The Official 2010 Green Cuba Learning, Research and Culture Tour
FOR EXPLORERS WHO want to learn about Cuba's green ideas and practices enabling its people to live within natural resource limits while at the same time achieving one of the highest levels of education, well-being, social and cultural development globally.
Excellent informative documentary: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil covering Cuba's new approaches to sustainable agricultural, urban gardens, land distribution, education, health, transportation, housing, and energy alternatives. Watch it on Current TV. 54 mins well worth your time.
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In Cuba from Saturday 20 to Saturday 27 November 2010
Eight days to witness island's world-renowned achievements in ecological, environmental, green living – examples for the North
Hint Click BLUE text links across this site for activity details and more pix.
Banana blossom. The fruit grows upwards. The plant bears one batch, then dies. Bananas were brought to Cuba in 1516.
Meet, talk and network with prominent Cuban experts in the fields of forestry, organic agriculture, climate change, nature conservation and restoration, renewable energy, and sustainable urban development
Visit museums, architectural and historical sites, United Nations biosphere reserves, and enjoy swimming, horseback riding, birdwatching, hiking and cave exploration
Relish the island's best food and entertainment in the five-star comfort of the Hotel Habana Libre, and the rural mountain top Resort Los Jazmines
Who should attend? Educators, scholars, environmental researchers, naturalists, conservationists, ecologists, healthy living advocates, cultural pilgrims and explorers, and people who seek to experience the real Cuba
Farmer assists customers at Mercado de Cuatro Caminos in Havana. Urban organic farmers supply produce.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) describes Cuba as the only country that lives within a sustainable ecological footprint. The island protects the largest percentage of marine and land areas, and wildlife and fauna of any nation. Ninety percent of food consumed in Havana is grown in urban organic gardens. The island – in policy and practice – advances the need to preserve the Earth for future generations of human beings and other life. This tour is for North Americans who want to learn about Cuba's remarkable ideas and myriad efforts to put people first and in doing so create harmony with the natural world.
The program is fully escorted from the minute you touch down in Havana until you return home. While on the island you're in the conscientious care of our expert multilingual Cuban guide together with our professional bus chauffeur. Our Canadian, Cuban and American staff ensure worry free Cuba travel before, during and after your trip.
This is an official tour is designed by Cubans for North Americans to candidly examine and enjoy island life as is only possible on Cuba Education Tours. It happens on the 51st anniversary year of the Cuban Revolution.
MEALS INCLUDED
Delicious complementary breakfast buffets are served daily from 7:00am to 10:00am at your hotels. Lunch is included on Days 2, 4 and 7, and Dinner on Days 2, 6 and 7. Your guide is available to suggest eateries for every taste and budget for meals not included in tour package.
TIME TO COMMIT
Tour is size limited and this one fills up fast (see costs). Registration is first-come, first-served – don't miss out. Consider signing up now. Shy, budget-minded or independent? Learn the benefits of group Cuba travel. If you want to stay longer in Cuba following the tour we glady help with accommodations and air arrangements.
TOUR ACTIVITIES LEGEND
Green Cuba Girl icon for official tour eco-activities
Shoe icon for music and dance activities
Turret icon for history and architecture
Face icon for art, museum, and education visits
Owl icon for flora and fauna stuff
Fork icon for tour meals included
Ball icon for beach, sun and swimming
Smiling boy icon for free time and leisure
HintBLUE text links across this site offer extensive details and pictures.
USA travelers This program is legal and licensable for professionals whose work is related to this tour's theme. LegalCubaTravel.com provides an easy step-by-step application kit. If you don't qualify for licensed travel, there are alternatives!
As of May 1, 2010, all island visitors are required to have official Cuban health insurance policies in place prior to arrival. Cuba Education Tours provides this coverage for all participants at no additional cost.
Travel for changeCuba Education Tours is a Vancouver Canada based organization dedicated to green, ethical travel that benefits Cubans and our guests. Five-star treatment round-the-clock from our Cuban and Canadian staff ensures worry free travel abroad. Island transportation You travel in a modern private fuel-efficient luxury tour coach chauffeured by a full time professional driver.
