about Taino Chief Hatuey and visit Our Lady of the Assumption Church which houses the legendary cross placed by Christopher Columbus when he landed at Baracoa.

Later, we visit Fuerte de la Punta built in 1803 (B,L) Wednesday March 19, Day 7: Today we travel along the Carretera Central, back through Guantanamo and Granma provinces to Holguin. On our way we pass through Bayamo. It is the capital of the revolutionary province Granma, and the 3rd villa founded in 1513. The city has suffered many attacks from pirates, smugglers and the 1st War Of Independence.

Then, in Holguin province, we pass through a more densely populated region and the granary of Cuba.

Next to agriculture, the province has been actively developing a variety of industries.

Our overnight will be at Villa Mirador de Mayabe. The hotel overlooks Holguin City in the valley and vast mango plantations. Let us savor the views from the pool! Later, we walk through a farming village

with typically thatched huts.

Dinner with a view will be at Villa Mirador.

(B, D) Thursday March 20, Day 8: Holguin City features 19th.century squares, the largest brewery in Cuba and the winning baseball team ‘Los Perros’. We will visit Parque Calixto Garcia dedicated to the town’s famous independence fighter. The most significant sites are right there: La Periquera and Museo Provincial, but the most attractive square must be shady Plaza San Jose.

Our travel continues to Las Tunas province which is a thinly populated grassland for cattle and cowboys and rice growing in the lowlands. For lunch we may look for caladosa stew at Quinque Marina which is the specialty in Las Tunas. Then we will hurry on, because there is so much to enjoy in Camaguey.

Camaguey is now Cuba’s third largest city and is among the villas founded by Velasquez in 1514. It was later ransacked by Henry Morgan and his pirates and rebuilt twice. Today, Camaguey is a place of great beauty, culture and tradition.

Our Gran Hotel is charming and perfectly located in the heart of the city. We will have time to walk in the central area before dinner and light a candle for a Cuban friend at La Merced or La Soledad.

Dinner will be an elegant affair at Casa Colonial, Parador de los Tres Reyes or 1800 Restaurant.

(B, D) Friday March 21 Day 9: After lunch, we will depart for travel through two more provinces: Ciego de Avila and Sancti Spiritus.

The capital of the latter was the 4th villa colonial founded by Velasquez. We will pass through endless sugar cane fields here and may still see some macho Macheteros. Let’s make a short stop here.

The last segment of our journey today takes us through the majestic Sierra de Escambray to Trinidad. We may have time to visit the studio of Yami Martinez or go right to our Brisas Trinidad del Mar Resort, where we will be thrilled to stay for 2 nights.

(B, D) Saturday March 22 Day 10 Trinidad is the 5th villa Diego de Velasquez founded in 1514 as a base for expeditions into the ‘New World’. It became the crown jewel of Cuba’s colonial towns when sugar plantations created immense wealth. Splendid baroque and neo-classical mansions with red- tiled roofs, mahogany balconies and elaborate wrought- iron grilles have been well preserved and beautifully restored. The cobble stone streets are alive with music and home to many artists. This UNESCO World Heritage Site will thrill photographers.

Our walking tour in the picturesque colonial center will include Plaza Major, the Cathedral, and, hopefully, one can still climb the tower of the Museo Historico Municipal. If time permits, we would like to include the striking Convent of San Francisco and Plaza Santa Ana. Lunch and dinner will be served at our Las Brisas resort and the afternoon is free for beach time and snorkeling or an independent return to the town center where we find a choice of interesting museums (Architectura, Historia or De la Lucha Contre Banditos). After dinner, most of us will want to return to town and experience Casa de la Musica, Casa de la Trova and street musicians. However, there will also be performances and dancing at Las Brisas.

(B,L,D) Sunday March 23 Day 11: Our drive to Cienfuegos will be gorgeous. The road leaves the Escambray Mountains and hugs the shore giving glimpses of coves, beaches and shrimp farms.

Cienfuegos will be our next stop. The city was founded in 1819 as a colony by a French immigrant to New Orleans. The only deep port on the south coast and 12 large sugar mills brought much trade the great prosperity. We will explore elegant Pueblo Nuevo centered around Parque Jose Marti. The Cathedral, Teatro Tomas Terry, Colegio San Lorenzo and art at Casa de la Cultura are striking.

Then we stroll along the historic pedestrian boulevard San Fernando and Paseo del Prado to take in the French-New Orleans ambiance. We also have an opportunity to walk through several peso and cuc businesses.

Palacio de Valle was built on Punta Gorda in 1913. The Moorish Revival edifice much reminds of Morocco, southern Spain and the University of Tampa.

Our afternoon drive to Havana will take us along Cuba’s expressway where 1957 Chevys will pass us, but we will pass the ox carts. The landscape will become more urban with Soviet style development. All of a sudden Castillo des Tres Reyes del Morro will come in view and we pass through tunnel into the center of Havana.

Our Hotel Sevilla (or maybe the Telegrafo) will be ideally located on Parque Central across from the Capitolio, the exuberant Gran Teatro, venerable Hotel Inglaterra and near the Bacardi family art deco jewel. This will be the perfect place for exploring fantastic street scenes, museums and the active night life. And the views of old Havana are a photographer’s dream. We will start with an orientation of Havana Vieja and walk around central square. There will be several suggestions for dinner at interesting paladars. After dinner, dance and drinks on the roof of Hotel Inglaterra will be fabulous.

The band is superb.

