I’ve decided that if utopia exists, it is definitely on a beach. The more beach vacations I have the more sure of this I become. Seriously, no body can be unhappy at the beach. Warm sand, sun, cool blue waves, palm trees, hammocks, rum, so much rum. If that doesn’t sound like perfection… let me tell you more! Our beach had these big beds lined with cotton curtains and at lunch time they cooked sea food paella. I brought a book with me and relaxed, slept, tanned, and when I needed some action we played soccer, Frisbee and snorkeled. Pure perfection.
Most of our days looked something like this. Wake up, eat breakfast. Go to the beach. Swim. Tan. Swim. Read. Swim. Tan. Lunch on the beach. Swim. Drink. Tan. Swim. Drink. Read. Tan. Around 3:30-4ish we went to the spa. At the spa we used the sauna, the steam room, the cold immersion pool and the regular pool. Afterwards we would rest, shower and get ready for the evening.
However, not all of our days were quite so calm. On our 4th day myself, Lucas, his sister Alysha and her husband Ruban went on a dune boogie adventure! This was an off resort excursion and it was such a blast. A bus took us to the dune boogie base camp where we were given protective face gear.
Then we were let loose on the roads! Well, not exactly, but we did drive on the open roads. We drove as a very large group to a beach that (I kid you not) was even more perfect than the beach at the resort. Utopia, I’m telling you. Anyway, while at the beach we got some leeche nuts and coconut water. Then out of nowhere this guy put an iguana on Lucas’ head! Naturally I had to get a picture. But when I started snapping pictures the iguana man insisted that I also get in the pictures… Here is the thing. I do not like reptiles. The whole situation was a little dramatic. But the photos are hilarious and I will never forget the feeling of his scaly little legs on my arm.
Next we drove to a local coffee farm. This place was unreal. They had coffee, chocolate tea, vanilla infused cigars and so much more. I’ve never had coffee that was so delicious. If I was carrying cash I would have purchased a bag to take home with me. Lesson learned. Also on the coffee farm was a fresh water cave to swim in. Fun fact: In Spanish the term for fresh water translates to sweet water. They call it this because sweet is the opposite of salty and fresh water, unlike sea water, contains no salt. Who knew?!
After that we journeyed back to base camp and headed back to the resort, just in time for a late lunch. Our second adventure took place at night on our 6th night. We went to this fantastical, amazing, unreal club called COCO Bongo! Also off resort, so we paid for a package that included a bus to and from the club, the entry fee and bottle service. It is kind of hard to describe COCO Bongo, but let’s just say it is unlike any clubbing experience you’ve ever had before.
Basically it is half club, half show. And when I say show I mean singing, dancing, impersonations, sketches, aerialists, acrobatics, and more. It has everything! The format was 10 minutes of show and then 15 minutes of music and dancing. So you were kept entertained but you also got to dance and party.
Seriously, if clubbing was like this at home I would go clubbing all the time.
I even managed to get in some exercise while I was on vacation. I had to wake up super early if I wanted to get some fitness in because it became hot and humid very early in the day. Still I managed to get in two short early morning runs. Just around the resort. And twice Alysha and I did some beach yoga. Yoga on the beach is one of the most peaceful activities. The sound of the waves rolling in, the sun coming up on the horizon and the whole beach to yourself. It was perfect. Practicing on sand also challenged and improved my balancing skills.
I loved being able to relax and enjoy a week of paradise with Lucas and his family. I would say I am much closer with his sisters now, which is great. And I got some great colour. All my coworkers commented on how tanned I looked when I came home. As a perpetual pale person this was a huge accomplishment. I guess I just have to go on a tropical vacation to the Caribbean every summer! Canadian sunshine just isn’t cutting it. 😉
After dinner we returned to the hotel to get dressed up for our night on the town. Unsurprisingly we all ended up in mostly black outfits. I think its a winter thing. It almost feels wrong to wear bright colours when there is snow on the ground. Then our first stop for the evening was 
hot! This was my third trip to Cuba, so the resort life is nothing new to me but it never gets old. The major difference between my 3 trips down south was my traveling companions. On my first trip I traveled with a small group of 4 girls, my second trip was large co-ed with about 14 people, and my most recent trip was with just Lucas and I. For more detail on my first two trips to Cuba check out 
Step Three: Use a small suitcase. No joke, I am using a cary-on case for all my clothing. This wouldn’t work on a longer adventure but it is perfect for a 7 day beach resort vacation. Rule of thumb, if it doesn’t fit in the case it doesn’t make the cut. I also used the rolling method. To be honest, I’m not sure that it saved me a ton of space but I do know that the tiny case method is a winner.
The second half of this trip consisted of… you guessed it… being a tourist!!! We did all the London touristy things that you can think of. We took the train into the city from my mum’s friends place in Redding. We went to the Tower of London. I loved it there! I find British history so fascinating. We saw the crown jewels, we saw the armory, we saw the draw bridge, we were told some haunting stories about the princes who went missing in the tower and about Ann Boleyn being beheaded. Like I said, fascinating.
The Small Things. 