FATHOM: OUR FINAL CHAPTER

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

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“Gratitude” doesn’t fully describe how I feel about the experiences Bruce and I shared during our three Fathom Impact Travel cruises. There were so many memorable experiences that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Any impact we made in the Dominican Republic and Cuba came back around in such wonderful ways—all described in the many blog posts I have written about our January, March, and April visits. Search “Fathom” on this blog site, and you can read about them all.

On our last cruise, as planned, we reunited with some passengers we had previously met aboard Adonia; but, we also unexpectedly saw others from our January and March cruises.

Each one of us had re-booked a Fathom Impact Travel cruise for similar reasons, and all of us were eager to continue making an impact.

When Fathom’s Adonia sets sail on May 21 to the Dominican Republic, it will be her last sailing under the Fathom flag. Her lease expires, and then she will sail to Europe to become a P&O ship once again. All of her crew with the exception of the Impact Travel Staff will sail with her.

The Dominican Republic flag (left) is the only national flag with a bible on it.

Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

Adonia will be missed. As a former 6-star Renaissance ship (before the company folded), she’s a classic beauty built in a style no longer seen in new ships. Beautiful mahogany, crown molding, etched glass, impeccable craftsmanship—these are all abundantly featured throughout the 704-passenger ship.

Fathom may be all about “Impact Travel” rather than the vehicle getting us to our destinations; but, what Adonia did for Fathom was to provide a more intimate atmosphere for its passengers, enabling them to meet and share experiences more easily.

A favorite place to bond with our fellow cruisers was on the aft deck outside of “The Conservatory”, the buffet and casual dining area of the ship. It became a popular meeting place for travelers to hang out with a cold drink, and swap stories of their Impact Travel activities. Friendships were made and cemented, especially during sea days when there was no concern about the time.

When Bruce and I taught arts and crafts classes aboard larger Royal Caribbean ships, we often commented about the many people we saw disembarking that we never saw during the cruise.

Not so aboard Adonia. Between the cohort meetings, workshops, dining room unassigned seating, and Impact Travel activities; we at least recognized everybody during disembarkation. We also left with many more e-mail addresses and friendships than we ever had before.

On May 28, Fathom as we know it will end. The following is an official statement I received upon request from Tara Russell, President of Fathom, regarding Fathom’s future:

There is a macro trend around the hunger for greater meaning and purpose in our everyday lives – people want to live their best story and long to go deeper. This exists independent of Fathom and manifests daily as a growing audience of consumers work to combine their purchases and experiences with their values. Fathom addresses this growing desire through travel experiences. Fathom invites travelers to get closer by traveling in new and exciting ways. Fathom heightens human connections between travelers, with new local friends and other cultures, and in any relationship a traveler may touch.

During our first season, Fathom trialed this purpose-driven concept by testing traveler appetites for travel-deep experiences with 7-day journeys on the MV Adonia to the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Nearly 10 percent of Fathom travelers who joined these sailings returned quickly to participate again and our customer satisfaction scores were among the highest in the corporation. In short, the Fathom concept was very well received.

We always intended to serve our much broader corporate audience of 12 million travelers. The popularity of the Fathom experience with travelers who sailed with us inspired us to move quickly to expand the Fathom concept – onboard, onshore and in new and creative ways to serve an even greater audience.

Going forward, Fathom Travel experiences will live aboard countless other ships operated by our nine sister brands and offer beyond immersive experiences in many geographies. Fathom is designed to intersect and inspire the lives of travelers anywhere through heightened human connections that unlock human potential and connect travelers to a bigger story.

Already, we are providing Fathom Travel experiences on-ground to travelers across six Carnival Corporation brands in the Dominican Republic. We are honored to leverage our collective scale as we come alongside our Dominican friends to create enduring contributions to the lives of families and communities. Soon Fathom experiences will also be offered on board our sister brands.

Fathom looks forward to serving the 12 million people who annually travel with Carnival Corporation, as well as the millions of new travelers who long to go deeper into our growing community. We’re nearing the end of chapter one, but there is much ahead for the rest of the Fathom story and the best is yet to come!

As of today, I have not received any definitive answer if Fathom will ever again have a dedicated ship for its Impact Travel mission. If it does, I doubt it will be intimate and casino-less like Adonia.

Thanks for the memories!

Marcia (IDDI), Steven (IDDI), Me, Wilmers (IDDI), Colin (Fathom Impact Travel Staff Manager), Bruce, Raymond (IDDI)

Frank (Entrena)

Marvin (wait staff) remembered us from our previous cruise and visited us often on the aft deck for chats.

Tomasito, leader of the Cuban band aboard ship

Mauritza, Jessica, Brandon, and Len. We cruised with Jessica and her dad on the January 1st and April 9th sailings.

Mauritza and Jessica

OUR DAY WITH BENI, EDUARDO, AND GRISEL

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Beni had made a noon lunch reservation for the five of us for a restaurant I had found on Trip Advisor, Restaurant San Francisco, located on San Francisco St., not far from Eduardo’s shop. (They had an air conditioned room, so he wanted to make sure we would be able to get a table there, so we could dine in comfort. Santiago de Cuba is hot!)