(B,) Monday March 24 Day 12: We start the day at the Museo de Bellas Artes to see the extraordinary collection of 17th to 20th century Cuban painting. Then we start our walking tour in two exquisite and very historic squares. We will also visit Taller de Grafica. This is a printmaking cooperative started by Che. Artists use presses from the late 1700s and early 1800s. They will teach us printmaking and it will be interesting to meet young artists.

Lunch will be paella at Hotel Valencia. In the afternoon, we continue our walking tour to see two more stunning squares and end up at the book market at Plaza de Armas where revolutionary trinkets are popular tourist items. A stroll along crowded Obispo Street will be perfect for people watching, and takes us back to Parque Central and our hotel.

Dinner is at another fabulous Havana paladar and will again be independent. For this evening we hope to find optional tickets for a ballet performance at the Gran Teatro or look for a jazz club or salsa or the now familiar Santiago Son. (B,L) Tuesday March 25 Day 13: The Museum of the Revolution is a must. It is located in the elaborate former presidential Palace, and chronicles the history of the revolution from its beginnings at the University of Havana to the modern period. It contains many artifacts, including the Granma boat that brought Fidel Castro and his guerrillas from Mexico to begin the first major offensive of the revolution. After this impressive site, you may wish to experience an optional Santeria cleansing ritual. The ritual uses flowers and herbs to cleanse you of any thing negative and leave you feeling refreshed. Santeria is a very influential traditional religion in Cuba.

We have most strongly experienced it in music and dance.

This will be a most energized Havana capstone. There is so much to see and do on this last day. A stroll along the elegant prado to the malecon would be a great chance to meet all ages and capture great images.

You know your way around Havana Vieja and may have a list of art or handmade souvenirs you have seen on our guided walks. Now is shopping time. Let us also visit the artist market to learn about typical crafts, meet artists and power shop.

Our Farewell dinner is planned at the colonial home of artist Kadir Lopez. We will enjoy a traditional Cuban repast of pork or yellow rice with chicken, served along with soup, salads, plantains, croquettes and other specialties.

(B,D) Wednesday March 26 Day 14 After breakfast at hotel depart today for the airport and our mid-day flight to Miami or continue on the extension to Pinar del Rio.

Vinales and Pinar del Rio Extension Wednesday March 26 Day 14 Depart for the western part of Cuba and the province of Pinar del Rio, with its jungle-covered summits dropping down limestone cliffs to verdant valleys. Drive along one of the new roads in Cuba to the town of Pinar del Rio. Stop en route at the Orchid Farm at Soroa, which is maintained by the University of Pinar del Rio. Accompanied by local staff, walk through the hilly grounds that contain over 800 species of plants, including 200 that are native to Cuba, all thriving in the humid climate. The first species of orchids were introduced to Soroa in 1948 by a wealthy Spaniard, Tomás Felipe Camacho, and the garden still maintains valuable specimens from the 19th and 20th centuries. If time permits take the hike to the waterfalls and enjoy the spectacular vistas at the summit, 2.5 km.

Lunch at either Ranchon San Vicente or El Palenque Continue to the Valle de Vinales, Cuba’s most famous landscape, located in the province of Pinar del Rio and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The geology here is unique where the basin has eroded away leaving resistant limestone hills called “Mogotes.” This area was the last refuge of the Ciboney indigenous group.

They were hunter-gatherers and were pushed here by the more advanced cave-dwelling Taino people. The province’s mountainous landscape is riddled with caves, some many kilometers deep. Ciboney burial and cave paintings have been found there.

We will explore the Cuevas del Indio, named for the Indian remains found inside. The cave was cut by a river through a “mogote.” As you weave through the cave, stalactites and stalagmites surround you. At the end of the walk, a small motorboat takes you back outside.

Our overnight will be at La Ermita or Los Jasmines Hotel overlooking the valley, with a perfect viewpoint to appreciate the distinctive landscape. Some say the terrain resembles a Chinese brush painting.

The steep-sided mogotes rise dramatically from the fertile flat-floored valley and are filled with farms . The valley produces the best tobacco. . The scenes here are timeless and depict rural Cuba – thatched homesteads and farmers known as “guajiros” riding ox-drawn carts with faithful dogs trotting at their heels. Dinner at hotel.

B,D Thursday March 27 Day 15 In the morning we visit the town of Vinales with its interesting market.

Next we tour tobacco fields of the valley and stop at a farm.

Then we see the Francesco Donatier cigar factory for an opportunity to talk with the men and women who roll and press the cigars for local consumption.

On our way back toward Havana, we will experience the successful UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the village of Las Terrazas. Las Terrazas is a small rural community set in the heart of the 25,000 hectare Reserve in the Sierra del Rosario. The area was badly affected by deforestation so an extensive regeneration project was started in 1968 and terraces were laid out for re-planting, giving Las Terrazas its name. This region is now again covered in thick tropical vegetation, deciduous pine and tall royal palms with their distinctive white trunks providing a lovely contrast against the rolling blanket of green.

La Moka Hotel here was designed around the trees and is a totally “green” hotel.

Let us visit with Tia Maria who grows and sells her coffee and with several innovative resident artists.

Lunch will be at the Casa de Campesinos, where the family has cooked on the same wood burning stove for generations. We will enjoy a traditional home-cooked meal outdoors on a thatched roof patio.

Later, we return to Havana for our last night in Cuba. Over dinner, let us compare impressions of travel through 13 of 15 Cuban provinces we experienced.

B,L Friday March 28 Day 16 We depart early for the airport and our morning flight to Miami.

Please call or email for additional information and Registration Package Note: Itinerary subject to change