Cuba is calling! What's your answer?

Want to join me at my "second home" in Marea del Portillo, Cuba? A few more seats are still available for the Oct. 28-Nov. 4 group trip, as outlined on the poster below. The two-week option at the price listed has sold out but, if you're interested, let me know and I'll see what I can do. ~ Jenny

Want to see Pope Francis in Cuba?

Here's a great opportunity for those interested in seeing Cuba & Pope Francis! The trip is being offered by the agency I am affiliated with, P&G Travel. Please be sure to read both pages - contact information & prices are on the second page of the flyer....

Podcasts & October trip deadlines...

On the air and in the wind

This is just a quick note to let you know a few things….

First, I want to invite you to listen in to two podcasts of radio shows I had the privilege to be a guest on recently. Marilyn Ball is a wonderful host and we had such fun chatting, we've vowed to do so again soon – on the air or, perhaps, in Cuba!

In other news, the 2015 Posse Trip to Marea del Portillo, Cuba, is shaping up nicely but there are a few deadlines looming. The primary "Posse" group will be at the resort Oct. 28-Nov. 4 but some folks want to stay for two weeks. Most people will be going Oct. 21-Nov. 4, while others prefer Oct. 28-Nov. 11, although the price for the latter two-week period is slightly higher. Please inquire for prices and other details.

Here's a deadline summary:
JUNE 11 – booking deadline for Oct. 28-Nov. 11 (14 nights)
AUG. 7 – booking deadline for Oct. 21-Nov. 4 (14 nights) or Oct. 28-Nov. 4 (7 nights); full payment for all trips is due

It's also possible to go for the week prior to the group (Oct. 21-28) or to stay for three weeks (Oct. 21-Nov. 11). Don't hesitate to contact me if you're interested!

Hasta pronto,
Jenny ~ jennicacuba@gmail.com
647-216-1791 or 705-788-1791

"Speaking of Travel" host Marilyn Ball invited me to be a guest on her radio show in April and we had so much fun chatting, she asked to join her for a second interview in May! Her weekly show is based in Asheville, North Carolina, but is also available by podcast on the Internet. 

Here are the links:
APRIL 2015 - Travel to Cuba with Jenny Cressman
MAY 2015 - Cuban Kisses – Cuban Wishes
No passport required to listen in!

Where else can you have yoga for $5/class right beside the ocean?!

Please welcome my friend Louise Parkinson to the 2015 Posse! 

Louise will be our yoga instructor during the group week, Oct. 28-Nov. 4, and she has a lovely, gentle approach. Those familiar with yoga will find her classes very relaxing, and it will be easy for any "newbies" to feel comfortable and get in the flow! 

Louise plans to do two sessions each day, as much as possible, depending on our other activities – that works out to about $5/class, which is an incredible deal. (FYI, 100% of the $60 fee for a week of yoga will go to Louise to offset the cost of her trip and time away from her counselling practice.) You can read more about her on the poster below.

You'll find more information about the 2015 Posse Trip to Marea del Portillo, Cuba, in my other posts and posters. Please feel free to contact me, if you have any questions:

Jenny ~ jennicacuba@gmail.com

705-788-1791 or 647-216-1791 (cell)

The posse rides again! Oct. 21 or 28

Hey folks! 

Here's the updated information about the 2015 Posse Trip, heading for Club Amigo Marea del Portillo, Cuba, in late October. This time, we've made an exception to the usual "all-girl" rule and will allow nice men to travel with us. Americans are allowed to go too, but only nice ones!

Also, you can now go the week before the group ~ and the two-week rates are especially good, if I do say so myself! Please note that prices now include the 25 CUC "get-out-of-Cuba" tax, a welcome dinner and two excursions that I created exclusively for my group. And, as always, you will receive all the VIP perks this charming little resort has to offer.

Beyond the beautiful beaches...

Cuba is a fascinating island to explore!

Hola amigos,

I've been doing some scouting and making plans for future trips to Cuba. First, let me reassure my fellow fans of Club Amigo Marea del Portillo that I will continue to lead groups there on an annual basis. In fact, 24 of us will be heading to this special place just after Easter. I hope the snow here in Muskoka will be gone by the time I return…but I'm not going to bet on it!

Once I'm back in the office at the end of April, I will begin working on two back-to-back group trips, tentatively set for late October, both going to Marea del Portillo. Highly skilled Huntsville pro photographer Jim Bartlett has agreed to lead a photography course during the first week, which will be open to anyone with a camera! For the second week, we'll have our annual women's posse, with "Yoga Fusion" classes led by the marvelous Nicole Panteleo. More details to come soonish.

Next winter, I'm planning to lead a two-week bus tour of the island – including a stay at Marea del Portillo, of course! With that project in mind, I spent some time exploring places around Havana and Trinidad de Cuba in February. 

I've created some new slideshows to show you some of the interesting sites I checked out: "2015 Around Havana" and "2015 Trinidad & Manaca Iznaga." These videos are set to music by some wonderful up-and-coming Cuban musicians who sometimes perform at venues in Varadero. I was introduced to their music when I was staying with mutual friends in the city of Matanzas.

I'll let you know when plans for this road trip through Cuba are firmer.

 

Hasta luego,

Jenny

"Speaking of Travel" podcast posted!

Marilyn Ball in the studio.

UPDATE: Marilyn Ball's show with yours truly as a guest is now available on podcast here! And, as she mentioned at the end, Marilyn is going to have me return as a guest, likely in late May or early June. I'll let you know, when the date is set. ~ Jenny

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I had a great little interview with Marilyn Ball today, for her radio show, "Speaking of Travel." I referred to it as a "little" show because it's only half an hour long and, believe me, that amount of time passes very quickly when you're chatting with a like-minded travel enthusiast!

We didn't get through all the questions and topics we had intended to touch on but we did cover a lot of ground nonetheless. I hope you will find it both entertaining and educational. Maybe it will fire up your enthusiasm for travel too – particularly to Cuba, and perhaps with me. 

Her website says this: "Travel with Marilyn each Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on Independent Asheville Radio WZGM, V-Radio WSVM and WRGC in Sylva." The site will also give you access to podcasts of her shows. She chats about a lot of interesting topics with a wide variety of people.

I'm sure you'll find the half-hour show slips past your ears very quickly! It passed so fast for us, in fact, that she's invited me to return and continue our conversation on another show in a month or so, which will be especially fun because I will have just returned from my April group trip to Club Amigo Marea del Portillo, where a piece of my heart will always reside.

Here's a link to a topic we touched on in the today's interview… "I chose to walk through an opened door," a post on my original blog, Cubana de Corazón, which has more personal thoughts about Cuba, short stories and poetry, among other things.