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Seattle High School, Seattle, Washington

Cuba: History, Health, Education and Political System
An Education Tour from Havana to Santiago de Cuba

ITINERARY

Day 1
7 a.m. -- Depart from Vancouver International Airport on Air Transat TS210. Arrive 3:50 p.m. at Varadero. Breakfast and lunch on the plane.
5 p.m. -- Reception at the Varadero Airport by English-speaking guide. Transfer to Havana. Lodging at Hotel Vedado.

Day 2
8:30 a.m. -- Tour of modern section of Havana with visits to some sites that relate to Ernest Hemingway, including the old Capitol Building, Plaza of the Revolution, and the Vedado and Miramar districts of the city. Lunch at El Aljibe Restaurant in Miramar. Afternoon visits to the Hemingway Museum and to the village of Cojimar, fishing port used by the famous author. Return to hotel.

Day 3
8:30 a.m. -- Transfer to Institute of Philosophy for lecture on Colonial History of Cuba.
12:30 p.m. -- Lunch at La Cecilia Restaurant. Tour of some of the more important sites in the colonial section of the city (Old Havana), among them Cathedral Plaza, St. Francis of Assisi Plaza, Plaza of Arms, Municipal Museum, Morro-Cabaña Complex, etc. Return to hotel.

Day 4
8:30 a.m. -- Transfer to Institute of Philosophy for lecture on Modern History of Cuba.
12:30 p.m. -- Lunch at La Dominica Restaurant. Afternoon visit to Museum of the Revolution. Return to hotel.

Day 5
8 a.m. -- Excursion to Pinar del Río. Visit the Cave of Los Portales, where Ché Guevara established his command during the crisis of October, 1961. Tour the remarkable limestone formations of the Valley of Viñales, similar to the Quilin district of southern China. Visit the monument of Cuba's first rural militia, established in the village of Moncada. Lunch in the countryside. Return to Havana.

Day 6
8:30 a.m. -- Transfer to Institute of Philosophy for lecture on Public Health in Cuba.
12:30 p.m. -- Lunch at La Ferminia Restaurant. Afternoon visit to a secondary school and clinic.

Day 7
8:30 p.m. -- Transfer to Institute of Philosophy for lecture on Cuba's Political System.
12:30 p.m. -- Lunch at vegetarian restaurant El Bambú. Tour of National Botanical Garden. Afternoon meeting with a municipal governmental official, a member of Poder Popular.

Day 8
8:00 a.m. -- Transfer to city of Trinidad. Brief stop en route at the Ciénaga de Zapata to learn about the invasion of the Bay of Pigs. Lunch at La Cueva del Camerón Restaurant in city of Cienfuegos, followed by city tour in afternoon. Continue to Trinidad. Lodging and dinner in Hotel Las Cuevas or Costa Sur.

Day 9
8:00 a.m. -- Tour of the historic colonial center of Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Transfer to city of Holguín, with lunch en route at La Campana de Toledo Restaurant in city of Camagüey. Lodging and dinner in Hotel Pernik in Holguín.

Day 10
8:30 a.m. -- Transfer to village of Santo Domingo nestled at the foot of the Sierra Maestra. En route visit the city of Manzanillo and the monument and museum of the Demajagua, site of the first emancipation of slaves in Cuba. In Santo Domingo transfer to truck to climb to the summit of Alto del Naranjo.From there hike on footpath to the Comandancia de la Plata, where the main force of the Rebel Army was based at the end of the 1950s. Return to Santo Domingo. Lodging and dinner at Villa Santo Domingo.

Day 11
8:00 a.m. -- Transfer to Santiago de Cuba. En route stop for a brief hike near El Saton to absorb the abundant tropical vegetation and exotic bird life of the Sierra Maestra. Picnic lunch by a waterfall. Continue to Santiago. Lodging at Hotel Las Américas. Dinner at local restaurant.

Day 12
8:30 a.m. -- City tour of Santiago, including visit to Granjita Siboney; the stunning Castillo del Morro, the best preserved 17th century Spanish military complex in the Caribbean; Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, burial site of national hero Jose Martí, author of Guantanamera; and the historic Moncada barracks, where Fidel Castro launched his first revolutionary movement in 1953. Lunch at local restaurant. City tour continues. Dinner at downtown restaurant.Night time salsa dance lessons at hotel.

Day 13
9:00 a.m. -- Visit Santiago's leading museums, including the eclectic, neoclassical Emilio Bacardí Provincial Museum, one of the oldest museums in the country; the birth house of Frank País, a leading revolutionary figure of the1950s; and the Museum of the Clandestine Struggle. Lunch at local restaurant. Afternoon transfer to Baconao Park on the Caribbean Sea for beachtime and snorkeling. Dinner at downtown restaurant. Salsa dance lessons in evening.

Day 14
9:00 a.m. -- Transfer to city of Camagüey. En route, brief tour of city of Bayamo. Lunch in the restaurant of the Hotel Sierra Maestra. Continue to Camagüey, with tour of principal sites of interest. Lodging and dinner at Hotel Camagüey.

Day 15
9:00 a.m. -- Return to Varadero airport. En route, tour of city of Santa Clara, including visit to mausoleum of Ché Guevara. Afternoon departure for Vancouver on TS 211 at 5:50 p.m., arriving Vancouver at 9:30 p.m. Dinner on the plane.

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