Treasured Secrets of Cuba Tour: A Private Experience

The streets of Old Havana have a serene ambiance. Locals stroll along the Malecón on their way to work. The Atlantic Ocean crashes against the sea walls. Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro and Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta guard the Bay of Havana, both standing point on opposite sides of the inlet's entrance. Your private transfer greets you at the hotel and escorts you to the airport for your quick flight to Santiago de Cuba, located on the opposite end of the island. Santiago de Cuba is second in size in Cuba only to Havana.

The rich history, literature, music, and architecture have shaped the city from its inception, accentuating its instrumental role in the evolution of Cuban culture. You continue through the city, quickly leaving its borders behind to venture to Guantanamo. You wash away all you think you know about the associations with the name Guantanamo. The true city withholds its beauty like a secret, having invented a uniquely Cuban musical genre known as changui, along with housing eclectic architectural splendor.

Palacio Salcines was erected in 1916 and acts as a lavish monument representative of the city: a vintage treasure with a rugged exterior but a stunning interior. Colorful frescoes adorn the walls of the museum located inside the mansion. A magnificent sculpture of a trumpet rings out for good and evil, acting as a symbol of the city. Spend time at Casa del Changui for a private introduction into the origins of Cuban music. Tap your feet, move your hips, and when the songs end, you have a chance to speak with the musicians about the spirit of Cuba’s rhythm.

Wake up in Baracoa, a beguiling and surreal city in an isolated area of eastern Cuba. Emerald trees grow dense, and legends grow bold. Christopher Columbus first set foot in Baracoa when landing in Cuba during his first voyage west. History and mythology intertwine along the tranquil streets, foothills of the Cuchillos del Tao Mountains, and the sparkling sea. At breakfast, the aroma of fresh pineapple blends with the sea breeze. After your meal, you make your way to Finca Duaba, known as the Land of Cocoa due to the traditions of cocoa bean in the region. Lush tropical plants border the verdant farmland. A short trail leads you along the cocoa plantation.

Your guide explains the history of the crop in Cuba, along with the proper characteristics of the plant. The leathery rind of a pod can grow to over one inch thick with trees able to grow as large as 26 feet tall in optimal conditions. At the end of the tour, your guide leads you into a large table on the property for a lesson in how to make chocolate. Your guide opens the cocoa with a large machete. The machete clinks against the rind. A fruity aroma rises from the open bean. Your guide rinses the pulp away from the seeds. Once a paste is made from the cocoa butter, producers can shape a mold of pure, bitter chocolate.

In the morning, the bells of Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion ring, matching the lighthearted waves crashing on the shore. The current edifice dates back to the 19th century but stands on 16th-century foundations. The church displays the Cruz de la Parra. The myth states that the cross was the single survivor of 29 wooden crosses brought to Cuba by Columbus during his first voyage in 1492. After breakfast, your private transfer takes you along the scenic road to Guardalavaca. The La Farola Highway links Guantanamo with Baracoa, spanning 74 miles of rainforest and mountainous terrain.

Sharp peaks of the Cuchillas de Baracoa Mountains rise above the road. Steep banks descend around sporadic corners. Dense vegetation edges the winding path. Traveling along La Farola provides a feeling of seclusion. Horses pull buggies down the smoother portions of the roadwork. Once you reach Guardalavaca, you find a string of idyllic beaches. Mountains rise like haystacks, and green canopies blanket the mounds in the background, bringing together the rugged beauty of the countryside and the glistening sheen of white sand and bright blue water. Spend some time digging your feet into the warm sand and temperate water. The sea breeze rustles the palm trees bordering the beach. The waves lap gently at the shoreline. Before dinner, you meet with a dance instructor to learn the specific moves of rumba and salsa, two of Cuba’s most celebrated dances.

The sea calls to fishermen in the way land speaks to farmers. In contemporary society’s endless stream of movement, it is easy to overlook tradition. After breakfast, you make your way to the fishing village of Gibara. The intimate atmosphere welcomes you immediately. The saddle shape of the mountain in the background of village creates a unique, captivating image. A dilapidated Spanish fort with graceful arches stands at the top of Calle Cabada, providing a sensational panorama of the town and the coast. African oak trees shade Calixto Garcia Park, leading to the colonial palace on the western edge of the square, which houses the Natural History Museum.

