Shorewoods Photography-Boarding Group 2 Travel Blog

Just a month or so ago, we were sharing dinner with our camera club’s Portfolio Project Reviewer, Alain Gutierrez. We have always admired Alain’s photography- especially his street photography in Cuba. We were talking about his passion for not only street photography, but for Cuba, and he shared he was taking a group to to learn more about the people and culture, and invited us to join him. We signed up before the dinner bill was paid!

While Art and I have dabbled in street photography, we have not had any formal training or instruction. We are looking forward to learning and practicing some new skills. For this trip we will be taking our Nikon Z8’s with the Z 24-70mm lens. It is tempting to bring other lenses, but we want to travel light on this trip, so we are packing our small Peak Design camera bags with camera, lens, and a circular polarizer filter. Clothes and gifts are packed into our carryon, as we elect not to check bags for ease of travel through customs and immigration.

Traveling to Cuba requires a visa, and a very specific reason for going. Alain’s trip meets all the criteria for Supporting the Cuban People. He was very careful to ensure where we stay, where we ate and visited were all private. The first big step in our planning was getting there. There are only a few flights that fly in and out of Havana. We chose to travel with Southwest. Once tickets were booked, we were able to obtain our Visas.

We flew from Reagan to Tampa, and from Tampa on to Havana. While at Reagan we met up with other members of our group we will be traveling with and discovering Cuba together.

The flight from Tampa to Havana was full, not an empty seat to be had. In about an hour and 20 minutes of flight, the coastline of the island appeared, and we caught a glimpse of some of the landscapes of the countryside.

As the plane touched down, the passengers erupted in applause. When the seat belt sign was turned off so we could begin to collect our luggage from the overhead bins, we were immediately greeted with the kindness of the Cuban people. As I pulled my roller bag from the overhead bin, a gentleman behind me took it from me and lowered it to the ground. He then held my backpack for me so I could easily get it on my back. All with a smile that radiated kindness.

We made our way through immigration and customs, and stepped out of the airport into a throng of people waiting for their own passengers. It was touching to see the families standing outside the doors anxiously awaiting their family member, and not only the family burst out in smiles when they spotted their loved ones, everyone waiting joined in the welcoming.

Alain was there to welcome us, and soon, our group was all together. We stowed our luggage in vintage cars for our ride into Havana and to our hotel.

It was like entering a different world. The ride into Havana was our first introduction to the country. It was a feast for our eyes, as we quickly learned how to look differently, and see differently.

We are staying at Los Posada Hotel. We have a comfortable room, most importantly with air conditioning!

We settled in, freshened up, and met together as a group to go over our itinerary for the next 5 days and nights. After a full day of travel, we headed out for dinner, only to experience our first downpour of the trip. While the umbrella kept most of me dry, the driving soaking rain quickly took over my shoes. We escaped into a restaurant on the corner to have some drinks before dinner. Our first Mojito!

To be clear, it was a beer Mojito, where the Mojito is made with Cuban Rum, and then a can of beer is inverted into the glass. As you drink the Mojito, the beer refills the glass, and mixes with the rum. The rain soon stopped, and we headed to dinner on the rooftop of a local restaurant. The food was delicious, and we felt refreshed and energized to head out for an evening of street photography, and our first opportunities to make photos in the streets of Havana.

We returned to our hotel and settled in for a much needed night of sleep. Our Cuban Aventura has begun!