#CubaHereICome

 

 

This week, I found a fabulous last minute deal on the cruise line, fathom, which recently began sailing from Miami to Cuba.  "fathom" is a company that provides “a whole different kind of travel”, with cultural immersion experiences and even includes all of the shore excursions complete with walking tours, bus tours, lectures on Cuban history/culture, dance and Spanish classes, and lunches in 4 local restaurants. 

Tomorrow, (8-7-16) the fathom Adonia will cruise to Cuba for a week, where we will visit Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos on a "people to people" mission where we will have several opportunities to connect with families, schoolchildren, musicians, small business owners, restauranteurs, and a host of artists, entertainers, educators, and more We will even stay overnight stay in Havana, where I will experience some of its nightlife. 

fathom is a new subsidiary Cruise line of Carnival Cruise Lines that provides weeklong sailings every other week--alternating between The Dominican Republic and Cuba. According to fathom, "we will participate in an ongoing cultural exchange program that will give us a chance to interact with the Cuban people, one on one. We will build on the contributions of the travelers who have come before us." The "f" in fathom is not capitalized reflecting the humility embodied by their approach to interacting with members of the local culture and making a difference.

Interestingly, fathom is the first American cruise line that received approval from the US and Cuban governments for Travel to Cuba. Their first sailing to Cuba was just 3 months ago.  I am happy they will provide us with Cuban visas. Check out www.Fathom.org.

Importantly, I will be able to visit Cuba while it is still a Cuban city---from a bygone era.  As we all know, in no time, Cuba will resemble the rest of the cookie-cutter Western world replete with high-profile brand establishments such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Sunglass Hut, Gucci, Guess Jeans, Prada, and more, on every corner.

Cuba has been on my bucket list for a very long time and will make my 91st nation visited. 

When Christopher Columbus arrived there in 1492, he described it as, “the most beautiful land human eyes had ever seen”. I look forward to this experience to drive less than 30 minutes away to board a ship to finally visit Cuba, a uniquely beautiful country, rich in history.  

#CubaHereICome

 

 

Cuba will make my 91st nation visited!

Cuba will make my 91^st nation visited!

I just booked a trip to Cuba that will leave in four days. I have been watching the prices for months and it decreased so dramatically (for this sailing), I could not resist this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to finally visit Cuba, especially at such a great price! What's even better, is that I will be on a cruise with "fathom impact travel", a company that provides a whole different kind of travel, with cultural immersion experiences and even includes all of the shore excursions complete with walking tours, bus tours, and lunches in local restaurants.

fathom is a new subsidiary Cruise line of Carnival Cruise Lines that provides weeklong sailings every other week--alternating between The Dominican Republic and Cuba. According to fathom, "we will participate in an ongoing cultural exchange program that will give us a chance to interact with the Cuban people, one on one. We will build on the contributions of the travelers who have come before us." The "f" in fathom is not capitalized reflecting the humility embodied by their approach to interacting with members of the local culture and making a difference. The recently renovated, 700-passenger cruise ship, Adonia, was part of the renaissance fleet of ships that were eventually sold to Carnival, Oceania, and Azamara cruise lines.  Interestingly, fathom is the first American cruise line that received approval from the US and Cuban government's for Travel to Cuba. Their first history-making sailing to Cuba took place just two months ago, May 15, 2016.  I am happy they will provide us with Cuban visas. 

For an incredibly low price, I will sail from Miami, (where I live), to Cuba (90 miles away) visit three cities, have access to multiple lectures about Cuban culture and history, enjoy multiple meals all included, have 4 lunches in Cuban cities, and will enjoy all entertainment on board the ship, all while not having to enter an airport or suffer from any jet lag. We will even experience an overnight stay in Havana, where I will experience some of its nightlife. Importantly I will be able to visit Cuba while it is still a Cuban city from a bygone era.  As we all know, in no time, Cuba will resemble the rest of the cookie-cutter Western world replete with high-profile brand establishments such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Sunglass Hut, Gucci, Guess Jeans, and more, on every corner. Coca-Cola does not even exist there. Cuba has been on my bucket list for a very long time and will make my 91st nation visited. 