In the cigar factory, women roll cheroots, an open-ended cigar. Fishermen bring their catch in from the water. They hoist large nets behind their backs when returning from sea. Your guide introduces you to a group of local fishermen after they have settled on the shore. They are eager to share their life’s work, along with their understanding of the water. They continue with the tradition of their fathers, skillfully maneuvering the catches with large nets. They offer to take you into the water and teach you the basics of the trade. The sea is warm and refreshing. You follow the fisherman until he is waist deep. He places your hands on the net and lets you cast it over the water’s surface.

Today you leave behind the coastal paradise of Guardalavaca for the energetic urban lifestyle of Santiago de Cuba. En route, you stop at an artisan print shop that processes its own paper. The owner teaches how to bind books, making each published edition unique. Your guide leads you through the workshop highlighting the handcrafted elements of the business, from the paper to the threading. The aromas of ink and bark blend together. The antique looking machine against the wall is the printing press.

A typewriter attached to the press helps align the plates before production begins. The shop is a blend of creativity and determination. After you visit a traditional mechanical music organ factory, you venture to the farming village of Biran, famous as the location of Fidel and Raul Castro’s place of birth. Cedar trees grow along the outskirts of the fertile land. Fidel’s father bought the farm in 1915. A cluster of small thatched huts housed laborers.

The Castro family lived in the large yellow wooden homes in the shade of the cedars. Red-tiled roofs form an arch above the houses. The structures were raised on stilts to protect the foundation from flooding during heavy rain. A vintage truck is parked underneath the renovated garage canopy. Castro’s former home houses a museum. Antique china fills the small hutch. The indigo walls bring a Caribbean spirit to the interior. Your guide leads you through the home and the village, remarking on Castro family history and rural Cuban lifestyle.

Santiago blends history and contemporary Cuba with antique fortresses and industrial developments, colorful colonial buildings, and youthful energy. Geographically, the city lies closer to Haiti and the Dominican Republic than Cuba’s capital city of Havana. Much of the Cuba’s heritage derives from the streets of Santiago, from the rise of Castro’s revolution to the sounds of salsa. Parque Cespedes creates an open center of the city. Casa de Diego Velazquez and Catedral de Nuestra de Senora de la Asuncion border the shady plaza. Musicians lounge on the benches and fill the air with music.

The aromas of coffee and mojitos drift out of the nearby cafes. The Plaza de la Revolucion contains a dramatic monument dedicated to the 19th-century war hero General Antonio Maceo. Saw-toothed machetes rise from the grass surrounding a sculpture of the general on horseback. A cruise on Santiago Bay offers an immaculate panorama of the city. The refreshing sea breeze blows against your cheeks. You can sip on a cool drink and look back at the towering figure of San Pedro de la Roca Castle. The 17th-century fortress was erected to protect the city against pirates and foreign navies.

Begin the day with a visit to La Caridad del Cobre, a church located near a copper mine outside of the city. The edifice sits on a hillside with a view of the vast valley floor. The current church was erected in the 1920s but the legend of the sacred images inside the church date back to the 17th century. Upon your return to Santiago, you make your way to the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery. Some of Cuba’s most venerated military figures are buried here. The tombs look more like works of art, celebrating the life those who have fallen.

The grounds were hallowed in the 19th century and contain more than 8,000 vaults, the most notable of which belongs to Jose Marti, the father of Cuban Independence. Emilio Bacardi y Moreau, the patron of the rum dynasty Bacardi, is also buried at Santa Ifigenia. The semi-religious mausoleum of Jose Marti was erected in the 1950s. A Cuban flag drapes the wooden casket. Beams of natural light shine through the hexagonal structure at all hours of the day. Every 30 minutes, the guards of the mausoleum change positions with as much gravitas as the changing of the guard at an extravagant palace. Before dinner, you meet with a local mixologist who specializes in the traditional Cuban classic, the mojito. Enjoy a quick lesson on the proper way to procure the cocktail, adding yerba buena and rum with precision.

In the morning, the sunlight washes over the neoclassical building that once belonged to Emilio Bacardi y Moreau. The mansion now houses the Museo Provincial Bacardi Moreau, one of the oldest museums in the country. Exhibits showcase the art rum baron’s art and antique collectibles from around the world. Most notably, the private collector obtained numerous Egyptian artifacts during his visit to Egypt in 1912 when he wished to purchase a mummy. Both Egyptian and Peruvian mummies are on display in the archeological section of the museum. Santiago de Cuba and the eastern edges of the country have revealed their treasures. Your private transfer meets you in the hotel lobby after breakfast and escorts you to Antonia Maceo Airport for your flight home.