When the Freedom to Travel Committee set about planning a trip to Cuba that would challenge U.S. government restrictions on travel to the island, they hoped to enlist perhaps 50 people who did not fear going to jail.
As of last week, nearly 170 Americans ages 4 to 87 are signed up for the trip Oct. 10-17 and more are expected to sign on this week.
Regulations barring travel to Cuba were first promulgated in 1963, at the height of the Cold War. A de facto ban now exists because the Department of Treasury prohibits U.S. citizens who are not journalists or researchers from spending money in Cuba, though travel itself is not a criminal offense.
Travelers flouting those restrictions can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.
The Freedom to Travel Committee (an ad hoc group made up of members of organizations such as Clergy and Laity Concerned, and Pediatricians and Parents for Peace) hopes to prod the Clinton administration into normalizing relations with Cuba, according to spokeswoman Medea Benjamin.
During a week spent mostly in Havana, the group will deliver $23,000 worth of insulin and antibiotics, which have been in short supply in Cuba, to the Juan Manual Marquez Children’s Hospital in the capital. Also planned are visits to a day care center, a school, museums and an agricultural cooperative, helping to build a U.S.-Cuba Friendship Park for children, and taking in cafes and markets.
The cost of the trip is $800, including roundtrip airfare between Cancun, Mexico and Havana, all meals and lodging. For information, call the Freedom to Travel Committee at 415-558-9490.
Luxury in London, New York
British Airways has added several top hotels to its London in Style three-day package, which will include a Concorde flight one way from Washington, D.C., or New York and business class return to any of the airline’s 16 U.S. gateway cities, including Chicago. New hotels are 47 Park Street in Mayfair, the Savoy and Brown’s Hotel, joining the Ritz, the Dorchester and the Cranley. Cost is $4,607 to $5,757 a person, double occupancy (depending on hotel and U.S. gateway) and includes three nights’ accommodations with continental breakfast and chauffeured private car between Heathrow or Gatwick Airports and hotel. Prices will be in effect Nov. 1 to March 31, 1994; payment and ticketing must be 21 days in advance. Call 800-876-2200.
City Lights Bed & Breakfast Ltd. has put together Live Like a Millionaire weekend packages available now through the end of December, featuring upper-crust residences on the Upper West and East Sides, Soho and Greenwich Village in New York. Ranging from $160 to $225 a night, these residences include a seven-room apartment on Park Avenue and the 2nd floor of a Victorian mansion between 5th and Madison Avenues. Prices include a bottle of champagne and gift basket on arrival, continental breakfast and maid service each day. Length of stay will depend on residence availability. Call 212-737-7049.
Here a Celt, there a Celt
The second annual Celtic Nations Heritage Festival will fill the air with music and storytelling, among other planned activities, Oct. 9-10 in Madisonville, La., outside New Orleans. Rowing teams from as far away as San Francisco, Boston and Ireland will compete in Irish boats called curraghs on the Tchefuncte River in the Irish Regatta, and festivalgoers can learn Scottish, Breton and Irish dances, sample Irish stew and imported malts and visit craft booths. Admission each day is $5 for adults, $8 both days; reduced admission for seniors and children. For information, call 504-529-1317. Delta Airlines is offering special fares; call 800-241-6760.
Cross-Culture tours has added Scotland to its 1994 destinations for groups of about 25 travelers. The nine-day Scottish Fling includes a week in Edinburgh, with day trips to the East Neuk fishing villages of the Fife coast, visits to royal palaces and castles, and tickets to performing arts at the Edinburgh International Festival. The $2,020 cost, based on double occupancy (single supplement $140) includes roundtrip airfare from New York, all meals and lodging, guided tours and talks, concerts and performances on the itinerary, a multilingual tour leader and pre-trip mailings of maps and preparatory information. The Scotland tour can be combined with one of two Ireland trips for an extended Celtic tour at a reduced rate. Call 413-256-6303.
Florida facts by phone
A new 24-hour telephone number affords visitors to South Florida the latest information on dining, special events, sports, shopping, entertainment and more. By dialing 305-557-5600 in Miami or 305-527-5600 in Ft. Lauderdale, callers can find out what’s going on in specific areas of Dade or Broward County, delivered in English, Spanish, German, French, Swedish and Portuguese.
Hurricane season lasts through November in the Caribbean, and official storm advisories from the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables can be dialed 24 hours a day at 900-933-2628. Sponsored by the Boat Owners Association of the United States in cooperation with the National Weather Service, the report includes hurricane status data for the East, West and Gulf coasts as well as the Caribbean. Cost is 98 cents a minute; the average call lasts about three minutes. Callers are charged on their monthly phone bills.
