I just got back from two weeks in Cuba. The first week was spent traveling to Vinales and Cienfuegos and photographing Cuban people.

I had never spent any time in either of these two places and they were both striking in different ways: Viñales is a small town in western Cuba with low mountain ranges and lush valleys that produce tobacco, coffee, and honey. There are plenty of casa particulares—think Airbnb. These are homes and rooms for rent and often the owner cooks meals for guests as well. I used casa particulares in Viñales, Cienfuegos, and Havana.

Cienfuegos is an industrial town of approx 165,000 along the south-central coast. It’s not touristy like nearby Trinidad and has beautiful, yet worn-out, French colonial architecture.

My second week was spent in Cayo Largo on a live-aboard yacht fishing for a week. We didn’t have cell or wifi and were quite surprised when we got back to Havana to hear the global news. Everyone in my group made it back home safely and fortunately painlessly.