TEMPLE ISRAEL Mission to Cuba JUNE 17 JUNE 24, 2019 Join Rabbi Micah Greenstein, your fellow members, family, and friends on this voyage of cultural discovery and humanitarian effort. We will have experiences offered to few travelers to this tropical island nation. And you will be helping the Jewish Community of Cuba. Cuba is changing Rapidly; Now is the Time! And you will experience Cuba! It has been said of Cuba that you experience it with all your senses. With a mix of black, white and Indian races, Cuban culture's vibrancy and vitality is alive. Cuba is old, some of it is destroyed, and it feels as though time has stopped. But it is full of life from the aroma of cooking food, to the rhythm in the way people move, to the sound of music in the air. A GREAT MITZVAH A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE A FUN TRIP ITINERARY OUTLINE Subject to Change Day 1 Monday June 17 MEMPHIS - HAVANA (Included meals: D) Delta Flight to Havana; arrival 2:00 pm. Lunch is not included to save time please eat at the Atlanta airport or bring on the plane Arrive Jose Marti Airport Havana customs and luggage collection approximately 1 ½ hours Visit to the Centro Sephardim Holocaust Display Senior Center - Meet with president Dra. Mayra Levy. Check in Melia Cohiba time to relax and change money and enjoy a drink. Transfer to Hotel Nacional much loved by the famous and infamous since the 30 s
6:00 pm 7:00 pm - Presentation History of Cuba via its architecture by one of Cuba s leading architects. A welcome beverage will be offered prior to the lecture. Dinner on the patio of the hotel overlooking all of Havana (included meal) Return to your hotel or stay and enjoy the most beautiful patio in Havana taxis are plentiful Day 2 Tuesday 6/18 (B, L, D) Havana 8:40 please be in lobby. Attendance at the rehearsal of one of Cuba s new and exciting dance troupes its young dancers combine salsa, flamenco, Afro Cuban and ballet discussion with the dancers after the rehearsal Guided walking tour of Old Havana. Lunch in Habana Vieja (included meal) Continue tour of old Havana Visit Patronato largest synagogue in Havana Meet with president Sra. Adela Dworin who also represents the Jewish Community on the state s Committee of Religions Visit of the pharmacy of the Patronato which fills prescriptions to both the Jewish and non-jewish Communities of Cuba Dinner at a paladar (private restaurant) specializing in fish located in a once luxurious home by the sea (included meal) Day 3 Wednesday 6/19 (B, L, D) Havana Cienfuegos Departure for town of Cienfuegos in Central Cuba Light Lunch (included meal) Visit Cienfuegos visit including the Thomas theatre which hosted Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt. Meet with small Jewish Community in the home of its leader discussion of the realities of Jewish life in the provinces We will visit an art gallery started by the son of the leader of the Jewish Community of Cienfuegos Check in Hotel Jagua located on the bay with wonderful vistas
Choral performance Cienfuegos is known for its choral groups Dinner at Palacio del Valle (included meal) built by a Spanish sugar baron in honor of his beloved Alhambra Day 4 Thursday 6/20 Cienfuegos Trinidad Cienfuegos (B, D) On to Trinidad a UNESCO World Heritage Site once a rich sugar town, abandoned during the sugar crisis of the early 19 th century and now a wonderfully preserved relic of that era Lunch at your leisure with free time to explore this colonial city and its very extensive craft market. The town is famous for its table linens. We return to Cienfuegos. Optional non-included activity: sunset cruise open bar time and weather permitting Dinner at a paladar located at the end of the peninsula of your hotel (included meal) Day 5 Friday 6/21 (B, L, D) Cienfuegos - Havana On to Havana. Guanabacoa, a suburb of Havana, tour of the Jewish cemetery. Much of the cemetery is falling down but beautiful and full of the rather extensive history of the Jewish Community in Cuba. Visit the first Holocaust Memorial in Western hemisphere. Visit to Hemingway s home in Cuba La Finca Vigia just as he left it. He said of it the best place to work in the world Lunch at a paladar which seeks to preserve the original recipes of old Cuba (included meal) Check in to Melia Cohiba Hotel Transfer to the Patronato for Erev Shabbat Services. After services we will, as a group, share our Erev Shabbat dinner with the Community at the Patronato. We will be joined by some of the English speakers of the Community
