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NESOCuban Bucket List· N 23° · vol. I ·
Carta Marina · Issue №01 · MMXXVI

Discoverthe undiscoveredisland.

Hidden gems, insider experiences, and unforgettable moments with the most interesting locals on the island — set down here in chart form, dispatched twice monthly to those whose travels deserve more than a brochure.

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On the Manifest

2,847

Locals Charted

44

Provinces

11

Voyages Q1

VI

Chap. II — The Premise

We are no company of tours.

— signed, the cartographers

We began as a fortnightly dispatch — short letters from the island sharing what one cannot find on any printed itinerary. Hidden coves, family kitchens, mountain photographers, the divers and mechanics whose names are passed only by word of mouth. Each chart you see here was drawn from such a letter; each vote you cast helps us decide which we shall transcribe next from note into voyage.

  • Compagnie

    3 – 12

    persons aboard

  • Local share

    70 – 85 %

    paid afore the voyage

  • Provinces

    11

    across the whole isle

Chap. III — Charts of the Isle

Voyages currently in survey.

Lat. Granma provincePl. 01

Sierra Maestra Photography Expedition

Three days chasing golden hour with a Cuban photographer who knows every ridgeline by name.

3 daysmark me down →
Lat. HavanaPl. 02

Havana Family Kitchen Night

Cook a four-course Cuban supper in a Centro Habana home. Music, rum, real conversation.

1 eveningmark me down →
Lat. Pinar del RíoPl. 03

Secret Scuba with a Local Legend

A dive with the man who taught most of the divers on the island. Reefs the boats never reach.

1 daymark me down →
Lat. Sancti SpíritusPl. 04

Hidden Waterfalls & Local Life

Trek to falls that don’t appear on maps. Lunch with the family who keeps them secret.

2 daysmark me down →
Chap. IV — The Reader’s Vote

Mark thy choice with a wax seal.

Sign in by way of Instagram and lend thy vote to whichever voyage thou wouldst most desire to live. The chart that first attains five hundred seals shall be drawn into a real journey — and those who marked it shall receive the first invitation by post.

— first to 500 wins —

Most Sealed This Fortnight

  1. I+128 new sealsHavana Family Kitchen Night
  2. II+96 new sealsSalsa Night on a Secret Rooftop
  3. III+74 new sealsSierra Maestra Photography Expedition
  4. IV+41 new sealsVintage Car Mountain Road Trip
PLATE №01Granma province

Sierra Maestra Photography Expedition

Three days chasing golden hour with a Cuban photographer who knows every ridgeline by name.

482/ 500 seals
PLATE №02Havana

Havana Family Kitchen Night

Cook a four-course Cuban supper in a Centro Habana home. Music, rum, real conversation.

671/ 500 seals
CHARTERED ✓
PLATE №03Pinar del Río

Secret Scuba with a Local Legend

A dive with the man who taught most of the divers on the island. Reefs the boats never reach.

358/ 500 seals
PLATE №04Sancti Spíritus

Hidden Waterfalls & Local Life

Trek to falls that don’t appear on maps. Lunch with the family who keeps them secret.

294/ 500 seals
PLATE №05Cienfuegos → Trinidad

Vintage Car Mountain Road Trip

A ’57 Chevy, a route through the Escambray, and a mechanic who can fix it with a butter knife.

412/ 500 seals
PLATE №06Havana

Salsa Night on a Secret Rooftop

A live septet, a rooftop most Cubans don’t know exists, and lessons that work even on you.

537/ 500 seals
CHARTERED ✓
Chap. V — The Logbook

Field dispatches from the isle.

  • I.Field notes

    The fisherman who feeds half of Baracoa

    Apr 2026→

    On the eastern tip of the island, where the road runs out, we spent a morning with Reinaldo and his grandson.

  • II.Hidden gem

    A coffee farm in the clouds

    Mar 2026→

    Three hours up a mule track outside Santiago is a finca where the beans dry on the porch and the rocking chairs are always free.

  • III.Local hero

    Yoandra, the only female luthier in Holguín

    Feb 2026→

    She builds tres guitars in a converted bedroom. The waiting list is now eighteen months long.

Chap. VI — Ports of Call

Forty-four guides & hosts across XI provinces.

Habana ✦Trinidad ✦Viñales ✦Santiago ✦Baracoa ✦Cienfuegos ✦Camagüey ✦Granma ✦Holguín ✦Matanzas ✦Habana ✦Trinidad ✦Viñales ✦Santiago ✦Baracoa ✦Cienfuegos ✦Camagüey ✦Granma ✦Holguín ✦Matanzas ✦
LM
Lázaro MendietaPhotographer · Bayamo
YC
Yamilet CruzChef · Centro Habana
TD
El Tigre DomínguezDive instructor · Pinar
RO
Reinaldo OrtizMountain guide · Topes
YP
Yoandra PérezLuthier · Holguín
OM
Onel "El Mecánico"Vintage cars · Trinidad
Chap. VII — Articles of Conduct

Three articles we shall not break.

I

Real Cuba, real people.

Every voyage begins in someone’s kitchen, workshop, or boat. Never on a coach.

II

Locals receive their share first.

Fair, transparent splits — paid before the trip departs. The whole moat is trust.

III

Stories worth telling.

Thou shalt return with a name in thy contacts and one tale thy friends will request twice.