We cleared Cuban customs early enough to take in some sights before lunch. Eduardo was anxious to experiment with his new glass, so he and Grisel agreed to meet us at the restaurant.

Since we missed seeing Santa Ifigenia Cemetery during our last cruise visit, we thought it would be interesting to go and see where Fidel Castro was laid to rest (or burn in hell, depending on your perspective and religious beliefs). It was reputed to be a beautiful and interesting place to visit, so Beni flagged down a taxi for the three of us.

If Bruce and I as tourists had hired a taxi just outside of the port terminal gate, the cost would have been $10-$15 each way. Just across the street and up one block, the taxi driver Beni flagged down agreed to $5 each way. It helps having a local do the negotiating!

Although I could have spent hours poking around the cemetery and enjoying the views, we only had time for a brief stop to shoot a few photos. The Cuban government forbids photography of their military and police, but thanks to the marvels of wide angel lenses, I pointed my lens toward Fidel Castro’s monument and caught the unsuspecting armed guard as well.

Beni’s father, Aurelio, was also laid to rest at Santa Ifigenia, and Beni had an interesting story to tell about him. During the revolution to dethrone Fulgencio Batista, the brutal and corrupt dictator who ruled Cuba from 1940-1944, Aurelio brought 89 men with him to the mountains to fight with Fidel. Ultimately, as you know, they were victorious, and Fidel became the new leader of Cuba. As a reward, Fidel made Aurelio a lieutenant in his army. (As brutal as Batista was, Fidel seemed like the better option at the time; however, history tells us that Fidel was no angel either…)

This shot (and the two below) were taken while making our way back to our waiting taxi.

After leaving the cemetery, Beni asked our taxi driver to give us a short city tour on the way to the restaurant, so we could see some typical neighborhoods, and observe how people live. I wish there had been more time, because I would have loved to have done some in-depth photography rather than just grab the few shots I snapped out the window.

As it turned out, Beni was so careful with our time, we arrived thirty minutes early to the restaurant! To make the most of those extra minutes, Beni took us on a walking tour to see some things we had missed on our last visit to Santiago de Cuba.

This was a (very old) local book store where tourists had added their photos and business cards to those pinned up by the locals.

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I’m guessing Cuba doesn’t have Match.com available to them!

Particularly memorable was a music venue where Cuban music legends had performed over the many years the club has been in existence. Hundreds of pictures covered the walls, and hand-tooled leather chairs lined the floors in perfectly neat rows. For $1 cover charge, you could occupy one of those chairs and take in the sounds of Cuban music. (I dare you to sit still, though; the Cuban rhythms will make you want to dance!)

In a side room, a chair was hung up on the wall along with a photo of Paul McCartney. When the famous Beatle visited Santiago, that was the very chair he sat on to enjoy the sounds of the band performing the evening of his visit.

We made our way back to Restaurant San Francisco and were led into a tiny air conditioned room with two tables where Eduardo and Grisel were waiting for us. It was exactly noon, and it was quite apparent you could set your watch to Beni!

This was a private restaurant (not a mediocre one run by the government), so the prices on the menu were in the old Cuban Pesos (CUP) rather than CUC, the newer currency. After some quick calculations to make sure we brought enough CUC’s with us (and after realizing just how little this lunch for five would cost), I told our Cuban friends to order anything they wanted.

Good fish is very difficult to find for Cubans, and if they score some at a store, the price would be too high to afford. All of the best fish is reserved for the tourist restaurants, and most Cubans get paid too little to afford to dine in one. In addition, the harbor of Santiago de Cuba is not somewhere you would want to drop a line to catch your own fish.

Everybody else ordered fish from the menu, but I opted for shrimp. After singing happy birthday and toasting Beni, we settled in for a tasty meal and interesting conversation. Eduardo shared some cute videos of his little grandson on his cellphone (At the age of two, the tot is already learning to cook and work with glass like his grandpa. The knife skills of this kid were amazing!), and Beni shared photos of his family.

In all, our lovely meals and non-alcoholic drinks came to less than 23 CUC (about $23)! Bruce gave the waitress 30 CUC and told her to keep the change. I’m guessing that tip was the equivalent of ten days of income.

We all walked back to Artesania Art Deco to Eduardo’s shop where Bruce and Eduardo talked about glass with the help of Grisel’s translation, and I photographed the other artists to help promote Artesanias Art Deco on Trip Advisor, and elsewhere on the internet. We also visited with Beni’s friends where Bruce had an opportunity to play catch with another baseball enthusiast. Then, when Beni and Bruce broke into another duet, I couldn’t help asking them to start over, so I could catch it on video!

I also recorded an interesting interview with Beni, which over the coming days, weeks, months, and, hopefully years will become part of an on-going series of blog posts about my new friend. I have saved every e-mail of substance he has sent, and at the rate we have communicated, I’m sure there will be many more.

Watch Eduardo work the glass

Listen to Beni & Bruce sing!

Our goodbyes at the end of the day were difficult, because our bond and affection for each other had grown stronger. It was especially hard for me to say goodbye to Beni, and for Bruce and Eduardo bid farewell. Eduardo’s last words through Grisel were, “Next time, you come to Cuba, you come to my house and have a meal with my family.” It was delivered with such bravado and pride.

