Following the Yellow Brick Road: Traveling to Cuba February 9-17, 2026

From the moment you arrive in Havana, your senses are wide awake. The city breathes art. Paint peels like abstract murals from colonial walls, classic cars glide by like moving sculptures, and music spills from open windows and street corners. There is rhythm everywhere—drums, laughter, conversation, history. Havana doesn’t whisper. It sings.

As a photographer, Havana is an endless inspiration. Every doorway frames a story. Every café has its own soundtrack. Artists sketch, dancers rehearse, musicians improvise. The city invites you to slow down, to look closer, to wait for the moment when life arranges itself perfectly in your viewfinder.

Then we travel the road leading away from the capital and into the countryside. Here Cuba reveals a completely different soul. Here you’ll find cowboys riding smoking tobacco, bulls resting in the shade, and endless rows of tobacco plants stretching toward the horizon. This is where the legendary Cuban cigar begins, in red soil, weathered hands, and generations of farming knowledge.

You’ve heard of the Cuban cigar? This is its origin story.

What stays with you most, though, isn’t just the landscape. It’s the people. Cubans are some of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever met. There is a quiet dignity here, a deep sense of honesty. I’ve seen it firsthand: people with very little who still look out for one another. Drop your wallet on the street, and someone may run blocks just to return it to you. That kind of integrity leaves a mark.

Cubans love boxing and baseball with a passion that fills living rooms and street-side conversations. They also love nature shows on television—lions, oceans, forests far beyond their shores. And as surprising as it may sound, many Cubans love Americans, Italians, and the French. There’s curiosity, warmth, and a genuine openness to connection.

Photography in Cuba is a bridge. A camera becomes a shared language. Most Cubans feel honored to be photographed. Portraits turn into conversations. Conversations turn into friendships and life memories.

Traveling through Cuba is an adventure, not because it’s polished, but because it’s real. It challenges you, welcomes you, and surprises you at every turn. Like the yellow brick road, you never quite know what’s around the bend. You trust the adventure.

If you’re willing to walk it with open eyes and an open heart, Cuba gives you more than photographs. It gives you stories worth carrying home. Your stories will be with you for a lifetime.