I surprised my Mum with her Dream Trip to Cuba

Hi guys! As you've seen in the title, this is a slightly different travel video. In fact, it is not about me traveling. But let's start from the beginning. Since I turned traveling into my profession with writing travel guides and making travel films about six years ago, I had the urge to give something back to the very person who infected me with the travel bug in the first place, which is my mom. Now, a little known fact about me is that I was actually born in GDR. So until 1990, we couldn't really travel far. And my mom never had the possibilities to travel as I do today when she was my age. After the fall of the wall, she took my brother and me on our first trips abroad, even though she was a single mom and didn't have much money. And I promised myself one day, I will invite her on a trip. Last year, I started a partnership with G-Adventures where I got to hike the Larus Trek in Peru. And because this went so well, they asked me this year to become part of their Wanderers in Residence, which is their brand ambassador program, where I got to choose to do two trips in 2018. One of them was the Kilimanjaro expedition you've already seen on this channel. And for the other one, I asked them what they think about the idea of surprising my mom with her dream trip instead of me going alone on another trip. They totally love the idea. And I knew from several conversations with my mom that one of her dreams was to visit Cuba one day. So I talked with my stepfather to find a time frame where she would be free. And I got in touch with G-Adventures to find a tour according to the dates. And it all worked out, except for one tiny detail. My mom has absolutely no idea that we will be flying to Cuba tomorrow. So I'm now taking a train to the town where I grew up to surprise her. And of course, I take you with me. All right, I made it to the apartment of my mom. And my stepfather actually left the key outside. My mom is drinking a coffee somewhere around the corner. So I will now send a text to my stepfather so they make their way here. Hello. After the big shock yesterday, we're now on the plane. Are you excited? Yes. Let's go. On a tour with a classic car. To see Havana from above and have a drink. We're on a fortress on the other side of the city to see the cannon show. And our first destination is the Vinales Valley, where apparently the best tobacco in the world is growing. He's going to roll cigar for us to see. We finally arrived in Maria La Gorda, which is on the far west coast of Cuba. And the third and last stop on our tour is the small community and nature reserve of Las Terrasas, the Terraces. So the next thing we're doing is zip lining mom first.