Cuba

In 2017, went to Cuba with my son Kenan! We had such a blast traveling to this quirky and cool destination. Here was our itinerary with Cuba Adventures Travel:

Day One:

Took a private walking tour of Old Havana with our guide. Checked out the art, architecture, cultural, history, and took lots of photos.

We visited the four main plazas of Plaza Vieja, Plaza de las Armas, Plaza San Francisco and Plaza Catedral

Afterwards, had lunch at a café with University of Havana political science professor, and continued to explore Parque Central, Museum of the Revolution and Havana Fine Arts Museum. 

Had dinner at one of Cuba’s top paladares (“Paladares” – private, family-run restaurants that have fueled rapid growth since 2008 in Cuba’s middle class through entrepreneurship) and after dinner took in the Tropicana Nightclub show.

Day Two:

Took a Classic American car tour of greater Havana – 1 hour ending on the Malecon

Visited the “Embarcadero,” Havana’s social gathering place, with a brief walk to the iconic Hotel Nacional, HQ of the Cuban Revolution, home to the Mob, Mafia, international movie stars and glitterati through Havana’s “Roaring ‘50’s”

After lunch, visited the Havana community of Jaimanitas for a walking tour through “Fusterlandia,” neighborhood ceramic art project of “The Picasso of Cuba” Jose Fuster and checked out another Paladar for dinner. 

Day Four:

Took a boat ride across the Harbor to deliver gifts of badly-needed OTC medical supplies and children’s medicines to the community of Regla.

Afghanistan

Jim & Some Locals in Mazar Sharif, in Northern Afghanistan Country Information: The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul, surrounded by beautiful mountains. About 35 million people live here. Afghanistan’s official languages are Pashto and Dari, though a small portion...

Djibouti

Lake Assal, the lowest point in all of Africa Country Information: The capital is also Djibouti. About 900,000 people live here and the official languages are French and Arabic. Islam is the dominant religion. The time zone is 7 hours ahead of EST. Jim's Perspectives:...

Kiribati

This is what many houses look like in Kiribati Ahh, this is the life (sorta) Country Information: Hot, humid, and tropical Kiribati was founded in 1979. It is made up of 33 coral atolls and islands along the equator. The capital is South Tarawa, and the languages...