Beni walked us part-way to the ship. We stopped him at a private spot where we were assured nobody would be watching us, because Bruce wanted to give him a parting gift, beside the bag of items we had brought for Beni and his family. Since Beni isn’t a licensed guide, we didn’t want him to get in trouble with the government for receiving money from tourists. We hadn’t hired Beni, and he wasn’t expecting payment; but we wanted to help him out as our friend. When Bruce shook his hand, Beni felt the money Bruce had passed off to him, and Bruce told him to put it in his pocket. Beni protested, saying he didn’t want this to be a business transaction. We were touched that he was most concerned about our friendship enduring. (I think I calmed his fears when I reminded him of all the e-mails we had sent back and forth before we knew we were returning to Santiago. We never thought we would see him again, and our friendship stuck. If anything, it has grown stronger!)

Someday, we hope to return to Cuba and have him guide us around his country. Until then, I would like to help Beni by referring people to him to be their unofficial guide when they arrive in Santiago de Cuba. As long as you keep it on the down low and use discretion, you all will stay off the police’s radar. Even if he is stopped and questioned, you are friends of mine who have come to visit him at my request. Right? The Cuban government doesn’t check up on its citizens on the internet, so he has given me permission to give out his contact information. Write a comment after this post with your request, and I will reply with an e-mail including all of Beni’s contact information.

Until then, here are some memories from our day in Santiago de Cuba:

We stopped by to visit Hector, the wood carver we had purchased two carvings from during our previous visit. At the time, I had shot a photograph of him holding our new purchase, so I made it into a card to give him. He was so appreciate we had remembered him, he gave me this bracelet (below):

These classic taxis dropped off some passengers at the terminal, and I was able to get a good angle from the ship’s top deck after we returned.

A storm brewed as we made our way back to the ship, and we arrived just in time before the incoming storm hit.

Seen during our sail out of the harbor…

Coming up next: Our Third Visit to The Dominican Republic; Sixth and Seventh to Chocal

SANTIAGO DE CUBA: OUR REUNION WITH BENI, EDUARDO, AND GRISEL

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Leading up to our April 9^th departure from Miami aboard Fathom’s Adonia, the e-mails between me and Beni were flying across the internet at a rapid pace. Beni was so excited we were returning to Cuba and would see him on his birthday, April 11. We planned everything out to make sure we were all prepared to take full advantage of our day together, including taking him out to lunch along with Eduardo and his assistant, Grisel.

In one of Beni’s messages, he told me he went to meet Eduardo and Grisel, so he would be familiar with them before our reunion. As it turned out, they had known each other years before in the military!

Eduardo, a glass blower for the past thirty years, is the only glass artist in the country producing and selling his glass pieces. Procuring supplies is extremely difficult—and expensive—so it has held him back from being able to create art without limitations. He asked Beni to pass along the message to Bruce that if there was any glass we could bring with us to Cuba, Eduardo would buy it. Bruce immediately scoured his studio to compile a care package of glass rods and small pieces of glass we could carry.

Meanwhile, I asked Beni what items I could bring for him and his family that are difficult for them to buy, but easy enough for us to pack.

Fathom frowns on passengers bringing items to donate arbitrarily to people on the streets, and I agree with their “give them a hand up, not a hand-out” philosophy. Creating a begging culture among the locals and expectations of getting free hand-outs from tourists has negative long-term ramifications.

Specific gifts, on the other hand, met with the Fathom Impact Travel Staff’s approval, since the items would be distributed privately to our friends. The glass in particular was viewed as a great way to give Eduardo a hand up. He had planned on making a glass piece to enter into an art competition, and the glass Bruce was bringing could be used for that purpose.

For Beni, I had promised him I would make a flash drive of our favorite music; but, I also added pictures of our community and home, favorite photos I used in my photo notecard line ( www.ExquisiteCards.Fototime.com ), photos I took of Santiago de Cuba during our previous visit, the video of Beni and Bruce singing “Dock of the Bay”, and anything else I thought he would like. Since he was in need of data storage, I loaded it all up on a 64 gb flash drive I purchased on Amazon for only $15. (I don’t even want to THINK about what I spent on the 1 gb external hard drive when I started my document scanning business, Doc – to – Disc, back in 1993. It was a four-figure expense! Writeable TDK gold cd’s cost me $26 EACH!!)

I also asked Beni what I could bring his family. His first response? Glow-in-the-dark stars he could put up on the ceiling of his granddaughter’s bedroom. That warmed my heart!

What else? Beni gave me a list of ideas, but he insisted I shouldn’t buy all of the items. They were just options: Toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, deodorant, and some other personal care items I was unable to decipher from his English usage in the e-mails.

We decided to bring him everything we could figure out from the list, most importantly, the stars (and planets, too!).

Fortunately, our community had a vendor fair just days before our departure, so we gladly accepted the handouts representatives insisted in throwing into our goodie bags as we roamed from table to table to learn about their businesses. The dental care kits were especially appreciated, as were the pens, notepads, and tote bags. All of it went to Cuba with us for Beni and his family, where we knew it would be much appreciated.

