Cuba 2016!

FYI- this post is gonna be photo heavy!

Last week I flew off to Cuba with my friend Ginny and her family. Originally Gin and I had been planning a last minute girls getaway, but a few weeks before we left her family mentioned also wanting to do a trip this year so to save money and vacation time we decided to combine our trips into one! I've known Gin's family since I was knee high to a grasshopper so it was a complete nondecision to have them come along! We had such great weather down there too. The first couple days were low 20s, which felt so nice to our winterized skin. Then on day 3 it got much hotter! It was sunny every day and no rain! I went through 3 bottles of sunscreen.

Our Resort!

The whole fam- Me, Dad, Gin, Ang, Kim, Mom and Jake

The pool we spent a lot of time at

We stayed at a resort called Roc Barlovento in Varadero. I went to Varadero back in early 2011 and I loved it, so I knew we would have a blast when they asked to go there. It is a great area because you can actually leave the resort and go explore. Plus the beaches in Varadero can't be beat! 20km of beautiful white sandy beach and turquoise waters! We got a great deal on our 6 day getaway too! SO CHEAP!

The hotel was great. It was adults only and definitely seemed to be full of the older crowd and families with grown children. 100% not a party scene, which was perfect for us. The rooms were a little run down, but the beds were comfortable and the staff were all so friendly. Also, the food was not half bad for Cuba, which is known for being meh in the food department. Always something to eat and lunch at the snack bar was always a big BBQ of yummy! I liked the pasta bar at dinner the most, but the line was always too long so I only went once or twice. The drinks at the resort were also good, though they seemed to have issues keeping the frozen drinks frozen so daquiris were better enjoyed in the a.m.!

The resort had tons of stray cats and dogs, which seemed cared for and were all so friendly. We made friends with an adorable dog our first night there. We were searching in the dark for the snack bar to get a late night snack and we found this dog by the pool. We asked him where the snack bar was and I kid you not this dog got up and led us there. We named the dog Snack Bar ("Snacks"), and he hung out with us all week! I am sure the sausages Kim kept sneaking him had nothing to do with that ;).

Snacks!

The first couple of days we were there the beach was SO windy and cool and we couldn't swim in the ocean due to a strong riptide. We were all super sad, but the pool was nice and the wind was blocked there so it was nice enough! Finally on our third day the ocean was "opened" and we dragged our lounge chairs out there to enjoy the swimming and sand! One day the four of us girls even took a catamaran out!

On the catamran

Gin holding on for dear life

We also took lots of walks in town and once and awhile took a horse drawn carriage around. The old cars which served as taxis were sooo cool, but with 7 of us the horse was the better choice! Be careful though- one horse guy really tried to rip us off and was a bit of a black spot on the vacation. That day we were heading to Waco's Club for dinner, which I would 100% recommend! It was a pretty high end establishment, which I totally didn't expect, but the lobster was SO big and delicious and not terribly expensive. We all had a great time there. Make a reservation though!!

A bunch o us on the carriage

Overall we had a great time and I got so much relaxing done (when I wasn't running!).We are all hoping to book another trip as soon as we can!

A coconut from this tree fell a foot from my head! Shade is dangerous down south