Viva Cuba! - Family holiday

Today’s orientation tour gives you a feel for how Havana developed over the ages. The old city inside the original fortified walls - La Habana Vieja - houses the finest collection of antique colonial buildings in the Americas. The Plaza de Armas is dominated by the former residence of the Spanish governors, now the City Museum, a treasure trove which provides an excellent insight into their grand lifestyle. A few blocks away, an 18th century baroque cathedral and a clutch of imposing mansions grace the cobbled Plaza de la Catedral. Nearby, Calle del Obispo - the main shopping street - and the Paseo del Prado also contain impressive buildings from the colonial era. During your free afternoon you may wish to travel across the channel leading into Havana’s port, to visit the Cabaña Hill. Of the two great forts designed to defend the city (after British forces captured it in 1762), Castillo San Carlos de la Cabaña is the largest in the Americas with splendid views over the city. Havana’s famous esplanade, the Malecón, extends seven kilometres along the seafront, lined with once elegant mansions. This is where young Havanans come to hang out in the evening - with a bottle of rum and some music; by day it’s a place to stroll and enjoy the sea air. (B)

Photography workshop:

After a morning briefing  with professional photographer Harold Vasquez, you'll check your camera settings and set out into the old city to capture Cuba's iconic images:  From vintage Vehicles (camel bus, bullocks, carts, vintage cars), to portraits of charismatic people smoking big cigars to Street vendors and markets for colour and Socialist sign posts for a sense of history (framing and capturing when moving on driving days). At the end of the day you'll all get together for a debrief and to review your pictures.   

The Viñales Valley boasts the oldest geological formations in Cuba, unique to the area. Spectacular mogotes - sheer-sided, conical towers of limestone, some over 300 metres high are all that is left of a great plateau after millions of years of erosion by wind and water. The resultant karst terrain is similar to southern China or Vietnam - especially when a layer of mist carpets the valley floor in the early morning. It’s a fascinating scene - all the more so when oxen are working the fields and the heady scent of tobacco fills the air as the plants reach maturity between January and April. You’ll take a guided walk through this rich countryside to see something of rural life and hopefully stop at a farmer’s house. In the afternoon you’ll visit the Cueva del Indio, an impressive limestone cave, once inhabited by local Indians and filled with stalactites and stalagmites. A river runs through the second half of the cave and so you’ll board a boat to take you through and out into the daylight. At dusk thousands of bats stream out of the cave to go and feed. (BL)

Photography Input

Today you will have an early start to capture the sunrise and play with different settings, learning about aperture and learning different light effects. Tonight is your last night with Harold so he will make sure that you have a 'show and tell' of your best shots over the past few days.

This morning you will enjoy fantastic snorkelling and swimming at Caleta Buena. Natural swimming pools are home to countless species of coral and tropical fish.

After drying off (and buffet lunch), you head to Cienfuegos, a pleasant city with a European feel. This is largely due to the influence of French settlers who arrived in the early 19th century. A sheltered deep-water harbour ensured its prosperity and as the fortunes of nearby Trinidad waned, wealthy merchants and plantation owners indulged in a building bonanza. A walking tour of Cienfuegos is included in the afternoon. Hotel Jagua (AAA) - 1 night - Swimming pool (BL)

A short distance from the centre of Trinidad is some of the most beautiful countryside in Cuba.  Trinidad’s fortunes were made through sugar and the slave trade enabled Trinidad’s rich to become seriously.   Slavery has long been abolished from Cuba but the countryside remains stunning and local people maintain a strong cowboy culture, raising animals, crops and travelling around on horseback .   Today we spend the day exploring cowboy culture and head for a local “finca”  where we start our walk along one of the many tracks that cut through the forest.   We reach a waterfall  and have the added treat of being able to take a refreshing dip in crystalline water pools. For those that fancy it there may be the chance to go horse riding (optional).

Returning to the “finca” we have a typical Cuban lunch and can take more pictures as the farmers prepare the lunch using traditional methods.   After lunch, Julio will show us his horse whispering techniques before we head off back towards the river to take photographs of country life. In the late afternoon we return to Trinidad. (BL)

Photography Workshop:

Today will be a Cowboy day, focussing on the rich traditions in Cuba of cowboy culture. We spend the best part of the morning exploring on horseback, setting off in the morning to meet our steeds.   We ride through the Cuban country side and reach a waterfall where we can stop for a swim.  From there we return to the Finca ( farm ) where we have traditional Cuban country lunch.  There are plenty of opportunities for photographing the unique traditions of country life as well as recording the gorgeus scenery .  After lunch Julio will give us a demonstration of his horse whispering techniques before we take a wander together into the countryside to capture shots of local farmers and workers. 

At around 3PM we say good bye to Julio and head back to picturesque Trinidad for one last night. 

You wake this morning in the university town of Santa Clara, the site of the last battle of the revolution. It was Che Guevara’s victorious attack on an armoured train here that convinced Batista to flee the country. You will visit the train, now a museum as well as Che’s mausoleum. The museum’s collection includes his famously iconic beret and leather jacket.

From here you drive (approx. 3 ½ hrs) to the northern coast and your "all inclusive" beachside base of Varadero. The crystal clear waters and sparkling sand of this peninsula are justly famous. Ỳou will then enjoy a full free day to relax on the beach or take part to the many activities around. Occidental Allegro (AAA) - 1 night - Swimming pool (BD)