Pueblo a Pueblo, a Humanitarian Trip to Cuba!

I was honored to be one of thirty people from the US that traveled legally to Cuba on a humanitarian trip. Our trip was in total compliance with the United States embargo against that country. Our group entered Cuba legally under a humanitarian license granted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control branch of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Cuba has always been a destination at the top of my list of places to go! Travel for humanitarian reasons was more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined, and I can't wait to do it again. My humanitarian journey coincided with a personal milestone (my Birthday) which made the journey all the more special! I can't think of a better way to spend your birthday than to learn how to dance Salsa in Cuba until 4 AM! I would highly recommend giving yourself or a loved one this experience for their next Birthday, Anniversary, and Graduation or even as a reward for losing weight or quitting smoking!

I have traveled all over the world and I can honestly say I have never had so many friends, relatives and even strangers excited about my travels (before and after)! What a feeling of anticipation landing in Havana! I wasn't really sure if there would be a strong Military presence, or we would be treated any different as Americans. I saw no noticeable Military presence, only a few unexplained police checkpoints on the highway between cities, and they only were interested in the Cuban people. We were completely embraced by the Cuban people and always felt safe. The Cuban people and travelers from other parts of the world occasionally would approach one of us and say "your accent, it's not Canadian" and we would explain that we were Americans here legally on a humanitarian trip. We would then explain to them that we had brought with us donations of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, personal hygiene items, used cloths, towels, and school supplies, athletic equipment, spices and nonperishable, packaged foods that we were delivering to churches and synagogues around the country. We also carried gifts for the people that we met personally; I carried Dum Dum suckers for the children and makeup for the woman that was donated from my Mary Kay unit. The women were so excited to accept these gifts because they are not able to purchase these kinds of items.

Our Journeys took us through 5 diversely different areas of western to central Cuba nearly half of this beautiful island. We visited city's both large and small, villages and rural areas. The landscape was as unbelievably diverse as it was beautiful where we saw the mountains, caves, jungles, and beaches on both the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

The purpose of our trip was to deliver humanitarian aid, however our escorted itinerary allowed us to see plenty of cultural and historical points of interest, as well as some free time! Cuba has something for everyone, great food, music, dance, art, architecture, history and so many old American cars that remind me of the "Dream Cruise" on Woodward Avenue here in Detroit every August. The hotels we stayed at, and the restaurants that we dined at were all first-class and some of the most memorable in all of my travels!

I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this experience and about how honored I was be included on this special journey of a lifetime, truly. Groups carrying humanitarian items travel from the U.S. to Cuba regularly under provisions of the sanctions, which allow Americans and U.S. residents to travel to Cuba for humanitarian purposes. I am planning to return to Cuba in February of 2009 during the Havana cigar Festival and welcome all inquiries from anyone interested in joining me! For more information please contact me at plkane@sbcglobal.net (877) 738-9584