Sweetheart deal - deadline is Feb. 16

Hola,

Thanks to a miscommunication with Sunwing, there are still some seats available for my April 4 group going to Club Amigo Marea del Portillo, Cuba - at the original low rate! But, this offer will only last until Feb. 16. Need a really special Valentine's Day gift? Here you go! And, yes, they take credit cards.

I will be away, so please contact Michelle Linares at Sunwing (contact info. below), if you want to take advantage of this deal. And, if you sign up, please send me an email (jennicacuba@gmail.com or jcgb@vianet.ca) to let me know. 

If you want to join the April 2013 group, here’s what you need to know:

• We depart April 4 from Toronto for 7 or 14 nights in Cuba.

• This is an all-inclusive resort package, covering accommodation, food, beverages, flight (Toronto to/from Cuba) & taxes – no hidden fees.

• There are several options to choose from…

                     

BASIC HOTEL ROOM (per person) for 7 nights:

                   - Single   $748                        - Double   $678                        - Triple   $658

VIP CABANA DEAL (per person) for 7 nights:

                   - Single   $798                        - Double   $738                        - Triple   $718

BASIC HOTEL ROOM (per person) for 14 nights:

                   - Single   $988                        - Double   $858                        - Triple   $818

VIP CABANA DEAL (per person) for 14 nights:

                   - Single   $1058                       - Double   $918                       - Triple   $888

VIP Bonus

Valid only for guests booking the CABANA VIP AI & HTL VIP SUP BONS AI room categories: • Express check-in • Room upgrade to either Cabana or Superior room • Different bracelet • Welcome letter signed by the general manager of the hotel • Fully stocked mini bar on arrival with the best Cuban brands • Free use of safety deposit box • Express reservations for the a la carte restaurants • 1 Gala dinner per stay with lobster and wine (reservation required) • 1 Sunset tour included per stay • 2 Excursions to Cayo Blanco per stay • 1 Lagoon tour per stay • 1 Picnic-style tour per stay • Free late check-out

Call to book; these special rates are available until Feb. 16^th.   Ask for Michelle and say you would like to be added to the Manzanillo April4^th Special (a.k.a., Jenny's group).

Michelle Linares | Friends & Family

Sunwing Vacations | Signature Vacations

Tel: 416.620.4955, ext. 3560 l 1.877.877.1755 ext. 3560

Email:mlinares@sunwing.ca
27 Fasken Drive, Toronto, Ontario M9W 1K6

We're invited to dinner at Agustin's!

I am very happy to announce that a pig roast is being planned for the April 2013 group! 

The idea has been in the works for some time but we needed an appropriate venue. The home had to be large enough to accommodate our gang and close enough to the resort that transportation wouldn't bee too difficult. This year, the pieces finally clicked into place, thanks to my pal Agustin. He and his wife Yadira have agreed to be our hosts! The details remain to be sorted out but I'm going to guess that Saturday evening will be a good time for this party.

I'll never forget the first time I met Agustin and Yadira, in October 2009. As the sun began sliding lower on the Western horizon, Wendy Oke – one of my three travelling companions on that trip – and I decided to go for a stroll along the beach. As we were walking, we saw a couple silhoutted in the distance, slowly coming towards us, hand in hand. We introduced ourselves and chatted a little. Agustin was carrying a burlap sack because they were going to get some food for his chickens, he explained in his simple English. Shy Yadira, who speaks only Spanish, smiled a lot – as she still does!

Both Wendy and I immediately had a good feeling about this couple and when, during another encounter, Agustin invited us for dinner at his house, we were glad to accept. As Agustin had proclaimed, Yadira is a very good cook. We had a lovely time and I have visited their home many times since. It seems perfectly fitting that one of my groups will now have the privilege of going to dinner there too! 

Agustin is a farmer but I don't know if the "guest of honor" at the roast will be one of his pigs or not. Maybe it's best not to know! Whenever I visit his home, I try to take a few photos of his ever-changing menagerie. The dogs and cats are constants but the other critters tend to come and go. 

April 4 Zumba: introducing Amarilis!

One can never know how life will unfold but, somehow, everything generally seems to work out, despite one's plans.

