Greenbook: A Local Guide to Chesapeake Living -Issue 11 | Page 6

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TRAVEL
JAY FLEMING'S
L
28 Days in Cuba
ocal photographer Jay Fleming spent an intense
three years shooting in, on and around the Chesa-
peake Bay for his first book, aptly titled Working
the Water. A photographic documentary as much about
the watermen who depend on the Bay for their livelihood
as about the natural landscape and wildlife that define
America’s largest estuary, curating Working the Water
was dramatic in scope and intensive in effort, so much
so that Fleming looked abroad for inspiration when he
was finished. He contemplated travelling to all sorts of
far-flung destinations around the world, but was most in-
trigued by the idea of a destination less than 100 miles
from the United States: Cuba.
The lifting of many travel restrictions to Cuba has meant
that it is the hottest travel destination of 2017. The island
has everything the adventurous traveler pines for: a
unique culture that wholeheartedly embraces music, art
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GREENBOOK | SUMMER 2017
and dance; the mystery and allure of historic architec-
ture in decline; pristine ecological preserves and exotic
wildlife; and countless indigenous sights and sounds in-
imitable to a country slightly smaller than the state of
Pennsylvania. Less intrepid travelers are attracted to the
island for its Caribbean flair, spectacular beaches and in-
clusive resorts that Canadians and Europeans have ap-
preciated for decades.
Fleming’s 28 day trip through Cuba took him from coast-
al Havana westward to the agricultural area of Pinar
del Rio, renown for organic agricultural cooperatives,
expansive tobacco farms and picturesque mogotes. He
continued south toward Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs),
Laguna del Tesoro, Boca Guama, Playa Larga and his ul-
timate destination before returning to Havana, Trinidad,
a beautiful town founded in the 1500’s and listed as a
World Heritage Site.