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Posts Tagged ‘Captivating Cuba’

Get To Know Us: Cuba Tour Managers

Part tour-guide, part problem-solver and 100% friend: our Tour Managers are destination experts and there for our passengers every step of the way, helping to make your tour as safe and fulfilling as possible! Whether to color in your destination with fun first-hand stories or recommend the best restaurant for a night out (and the best way to get there!) it’s no wonder when our passengers return home, one of the first things they rave about is their Tour Manager. We’re fortunate to have a team of Tour Managers who are passionate about our tours to Cuba and can’t wait to share their experiences and expertise with you! Meet Terri, Frank, Tracy and Gary.

Terri Ross

Terri Ross

Where do you call home? New Mexico

How long have you been leading tours to Cuba with Friendly Planet?  3 years

What are some of your favorite Cuban experiences? Whether it’s seeing the joy radiating from the face of a passenger when she was given a student painting at the art school we were visiting or helping my group members bargain for handmade linens to take home as gifts for family and friends — my favorite experiences always seem to revolve around helping travelers experience the real Cuba.

What’s one of the most interesting things to happen on one of your tours? I once helped a passenger propose to his girlfriend! Seeing her tearful happiness as she accepted was so moving.

Interesting Tidbit: I was actually in Havana the day Fidel Castro died!

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Havana’s Malecón, a stunning Sea Wall

We think experiencing the authentic side of Cuba is a bucket list item every traveler should check off! That’s why, as one of the first US tour companies to have been awarded a People-to-People license for Cuba travel, we’ve worked hard to send thousands of American travelers to Cuba to participate in unique, inspiring, and affordable encounters with the Cuban people. Recently, we asked one of our fabulous Cuba Tour Managers, Gary White, to tell us about one iconic Havana landmark that really immerses you in the ‘authentic’ Cuba.

Sunset at the Sea Wall ©Ashu Mathura/Flickr

For decades, as a forbidden country to US citizens, Cuba was only in our imaginations. We had seen pictures of 1950s classic American cars plying down the dark streets of a crumbling Havana, or of an enthusiastic Fidel Castro gesturing to the masses as military trucks pulling missiles passed in review. And, of course, the island was riddled with aged women who enjoyed oversized cigars tilting down from one side of their mouths.

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“What’s the best place you’ve been to?”

As travel professionals, we get this question all the time, “Where’s the best place you’ve ever been?” So we asked one of our amazing Reservation Agents Liz to weigh in! See below for some of her personal travel favorites…. so far! 
Wat Rong Khun, Thailand ©Carlos Adampol Galindo/Flickr

5 Thailand (Wat Rong Khun AKA White Temple)

Bangkok is of course the favorite city of most visitors, but I also loved northern Thailand, especially Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Among the tiered tea fields and charming villages, you’ll encounter treasures around every corner. One of my favorite memories was of Wat Rong Khun, AKA White Temple, en route to Chiang Mai. After seeing so many temples in Asia, this one stands out with its modern and incredibly detailed design. In 1996 the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, using his own money, chose to completely rebuild this temple himself. Over a million dollars later, it’s still a work in progress, and is hoped to be completed by 2070. Aside from traditional Buddhist imagery, you’ll see movie references like the monster from Predator rising from the earth. Eliciting both smiles and serious thoughts, this stop on the tour was well appreciated.

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