Getting to Cuba Call 1-877-687-3817 toll free or email us. We can help. Cuban poster Maize Grenade begs, "Inundate the hungry with food, not bombs," reflecting islanders' indelible concern for all who suffer globally.
"IN THE EARLY 1990s we were desperate to find practical alternatives to large-scale food production. It was urgent. We found and developed vacant municipal lots for organic agriculture. This was the start of our urban farming experiment. It was based upon need and it found resonance amongst residents. Ill-fated are cities that do not include urban plots in their agendas." – Conrado Martinez, Mayor of the City of Havana, 1999
CLICK TO REVIEW EACH TOUR DAY ::01::02::03::04::05::06::07::08::
CUBA'S WETLANDS are shielded from pesticide runoff that has destroyed similar areas in other countries. 4,000 smaller islands surrounding the main island are key refuges for endangered species. Its coastline and mangrove archipelagos are breeding grounds for 750 species of fish and 3,000 other marine organisms.
The capital city of Havana as seen from the fortress El Morro, across the harbor from your hotel.
Arrival at Havana's José Martí International Airport.
Collect your bags and go through customs. See What to take to Cuba.
You're welcomed at the airport by your Cuba Education Tours guide and professional bus chauffeur.
Your Cuba Education Tours guide will direct you to a bank or exchange bureau (CADECA) to purchase Cuban Convertible Pesos.
Group transfer to the Hotel Habana Libre located in Vedado, the heart of Havana's cultural and entertainment district.
Private check-in with assistance from your guide.
Meet and greet Welcome gathering at the Habana Libre's Bar Las Cañitas to meet your travel mates and tour guide.
Evening is free for you to settle in, rest up, explore Vedado's vibrant music milieu or stroll the Malecón seawall next to your hotel.
José Martí International airport in Havana – a colorful welcome.
Havana's Malecón seawall near your hotel – a place for relaxation and new friendships.
Most common questions1 Is Cuban food good? It's healthy, simple and not spicy.2 Am I free to ask any question? You'll insult your island hosts by being less than candid.3 Is the water safe? Yes, but we suggest bottled water for peace of mind. 4 Are vaccinations needed? No. 5 Can Americans join? They are especially welcome to do so! 6 Can I stay in Cuba after the tour? Absolutely and we are glad to help. 7 Do Cubans like tips? Yes, please see our Gratuities Guidelines.
Colorful indigenous Cuban Tody.
CUBA IS THE LARGEST and least commercialized island in the Caribbean. It hosts 6000 plant species, half of which are endemic. There are 20 million palms in Cuba comprised of 30 species. Other flora includes the rare cork palm, a holdout from the cretaceous period; the jagüey, a fig with aerial roots; the palma barrigona (pot belly palm); the ceiba (sacred silk-cotton tree); and the mariposa (butterfly jasmine, Cuba's national flower). The most abundant land fauna is reptilian: crocodiles, iguanas, lizards, salamanders, turtles and 15 species of nonpoisonous snakes. The biggest land mammal is the jutía, a tree dwelling rodent the size of a cocker spaniel. The native bee hummingbird or zunzún is the world's smallest warm-blooded vertebrate weighing between 1.6 and 1.8 grams. The Cuban trogon or tocororo is the national bird – its red, blue and white plumage reflecting the colors of the Cuban flag.
There are over 7,000 organopónicos across the island. This number increases daily.
More than 200 gardens in Havana supply its citizens with more than 90% of their fruit and vegetables.
Since 1994, yields have increased from 4 to 24 kg per sq meter (8.8 to 53 lbs per 1.2 sq yard).
Over 900 million kilograms (one million tons) of food per year is produced on organopónicos: about 82 kg (180 lbs) per person.
Today, 35,000 hectares (85,500 acres) of land is being used for urban agriculture in Havana.
The urban agricultural workforce in Havana has grown from 9,000 in 1999 to more than 44,000 in 2006.
