Cuba Photography Tour

Itinerary

Friday, February 16 – Thursday, February 22 (6B, 6L, 5D)

Friday, February 16: Meet in the early AM at the Miami Airport (MIA), time TBA. We’ll check in for our flight to Havana mid-morning.

Our photography tour starts in Cuba’s capital city, Havana, which lies along the sparkling crystalline waters of the Caribbean Ocean. We’ll be immersed in the regional culture, mingling with the locals, taking in the mesmerizing historical sights, and photographing Havana’s earthy authenticity.

We’ll tour and photograph Ernest Hemingway’s charming country estate, Finca Vigia, where he resided from 1939 to 1960. Hemingway’s beloved home displays a genuine snapshot of his day-to-day domestic life during his residency in Cuba. Wander the home’s exterior, and peek into the open windows where his Royal typewriter remains propped on the bookshelf where he stood to write. For Whom The Bell Tolls and The Old Man and The Sea, two of Hemingway’s most celebrated novels, were written at Finca Vigia. It is here that Hemingway kept his most prized possessions: fishing rods, animal trophies, paintings, personal journals, thousands of photographs, and even the original manuscripts of his stories and novels. A Hemingway fan or not, anyone will appreciate this momentous monument which pays tribute to one of the 20th century’s most notable American authors!

While in Havana, we’ll be sure to pay a visit to its legendary Colon Cemetery, a resting place for more than 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults. Impressive, elaborately sculpted architectural memorial styles range from renaissance to neoclassical to art deco. More than 800,000 graves and 1,000,000 interments pay respect to those who shaped Havana, including illustrious political figures, service men, writers, musicians, and baseball players. Today, Colon Cemetery remains one of the great historical cemeteries of the world.

We’ll travel to the Spanish colonial settlement, Trinidad. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, Trinidad is a photographic paradise featuring cobblestone streets lined with leather-faced country folk, snorting donkeys, and guitar-wielding troubadours, one of the precious cities in the world that has maintained its historic core, a virtual outside museum!

A stopover in Cienfuegos, Cuba’s ‘Pearl of the South’ is on the agenda. Settled by French immigrants in 1819, Cienfuegos was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005 for its remarkable, elegantly maintained cluster of neoclassical architecture. Nestled along the Caribbean, Cienfuegos is an important port city and lies at the heart of the country’s sugar cane, mango, tobacco, and coffee production area. From its beautiful bay to its impressive palaces, parks, theaters, and cathedrals, Cienfuegos is a wonderful city to explore and photograph!

We’ll spend a day and venture about the traditional Viñales and Viñales Valley, a rural agricultural area known for its natural beauty, tobacco farms, and easygoing atmosphere and people. Mogotes, or limestone monoliths, low mountain ranges, and luscious green fields dominate this fertile landscape. A stop at a cigar farm is on the menu. Here the local farmers will teach us about the premium tobacco grown in this area along with the art of rolling Cuba’s famous fine cigars.

During our time at these and other notable locations, we’ll immerse ourselves in the equally significant Cuban culture, including dance, music, literature, sport, and art. We’ll meet Cuban boxers and ballet dancers, mingle with the street artists of Callejón de Hamel, and take the opportunity to learn from the diverse individuals who inhabit this intriguing Caribbean island nation.

Please Note: This trip is permitted through the People-to-People general license category from the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The itinerary was designed to provide numerous opportunities for travelers to engage in meaningful interactions with Cubans, using photography as a medium for enhancing the educational exchange and cultural exploration. While we do our best to adhere to the itinerary listed here, traveling in Cuba requires flexibility, and changes to hotels and activities may occur.

Email our office at photo@naturalexposures.com or send us a note through the purple Book this trip online tab above for a more detailed itinerary.

Friday, February 23 (B)

Mid-morning, after breakfast, we’ll transfer to the Havana airport for our flight back to Miami, with a possible photography stop along the way.

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2014 CUBA PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR GUEST GALLERIES