Eastern Cuba photo tour

If you have already visited the holy trinity of Havana, Trinidad and Viñales and know what a fabulous photographic destination Cuba is, then this adventure to Eastern Cuba will prove enticingly and incredibly different. Physically stunning and heavily infused with Afro-Cuban and even Taíno traditions, ‘Oriente’ is one of the most fascinating parts of Cuba. Closer to Haiti and Jamaica than Havana, it looks east and is steeped in French, Haitian, and Jamaican influences. The music and dance culture is distinct. The mountainous landscapes are staggeringly beautiful. And the region is steeped in revolutionary history and fervor.

Christopher--the Lowell Thomas Award 2008 'Travel Journalist of the Year' and the author/photographer of seven travel guidebooks to Cuba--has visited the region multiple times since his first extensive visit in 1996, and knows it intimately. (He has also led photo tours of Eastern Cuba on behalf of Jim Cline Photo Tours and National Geographic Expeditions.) He’s put together a fantastic itinerary packed full of intriguing photo ops… from a shoot with quinceañeras celebrating their 15th birthdays to private visits to tiny mountain farms and communities where the indigenous Taíno bloodline and culture are visibly still alive.

Plus, there has never been a better nor more urgent time to visit Cuba. Tourism from the USA is at a decade-old low, making your visit all the more peaceful and personal. And the Cubans themselves are in need of our financial support as we invest in their private B&Bs, restaurants, and other touristic services under the U.S. Treasury Department's "Support for the Cuban People" license for legal travel.

ITINERARY (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Day 1: Monday 
We’ll meet this afternoon in vibrant, bustling Santiago de Cuba (you can arrive any time in advance, today or a prior day, via direct flights from the USA or Canada). We will enjoy a light rooftop dinner together in our pleasant casa particular (private B&B) in the city’s colonial heart.
Overnight: Santiago de Cuba

Day 2: Tuesday
This morning we’ll begin with an optional dawn walk through the historic neighborhood. We’ll return to our B&B for breakfast before another street photography walk, to include the colorful mercado agropecuario (produce market) and Calle de la Santería full of objects relating to Cuba's fascinating santería religion. We’ll close the morning with a private performance and photo session with a Haitian music/dance troupe perform in traditional costume. In late afternoon we’ll head to Cementerio Santa Ifigenia, where National Hero Jose Martí and Fidel Castro are buried side to side. While here we’ll photograph the military honor guard parade before returning to Parque Cespedes to photograph the historic core at sunset.
Overnight: Santiago de Cuba

Day 3: Wednesday
After breakfast, we’ll drive out of the city to El Cobre, Cuba’s most important religious shrine. Here, we’ll have a chance to photographs pilgrims and other worshippers, as well as sellers of religious icons, plus long-shot and wide-angle vistas of the church on the glade-shaded approach road and from the lagoon in the quarry of the colonial-era copper quarry for which the site of El Cobre is named. We then head to a bayside lunch overlooking Cayo Granma, then take a boat transfer to shoot in this island fishers’ community, with no end of fantastic photo ops. Returning by boat to the mainland, we head up to El Morro headland castle for some great photos and a cannon-firing ceremony at dusk.
Overnight: Santiago de Cuba

Day 4: Thursday
In the morning, our group will travel via Guantánamo to Baracoa. We’ll head into the mountains to photograph at Zoologico Piedra, a private “stone zoo” of life-size animals and characters carved into limestone in the mountainside. We’ll lunch in Guantánamo before a spectacularly scenic coastal drive and mountain switchback to arrive in Baracoa–Cuba’s oldest city, founded in 1511 on the Atlantic shore in a bay surrounded by rainforest-clad mountains. Baracoa is unique, with a distinct and fascinating frontier culture, transporting us back in time. We hope to arrive with time for spectacular sunset shots of El Yunque from the former hilltop castle. We’ll overnight in a selection of Baracoa’s finest private B&Bs, all close to one another.
Overnight: Baracoa

Day 5: Friday
This morning we’ll delight in shooting the town’s time-worn architecture and meeting the local people, letting serendipity guide us to street photography opportunities. Lunch will be at leisure, followed by a photo shoot of a quinceanera (fifteenth birthday) with a local photographer. This will include prepping the girl indoors under tungsten light; then we’ll walk the streets in late afternoon sunlight to photograph her against the most spectacular backdrops.
Overnight: Baracoa

Day 6: Saturday
This morning we head out of town to a small private farmstead for a demo of chocolate making and local cooking at this private cacao farm. We then continue a short distance to a rural hamlet for a cultural display of Kiriba y Nengón; this is a rare opportunity to photograph a community with a strong Taíno indigenous bloodline and traditions. Here, we’ll enjoy a delicious suckling lunch with Taíno delicacies unique to the region. Returning to Baracoa, the afternoon is free for more street photography until we’ll head to Boca de Miel rivermouth or the Bahía de Miel to photograph fishermen casting fishnets at sunset.
Overnight: Baracoa

Day 7: Sunday
We’ll return to Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba via either La Farola or via Punta Maisí (Cuba’s easternmost tip), offering spectacular coastal landscapes. Arriving Guantánamo for lunch, time permitting, we’ll take time for street photography in this mainly Afro-Caribbean city. After dinner back in Santiago de Cuba, we hope to have an optional chance to thrill to a sensational Cuban cabaret at the Tropicana open-air nightclub.
Overnight: Santiago de Cuba.

Day 8: Monday 
This morning we hope to experience a genuine manifestación of the local Palo Monte (or Santería) Afro-Cuban religion in an earthy setting that promises sensational photo ops as believers perform traditional rituals. Afterwards, we’ll visit Cuartel Moncada, where Fidel launched the Revolution with a suicidal attack on the military barracks, July 26, 1953; and/or San Juan Hill, where a personal friend of Chris—a composer, historian, photographer—plays guitar as he regales stories of the Spanish-American War and the ‘Rough Riders’ who famously fought here. We’ll enjoy a light lunch in the Vista Alegre district, after which the afternoon is free for you to explore at leisure. This evening, we’ll enjoy a slide of everyone’s favorite images before our farewell dinner.
Overnight: Santiago de Cuba

Day 9: Tuesday 
Today we will depart for the USA.