Putting it into perspective as to why we took it with us instead of donating it to our local food bank as usual, the average salary in Cuba is about $20 a month. When Beni completes his exams and becomes a pastor at his church, he will earn only $12 a month. Sure, the government pays for their education, healthcare, telephone, and some food (additionally, utilities and housing are low in cost through subsidies); however, Cubans must pay for everything else on an average income of $20 per month! The cost of a bottle of shampoo in Cuba? $5. A toothbrush? About $1. That’s more than a typical Cuban earns in a day!

Our plan was to meet up across the street from the port, once we arrived in Santiago, cleared customs, and exchanged our dollars into CUC’s (roughly an even exchange not counting fees).

We didn’t know what to expect when we put our bags through the x-ray machine after having our passports stamped. Would we be questioned? Would they forbid us to bring these items into the country? Surprisingly, my bag of goodies for Beni wasn’t questioned at all. Instead, it was the box of glass Bruce attempted to carry through in my Speedo backpack. (Fortunately, the bracelet Bruce made for Grisel went unnoticed.) The agent pulled us aside, opened the box, and gave Bruce a confused look. Whether he understood our explanation (or even understood English), we’ll never know; but, I think it helped to point to my earrings, and then point to Bruce and say “artist”. We told him the glass was for Eduardo, a glass artist at Artesanias Art Deco. Either the customs agent understood and accepted our explanation, or he just wanted to get rid of us, once he saw we didn’t have anything illegal in the box. Needless to say, we hustled ourselves out of there before they could change their minds!

Beni spotted us immediately and came running across the street to greet us with a big smile and bear hug. As we discussed our plan for the day, we were disappointed to hear we wouldn’t be able to meet the rest of his family. There was an unexpected death of someone they knew, and they had to go to the funeral.

Before walking up to Eduardo’s glass studio, I told Beni we would give him his goodie bag at the end of the day, so he wouldn’t have to carry it around; however, I wanted to give him his flash drive right away, so I wouldn’t forget about it. You should have seen the surprised look on his face when he opened it up and saw “64 gb” printed on the plastic! The largest size flash drive available in Cuba is about 8 gb, and it’s very expensive for them to buy.

Eduardo’s facial expression was even funnier when he opened the box of glass. Another photo that got away; I should have been prepared… It was priceless! It reminded me of the look a kid gets when he walks into a candy store—pure delight! Seeing colors of glass he otherwise has no way of obtaining was so amazing to him, we could practically see his mind wheels turning with ideas of creations he would make with his new-found glass.

Then, a serious look appeared on his face. Through Beni’s translation, Eduardo wanted to know, “How much do I owe you for this glass?” Bruce quickly replied, “Oh no, no, no; this is a gift!” The look of gratitude and his sincere, “Muchas gracias!” needed no translation.

Meanwhile, Grisel smiled broadly as I put the bracelet on her wrist. She loved it!

Bruce and I looked at each other and smiled. This was going to be a very memorable day!

Beni, Grisel (wearing Bruce’s bracelet), Bruce (holding Eduardo’s gift), Eduardo

Me with my friend, Beni

Next up: OUR DAY WITH BENI, EDUARDO, AND GRISEL

“WHEREVER YOU GO BECOMES A PART OF YOU SOMEHOW” – Anita Desai

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

It wasn’t until our third cruise aboard Fathom’s Adonia (and multiple visits to the dining room to enjoy their superb cuisine) that I really noticed this quote on the mural located in the dining room lobby. On every previous dinner visit, we had made a beeline right past it in excited anticipation of the meal we were about to enjoy with our fellow travelers. During our third night aboard ship, though, we were meeting Fathom Impact Staff Member, Francisco, for dinner. He was our cohort leader on the previous cruise, and he wanted to hear about the adventures we had experienced at Chocal and Santiago de Cuba during the last cruise, and our return to Santiago that day.

We arrived just minutes ahead of Francisco, and this time, I did a double-take when I walked past the mural. Indian novelist, Anita Desai struck a chord in my heart with her words…

Francisco and Bruce

I have traveled in 65 countries and 36 states, and all of those experiences have become a part of who I am. Nothing else has had more influence on me socially, emotionally, intellectually, or politically as my travel experiences.

Feeling and expressing gratitude is one of my keys to happiness in life, and I owe my ability to appreciate to all those times I left the safety and comfort of my home, and familiar surroundings.

Although my husband, Bruce hasn’t had the extent of travel experiences I have, those we have shared have had the same positive effect on his life. We are in sync, and we both craved to return for one last time for an Impact Travel experience in the Dominican Republic and Cuba with Fathom, aboard the beautiful Adonia.

My last blog post of our second Fathom cruise hadn’t even been written when we both agreed we had to return one last time.

We couldn’t wait to go back to see our new Cuban friends that had become a part of us.

Coming up next: SANTIAGO DE CUBA: OUR REUNION WITH BENI, EDUARDO, AND GRISEL

LIFE ABOARD FATHOM ADONIA

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

The second time around, we thoroughly enjoyed our free balcony upgrade aboard Fathom’s Adonia. Being upgraded to a room with a large window for our first cruise was wonderful, but being able to enjoy this calm, serene view was pure bliss on our first full day at sea:

This time, there was also a Cuban band on board to entertain us. They were actually based out of Miami, but they were indeed Cuban, and the music they played was fun to listen to while relaxing at the pool or in the lounge.

