After a late morning arrival in Santiago de Cuba, lunch at El Morro (the large fort commanding the bay), and an “overview” tour of the city before check-in, we will have time to catch the sunset and have a relaxed dinner. The following morning, after an early morning “Dawn patrol” and a leisurely breakfast, after a short drive, we will visit the village and sanctuary of El Cobre.
This is the home of the chapel honoring the miracle of Cuba’s patron saint, Our Lady of Charity. Lunch and a short siesta will follow to regroup and charge our batteries, literally and figuratively. Capitalizing on the late afternoon light, we will wander the streets to capture images of life that is uniquely Santiago de Cuba.
The following morning, Dawn Patrol and breakfast will precede a drive over the Sierra Maestra Mountains via the winding La Farola highway, which offers breathtaking views. The drive will be punctuated with two brief stops: first, it will observe Guantanamo Bay, and next, it will enjoy box lunches on the beach at Minias. This is the site where Jose Marti disembarked on his arrival from exile so he could join in the fight against Spain. Afterwards, we will proceed to Baracoa.
In the shadow of El Yunque (“a mountain like an anvil” mentioned in the logs of Columbus), green and jungle-like, Baracoa is the oldest (European) town in Cuba and was founded by Columbus. Conversely, it boasts the largest Tainos (indigenous people) remaining in Cuba. Spilling down the hillsides of the Sierra Maestra, this coastal village on the north coast has a broad bay fed by two rivers. These rivers and their settlements and activities along the banks and beaches offer scenes with livestock, gardening, homebuilding, washing clothes, and more. The rivers, Toa, Miel, and Yumuri, are integrated into the inhabitants’ lives. The river banks and mountains are farmed for coconuts, cacao, coffee, and bananas. After four nights in Baracoa, we will retrace our path across the mountains past Guantanamo back to Santiago de Cuba.
Each of Cuba’s forays into independence from Spain and its final one against Batista started in the El Oriente or “the East.” One might notice that the political murals are maintained and freshly painted in this section of the country, “Patria o Muerte,” “motherland or death.”Like Baracoa, Santiago is at the foot of the mountains, so it is a city of hills and contours down to the shores of its bay. Steeped in history and rich with a distinctly Haitian influence, it is musical, vibrant, and photographically alluring. A unique colonial city that has suffered and rebuilt from many natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes, it is a city that endures and rebuilds. For four nights and five days, Santiago will provide us with its photographic gems and serve as a base for forays into the countryside with neighboring towns, mountains, islands, and bays.
It was from these mountains that Fidel Castro successfully mounted and waged his guerrilla-style revolution against the dictatorship of Batista. Fidel and eighty-one compatriots landed from Mexico on the peninsula west of Santiago in 1956. The peninsula and province of Granma honor the name of the yacht that delivered them. The twenty-one that survived the landing and immediate attack fled into the mountains for sanctuary, and from camps in these mountains, successfully building the 26th of July Movement to topple the Batista government on January 1st, 1959. When exploring these mountains for coffee plantations, cacao farms, and vistas, our paths will cross many of those used by Fidel’s barberos (bearded ones).
This is limited to 6-8 participants. The cost is $6500 and $5500 (photographer & spouse, respectively), not including airfare to and from Santiago, but it covers lodging, most meals, all transportation, and locations in and around Cuba. All breakfasts, eight lunches, and five dinners are included. The last full day is “your” day to visit /revisit locations of your choosing. Lodging will be provided in various private homes and hotels, and meals will be served in private restaurants, so your trip more than adequately meets the criteria the US government (OFAC) sets for travel to Cuba.
Participants should pack lightly and expect warm but comfortable weather. Rain gear and good hiking shoes are advisable to handle getting wet and drying quickly. One should expect to be on their feet a great deal. Still, the walking distances in most locations can be mitigated with some form of transportation, whether mechanical, human, or animal. Photographically speaking, pack light, but Margo will inform you what equipment she thinks will best suit your needs. There will be image reviews and a celebratory group show and dinner on the last night.
The photographic guru and mentor for this trip is Margo Taussig Pinkerton, with whom you are familiar. Kip Brundage and Sandor Rodríguez are your in-country support. Kip has developed, produced, and taught photography trips for the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and National Geographic Expeditions since 2009. Kip has recently swum against the current and moved to Havana to be with his wife, Yunaysy, and her son, Royce. Sandor has a talent for finding photo-rich situations. He was one of the most preferred guides on the “Nat Geo” trips, and his good nature and command of English and Cuban history make him invaluable. He and his wife, Claudia Corrales, are Kip’s partners in EyeCuba. They also run a photographic center for emerging photographers and a gallery for the archives of Raul Corrales, the famous revolutionary photographer.
Please join us “en pueblo” in El Oriente!
This is a photo and cultural trip with limited enrollment, and the host has a preference for spots. However, a waiting list is available for any open spots (8-10 participants). Non photographic spouses are encouraged at a reduced rate.
