HPMEC Announces “Friends of the Pfeiffers” Trip to Cuba

PIGGOTT, Ark. –The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum & Educational Center (HPMEC) and Friends of the Pfeiffers have announced a planned trip to Cuba in 2017. Participants in this small, guided tour will visit sites associated with author Ernest Hemingway’s time in Cuba.

This trip will be unique in that its itinerary will follow Hemingway’s novel “Islands in the Stream,” as well as visit the traditional sites of Havana. This is the museum’s second planned trip to Cuba. Thirty-four travelers from 10 states participated in the first trip in 2014.

Hemingway lived in Cuba for 21 years. While there, he wrote “The Old Man and the Sea,” for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, at the home he called Finca Vigía or “lookout farm,” located nine miles outside of Havana.

This eight-day/seven-night excursion, which is open to the public, will have two exciting parts. Travelers will explore the central coast that provided the backdrop for the author’s book, “Islands in the Stream.” They will visit the cayos (keys) made famous in the novel, “Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo.” They will then travel to Havana to take in the city’s art, music, dance and architecture. Visitors will enjoy a private reception with the curator of Finca Vigía, will explore Old Havana (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and will see the amazing architecture of central Havana.

Along the way, they will stop at many of Hemingway’s favorite places, including Hotel Ambos Mundos, La Bodeguita del Medio, El Floridita and Sloppy Joe’s. In addition to sites specifically associated with Hemingway, travelers will also have a chance to enjoy some of the Cuban classics, including a visit to the Rum Museum, a ride in a classic American car and a visit to a cigar factory.

To register for the trip, or to inquire about pricing or other information, contact the museum at (870) 598-3487 or email adamlong@astate.edu. 

HPMEC is an Arkansas State University Heritage Site. Regular museum hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., and Saturday, 1-3 p.m., with tours on the hour.

Participants in the 2014 "Friends of the Pfeiffers" trip to Cuba