Chemical pesticides and fertilizers are banned in the city of Havana.
Urban gardens build communities resulting in jobs, better health, greater food supplies, urban beautification, reduction in fuel, energy and chemical use, improved safety, and ecological diversity locally.
Following the victory of the 1959 Revolution, many Cubans began studying and advocating concepts of ecological agriculture and environmentally sustainable economic development that was just, and egalitarian. However, pressures to advance rapidly along western industrial models, kept this nascent ideology out of mainstream island thought and approaches.
After the collapse of the Soviet Bloc when the materials for conventional industrial agriculture became unavailable, Cuban ecologists and their ideas became more prominent. The swift and successful transition to sustainable organic agriculture was possible only because Cuban ecologists had for three decades prepared the way.
Fidel Castro was the first world leader to embrace ecology as the central issue facing humanity's future. At the UN Conference on the Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 12, 1992, he said, in part: "Let us implement a just international economic order. Let us use all the science necessary for pollution-free, sustained development. Let us pay the ecological debt, and not the foreign debt. Let hunger disappear, and not mankind." Click here for full speech.
Example of restoration in Old Havana.
Street pantomime in Old Havana.
View of the Capitalio from the Malecón seawall.
Inside view of the dome of El Capitalio.
Exterior and interior of the Cathedral of Havana initiated by Jesuits in 1748 and completed in 1777. Click photos for larger view.
Ornate filigree and statuary adorn Havana's Gran Teatro where the National Ballet performs.
In preparation for today's activities, watch this riveting British Broadcasting Corporation feature from Around the World in 80 Gardens on urban organic farms in Havana including a walk-through of Vivero Organopónico Alamar by fab host Monty Don.
This morning we'll visit the UBPC Vivero Organopónico Alamar, 15 km (9.3 miles) east of Havana. It's one of the most successful urban organic farms in Cuba raising ornamental plants, medicinal herbs, and millions of seedlings for neighboring residential and collective farms. Established in the early 1990s, the Alamar cooperative has over 20 members and provides a range of healthy, organic vegetables to the community. Produce is raised employing the practice of permaculture: no chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, natural biological methods are used to nourish the soil, frustrate pests and conserve water. The result is an increased rate of yield and reduced costs.
Highlight Special lunch prepared by members of Vivero Organopónico Alamar – a chance to dine with your new Cuban friends.
Now we're off to Mercado de Cuatro Caminos (Four Roads Market). It's the largest agromercado in Cuba. It's housed in a huge 19th-century pavilion. Urban farmers sell all manner of organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices from simple stalls. Separate sections sells meats and live poultry. The market is a landmark and has operated for over a hundred years. All of the essentials for traditional Cuban cuisine are available here, along with the aromas, sights and sounds of a bustling bazaar.
Followed by a walking tour of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We'll visit four of the five historic plazas that make Havana unique in the western hemisphere. It contains the largest collection of remaining colonial-era architecture. This is a private tour led by your Cuba Education Tours guide. Cathedral Square, the most beautiful and private 18th century colonial plaza on the island. Named after the masterpiece of Cuban baroque architecture: the Catedral de San Cristóbal de la Habana built by the Jesuit order.
Square of Arms, an ancient military parade ground for Spanish soldiers, surrounded by impressive buildings such as:
Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, former seat of colonial government. Today the building houses the Museum of the City.
Palacio del Segundo Cabo, seat of the second authority of the island. Today it houses important publishing concerns.
Museo de Artesania at Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the second oldest fortress built by the Spaniards in the West Indies. Today it displays treasures of artistic ceramics by the most prestigious Cuban artists from the middle of the last century to present. The institution is host to the Ceramic Biennial.
We continue onto San Francisco Square, one of the oldest plazas in the historical quarter. The square is named after magnificent Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco de Asís dating from the 16th century. The basilica is a striking example of Cuba baroque architecture.
