National Geographic Experts
A National Geographic expert will accompany each departure to share insights and a rare behind-the-scenes perspective. Listed below are some of the experts and the departure date(s) they will be joining.
Kike Calvo
Award-winning photographer, journalist, and author Kike Calvo was born in Spain, has traveled in more than 85 countries, and transformed his his fascination with Latin America into a career focus. He is a guest lecturer for the Leica Akademie and a freelancer for the New York Times. His cultural and environmental documentary photography has also been published in National Geographic, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair, as well as other publications. His book Habitats, with forewords by famed National Geographic marine photographer David Doubilet and Jean-Michel Cousteau, showcases a collection of his work in Cuba and his road trips across the island, where he was charmed by its culture and people. Kike´s images of Cuba have been internationally exhibited and collected with traveling exhibitions of his work in New York, Chicago, Manila, Spain, and Panama at venues including the United Nations, King Juan Carlos I Center, and Instituto Cervantes. With a strong interdisciplinary background, Kike continues his education by teaching photography at workshops and seminars around the world. When he is not on assignment, instructing, or guiding, he is having gazpacho made from his grandmother’s Andalusian recipe.
Christopher Baker
Travel writer and photographer Christopher P. Baker—the Lowell Thomas Award 2008 'Travel Journalist of the Year'—is one of the world's foremost authorities on travel and tourism to Cuba and Costa Rica. He has authored guidebooks to Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Panama in the National Geographic Traveler series and is currently at work on Colombia. He is also the author of the award-winning Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba, published by National Geographic Adventure Press. His more than 20 other books include the coffee-table book Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles. He has also written for more than 200 publications, from National Geographic Traveler to Newsweek, and has given talks about Cuba at National Geographic headquarters, the National Press Club, and the World Affairs Council, among other prestigious organizations. Christopher has been profiled in USA Today and featured on the National Geographic Channel, NPR, and dozens of other radio and TV outlets.
Robert Hernandez
Born in the U.S. but raised in Spain and Cuba, Rob Hernandez was in Havana during the pivotal early years of the Cuban Revolution. After leaving in 1960, he first returned in 1987 with the hope of gaining access on behalf of the National Geographic to what at that time was largely a closed nation. He has traveled widely throughout the island and will enjoy sharing with you his broad knowledge of the history, culture, and environments of this enigmatic nation that's still struggling to reconcile its past with its future. A 28-year veteran of the Society, Rob first served as a senior editor for the magazine, later becoming Senior Vice President and head of the Society's International Publishing division that produces books, magazines, and other media in more than 35 languages. An ecologist by education, he spent his early career doing field research and documenting through films and photography many of the world's more remote places, work that has appeared in leading global publications. After spending two years circumnavigating the Indian and Pacific Oceans in a small sailboat, he later led many expeditions to Africa, the Arctic and Antarctic, Southeast Asia, and South America, among other regions.
Fabio Amador
Fabio Esteban Amador directs the National Geographic Society/Waitt Grants Program and is an associate research professor of anthropology at George Washington University. He is also a research associate at the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. He is an archaeologist specializing in the documentation and visualization of terrestrial and underwater biocultural heritage sites. He has worked in archaeological sites throughout the Americas and is presently conducting research on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Fabio is also developing research projects with Cuban scientists for the study of underwater archaeological sites. He has travelled extensively in Latin America and Cuba. His interest in Taino Indian culture (which spanned the Greater Antilles, including Cuba) is focused on the exploration of submerged cave systems where much ritual activity occurred. Before joining the National Geographic staff, Fabio was a professor of archaeology and a researcher for the Council for Scientific Investigation at the National University of El Salvador.
