Santiago free orientation tour (cruise arrival schedule)

Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city in Cuba. Santiago, the cradle of the hot tempered Cuban music and hot tempered Cuban revolutions. It has a very exotic atmosphere similar to and very different from great cities like Rio de Janeiro. Many of the sights that should be seen in Santiago are situated in the Historical Center and can be presented (not visited) within a 2 hours walking tour. The distance covered in the tour will be around 2 km in a slow pace on mostly asphalt. The start of the tour will be at the port in front of the Passenger Terminal approximately 30 minutes to 45 minutes after your cruise arrival in Santiago. You will recognize me by the red T-shirt saying Walking Tour Stoycho. To book please select the meeting time. *** Please see IMPORTANT note below regarding meeting time confirmation *** With the tours you will be seeing the major sights, walking through the jumbled mess of streets, hear the sounds, rhythms, smell the street foods, be exposed to Santiago de Cuba history, culture and hear as many stories as you want to hear within the 2 hour period. During the tour you will meet different Cubans – musicians, artisans, dancers, shopkeepers, passers by etc, and have your own experience with Cuban people. In the itinerary there is nothing that is contradictory to the OFAC requirements. The idea is to for you to get oriented: getting a good overview of what is what and what is where so that you can design your own tour activities according to your interests after the tour. We will be offering morning, afternoon and/or evening free walking tour itineraries which would help maximize your experience with Santiago. This itinerary – sights and related stories 1. Enramada (the Main Street of Santiago) – the hot land shaded by flowers (ramo means a bunch of flowers) 2. The Balcony of Velazquez – early history of Cuba. The stories of Diego Velazquez, de Soto and Bartolome de Las Casas. 3. The University San Basilio – the first University of Cuba. 4. The Cathedral. The story of Virgen de la Caridad, the patron saint of Cuba. Carlos Manuel de Cespedes 5.The Palace of Diego Velaquez 6. Casa Granda and Carlos III Club – the Santiago version of independent Cuba. 7. The House of the Mayor. Hernan Cortez – the first Mayor of Santiago. Declaring the victory of the Revolution on 9th of January 1959. 8. Calle Herredia – the Monmartr of Santiago. Depending on the date and hour we can catch a piece of the wonderful Cuban music either in Casa de la Trova, Museo Herredia, UNEAC, Arteks or at least at the corner behind Museo de los Carnavales. Calle Herredia is also famous for its artesans’ and souvenir shops. 9. Museo de los Carnavales. The Carnival of Santiago is considered the richest and hotest among the carnivales all over Cuba. At 4:00 p.m. in its patio starts a breath-taking show related to the African roots of the Cuban culture`. 10. Museo Bacardi. The story of Bacardi family – rum and revolution. 11. Calle Carniceria and Parke Serano.The slavery and time perception of Cubans. 12. Plaza Dolores. The Jesuits and the school education. The story of Eduardo Chivas – a really unique public figure. Fidel Castro. 13. The Bazar Street. The monuments of Cuban music – Miguel Matamoros, Sindo Garay, Esteban Salas. If you want to buy some more souvenirs, typical Cuban sweets etc. you can do it there. 14. Back to the port. Padre Pico. At the last stop we can say goodbye to those who want to stay around the center of town and explore on their own. I will give some tips on where else to go and what Paladar are good etc. The duration of this short walking tour is 2 hours (we don't enter the museums with the free tour). As noted before the start of the tour will be at the port in front of the Passenger Terminal approximately 30 minutes after cruise arrival. The tour will start 15 minutes after meeting time. You will recognize me by the red T-shirt saying Walking Tour Stoycho. Additional afternoon and evening tours may be available please contact me. *** IMPORTANT *** To book please select the meeting time base on your availability (e.g. soon after your cruise's arrival). If there are different start times selected by participants I will notify you via Guruwalk what the agreed meeting time is. We will start the tour 15 minutes after meeting time. It is very important that you check for start time confirmation notification from me on Guruwalk. Internet services is very poor in Cuba. We don't have constant access to the Internet. Sometimes it can be 24 to 48 hours or more before I can get on. NOTE ALSO if there is a date not listed as available please contact me with your arrival schedule and I will add it.