And later to Plaza Vieja, the only civic square of colonial times. Absent are churches and government buildings, and is in contrast surrounded by opulent aristocratic 17th century residences. We'll visit an important center for the visual arts.
Group welcome dinner at La Mina Restaurant where you'll enjoy traditional Cuban dishes and live music!
Tour highlight Tonight we have a Cuban band playing for us. You'll learn how to perform and dance to Salsa, Son, Rumba, Mambo and other popular Cuban rhythms from the band members of Grupo Dulce María.
What is permaculture? A method of agriculture that mimics natural systems, thereby renewing resources, enriching the environment, and creating greater ecological diversity, stability, resilience, and increased productivity.
Vivero Organopónico Alamar workers. "Vivero" means garden.
Fresh from the farm. We have lunch at the Vivero Organopónico Alamar.
Vivero Organopónico Alamar welcome sign reads: We sell high quality seedlings, grafted fruits, fresh vegetables, and ornamental and medicinal plants as well as other agricultural products. (UBPC is Unidad Básica de Producción Cooperativa / Basic Unit of Cooperative Production).
Entrance to Mercado de Cuatro Caminos – the island's largest farmers market. Everything is organic and raised locally.
Cuatro Caminos farmer sells organic citrus and leaf vegetables.
Another Cuatro Caminos merchant offers pineapple and papaya. You'll greet many more of them today.
Río Almendares en route to La Habana becomes polluted.
Decades-old debris collects in the river before entering the bay of Havana.
Cuba is recognized as the global leader in environmental sustainability. It has 300 ecologically protected areas encompassing 30 percent of its territory. Six of these areas are UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves. Over half the island's diverse flora and fauna is indigenous – existing nowhere else – and is guarded from exploitation. In 2006, the World Wildlife Fund named Cuba the only nation to achieve a sustainable planet friendly economy.
Jardín Botánico poster encourages kids to explore and examine nature.
Soldiers fire the 9PM cannon.
Students watch the blast of the 9PM cannon.
Morning visit to Parque Metropolitano de la Habana (Metropolitan Park of Havana - PMH), a fascinating urban, ecological, and social project begun in 1990 and still under development. PMH is a 700 hectare (1,730 acre) urban environmental restoration and reforestation project along the banks of the Almendares River – more than twice the size of New York City's Central Park. PMH begins at the mouth of the river and winds along its banks for 11 km (7 miles) south. Park designers seek to transform the entire area into a green zone of natural beauty and urban gardens. Their objective is the creation of a unique ecosystem for people and nature within the city. Thus, they will retain the dense urban network of industries, services and population centers currently occupying the space. Yet, all of these human activities must conform to strict environmental codes.
Planners seek to create a "green lung" for the city, thus 80% of the park is devoted to reforestation and agriculture.
PMH encompasses four of the capital's municipalities – Playa, Plaza, Marianao and Cerro – areas of great cultural, racial, and social diversity. As an ecological park, planners are addressing the challenges of deforestation in the zone, haphazard social and industrial waste, and the general lack of care within the region that threatens the park's flora and fauna, and the Almendares River itself. The development of PMH depends on recovering and, in many cases, re-creating natural habitats, as well as developing mechanisms for these to coexist with the city and its many inhabitants. As a social project, PMH maintains a population of nearly 9,000 inhabitants. The redevelopment takes a most democratic approach: collective consultation and participatory planning with residents and their needs. Highlight Vegetarian buffet lunch at a top-notch eatery at the National Botanical Gardens – time to dine with tour mates and discuss new ideas (menu is 10 CUC and is not included in tour cost).
Jardín Botánico waterfall.
Followed by an afternoon visit to the Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba (National Botanical Garden of Cuba). It's a 600 hectare (1,482 acre) area with plants from around the world. The garden is divided into zones featuring flora from different global climatic and geographic regions. Jardín Botánico was born in 1967, and opened to the public in 1984. It is located about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from the city center. One of the highlights of the park is the Jardín Japones (Japanese Garden) with a pond, waterfalls, and covered areas. Another is the Pabellones de Exposición, featuring manifold cacti and tropical plants. Another is the Caribbean section that contains 3,500 species of plants native to Cuba, including a huge collection of gorgeous palms. As with all other Cuban parks and environmental projects the Jardín Botánico is a leading force in ecological investigation and sustainability. We'll learn all about their unique approach on this exclusive private walk-through.
