Fair warning: The following is my sales pitch for two stellar WOW! Travel Club experiences for next year.  One is a legal visit to the “forbidden” island of Cuba in April. The other, a private voyage to Turkey and the Greek Isles on a luxurious 88-passenger yacht in June.  

Feel free to stop here if you’re not interested in one of the most amazing travel experiences ever offered in the history of the world!  (Only a slight exaggeration . . .)

But while I have your attention . . . you really should give serious consideration to one (or both) of these unique journeys. It was the wise and witty Mark Twain who said:  “Twenty years from now, you’ll be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”  

(no pressure … just saying’ . . .)

After all, almost everyone yearns to travel some day.  Why not now?  

What are you waiting for?

Here are 5 more compelling reasons why you should sail on our private Tere Moana voyage through the Greek Isles (in addition to the 10 Reasons I posted a couple of weeks ago!):

#1.  Go up to the Bridge and hang out with Captain Rajko. Watch him navigate past the Golden Horn, across the Sea of Marmara and through the Dardenelles as you depart Istanbul.  Take a cup of coffee up to the Bridge on Wednesday morning as we sail into Patmos – one of the prettiest harbors in the world.  Feel free to go on up to the Bridge whenever you like – it’s your ship!

 

#2.  After we’ve arrived at a sweet little island like Tilos, go to the local market with Hotel Manager Nelson and the Executive Chef as they buy provisions for Tuesday’s dinner.  They’ll probably point out some produce you might never have seen before.  Accompany them to the bustling wharf where they’ll buy fish and seafood from the local fishermen who have just returned to port with their fresh catch.  (Try doing THAT on a regular cruise ship!)

#3.  The Friday night crew talent show is loads of fun as you enjoy the surprising talent of the staff who you’ve grown to love.  The girls from the housekeeping team perform a traditional folkloric dance. Tony, your waiter, might perform, “I Think I’m In Love Again.”  And the Grand Finale literally rocks the boat!

#4.  WOW journeys are special because of the carefully-planned itineraries and attention to detail.  No less important than all of that is the quality and caliber of the travelers on this journey.  Smart, successful, inquisitive, adventurous, happy and fun-loving . . . you’ll travel with people with whom you will remain friends long after the voyage ends.  (Think about the kind of people that me and Gabriel will want to spend a week with . . . !)

 

#5.  As my WOWees know, I love to surprise, delight and dazzle.  After all, “WOW” stands for “Worlds of Wonder” … so the element of surprise is one of my trademarks. I can’t tell you what I’m working on – but can promise you that it’s a “wow” that you’ll never, ever forget!!

So . . . what are you waiting for . . .?

Dates?  June 6 – 13, 2015

Cost?  $4,995 per person, double – for a deluxe stateroom with picture window (includes almost everything except international airfare and port taxes of $435)

Extension?  Yes … in the works – will include extra time in Istanbul plus Cappadocia, Turkey (a fabulous place!)

And one MORE thing: There’s an Early-Booking Bonus for everyone who books by September 1st:  You will have a chance to win a free upgrade to a balcony stateroom (a $2,000 value!).

So . . . what are you waiting for . . .?  Here’s the link to register!

 

---

 

Now that you’ve got your summer travel plans handled (and wasn’t that easy??),

how about Sancti Spiritus in the springtime?  (Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?)

I’ve lost track, but I think I’ve been to Cuba almost a dozen times in the last four years.  I never get tired of going there.  Quite simply, there is no place in the world that is so full of contradictions, misconceptions, vintage charm, artistic traditions, resourcefulness, potential and pure fascination than this island nation less than 100 miles from our border.  Frozen in time.  It feels like a movie set.

There’s no other destination about which I tout inadequate infrastructure, crumbling colonial architecture and and inefficiency as compelling reasons to go there!

Huh??

And no place else where I more fervently stress the urgency of going there now – before they get all the inefficiencies and contradictions worked out and smoothed over (and become as homogenized as many other places – with a Starbucks on every corner, CNN on the flatscreen TV and a 3,000-passenger megaship in the harbor).  It’s precisely these inconveniences – the things that challenge our assumptions about everyday life in our country – that makes travel to Cuba such a fascinating experience.

 

This might be a dumb example to share, but this is one of my favorite stories from my first trip to Cuba, in Spring of 2010:

At that time, they gave a slightly better rate of exchange for American Express Traveler’s Checks.  (NOTE: It’s not possible to use credit cards or ATM cards from U.S. banks in Cuba because of the embargo.)  For starters, I had a difficult time finding traveler’s checks – my bank had to special-order them (a nod to the past).

