For many of us, this will be a trip we have long wanted to make. Our experienced guide is making all the arrangements and a program to address a variety of interests. Our costs are reasonable as compared to other licensed tours available. The current estimate for the one week trip is $2,800 per person, $5,200 for couples, depending on airfare, the number of participants, a hotel discount for couples, etc. The cost includes most meals, hotel, transportation to, within, and from Cuba to Santo Domingo, admissions, etc.

Details on Cuba travel in general, the tour itself, and updates will be provided as we receive them from the Lexington Institute. Arrangements are now being made and we can expect to have details before the end of October as to itinerary, pricing and payment, registration processes, the obligations we and Lexington have as travelers licensed by the federal government, and more.

An eight-day plan, in alphabetical order by topic, would include some or all of the following:

Sunday Feb. 12, 2012 - Leave Santo Domingo and arrive in Havana at 3:00 p.m. Group dinner that evening.

• Architecture - restoration of Old Havana, including its community and economic development aspects, including specialized training of youth in restoration of buildings, art, and artifacts.
• Art - music, painting, sculpture - visits to art markets and artists;art is one of the few purchases Americans can legally bring back in to the U.S.
• Disaster Preparedness - Cuba is well known for their work in disaster relief, remediation and re-development.
• Entrepreneurship - how it is expanding dramatically as part of economic reforms that aim to move one million from public to private payrolls; implications for families and communities.
• Faith - meeting with Catholic and Jewish clergy to talk about religion in Cuba and their charitable and development activities.
• Farm excursion - the changing face of agriculture, including a visits to farmers markets and organic urban gardens that work as cooperatives and sell direct to consumers.
• Health Care - it is free and universal in Cuba, but the system is strained, with shortages of supplies and other difficulties; we will visit a family doctor and neighborhood clinic.
• International Relations - meetings with diplomats resident in Cuba to hear varying perspectives on other nations’ relations with Cuba.
• The family economy - what Cubans make, how they spend it, and who falls short; we will look at purchasing power and income inequality through the eyes of Cuban breadwinners and consumers.

We have asked Lexington to arrange an overnight out of Havana so that we can experience some of the topography and culture of small town, campo Cuba.

We are also working to create a schedule that concentrates our itinerary and leaves blocs of time each day for exploring. Folks may want to meet in groups or be on your own.

Saturday, our final day, will be left open for ad hoc plans; there may be interest in further information or experiences with something from earlier in the week. That evening, we would have a group farewell dinner.

Sunday Feb. 19, 2012 - Departure back to Santo Domingo.

Logistical details to follow, including registration deadlines, as more information is available. In the interim please send an email expressing interest to Randy Adams at r.a.adams@mac.com . Those who express interest will receive a communication later this month directly from the Lexington Institute that will have full details on the trip.