Travel-Learn Program

Cuba: A Mosaic of Cultures WAITLIST ONLY

Cost

This program is waitlist only. Please check out our   other offered departure date.

Contact

For more information, contact Distant Horizons at (800) 333-1240 or Usha Nand Sellers Ed. D., Director Tufts Travel-Learn Program, at usha.sellers@tufts.edu or 617-627-5323.

Itinerary

Day 1: Havana

Morning flight to Havana. Drive to the historic Nacional Hotel for lunch. Its remaining splendor and history serve as tangible reminders of Cuba's past.

After lunch, meet for an orientation tour of the city before arriving at the Parque Central, our home for the next four days. For our welcome dinner, we will walk to the Hotel Sevilla’s restaurant, La Torre del Oro.

L,D.

Parque Central

Day 2: Havana

Havana has the reputation of being the most splendid capital city in the Caribbean, with the finest examples of Spanish colonial architecture in the Americas. A great deal of restoration has been done since 1982 when the old city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Accompanied by our local guide we will walk from the hotel to the city center and explore:

• Plaza de Armas
• Havana Town Hall & City Museum
• Cathedral of Saint Christopher
• Plaza Vieja

Lunch at a local restaurant will be accompanied by a traditional music performance.

This afternoon we will take a motor coach orientation tour, led by architectural historian Isabel Rigol. The tour will include an inside visit to the:

• Riviera Hotel
• La Rampa park
• University of Havana
• Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón
• Ceramics Museum

After a tour of the Ceramics Museum we will hear a performance by Cuban classical guitarist, Luis Manuel Molina . Dinner is at Café Oriente.

B,L,D.

Parque Central

Day 3: Havana

After breakfast we will attend a lecture on “The Changing Faces of Cuba’s Economic Structure” by Professor Juan Triana, the former director of the Center for the Cuban Economy at the University of Havana. After the lecture, we will walk to the Presidential Palace, to learn about the history of Cuban political development. A short walk away is the Granma Memorial which preserves the vessel that in 1956 brought Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and other revolutionaries to Cuba.

After lunch we will attend a briefing at the US Interest Section. Following the briefing, we have planned for those interested to visit one of the synagogues in Havana and/or to visit the Instituto Superior de Arte. This evening, we will meet for a reception at the Ludwig Foundation, an organization committed to the promotion of art in Cuba. Dinner is at a private restaurant, La Chansonnier.

B,L,D.

Parque Central

Day 4: Havana

After breakfast, we will attend a lecture by the writer Carlos Alzugaray, a professor at the Havana University and the Raul Roa Garcia Higher Institute of International Relations. Dr. Alzugaray will speak on the US-Cuban relations.

After the lecture we will learn about urban gardening at Vivero Alamar, a state-owned research garden, and visit the village of Cojimar where Hemingway docked his beloved Pilar. Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea takes place in La Terraza, the location of today’s Paella lunch.

After lunch we will visit the Cuban Collection of the new Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes accompanied by a contemporary art curator. Next, we will visit the nearby home of Alicia Leal and Juan Moreira to meet with the artists and view their work.

Dinner is on our own.

B,L.

Parque Central

Day 5: Trinidad

After breakfast, we will drive along the autopista to Cienfuegos. En route we will stop at the Bay of Pigs and the Beny More School of Art. Lunch is at the Palacio del Valle located at the tip of Punta Gorda.

Next we will visit the campus of the Beny More School of Art which trains students in the visual and musical arts. We will have a chance to speak with students and gain insights into how they are able to produce wonderful music and art with available instruments and tools. Lunch is at the Palacio del Valle located at the tip of Punta Gorda.

After lunch, we will visit the Cienfuegos Botanical Garden and a local hospital where we will meet with the hospital staff. We will arrive in Trinidad in the late afternoon and transfer to our hotel. Dinner is at the hotel.

B,L,D.

Villa Guajimico

Day 6: Trinidad

Today we will explore Trinidad, the crown jewel of Cuba’s colonial cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We will begin the day at the Plaza Mayor in the center of town and explore:

• The Museo Romantico
• The Museo Arqueologia
• The cathedral, Iglesia Parroquial de la Santisima Trinidadr
• The Museo de Arquitectura

At lunch we will meet with local entrepreneur David Aloma who recently opened a private restaurant, the Davimart.

After lunch, we will drive a short distance to explore the area known as the Valle de Los Ingenios, a living museum for Cuba’s sugar industry, and then return to Trinidad for dinner.

B,L,D.

Villa Guajimico

Day 7: Havana

After breakfast, we will depart for Havana by motor coach.

In the afternoon, we will head to the carefully preserved home of Ernest Hemingway. Although entry into the house in not permitted, we will have a chance to admire it from the outside - a fascinating visit, nevertheless. On our last evening together, we will attend a farewell dinner at the privately operated La Guarida.

B,L,D.

Parque Central

Day 8: Havana

Return flight from Havana to Miami.

Price and Itinerary are tentative and subject to change

617-627-5323|usha.sellers@tufts.edu