When I began to plan the April 2013 trip to Club Amigo Marea del Portillo, Cuba, I had conversations with two different parties about featuring Zumba as an option, similar to the yoga trips I do each fall. Initially, discussions moved forward more quickly with the people from British Columbia. But, as things have evolved, the Ontario party has come to the forefront.

Both women at the centre of these discussions are native Cubans, now living in Canada. Both are certified Zumba instructors. Either would bring heaps of positive energy and enthusiasm to the JennicaCuba April 4 Zumba trip. So, with regret, I must announce that Isabel Arias will not be leading the Zumba classes on the upcoming trip but, with delight, I can also announce the Amarilis Lily Garcia will be filling that role.

Amarilis now hails from the Peterborough/Lindsay area but is originally from Pilón, just a cha-cha-cha down the road from Marea del Portillo. Before moving north and learning first-hand about snow, she was a dancer at the resort where we will be going in April. Her familiarity with the community will bring a wonderful new dimension to our trip!

When she lived in Pilón, Amarilis taught dance to children at the community's cultural centre. We hope she will be able to arrange a special Zumba class there in April for our group and some local kids. Although the younsters may not be familiar with Zumba, they will certainly be well acquainted with the Salsa dance rhythms it's based on. So, I can't help but wonder: will the Canucks be able to keep up with the kiddies? We shall see!

If you are interested in joining the April 4 Zumba party, please contact tour organizer Jenny Cressman (that's me!) via jennicacuba@gmail.com immediately - the deadline for booking and payment is Jan. 31. Scroll down or click here for prices and other information about this trip.

To learn more about Amarilis, visit her website,  find her on Facebook or check out her fun new Zumba/Salsa video.  If  you want to get an idea of what "our" resort and JennicaCuba trips are all about, click merrily - the links on this site are intended just for that!

Cheerio,
Jenny

P.S. So far, everyone has opted for the VIP Cabana packages, only five Sunwing insurance packages are left and most of the Elite+ seats are taken. I'm still looking for bike sponsors & shepherds!

Hello my friends! (Hola mis amigos!)

Welcome to JennicaCuba (YennicaCuba), a site set up to provide information to anyone interested in travelling to Cuba with me, Jenny Cressman. It may also be helpful for people going to Cuba without me, of course...but that wouldn't be as much fun!

This is the next stage in the evolution of my involvement with Cuba, and this site will continue to grow as my projects and tours expand. The trips and other activities I organize are primarily focussed on Marea del Portillo in the Granma region of southeastern Cuba, where my heart is inexplicably, inextricably drawn. Several times a year, my body follows it there.

In 2009, I stumbled upon a humble little resort called Club Amigo Marea del Portillo. I had never been to an all-inclusive resort before; that style of holiday never really interested me but, since I am a curious person, I decided to try it one dreary winter. The biggest reason for choosing it was that, at the time, this was the most inexpensive place I could find! It continues to be very affordable, I've learned.

Since that initial visit, I've been returning on a regular basis. Why? That's a big little question! The easiest answer is to say I fell in love – not with a person but with the people, their culture and the lovely landscape. Cuba is a remarkable country and this place, in particular, is very special. I'm certainly not the only one who is enthralled and enamoured by Marea del Portillo, or Cuba in general. This humble little resort has one of the highest rate of returning customers on the entire island.

For me, however, just making friends and hanging out there wasn't enough. I wanted to do something that would help the surrounding community. I began organizing groups and encouraging people who travel with me to get involved in some of my small-scale humanitarian projects. So it began.

To find out more, please peruse this site and read all about it! Maybe you will want to travel with me. Maybe you will want to support what I'm doing in another way. Maybe not. Maybe you will gain a little knowledge about Cuba or be inspired to do something to assist and empower people in another part of the country. Maybe you will just enjoy reading what I've written and looking at some of my photos. That's fine.

The invitation to join me is wide open but it is just that – an invitation. Even if you sign up for one of my group trips, there is no pressure to do anything....except to treat people the way you would like to be treated and, whenever possible, to smile and be happy!

Thanks for reading this much!

Keep smiling,
Jenny (a.k.a. in Cuba, "Yennica")