Evening highlight Tonight we visit the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña and tour the facilities where Che Guevara set up his headquarters after the January 1, 1959 victory over US-backed forces. Then onward to witness a most dramatic event: Ceremonía del Cañonazo – the Firing of the 9PM Cannon at La Cabaña Fortress. This enchanting colonial reenactment dates back to 1519 when the city of Havana was enclosed by a tall thick rock wall to ward off attacks from pirates and the English. The cannon firing signaled the closing of the city gates for the night. If you were outside at the time, you were in "vedado" or the forbidden zone. Today the Vedado neighbourhood is an important cultural hub and beautiful section of modern Havana.
Youth are key to making it happen: New urban farms in the Metropolitan Park of Havana are producing an abundant harvest of a wide variety of crops, including tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, spinach, cassava, guava, papaya, bananas, carnations, zinnias, snapdragons and marigolds.
Diversity of people and their needs within Parque Metropolitano is significant. The park moves forward based on the unity of the community.
Logo of the Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba.
Stunning and magical tropical flora within Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba.
Jardín Botánico hosts the largest collection of Caribbean palms.
Jardín Japones (Japanese Garden) with a pond, waterfalls, and covered areas is a favorite among Cubans.
From left Raúl Castro Ruz, Antonio Núñez Jiménez, and Ernesto Che Guevara confer following the victory of the 1959 Revolution. Part of their plan was conservation, a profoundly new concept 51 years ago.
Organic legumes and grains on sale in Havana farmers market.
Hood ornaments on old Havana cars.
Island billboard reads: 200 million kids in the world sleep in the streets, none of them are Cuban.
Havana's former Capital building is today home to the Academy of Science (founded by Antonio Núñez Jiménez), and an internet cafe.
Interior of former Capital building.
Super special Morning visit and interchange with members of Cuba's premier environmental group Fundación Antonio Núñez Jiménez de la Naturaleza y el Humanidad (Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humanity - FANJ). It is a Cuban cultural and scientific NGO founded in 1994, dedicated to promoting sustainable environmental practices through education and community engagement. The organization is headquartered in a beautiful well-maintained museum in Havana – a fitting tribute to its profoundly influential founder Antonio Núñez Jiménez. FANJ aims to create a global consciousness recognizing nature as a central component of social, cultural and political identity – towards a sustainable humanity wherein environmental and cultural values merge.
FANJ logo.
FANJ is dedicated to research and promotion of programs and projects for the protection of the environment in harmony with culture and society.
During this encounter we'll get a regional and international perspective of FANJ's extraordinary undertakings from across Cuba: its five regional island centers, and beyond from its collaborators on four continents. FANJ is an influential environmental voice. Over 100 environmental university programs and NGOs ask for its direction when greening of thought and practices are a priority. Among its cornucopia of activities, FANJ offers permaculture courses, publishes and distributes literature, hosts and maintains an impressive demonstration garden, and leads teacher and student environmental education workshops. Foundations research foci include: geo-historical scrutiny and integrity, environmental education and protection of biodiversity, sustainable local development, the environment and the consumer, and preservation of the Foundation's archives.
This afternoon we'll meet with the professors and students of La Escuela Taller Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Workshop School). This unique institution was established in 1992 in a heroic effort to train youth in the arts, crafts and theoretical knowledge to rehabilitate and preserve their architectural heritage. The school teaches young people archeological and restoration skills necessary to sustain the physical heritage and cultural patrimony of Old Havana. The Cuban Capital harbors the largest collection of colonial-era Spanish architecture in our hemisphere.