Day 6 Saturday 6/22 (B, L) Visit to Callejon Hamel for a meeting with a local santero (priest) and to learn a bit about Cuban Religion of African Origin (Santeria) Guided visit to the Museum of the Revolution to know Cuba is to know its revolution Lunch (included meal) We visit La Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula Built in 1664 as a women s hospital and the only one to accept blacks and white, it is now a concert hall which houses the art of some of Cuba s greatest living artists. Next to the Craft market. Craft Market- home of free enterprise in Cuba bus will wait 1 hour those wishing to stay longer may take a taxi back to the hotel or walk to the old city. Remainder of the day no scheduled activities. Your guide can assist with ideas and reservations. Additionally, throughout your visit these nonincluded optional activities are available: For the serious art collector visit to private galleries. Salsa lesson - fee Rum Tasting with cigar - fee Scuba diving available for those with certification and snorkeling - fee Evening at leisure to enjoy Havana. Evening Optional Non-Included Activity: an evening at the Tropicana approximately $110 10:30 pm 12:30 am the bus may be used if there is sufficient interest. Day 7 Sunday 6/23 (B, L, D) 10 am Meet in hotel lobby.10:30 am Curator guided tour of the Bellas Artes Museum Cuban collection the history of Cuba through its art. Our curator guide is a member of the Jewish Community Visit to the artist Fuster the Gaudi of the Caribbean his home and his neighborhood have been transformed by his artistry. Lunch included meal
Return to hotel or drop off in old city or on the Malecon (seawalk) Optional Non-Included Activity: 5:30 pm Performance at the National Theatre we should know upon arrival the nature of the performance your guide will reserve orchestra seats approximately: $40 (Note: should there not be a performance at the National Theatre we will reorganize the day) Farewell Dinner (included meal) Day 8 Monday 6/24 (B) HAVANA MEMPHIS Check out of hotel Cigar factory the art of making a fine cigar Departure for Jose Marti Airport Delta flight to MEMPHIS Departs: 2:35 pm Mission Package Includes: 8 days, 7 nights in Cuba Hotels: Meliá Cohiba Havavna 5 nights 5 star Part of Melia Hotels of Spain Frommer s Review - Sitting just off the Malecón, this high-rise hotel, with its sharp angles and alternating walls of stone and glass, is probably the most modern building in Havana. It provides all the services and amenities luxury travelers are looking for in a top-rated hotel. Rooms are large and comfortable, and most have excellent views, particularly those on the higher floors. It's got a wonderful outdoor pool and the best-equipped health club I've found at any hotel in Havana. The Cohiba has a wide range of restaurants and shops, and even its buffet restaurant is a treat, with live cook stations and enough space and flow so as not to feel like a cattle car. The Habana Café is one of the better club/restaurants in town, with a nightly floor show and live music.
Hotel Jagua boutique hotel on the bay in Cienfuegos 2 nights Frommer s Review The seven-story hotel is located out on the end of Punta Gorda, just across from the Palacio del Valle. The modern rooms are spacious, comfortable, cool, and bright, with a large slidingglass door to let in light, white tile floors, and plenty of amenities. Those on the higher floors of the main building offer wonderful views over the city and harbor from private balconies. There's a large rectangular pool at the center of this complex, and a popular bar located on a small floating dock in the bay. The hotel has recently been taken over by the Melia hotel chain of Spain. Weather: Temperature in Cuba remains about the same all year round in June the humidity has yet to begin: April 85 / 69 May 87 / 72 June 88 / 74 Meals: 17 included meals: Breakfast:6; Lunch: 5; Dinner: 6 One lunch & one dinner are not included for you to explore with the help of your guide. In Cuba there are restaurants owned by the government and private restaurants (paladares). Most of the group s meals will be at paladares with a few of the better government owned restaurants and Erev Shabbat meal at the Patronato. Experienced driver; modern A/C bus with W.C Cuban guide specialized in Jewish Heritage missions Tips to wait staff at included meals and to porters at your hotels Cuban Medical insurance Meetings with leaders and members of the Cuban Jewish Community. Guided tour of largest Jewish Cemetery in Cuba. Bottled water on the bus. Cuban Tourist Visa. US and Cuban airport Departure tax
US Religious License for Travel to Cuba THIS TRIP IS COMPLETELY AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO THE LATEST REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY Round trip Air MEMPHIS /Havana/MEMPHIS Note: if you are Delta member you may receive miles and upgrade if available. As this is a group booking flight payment using points is not available. NOT Included in mission package: Cancellation insurance information will be provided Airline baggage charges USA/CUBA Gratuity to your guide and driver Price per person from MEMPHIS: Based on a minimum of 12 participants Double occupancy: $ 3,869 Single occupancy: $ 4,309 Prices are for payment by check. Payment by credit card add approximately 3% for credit card company fee. Please see registration forms.