cuba Archives - Suzanne Carillo

I’m baaaack! Well for a few days at least. I will be leaving again soon for a fun blogger meet-up in Phoenix.

Spending a full week on a beach without a care in the world was total bliss.

This wasn’t our first time in Cuba so we’d done most of the touristy activities and tours already. This time was all about scoring the best spot on the beach and then kicking back with my Kindle.

What I Packed For One Week All Inclusive Vacation

It was a week long trip. I knew that I had to pack snorkelling gear so carry on luggage was not an option.

For seven days I packed,

3 two piece bathing suits
2 beach cover-ups
2 hats (one for swimming, I always wear a hat in the sun)
1 pair of shorts
6 t-shirts
1 long velvet duster
1 rash guard
6 dresses
1 pair of water shoes
1 pair of sandals
1 pair of flip-flops

For the plane ride I wore

a long black maxi skirt with a top, black closed toe Clarks, my black scarf, a beret and my thin down jacket with a hood. Coming back on the plane I wore a t-shirt with the same outfit. Since we went from -5 C to 30 C I needed something warm enough to get to and from the airport. I wore socks with my shoes to keep my toes warm also so that I can kick my shoes off on the plane as my feet swell up like balloons. The lightweight down jacket folds up into a tiny ball and can be used as a pillow. On a windy evening the scarf came in handy as a shawl. The beret was great coming back with my beach hair.

I was happy with my packing overall.

Turns out that two of the bathing suits were unnecessary but that is because I have a pinched nerve and wasn’t able to get in the water and snorkel or swim as I would have liked. I will be heading to the chiropractor in hopes of a miracle cure. My pointer finger and thumb on my left arm have been numb for ten days now. They have a pins and needles sensation in them that can extend to the whole arm with severe pain when it gets really bad. I was hoping that a week on the beach would clear it up without any kind of medical intervention but that hasn’t worked. So that is the long story as to why I only ended up using the one bathing suit.

Every day for breakfast I wore shorts and a t-shirt.

Nothing fancy. I realize now that I could have only taken two t-shirts as I only wore them for breakfast and could have just alternated. Yes! I’m that ~~boring~~ relaxed when I’m on vacation.

Since I knew we’d spend every day at the beach only a cover-up, hat and bathing suit with flip-flops was necessary for daytime.

This is my favourite cover-up ever. I’ve had it for years and love it. You may recognize it from my last Cuba trip…

Or from my Jamaica trip…

This “new” cover-up is actually a dress I bought at ModCloth which I haven’t shown on the blog. It has a very unique handkerchief hem.

I styled it for winter with a sweater, tall boots and a belt but actually prefer it on the beach.

I think I might prefer everything on the beach.

We only took the camera out twice so I have a limited number of photos from this trip.

I made every effort to stay unconnected and totally in the moment.

It was wonderful, you should try it!

Lots of women I saw at this resort didn’t even bother with beach cover-ups.

It was an adults only resort and I was delighted with the number of women I saw of all ages and sizes wearing whatever kind of bathing suit they wanted and showing it all off.

Everyone was loving the skin they were in.

Maybe it was the joy and freedom that comes with being on vacation that allowed women to let go of any negative body issues and celebrate their bodies in such positive way.

No shame, just love.

Now to figure out how to carry that through to the rest of our lives…

I read this today and thought it touched on the subject perfectly,

“Society’s obsession with outer beauty. – As you grow older, what you look like on the outside becomes less and less of an issue, and who you are on the inside becomes the primary point of interest. You eventually realize that beauty has almost nothing to do with looks – it’s who you are as a person, how you make others feel about themselves, and most importantly, how you feel about yourself.” Marc and Angel

Next time I’ll share the dresses I chose for this vacation.

Linking up with Visible Monday, I Will Wear What I Like, Shoe and Tell, Turning Heads Tuesdays, Hat Attack

We are just back from a little winter getaway to Cayo Coco Cuba.

We stayed at the Melia Jardines del Rey resort. It was very busy, very new (parts still under construction) with excellent food, first class entertainment and fantastic beaches.

This is the only place in the world that I’ve been where we could walk for about a 800 meters out in the water and it would still only be up to our waist. The water was crystal clear and warm. If it was calm enough you could just stand still and see the fish swimming all around you.

Mojito anyone?

The massive buffets, restaurants and overwhelming food choices were turning me into a second and third helping piggy. I especially loved the papaya. I think I had it every meal. That is the good/bad thing about all inclusive resorts. One tends to overindulge.

Yes Michael Jackson was also there. They had a Michael Jackson tribute show and it was BRILLIANT! Seriously blew me away. Robert too…and he had seen the real Michael Jackson live in concert.

There were loads of hawks everywhere. They weren’t afraid of anyone. We also saw Turkey vultures. I didn’t put up the photo because they have been repeatedly dipped in the ugly bucket.

I read 5 books… Big Little Lies (which I loved!) very well written, suspenseful with surprising twists and turns, Girl on a Train (…ho-hum) and the trilogy My Body His which is erotic fiction which was better than I thought it would be.

I was attacked by an alien on our last day. I was getting ready to pack up our water shoes which had been sitting out on the balcony drying. I placed them in a plastic bag and brought them in the room. When I went to tie the bag shut I peeked inside and there was an alien face calmly staring back at me with massive bulbous yellow eyes.

I. Freaked. Out.

I jumped straight out of my skin and ran to the other side of the room, yelling and hyperventilating. I had no idea what it was.

Robert said I put on a good show.

I don’t know why I panicked like a 5 year old. I think it took me back to the time when my brother brought home a friend’s snake and then proceeded to chase me around the house with it. When I locked myself in the bathroom he then slid it under the door. The snake was slithering up towards the toilet. I was petrified. I was standing on top of the toilet. No, not the toilet seat, I was perched precariously balancing on the top of the water tank, screaming blue murder. I think I was 17 at the time and my brother would have been 20. Thanks for damaging me for life big brother.

Now looking at the frog he looks quite harmless doesn’t he?

It was a wonderful vacation and a welcome break from winter.

I’ve spent the few last days adjusting to the 60 degree difference in temperatures.

No that isn’t a typo.

It was 30 C there and now it is -30 C with the wind here today.

Getting back home is depressing enough but then our garage door broke, (perfect for the extra cold snap we’re having) my credit card was compromised and someone partied away $7500 on my credit card in Vegas with it apparently while we were away, and Zoë became very ill and had to have emergency surgery for stones blocking her urethra. $5000 later…we have our baby back home and our cursing ourselves for not having pet medical insurance.

Argh!

The last time we went to Cuba was 12 years ago and lots has changed, for the better. Cuban’s quality of life has increased dramatically. I saw no malnourished horses, I felt safe and they seemed better organized and more efficient. The Cuban people were always very welcoming and that has only increased.

Cayo Coco where we stayed isn’t authentic Cuba as it is only resorts. No Cubans actually live there. If you are looking for more culture and everyday Cuba head to Varadero and take some day trips to visit Havana and Matanzas like we did our first trip.

If you are interested in going I would suggest heading out before the US embargo is completely lifted which will probably happen in the next year or so. They are predicting over 2 million Americans will flood their resorts once that happens. It will be much busier and substantially more expensive.

Why did we choose to go to an all inclusive resort? Simple. It is the most relaxing and we are always on budget.

Have you been to Cuba? When you travel do you like going to all inclusive resorts? Or do you prefer to organize on your own?

PS…if you liked this post you might want to check out my posts about France, Antigua and my recent trip to NYC.