Joe, my husband, came home from a photo class in Chicago last September bursting with news, including, “I found a Cuba trip we can go on.”
“Really?” My reply was tinged with a hint of skepticism since a previously planned trip didn’t materialize.
“Dan from the camera shop knows a couple that leads small group tours to Cuba and he can get us on the March trip. It’s for photographers.”
Trying to sell the tour Joe added, “I really got to know Dan in the class and he’s going.”
To me Dan is the cheery man behind the glass counter at Tamarkin Camera. Our trips to the “Windy City” always include a jaunt to Dan’s second floor shop on West Superior Street so Joe can talk cameras with a fellow enthusiast while I wander through the adjacent Rangefinder Gallery looking at the photos on display. Dan is a man that has added a lot of extra city blocks to my life and a camera or two to Joe’s ever-present shoulder bag. After a moment of thought, I answer, “but I’m not a photographer.”
“You could be,” was Joe’s ever hopeful reply, so he signed us up.
We first met our Complete Cuba trip leaders, Amy Gardner and Keith Sbrial, through a series of comprehensive emailed documents that not only included our proposed trip itinerary but detailed packing lists, suggested pre-tour reading materials, potential free time activities by location and a 10-page file summarizing Amy and Keith’s in-country travel tips. I read everything three times and thought I was prepared – but being in Cuba is like stepping back in time.
In future blogs we will feature stories and photos from our nine-day Cuban adventure.
