Recently returned from a 12-night stay in Cuba designed by Joe Sandillo and supported by a very talented local team headed by concierge Yusi and our guide/driver Jose Miguel.

Cuba is a fascinating country whose people manage to deal with numerous issues resulting from their political structure. Our visit enabled us to meet with and speak freely to a cross section of the population. This enabled us to learn a great deal about the culture, history and current state of affairs in Cuba. We are grateful to Joe, Yusi and Jose Miguel for providing the opportunity to experience the real Cuba. We visited 3 different cities, saw many of the traditional tourist sites; enjoyed several excellent restaurants; hiked the numerous nature pathways; experienced the power outages; observed the gas shortages; and traveled many roadways along with the horse and wagons. But the lasting memory is that of the Cuban people struggling with the decision: Do we stay or leave Cuba. Our thanks to Jose Miguel who traveled with us; ate dinner with us nightly, introduced us to his family and the many Cubans who are his friends. He enabled us to learn a great deal about Cuba, for which we are grateful. Highly recommended, but don’t expect “creature comforts.”