We stayed at the iconic, historic Hotel Nacional in Havana.  It opened in 1930 and was the site of a major gathering of the Mafia – closing its doors to the public while accommodating the heads of the most notorious (American) Cosa Nostra families in 1946.  

There was a currency exchange office on the ground floor.  A weathered old security guard monitored the number of people that could enter.  As each customer left the office, he’d admit one more person, and everyone in the waiting room dutifully shifted one seat closer to the cashier’s window at the front of the room.

I kept glancing at my watch in nervous anticipation.  (It’s not cool when the Tour Leader keeps her group waiting on the first day!)  Even the simple currency exchanges were taking several minutes.  Unbelievable!  Finally, it was my turn.  I approached the Cashier with a friendly smile.  She was oblivious to my attempts to make nice, and made no effort to hurry up – even a little bit.

I was exchanging five $100 travelers checks, crisp and sequentially numbered.  I gave her my passport and she watched me sign and date each check.  Then she inspected each one, turning it over and around like she’d never seen one before.  After she slowly thumbed through all pages of my passport, she wrote the number on the back of each check.  (As I silently screamed, “Why don’t you just do that ONE time – and paper-clip them together!”)  She recorded the number of each traveler’s check on a separate line in a big black ledger, along with my passport number, issue and expiration date.  (As I silently screamed, “Haven’t you ever heard of “ditto” marks??”).

I shifted impatiently from foot to foot – knowing that I had already broken WOW Vow #4:  “I vow to be on time, or catch up to the group at my own expense.”

This lady could have cared less.  

Thinking back on this experience, I recognized what I took for granted … one of the advantages of our free-market system where (most of the time), inefficient, unfriendly service would not be tolerated.  In this case, this lady had absolutely no incentive to work faster or be friendlier.  It made not a whit of difference to her.  She worked for the State – as did everyone in Cuba back then.  With few exceptions, nobody made any more money than anyone else.  There were no rewards for ambition or enthusiasm or initiative.  (Things have changed in that regard since Raul Castro has implemented economic reforms and many people are now engaged in privately-owned businesses.)

Although incredibly frustrating, I found it totally fascinating.  I was in Cuba!  And this is what “experiential travel” is all about.

That’s a strange story to share, I suppose, but like so many travel experiences, it’s those things that are unexpected and surprising (even if they’re not pleasant surprises) that we remember most vividly.  I’ve alway been impressed, too, with the resourcefulness of the Cuban people.  Their vintage cars are still functioning.  They fix stuff that breaks (instead of throwing them away).  They walk a lot more than we do.  Instead of video games, boys play stickball in the street.  Old men play chess or dominos on makeshift game boards and talk baseball in Parque Central.  There is no advertising.  There are no parking meters.  They sing and dance like crazy.  Their literacy rate (sadly) puts ours to shame.

More than any place I can think of, Cuba (our so-called “enemy”) has tested and challenged my assumptions about democracy, capitalism and socialism.

The journey in April is a legal People-to-People cultural experience.  You’ll meet and interact with local Cubans – learning about their life, lifestyle, hopes and dreams – while at the same time, sharing yours.  They are warm and curious.  They don’t love our government – but they really like American visitors.  We’ll see Havana, Matanzas, Sancti Spiritus and Trinidad – unique and fascinating places.  We’ll visit schools, artists colonies and community centers and meet newly-minted business owners.

Most importantly, we’ll connect … and come home with more insight and knowledge and empathy.  THAT’s what travel’s all about!

---

 

Some comments from past participants:

“My head remains filled with the excitement and profound experience of our Humanitarian visit to Cuba. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but whatever that might have been, it was far exceeded by the emotional mind-opening journey on which you took us. It is difficult to pick out a highlight… there were just so many. Thank you so much for putting this together.”

“I can’t tell you how much the Humanitarian Visit to Cuba meant to me. It was perfect!!  A once-in-a-lifetime experience.  The two of us were beyond thrilled.”

“It was – without a doubt – one of the most enjoyable and interesting trips that we have ever taken.”  

---

 

Details:

Dates:  April 18 – 26, 2015

Accommodations:  1 night in South Beach, 3 nights in Havana, 1 night in Varadero (for Matanzas) & 3 nights in Sancti Spiritus (for Trinidad)

Includes:  Airfare from Miami; Visa & License; Most meals; All transfers; Airport Departure Tax; Cuban Medical Insurance; Full-time schedule of People-to-People visits and connections; Most gratuities; Local Cuban guide and services of Marilyn Murphy as your Tour Leader on site – plus WOW! surprises!

Cost:  $4,495 per person, double occupancy

Group size is limited to 20 travelers.

Call:  818-444-2707

---

 

Always love to capture your comments . . . thanks!