The ship will depart from the port of Miami at 4:30 PM on Sunday, August 7. The first day we will spend at sea; the next two days in Havana where we will visit the old town, revolution museum, Batista's presidential office, Fidel Castro's yacht, cigar factories, Hemingway's former home, and more;  then we will visit the cities of Santiago de Cuba,  the country's second largest city--home to many of its famed musicians and artists and a UNESCO world heritage site; finally French-influenced coastal city of Cienfuegos, the center of Cuba's sugar, tobacco, and coffee trades.  I will experience all shore excursions with the same cohort that will be preassigned and dinner seating is open-seating. We will even take dance lessons in Havanna and after our walking tour, I plan to take a tour of the rest of the city, in a classic car from the 1940s.

I have already begun to brush up on my knowledge of Cuban culture and history with my collection and the books I checked out of the library today.

I look forward to this once-in-a-lifetime experience to drive less than 30 minutes away to board a ship to finally visit Cuba, a uniquely beautiful country, rich in history.

 

It just became harder to be female or gay in Brunei.

As a world traveler who aspires to see the world, (and has visited 73 countries/nations year-to-date),
I have little interest in visiting nations known for oppressive laws among certain groups, depriving them of basic civil rights.  Women and gays are often singled out as targets for these oppressive laws.  Sharia Law represents the most extreme.


Here is a sobering article that discusses Sharia Law and how Brunei, the first East Asian country to adopt Sharia Law, will implement it.  See link to article here: http://www.policymic.com/articles/88733/it-will-soon-be-legal-to-stone-g

 

It Will Soon Be Legal to Stone Gay People to Death in This Country

 

By Lauren Davidson  May 1, 2014

It just became harder to be female or gay in Brunei.

Brunei will be introducing its Islamic legal system in three phases. As of May 1, failure to attend Friday prayer services and pregnancy outside of marriage could result in fines or imprisonment. The second phase, to be implemented next year, will see theft punishable by amputation. By 2015 crimes such as blasphemy, adultery and consensual homosexual sex will warrant the death penalty by stoning.

 

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the nation's absolute monarch, first proposed sharia law in the 1990s, and has called Islam a "firewall" against globalization, rising crime and modern influences like the Internet. 

 

Brunei, which shares the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Indonesia, already followed stricter Islam-inspired laws than its neighbors, banning the sale of alcohol and restricting the practice of other religions. Around 70% of its 412,000-strong population are Malay Muslims, but even non-Muslim Bruneians (who are mostly of Chinese descent) will be subject to the sharia code.

 

The UN criticized the move, saying the punishments constitute torture and are therefore illegal in the eyes of international law. The UN's spokesman for the high commissioner for human rights pointed to several studies that show that women are more likely to suffer at the hands of sharia law, due to deep-seated discrimination and stereotyping in the justice system. 

 

Although cases under the new sharia law will require an extremely high burden of proof and judges have been urged to act with discretion, criminalizing homosexuality and limiting female autonomy have a chilling effect and create an environment that negates human rights and inhibits personal freedom. This chilling effect is clear in other countries where homosexuality has recently been criminalized, such as Uganda. That country's strict anti-gay laws has already led to instances of anti-gay bigotry, including the public outing of reported members of the LGBT community by Ugandan tabloids.

 

In Brunei specifically, the changes "may open the floodgates for further human rights violations against women, children and other people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity," the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health and Islands of Southeast Asian Network on Male and Transgender Sexual Health said in a statement.

 

They added that the sharia penal code "significantly impacts the lives and sexual health of its citizens most vulnerable to HIV: men who have sex with men, transgender people and young people from key populations. Under this light, penalties directed to sexual relations between two consenting adults impede rights to health, privacy, confidentiality and equality before civil law."

 

Several countries have been adopting more progressive attitudes toward the LGBT community in recent years, decriminalizing homosexuality and legalizing same-sex marriage. Yet other nations are taking steps in the opposite direction: In February, Uganda passed a bill that makes "aggravated homosexuality" punishable with life imprisonment, just weeks after India's Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling, reinstating a ban on gay sex, punishable by up to 10 years in jail. 

 

Previously the maximum punishment in Brunei for gay activity wasa 10-year prison sentence. Homosexuality is illegal in around 80 countries, and Brunei now joins a handful of countries (spread across the Middle East and West Africa) where consensual gay sex — living openly, comfortably and naturally — could cost you your life. 

 

Image credit: CBC News

 

News of the legal changes in Brunei has so far been met with outrage and dismay by activists around the world, including in the U.S. In Los Angeles, activists have banded together to boycott the landmark Beverly Hills Hotel, after it was revealed that the famous spot was owned by a development company controlled by the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. Even influential television host Ellen Degeneres has lent her support to the boycott, notifying her social media followers that she will be staying elsewhere for the time being.