Evening highlight Shake your booty to the best Afrojazz, Cubajazz and Sonjazz at Club La Zorra y El Cuervo [The Fox and the Raven] featuring astonishing performances by island bands and soloists! It's a popular haunt for Cubans and foreign guests (entrance fee is 10 CUC and is not included in tour cost).
Antonio Núñez Jiménez (1923 - 1998), ecologist, writer, scientist and much more. Painting by Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín.
Over the last five years, Cuba has replaced all inefficient incandescent bulbs with low-energy use compact florescent lights.
Details from two stone monuments in Havana honoring US civil rights heroes Malcolm X and Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
Cubans love flowers. Florist delivers organic sunflowers by bike.
Cuban girl wears belief prominently. Paz means peace. Islanders are vehemently against wars and think militaries should be abolished.
Many staples are grown organically in Havana: From left Bananas, coffee beans, cucumbers, pineapple, sweet potatoes, eggplant, and avocados.
ACTAF demonstration garden shows Cubans how to turn unused urban spaces into productive areas for substantial food crops. One-on-one training and remarkable instruction manuals help ensure rapid success.
Here, ACTAF scientists and technicians work hand-in-glove with "backyard" gardeners attempting to establish fruitful urban plots.
Organic harvest from ACTAF demonstration garden.
Small section of the incredible scale model (second largest in the world) of the city of Havana used for urban planning.
"Bicitaxis" or "pedicabs" are popular in cities across the island.
Grupo La Peña del Chan Chan performs at Casa de la Amistad.
Entrance to the Casa de la Amistad.
ACTAF officer Maria del Carmen Pérez says, "The common use of organic methods must be considered a permanent transformation in Cuban agriculture."
This morning we have the honor of meeting with members of the preeminent green advocacy group in Cuba: the Asociación Cubana de Técnicos Agrícolas y Forestales (Cuban Association of Agricultural and Forest Technicians - ACTAF). The work of ACTAF members in advocating and advancing a transition from western chemical- and industrial-based agriculture to sustainable permaculture has been applauded globally. This organization won the 1999 Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award). It was chosen from more than 80 candidates from 40 countries, "for showing that organic agriculture is a key to both environmental sustainability and food security."
ACTAF has over twenty thousand members in Cuba. They are technical, scientific, agricultural and forestry professionals. Their influence is vast across the island and people attempting to supplement, if not replace, corporate "eatable commodities for profit" with locally grown healthy food, use ACTAF literature and instruction manuals to assist. Look forward to a vital interchange with these Cuban experts on the exemplary benefits of low-input, low-cost, organic local food versus scary "Frankenfoods" churned out by agribusinesses.
Afternoon visit to the Maqueta de la Habana [Scale Model of Havana] and a private meeting with distinguished architect and urban planner Dr Miguel Coyula, director of the Group for the Comprehensive Development of Havana. His organization maintains a scale model – every building, street, tree and lamppost – of Cuba's capital and largest city. The Maqueta took eleven years to build and is the third largest in the world after in New York City and Shanghai. The model depicts 144 square kilometers (55.6 square miles) of Havana in intimate detail. City planners use this visual tactile tool to preserve and sensitively develop Havana. At stake is five centuries cultural patrimony. Havana, founded in 1519, was the site of native villages for centuries prior. It was the launching pad for the conquest of the Americas. Today, with 2.4 million inhabitants, it is the Caribbean's largest city, port and hosts greatest collection of Spanish-era colonial architecture.
Historical periods of construction are displayed through the use of different colors. Brown represents the colonial period, ochre the republican period, ivory the revolutionary period, and white represents new projects, sculptural monuments and cemeteries. With the use of textures and colors similar to the natural ones, the vegetation, parks, beaches and plazas are distinguished. This virtual tool enables city planners practical and realistic planning. They experiment by placing miniature buildings in the peewee metropolis to see how they fit within a specific area and architectural context. If planners don't like a proposal, they can move it somewhere else, demand a design change, or nix it. You'll learn how each part of the city has developed historically, and the tough challenges each district faces today.