We even had a lot to watch during their performances. This little gal brought her hula hoops aboard with her, and she had us all entertained! Check this out: https://youtu.be/XGkpk8CP740

Even with several college students aboard ship during spring break, the vibe was very low key and relaxed among the passengers. Nobody was visibly drunk or wild, and everybody coexisted comfortably for the most part (well, except for our man overboard incident).

What a great cruise it was! After returning home, we heard from the father/daughter duo we met back in January that Vacations to Go dropped the price to $299 for some of the upcoming Cuba/ Dominican Republic cruises; so, Bruce twisted my arm (ha!) to book once again for the one available week we have before the ship returns post-lease to Europe. It’s the same cruise our father/daughter friends will be on with big brother and Mom, so we are excited to have an onboard reunion with them!

Our new friends at Chocal are in for (another!) big surprise when we show up again, especially when we give them another box of ear plugs, along with a stack of photo note cards I made from the photos you saw in my last post.

Meanwhile, our Cuban friend, Beni, and I have had e-mails flying back and forth almost daily; so, he’s excited for our return. We will see him on his birthday; and, we plan to take Beni out to lunch along with Eduardo (the glass artist) and his wife. Beni is also going to take us to meet his daughters, son, and grandkids. We have compiled a care package for all of them, and I loaded up a flash drive with music, the video of him singing “Dock of the Bay” with Bruce, as well as pictures I shot of Cuba, my community in Georgia, and Bruce’s glass work. We are thrilled and grateful to be able to return aboard Fathom’s Adonia once again!

Our first aboard Fathom Adonia on this cruise: Man overboard, a female captain (and rescue boat pilot), going to cuba, and having a balcony.

Interesting art work drawn on the walls of the top deck aboard FAthom

Fathom Adonia returns to Miami

OUR NEW CUBAN FRIEND “BENI”

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Beni

We quickly learned that our new friend Dilvenis (he preferred to be called “Beni”) loved American music (especially Blues), so we clicked with each other immediately! Beni excitedly said, “You know who my favorite is, it’s Otis Redding! Look! It gives me goose bumps just thinking about him!” Sure enough, he showed us his arm, and it was covered in goose bumps! I replied, “You know all the words to ‘Dock of the Bay’ Bruce; so, how about you, Beni? Do you know the words?” Beni replied yes, so I said, “Hit it! Sing it, boys!!” And, here it goes, such as it is: https://youtu.be/gXNdiCOk9vU .

Beni told us about all the concerts he had seen when he was in New Zealand: Bruce Springsteen, Little River Band, James Brown, and more. “You were in New Zealand?” I wanted to know more.

While working as a bartender in a local restaurant, Beni met a woman from New Zealand and was able to get a visa to go visit her in 2004. He stayed for nine months, and then returned again on another visit for six months. While there, he got a New Zealand driver’s license and still carries it in his wallet. He was proud to show me his license from my favorite country.

We chatted about all of the gorgeous places we had each seen in New Zealand, and some of the work he did there. He was an extra in the movie, “King Kong” and worked at Miramar Studios. (I was sure there were plenty more stories to hear about that!)

Unfortunately, the romance with his Kiwi girlfriend didn’t last, nor did his days as a movie star (well, make that an “extra”).

After hearing about his experiences in New Zealand, the conversation returned to music. I told Beni I would send him music from some of his favorites if he gave me his address, so we exchanged contact info. and agreed to keep in touch.

Since returning home more than a week ago, Beni and I have sent e-mails back and forth almost every day. We have learned more about his musical tastes, and his life in Cuba as a bartender, cook, and soon-to-be pastor. (He just took the exam and will receive the results soon.)

Although Beni has written some of his messages in English, he finds it easier to write his more involved e-mails in Spanish. Thank goodness for Google Translate! I copy and paste into Google’s free online tool, and it immediately translates the message into English. It doesn’t always make perfect sense, but I am able to understand it for the most part.

In turn, I write in English, and then I copy my message into Google Translate to convert it into Spanish. I include both the English and Spanish in each of my messages back to Beni. So far so good!

In one of his messages, Beni signed off with, “Big bear hugs to you and Bruce!” That made my day…

This is what I have learned about Beni’s life:

He was born in the Sierra Maestra Mountain chain in Granma Province and is the youngest of seven brothers and sisters. His family fought against Batista’s corrupt and repressive dictatorship during the 1950’s.

Growing up, he listened to English and American music by Paul Anka, The Beatles, James Brown, Elvis, and others.

Beni has two daughters (30 and 31 years old), and a twenty-year-old son, but he described himself in one e-mail as a “lonely man”.

One thing that struck me warmly in one of his e-mails was this: “If some friend wants to write me I am open to meet and make friends. It’s time to tear down the walls and build bridges. Do not be afraid to introduce me to more people.”

