Christopher Baker to lead motorcycle tours in Cuba

It’s been a dream of mine to lead group motorcycle tours of Cuba [2] ever since I published my travel literary memoir, Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba [3].

Well, I’m thrilled to report that that dream will now become a reality.

Two weeks ago, the Treasure Department Office of Foreign Assets Control [4] (OFAC) granted a “people-to-people” (P2P) license to MotoDiscovery [5], permitting the Texas-based company to offer “educational exchange programs” in Cuba.

MotoDiscovery is the only motorcycle touring company to have been granted a license from the U.S. Department of Treasury to legally offer motorcycle travel to Cuba for U.S. citizens.

The itineraries will include lots of exciting encounters with Cubans across the spectrum, from tobacco farmers and practitioners of santería (the Afro-Cuban religion) to the rapidly evolving new breed of cuentas propistas (self-employed) individuals.

And I’ll be leading several of the tours, which we hope to announce for the coming winter season.

Hopefully we’ll be using a fleet of BMW F800s [6]. Meanwhile, I hope to ship my BMW R1200 GSA [7] to Cuba to base it there throughout the winter season.

My relationship with MotoDiscovery founder and owner Skip Mascorro began in 1995 (back then his company was called Pancho Villa Moto-Tours) when I was researching my motorcycle venture through Cuba in 1996 aboard my BMW R100GS PD [8].

I ended up putting more than 7,000 miles on the clock while traveling the island end to end, from Cabo San Antonio in the west to Punta Maisí in the east while researching the first edition of my Moon Cuba [9].

Now I'll be putting that expertise, and the expertise that I've accrued in the ensuing 15 years, to make these programs as exciting and fulfilling as possible.

I’ll be announcing dates and further details as soon as they become available.

Stay tuned for more details.

For further information about travel in Cuba, buy Moon Cuba [9]

For further information on Havana, buy Moon Spotlight Havana [9].

Buy an autographed hardback copy of Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba [3] direct from the author.

Looking for the perfect coffee-table book gift item? Buy an autographed hardback copy of Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles [10] direct from the author.

Disclosure: I occasionally accept free or discounted travel when it coincides with my editorial goals. However, my opinion is never for sale. The opinions you see in Cuba & Costa Rica Journal are my unbiased reflection of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Learn more about Christopher P. Baker [10].

Copyright © Christopher P. Baker [10]