Off to Cuba

Heading to Cuba tomorrow at 6am. This is my first photography trip outside of working with Free the Children. I am excited and nervous and have to say, I may have overpacked on the gear side.

We are doing a project on the bicycle culture in the country. We live in a society where if something breaks, we either pay to have it fixed, or replace it. For the DIY in the crowd, we have access to modern parts and tools to get the job done.

Because of the trade embargo, Cuba has been stuck without modern luxuries for quite sometime. People have been maintaining the same bike for decades, without any modern parts or tools. The majority of Cubans still rely on bicycles as their mode of transport and many for income. Cycling is not a recreation there, but a means. So they are left with their imagination, intuition and creativity to help get them by. We are hoping to find some interesting characters, bicycles and means of repair/maintenance on the way.

I will be trying to keep posting at least one shot a day, depending on internet access. Keeping with the cycling theme, here is a shot I took in Ecuador 2 yrs ago.

Canoa, Ecuador