A University of Wisconsin-La Crosse program will send 35 people on a tour of Cuba next spring, after trip organizers snagged rare approval from the federal government to travel to the embargoed communist nation. Burt and Norma Altman are planning the 10-day trip for UW-L’s Learning in Retirement program and will take advantage of a special exemption for academically based workshop tours that “promote people-to-people contact,” according to the Cuba travel sanction guidelines by the U.S. Treasury Department.">A University of Wisconsin-La Crosse program will send 35 people on a tour of Cuba next spring, after trip organizers snagged rare approval from the federal government to travel to the embargoed communist nation. Burt and Norma Altman are planning the 10-day trip for UW-L’s Learning in Retirement program and will take advantage of a special exemption for academically based workshop tours that “promote people-to-people contact,” according to the Cuba travel sanction guidelines by the U.S. Treasury Department.">

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Residents earn approval to travel to Cuba

A University of Wisconsin-La Crosse program will send 35 people on a tour of Cuba next spring, after trip organizers snagged rare approval from the federal government to travel to the embargoed communist nation.

Burt and Norma Altman are planning the 10-day trip for UW-L’s Learning in Retirement program and will take advantage of a special exemption for academically based workshop tours that “promote people-to-people contact,” according to the Cuba travel sanction guidelines by the U.S. Treasury Department.

About 70 people have indicated interest in the limited number of seats, Burt Altman said. Tickets run about $4,300, and anyone on the trip must be a member of the Learning in Retirement program.

Getting approval from federal officials didn’t come without a fair share of hoop-jumping. The jaunt includes a number of educational events, and days are planned down to the meals, filled with activities like visits to Ernest Hemingway’s house, the Bay of Pigs, and the Jesuit school where Fidel Castro studied.

“The people, for the most part on the tour, are busy all day long,” said Burt Altman, a former UW-L professor. “If they weren’t busy, we wouldn’t have gotten the license.”

The Altmans called the license application process a labor of love. The couple sent the Treasury Department an application in March after two years of planning and seeking approval — including a rejection the previous year.

A Treasury Department spokesman recently told the Associated Press only nine groups have been granted permission to operate people-to-people exchanges since May. About 10 applications come in each week.

The trip will allow visitors to observe recent economic and political changes in Cuba, Norma Altman said, and obtain a better understanding of the nation and its people.

How to sign up: People interested in applying for the trip need to first register for UW-L’s Learning in Retirement program, and pay a $35 one-year membership fee. To inquire about one of the 35 open seats, call the university at 608-785-6528.

Source: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article

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