Free evening Our suggested entertainment venue is Peña del Chan Chan at Casa de la Amistad to hear a traditional septeto band playing live (optional activity, not included in cost). Get ready to move to-and-fro with people from dozens of nations together with Cubans. It's a chance to dance, meet Cubans and shouldn't be missed. (Entrance fee is 10 CUC and is not included in tour cost).
The statue of and monument to national hero José Martí dominates the Plaza de la Revolución. Fidel Castro had a unique role as a young attorney in the development of the monument.
To know how to read is to know how to walk. To know how to write is to know how to climb. – José Martí, hero of Cuban independence. Click here to learn more about José Martí.
Ballet, dance, music, art and other cultural pursuits are socially funded. The concept and reality of the "starving artists" in Cuba is alien.
Two teachers and a support worker staff this tiny rural school with only thirteen students. It has computers and television. Electricity comes from solar cells.
We'll meet with renowned architect and urban planner Dr Miguel Coyula, director of the advisory agency "Group for the Comprehensive Development of Havana." Coyula is a dynamic speaker who has lectured in the US and Europe on Cuban architecture and sustainable integrated urban development.
Afrocuban inspired folkdance.
Cuban K12 students score highest in the Americas on school tests.
Cuban dancers and musicians perform on the Malecón next to your hotel.
Afrocuban dance in Havana. African and Spanish heritages have combines to create a rich unique culture. Photos Barbara Fudge
Cuban Trogon (Tocororo), Priotelus temnurus, is Cuba's national bird – its colors match the red, blue and white of the national flag. It is endemic to the island.
Young person staffs farmers market.
Cuban Gundlach butterfly Cuba hosts 177 species of butterflies, although only 18 are exclusive to the island.
Cubans enjoy lifelong free health care and education combined with inexpensive housing, utilities and childcare.
Program highlight Morning departure to Las Terrazas eco-community in the Sierra del Rosario mountain range west of Havana in the province of Pinar del Río.
We'll tour its rural village called Rancho Curujey and enjoy a welcome cocktail while learning about this self-sustaining community's successes in reforestation, historical preservation, environmental balance, and a good life.
Next, we'll meet with local artists and craft workers in their homes and studios.
Later we'll walk the incredible ruins of a French Coffee Plantation built in 1801 worked by African slaves.
We have lunch at a rural restaurant specializing in traditional country cuisine – always popular with tour participants.
You'll have free time to swim in the fresh waters of the San Juan River and explore the surroundings of this lush tropical paradise. Don't forget your swimming suit.
Eco-feature We'll meet the environmental scientists and technicians responsible for the restoration of the jungles and forests of Las Terrazas. We'll learn the principles, approaches and practices that combined serve to sustain the region.
Late afternoon Continue on bus drive to Viñales Valley and check in at your Resort Hotel Los Jazmines, resting atop a mogote.
Evening is free to rest up, enjoy your hotel, or local entertainment opportunities. Your guide will keep you posted on local activities.
Cuban Pewee, Contopus caribaeus, is found in Cuba and the northern Bahamas. Photo Ted Ardley.
In the countryside, many youth are engaged in organic agriculture combined with rigorous academics.
We'll swim in this heavenly pool at Las Terrazas.
Cuban red-legged honeycreeper.
Some among hundreds of orchids and flowers found in the Sierra del Rosario mountain range which includes Las Terrazas and Soroa.
Downtown Viñales. The village is an historic 19th century agricultural settlement. Colonnaded red-tiled houses in the neo-colonial style flank its main street. The valley is a World Heritage Site by the (UNESCO).
Left Cork palm flower, right cork palm tree. It is not a real palm, instead a member of cycads family. Viñales Valley's flora is closely linked to its ancient past, and holds 17 endemic varieties found nowhere else on earth, including the cork palm (Microcycas calocoma), a living fossil from the cretaceous period.
FIRST HERO OF THE CUBAN PEOPLE
Taíno Indian Chief Hatuey from the island of Hispanolia traveled to and warned his Cuban counterparts of the horrific dangers they faced from the impending Spanish invasion in the year 1511. Read about his legendary struggle – that of the premier independence and resistance fighter in our Americas who staked his life for freedom from foreign occupation and thralldom.