“It’s time to tear down the walls and build bridges.” There is so much I can say about that, given our current state of governmental affairs here in the U.S.A.! He is absolutely right, and that is why the former administration loosened restrictions for Americans to travel to Cuba. How sad we now have a president who wants to build walls and tear down bridges…

Overwhelmingly, the feeling we got speaking with Cubans was they were eager to make friends with Americans and felt warmly about us as people, regardless of how our governments feel about each other. We (and everybody we talked with aboard Fathom Adonia) agreed that we feel the same way about the Cubans. They are such warm and friendly people! It is not them we despise; it is their repressive government. Will Raul Castro be better for the Cuban people than Fidel was? He is Fidel’s brother; however, I am at least optimistic that he and President Obama were able to come to some promising agreements. We’ll see what the future holds between Castro and Trump.

What I do know is that Bruce and I plan on taking a land tour of Cuba in the future to see more of the country and meet more of its people. Until then, Beni and Bruce will be groovin’ through the years at the “Dock of the Bay”.

Scenes from Santiago de Cuba:

This is Hector, a wood carver and painter. We bought this sculpture as well as one of a couple dancing.

Two American 1950’s era cars were parked near our ship.

Looking back at Santiago de Cuba as we sailed away.

I spotted this man from the 9th deck of the ship and was able to capture him with a fully zoomed-in lens while we were cruising by.

This family came to watch us sail away. They were sure having a good time!

San Pedro de la Roca del Morro (Castle)

Coming up next: OUR HAPPY RETURN TO CHOCAL

MAKING FRIENDS IN CUBA

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

When we left the port for a walk through the streets of Santiago de Cuba, we hoped we would meet some locals we could converse with in English, since our Spanish is extremely limited.

A large center for artisans caught our eye as a first stop, because I had also hoped to bring back a small wood handicraft to add to my international collection from my travels. Surprisingly, in addition to woodcraft, we also spotted a glass artist who did torch work to create glass figurines.

Although Eduardo didn’t speak English, his assistant, Grisel, spoke enough to communicate with us and translate to Eduardo. We conveyed that Bruce was also a glass artist, and I showed them my earrings that Bruce had made for me. The two men talked “shop”, and a bond was formed.

After a long conversation, we wished them our best and thought we would continue on our way to Cespedes Park where the cathedral was located. Eduardo turned and grabbed a glass globe containing a purple flower from his display shelf and insisted on having Grisel wrap it up as a gift for us. We insisted on paying, but they wouldn’t allow it. Instead, we asked Grisel what her favorite color was, so we could send her one of Bruce’s fused glass bracelets. Business card in hand, we were on our way, amazed at what had just transpired.

Eduardo_Izquierdo_Calzado&Bruce

On average, Cubans earn the equivalent of a mere $20-$40 per month. (Actually, their new currency, the Cuban Convertible Peso, CUC, is worth about $1.) The fact they wanted to give us a “present” (as she insisted) spoke to what our interaction with them meant. They were so pleased to learn we were Americans, too; and, it warmed my heart there was still somebody in the world who liked Americans. I truly believe that won’t be the case in the coming years…

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During other interactions with the locals who spoke English, we were pleased at the overwhelmingly pro-American sentiments expressed to us. I was thankful we visited Cuba so early in Trump’s presidency.

After listening to a violinist in Cespedes Park (the town square), we climbed the stairs and peeked into the cathedral. More enjoyable, though, was watching the bustling streets below us. A few 1950’s-era American cars drove past, and well-dressed students in their crisp blue uniforms walked by with their backpacks. (Later in the week, in the Dominican Republic, I would learn just how hard the word “backpack” would be for a Spanish-speaking woman to pronounce in English!)

Fidel Castro gave his first speech from this balcony in 1959.

The first building on the left was built in 1519.

Along our stroll through the streets of the city center, we came across a small town square where an unusual band was performing for tips. The featured instrument was a 1950’s hand-cranked organ, unlike anything we had ever seen before. When I gave the musician a big smile and a curious look, he responded in kind and was pleased I wanted to photograph his band. The music they played was fabulous, so I shot this clip: https://youtu.be/rvc7L25oIgg .

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We enjoyed strolling along the pedestrian street and watching the people go about their day. Although I am not much of a shopper back at home, I am always curious to poke into local shops when I am traveling, just to see what the locals buy and sell; and, at what price.

Playing dominoes is a favorite pastime in Cuba, so we paused to watch a couple of games being played in the small city parks.

Before making our way back towards the ship, we allowed plenty of time to return to Eduardo’s shop to buy them a cold drink and say a final goodbye. Eduardo had left for a meeting, but we treated his wife to a cola and promised to send one of Bruce’s glass bracelets when we returned home.

In the same artisan’s complex, we stopped to look at some other shops and came across a friendly man who spoke English. He asked, “Where are you from?” When we replied that we were from the United States, he grinned and asked if he could practice his English with us. The extroverted man said he didn’t want anything from us, but did we have time to just have a conversation?

Well, that is exactly what we had hoped for when we stepped foot on Cuban soil…

Next up: OUR NEW CUBAN FRIEND “BENI”

SANTIAGO DE CUBA: CUBA’S SECOND LARGEST CITY

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Knowing we would be in Cuba for only one day on this cruise, Bruce and I weighed the advantages and disadvantages of taking a ship-sponsored excursion versus going it alone as a self-guided people-to-people experience.

