INSIDE CUBA TODAY
My journey to Cuba begins Sunday. I have been fascinated by the country and counter since I was five. Now the time has come. I’ll be traveling with 24 others with the JC Raulston Arboretum.
Here is my itinerary while in Cuba:
DAY 1: Saturday, November 7 – Gather in Miami at 8:00PM
Meet your hosts, Mark Weathington and Sonia Murphy, and Earthbound Expeditions program director, Kara Pantenburg, for an informational gathering in our private reception room at the hotel. The Miami Crowne Plaza Airport hotel is located just ten minutes away from the airport and offers a complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport. Sleep in Miami at the Crowne Plaza Airport hotel
DAY 2: Sunday, November 8 – Depart Miami and Arrive in Historic Havana
Your Earthbound program director will assist you with the airport transfer and flight check-in for the flight to Havana. Kara will distribute the visas and airline tickets while in Miami.
5:30AM – 7:00AM: American Airlines (ABC Charters) check-in counter is available at Miami International Airport, Concourse D.
9:30AM: Depart Miami on American Airlines #9452
10:30AM: Arrive Havana, Cuba
After clearing Cuban customs and immigration, you are welcomed by your Cuban National guide, Martín Roselló, holding an Earthbound Expeditions sign outside the terminal. Our guide will assist with the transfer to Old Havana (Habana Vieja) where we have a traditional lunch at paladar Tres Monedas.
After lunch, we’ll visit the private home and studio of José Fuster, also known as “the Picasso of the Caribbean”. The immediate area of his home is referred to as “Fusterlandia”. We’ll also stop at Revolution Square, one of the largest plazas in the world and where Pope Francis recently said Mass. We check into our hotel later this afternoon.
7:00PM: Meet your hosts and guide and walk to dinner this evening to one of Havana’s best known paladars, Ivan Justo. Sleep in Havana at the Hotel Nacional (L, D)
Day 3: Monday, November 9 – Markets, Organic Farms and A Day with Hemingway
Visit to an organic farm
Lunch together at paladar Ajiaco
Visit to Hemingway’s estate, Finca Vigía
Visit to the small town of Cojimar, the setting for Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
Dinner this evening at paladar La Casa
Sleep in Havana at the Hotel Nacional (B, L, D)
Day 4: Tuesday, November 10 – Conservatio Guillermo Tomas and National Botanical Garden
Visit to Conservatio Guillermo Tomas
Concert by students at the conservatory
National Museum of Fine Art
Lunch at El Ajibe in the Miramar area of Havana
National Botanical Garden
Dinner together at paladar Atelier
Sleep in Havana at the Hotel Nacional (B, L, D)
Day 5: Wednesday, November 11 – Havana to Trinidad via Cienfuegos
Depart for Cienfuegos province after breakfast
City tour of Cienfuegos and visit to a local school
Lunch at paladar El Bahia
Continue on to Trinidad
Dinner at Las Brisas Resort
Sleep in Trinidad at Las Brisas Resort (B, L, D)
Day 6: Thursday, November 12 – Topes de Collantes National Mountain Park
Visit to Topes de Collantes National Park
Lunch at an organic farm with an opportunity for a light hike
Walking tour of Trinidad with stop at the Museum of Architecture
Performance by the Ballet Folklorico
Dinner at Casa Museo
Sleep in Trinidad at Las Brisas Resort (B, L, D)
Day 7: Friday, November 13 – Return to Havana
Depart for the Cienfuegos Botanical Gardens
Lunch at paladar Villa Lagarto en-route back to Havana
Check back into the Hotel Nacional in the late afternoon
Independent dinner this evening
Sleep in Havana at the Hotel Nacional (B, L)
Day 8: Saturday, November 14 – Soroa Orchid Botanical Garden and Las Terrazas
Depart for Las Terrazas and Viñales area
Soroa Orchid Botanical Garden
Visit to Las Terrazas UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
Lunch and lecture about the UNESCO recognized biosphere
Return to Havana in the late afternoon
Farewell dinner at paladar El Decamerón
Sleep in Havana at the Hotel Nacional (B, L, D)
Day 9: Sunday, November 15 – Havana to Miami
You’ll have time for a leisurely breakfast and a little free time this morning before we transfer to Havana’s Jose Marti Airport to check in for our flight to Miami. American Airlines flight #9479 departs Havana at 2:45PM and arrives Miami at 3:45PM. (B) Sleep in Miami.
Home….and back to work.
Helen