Exploration of Viñales Valley, containing the most spectacular scenery in Cuba and some of the most interesting and varied geological formations in the Caribbean. The valley is particularly famous for its great freestanding rock formations called mogotes.
We take a magical walking and boat tour through the Cueva del Indio used by Guanahatabey Amerindians as a burial site, and later as a refuge from Spanish slavers. Within you'll witness earth's natural and social history from the Jurassic to the Paleolithic era and beyond.
We'll enjoy a traditional Cuban lunch following the cave expedition.
Four kilometers from Viñales village, on one side of the Dos Hermanas (Two Sisters) mogote, stands the Mural de la Prehistoria [Mural of Prehistory], an impressive 120-meter high fresco painted in 1961 by Cuban artist Leovigildo González, a student of the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Depicted are the animals and other creatures that lived in the valley in prehistoric times. The mural pays tribute to the Darwinian perspective of evolution. We'll dine on traditional cuisine and the mural.
Meet with local farmers on their small tobacco plantations. Learn first hand the complexities of growing and harvesting the best quality tobacco leaves in the world.
Visit Carmen and Caridad Miranda's magical mini-paradise, known as the Viñales Botanical Garden. These two elderly widows maintain a little Eden full of fruit trees, orchids and medicinal plants nurtured lovingly and organically.
Free time in Viñales village to explore at your leisure the open-air craft market, the Parque Marti, the Church, and other interesting sites of this charming colonial town.
Group farewell dinner at your hotel – a chance to recap the trip and cement friendships with your tour mates. Afterwards your guide will suggest local entertainment options.
Mural de la Prehistoria [Mural of Prehistory] commissioned by Fidel Castro in 1961. Artist Leovigildo González was a student of Mexican great Diego Rivera.
We'll learn about the cultivation and processing of tobacco from seed to leaf culminating in the world's most famous cigars.
A river runs through the Cueva del Indio used by the Guanahatabey Amerindians as a burial site and a refuge from the Spaniards.
The jutía, native to Cuba, is a large rodent the size of a cocker spaniel. They dwell in trees and are vegetarians. Jutías are the preferred breakfast of crocodiles and the largest endemic island mammal.
VINALES VALLEY is a picturesque town in the heart of Cuba's prime tobacco-growing region. The town itself sits in the center of a flat valley surrounded by stunning karst hill formations known locally as mogotes. The mogotes are irregularly shaped steep-sided hills that can rise as high as 300m (985 ft) and have bases ranging from just a few hundred yards in diameter to as much as a couple of kilometers in length. The mogotes comprise part of the Sierra de los Organos mountain chain, and were formed by eons of erosion. Many consider this the most naturally beautiful spot in Cuba.
KEEP IN TOUCH with your new Cuban friends – exchange email addresses! Bring some business cards to pass out on the island. Take pictures and keep a journal. Upon your return, we'll post them on this website for all to see and enjoy.
Green Anoles: Lizards are ubiquitous in Cuba. The island has 73 known native species and this number is growing. They are not aggressive, don't bite, nor are they poisonous.
Early morning transfer to Havana's José Martí Int'l Airport for your return home. Don't forget to save 25.00 CUC for your Cuban airport departure fee and some money for meals on the airplane. Want to stay longer in Cuba following your tour? Contact us and we will help make it happen.
Old Cuban saying, "a true friend remembers the song in your heart when you have forgotten the lyrics."
More Cuba tours
Five-star treatment round-the-clock from our Cuban and Canadian staff ensures worry free travel abroad.
In preparation for today's activities, watch this riveting British Broadcasting Corporation feature from Around the World in 80 Gardens on urban organic farms in Havana including a walk-through of Vivero Organopónico Alamar by fab host Monty Don.
![Mural de la Prehistoria [Mural of Prehistory] in Viñales.](images/204prehistory_mural333.jpg)