Fathom’s website states: “Self-Directed People-to-People activities include educational activities that are intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba and/or promote the Cuban people’s independence from Cuban authorities. Travelers who elect to forego the Fathom sponsored Immersion Activities will be responsible for adhering to a full-time schedule of activities from an authorized category (e.g. educational, religious activities, humanitarian projects, family visits) and maintaining their own records demonstrating compliance with OFAC requirements.

Travelers opting to engage in a self-directed P2P program or relying on one of the other travel authorizations will not be monitored by Fathom and are required to maintain records related to the authorized travel activities for a period of five years (a copy of your travel affidavit and documentation evidencing the activities that you participated in while in Cuba).”

Really? We must keep these records for five years? Is a U.S. government official going to come pounding on my front door in a few years demanding to see these documents? If I don’t produce them, will I get thrown in jail?

Of course, I wouldn’t trust anything our current president and administration does over the next four years, but I think this and the following blog post and my photos will suffice as evidence of my activities. I even have a “people-to-people” video as proof! More on that in my next post…

In the end, neither of us could fathom (no pun intended) the idea of being herded onto a bus with 40 other passengers and spending half the time just trying to get on and off the darn thing. Besides, how much contact would we really have with the locals if we are being shepherded from place to place? Sure, we would see more, but what Bruce and I really wanted to do was just meet and converse with Cubans. The seeing would have to wait until a return trip to Cuba—that is, if our current regime will permit it in the future…

Before the cruise, I had done research on all the places to visit in Santiago de Cuba. I even printed off a map and highlighted San Pedro de la Roca del Morro (castle), Cepspedes Park, and Santa Ifigenia Cemetary where Fidel Castro was laid to rest. We were going to hire a taxi and see them all! Not.

Instead, I showed the map to one of the Impact Travel staff aboard ship and asked her to highlight where we should head out on foot. Both streets she recommended were located directly across from the port, and one of them was strictly for pedestrians. Perfect!

After passing four armed guards stationed throughout the customs terminal with Springer Spaniel sniffing dogs in tow, we insisted on having our passports stamped (The dedicated passport stamper was lazy and would only stamp it if you asked), and cleared the gauntlet.

As poor as Cuba is, and as poor of a city Santiago de Cuba appeared to be, we did not see any poverty in the streets. The poverty rate in Cuba is only 5% (compared to about 14.5% in the U.S.A.), so nobody appeared to be starving or in bad condition.

During the day, we stopped into a few stores to see what was being sold and for what price. These sodas were .60 CUC each (about US $0.60). They were delicious!

A gallon of milk costs about 7.00 CUC, and a can of sardines was 1.75. A bottle of shampoo averaged 5.00. Toothbrushes cost about .75-1.00, and a small sofa would set you back 250 CUC.

On the surface, the prices in many respects were similar to ours; HOWEVER, when you think about their average monthly pay (about $1/day), it takes a full day of work to pay for one toothbrush! Two days of work will pay for one hour of internet access from a desktop computer at an internet café.

The supermercado (super market) wasn’t all that super, either. Entire six-foot long shelf units displayed just one item, such as identical large plastic bottle of cooking oil. Would you like to buy some crackers? You have perhaps three varieties from which to choose. Chocolate? I was shown either chocolate spread or chocolate drink as my choices to purchase. I would never survive…

Cubans receive food subsidies, so at least they don’t have to spend all of their hard-earned money on what little variety they find for groceries. In addition, Cubans receive free telephone service, free health care, and medicine is priced the lowest in the world. Housing and extremely low-priced utilities are highly subsidized, and there are no taxes on public jobs (which account for 75-90% of the jobs, since there are very few self-employed people). Education is a high priority in Cuba, so it is free.

If it sounds like I am pro-Communist, I assure you, I am NOT.

This is the sad economic fact in Cuba: According to Encyclopedia.com, Cuba’s economic freedom score was 28.7 (in 2014), making its economy one of the world’s least free. As an entrepreneur who created and ran a successful computer-related services business for twelve years, has also enjoyed a small hobby business creating and selling photo notecards for over thirty years, and is currently (and happily!) running my husband’s successful art glass jewelry hobby business; I am definitely all about economic freedom!

I also all believe strongly in the first amendment and being able to speak out against our current government without fear of being thrown in jail, beaten, or worse (at least for now). That wasn’t the case for Cubans in Fidel Castro’s Cuba. It remains to be seen what the future brings…

Coming up next: MAKING FRIENDS IN CUBA

Meanwhile, here are a few scenes around Santiago de Cuba. There are MANY more photos to come in my next post!

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MAN OVERBOARD!

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

As the Adonia sailed south towards Cuba on March 13, 2017, Bruce and I enjoyed a typical sea day for us: a workout in the gym, dining al fresco on the aft deck, attending lectures and workshops, and walking up on deck. It was a beautiful day, and the sea was like glass. It was so calm that I was able to do difficult yoga balance poses in the gym without so much as a wobble.

After attending an afternoon lecture about the history of Cuba, Bruce and I were ready for a walk in the fresh air; so, we made our way upstairs. As we walked past the card room and spa, we heard loud yelling in the hallway. A crowd gathered around a young, college-aged man who was yelling obscenities and sounding very incoherent. Just as I said to Bruce we needed to get security, a woman in the crowd said security had already been called. Just as two crew members from the pool area came in and also stated security was on the way, the extremely agitated passenger bolted, stumbling as he ran to the starboard side of the ship.

