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I
just booked a trip to Cuba that will leave in four days. I have been watching
the prices for months and it decreased so dramatically (for this sailing), I could
not resist this opportunity to finally visit Cuba,
especially at such a great price! What's even better, is that I will be on a
cruise with "fathom impact travel", a company that provides a whole
different kind of travel, with cultural immersion experiences and even
includes all of the shore excursions complete with walking tours, bus
tours, and lunches in local restaurants.
fathom
is a new subsidiary Cruise line of Carnival Cruise Lines that provides weeklong
sailings every other week--alternating between The Dominican Republic and
Cuba. According to fathom, "we will participate in an ongoing cultural
exchange program that will give us a chance to interact with the Cuban people,
one on one. We will build on the contributions of the travelers who have come
before us." The "f" in fathom is not capitalized reflecting
the humility embodied by their approach to interacting with members of the
local culture and making a difference. The recently renovated, 700-passenger cruise
ship, Adonia, was part of the renaissance fleet of ships that were eventually
sold to Carnival, Oceania, and Azamara cruise lines. Interestingly,
fathom is the first American cruise line that received approval from the US and
Cuban government's for Travel to Cuba. Their first history-making sailing to Cuba took place just two
months ago, May 15, 2016. I am happy they will provide us with Cuban visas. See www.fathom.org
For
an incredibly low price, I will sail from Miami, (where I live), to Cuba (90
miles away) visit three cities, have access to multiple lectures about Cuban
culture and history, enjoy multiple meals all included, have 4 lunches in Cuban
cities, take dance and Spanish language classes, and will enjoy all entertainment on board the ship, all while not
having to enter an airport or suffer from any jet lag. We will even experience
an overnight stay in Havana, where I will experience some of its
nightlife. Importantly I will be able to visit Cuba while it is still a
Cuban city from a bygone era. As we all know, in no time, Cuba will
resemble the rest of the cookie-cutter Western world replete with high-profile
brand establishments such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Sunglass Hut, Gucci,
Guess Jeans, Prada, and more, on every corner. Coca-Cola does not even exist
there. Cuba has been on my bucket list for a very long time and will make
my 91st nation visited.
The
ship will depart from the port of Miami at 4:30 PM on Sunday, August 7. The
first day we will spend at sea; the next two days in Havana where
we will visit the old town, revolution museum, Batista's presidential office,
Fidel Castro's yacht, cigar factories, Hemingway's former home, and more;
then we will visit the cities of Santiago de Cuba,
the country's second largest city--home to many of its famed musicians
and artists and a UNESCO world heritage site; finally French-influenced coastal
city of Cienfuegos, the center of Cuba's sugar, tobacco, and
coffee trades. I will experience all shore excursions with the same
cohort that will be preassigned and dinner seating is open-seating. We will
even take dance lessons in Havanna and after our walking tour, I plan to
take a tour of the rest of the city, in a classic car from the 1940s.
I
have already begun to brush up on my knowledge of Cuban culture and
history with my collection and the books I checked out of the library
today.
I
look forward to this experience to drive less than 30
minutes away to board a ship to finally visit Cuba, a uniquely beautiful
country, rich in history.
