In 2017, Lisa and I joined our close friends Jim and Kathleen for an OAT adventure that carried us from Portland to bustling Miami for a brief stop, and then onward into the layered realities of Cuba. What a trip!

We traveled through Camagüey, Remedios, Matanzas, and Havana, cities shaped by history, revolution, resilience, and extraordinary human creativity. Cuba was not just a frozen postcard from a bygone era. It was vibrantly alive – music drifting from open windows; quiet conversations in courtyards; carefully repaired cars still running after decades; families adapting to years of forced poverty with quiet ingenuity and determination.

What struck us most was the palpable texture of daily Cuban life: the faded paint, improvised beauty, the pride in their ingenuity and craft, and the genuine warmth of our welcome. Cuba revealed itself to us not through spectacle, but through its people.

This collection of photos reflects that layered experience: Cuba’s urban streets, our immersion into Cuba’s culture, food, and the friendliness we experienced, all became moments that still glow like warm embers in our memories.