It was only moments after we continued out to the pool deck that the ship’s horn blasted, and the officer of the watch announced, “Man overboard! Man overboard!!” Crew members darted around us, grabbed life rings hanging from the railings, and tossed them overboard. We saw several flying into the sea.

I turned to Bruce and said, it’s HIM! That guy jumped!!

A flare was shot out in the direction of where the young man had jumped overboard from the spa area of the 9^th deck into the sea below. The ship abruptly changed course to circle back; a rescue operation was underway.

As we watched from the walking track of the 10^th deck, we could see life rings float away, orange smoke pouring out of the flare, and a head bobbing in the sea. Meanwhile, the crew lowered one of Adonia’s rescue boats and sped off with a pilot and two crew.

When their boat approached the bobbing head, the jumper started to swim away in the opposite direction! He was alive, and he survived the jump! From the 9^th deck, the only way anybody could survive that far of a water landing would be to enter vertically. A flat landing would result in death, we speculated.

What amazed us is that the jumper didn’t want to be rescued. It took several attempts of circling back until the crew was finally able to get ahold of his shoulders and drag him into the boat. Then, one of the crew had to hold the agitated man down.

As the rescue boat returned to the ship, we were watching the scene unfold right under us. The rescued man was rambling incoherently and making it very difficult for the crew to transfer him to the ship.

When he was finally safe onboard, the passengers erupted in a loud applause. The rescue operation was a success!

Although a couple of the passengers who witnessed the entire event unfold from the very beginning told us the content of the young man’s rants, and other passengers provided details of his identity and behavior previously that day, I have omitted this information as a matter of privacy. In addition, I have whited out the man’s face in the photos.

I am proud to reveal, however, that our ship’s captain was a British woman, and the pilot of the rescue boat was also a woman. Congratulations to both of them and the entire crew of the Adonia for a job well done! If there was one consistent opinion we heard expressed from other passengers about the shocking event that unfolded during our (previously) peaceful day at sea was that the crew could not have done a more excellent job!

Later, we were informed by the captain that the jumper was being held in the medical center for observation, and he was sent to a hospital in Cuba the following day when the ship arrived in Santiago de Cuba. He and his parents did not return…

Next up: Santiago de Cuba: Cuba’s Second Largest City

FATHOM ADONIA: CRUISE #2

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

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As we sailed away from the Dominican Republic last January, my heart ached to return to Chocal. The friendly women at the co-op, Gumarcindo at the cacao nursery, and the IDDI facilitators had grown on Bruce as well. We both wanted to return, and it seemed to be the only thing we wanted to talk about during our drive home from Miami.

By the time we returned home, we had made the firm decision to book another Fathom cruise to the D.R. and Chocal before the ship leaves for Europe in June. Immediately after we arrived home, I headed into our house and picked up the phone to call Fathom’s office. Since we only wanted to book a cruise if we could return to Chocal, our cruise date would be dependent on that availability. Our first choice was sold out, and our only other availability was for a cruise that included a stop in Cuba as well. One day in Cuba isn’t enough, and only two visits to Chocal in the D.R. wasn’t enough either, but something was better than nothing. With suitcases still packed in the back of our car, we were already booked for our next cruise!

It would be two-and-a-half months before our departure, but we were filled with excitement for what was to come. During our free time, I researched Cuba and the port we would be visiting: Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city of our mysterious neighbor, just 90 miles south of Key West, Florida.

Although Fathom has a strict policy about not bringing items for donation, there were two ideas I had for gifts I wanted to bring to Chocal: photo notecards of each of the people I had photographed back in January, and ear plugs.

Why ear plugs? When Bruce and I toured the factory, the noise level from the machinery was horrendous, and we noticed none of the workers used ear plugs. By the time they reach my age, they will be deaf! I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I went on Amazon and purchased a box of 3M industrial-grade foam ear plugs in cardboard pouches—the same type I was given at the hospital when I had an MRI. After a day’s work in the factory, I thought the workers could place the ear plugs back in their pouches, and put them in their pockets. The ear plugs could be used again for several days before they would need to be replaced. I figured I could then obtain an address where I would send more to them in the future.

On March 12, with photo notecards in hand and ear plugs in our suitcase, we boarded Fathom’s ship, Adonia, and set sail from Miami.

We knew our cohort leader, Collin, and his wife, Katie, would still be on leave, but we were happy to see many of the friendly staff we had met on our first cruise. It felt like “home” to be back aboard this beautiful ship!

As an extra bonus, we were surprised with a free upgrade to a beautiful balcony cabin! It was a first for us, so we couldn’t have been more thrilled.

We looked forward to enjoying a full day at sea before our arrival to Cuba, a “bucket list” destination we had spoken many times of visiting after President Obama had loosened up travel restrictions in an agreement with Raul Castro.

What we didn’t yet know was what unbelievable event would unfold during our sea day—something most crew have never experienced during their years at sea.

Coming up next: MAN OVERBOARD!

Elaine-iaK's Travels: A Traveler's Tales of People, Places, Photos, Pools… and CHOCOLATE!

Tag Archives: Cuba

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