In April my mom came for a 2-week visit and took Ivan and myself to Cuba! My husband couldn’t come with us because he just started working for a new place a month ago. Instead, my friend Marina, her little girl Amira, Marina’s mom and brother came along. So we were 5 adults and 2 kids.
It was my first time in Cuba. We went to Cayo Santa Maria and stayed at the hotel “Cayo Playa Santa Maria”. It was very nice overall and definitely worth $700 spent. The beach was superb, the food was much better than I expected from Cuba. The resort was nice, the staff was very friendly.
Although, I wouldn’t say I had a perfect vacation. First of all, the sea was only calm for the first two days. After that it was very rough with high waves. But the first two days Ivan didn’t even want to hear about going in the water or even walking on the sand. He was so scared, everything was so unfamiliar. He needed me close by all the time and ideally holding him in my arms.
A couple of days later he got a little bit more comfortable and went to play in the sand. But the moment I would leave him with my mom he would start asking for me. So I had to be with him all the time.
And then he got too comfortable, especially playing in the pool. So he would push me away, he would try to go to a deep part on his own, he would run around. So basically I couldn’t get my eyes off him. I was on a 24-hour watch.
The meal time was a different story. As soon as we get to the restaurant Ivan starts screaming asking for food immediately!!! So I had to run to the buffet to get him smth to eat. Then I’d feed him. But as soon as he is full, he doesn’t care about staying patiently in a high-chair for at least another 10 minutes and letting his mommy eat. NO! Now he would scream asking to get out. So I basically don’t even remember what I ate. By the end of the trip I was craving my husband’s home food. The best moment of the day would be lunch. I would put Ivan down for a nap at 11:45. At noon I would go to the nearest restaurant and have my quiet 15-minute lunch (yes, I was leaving Ivan in the room on his own! Not cool! But I had no choice. I had to think about another little guy in my tommy who needed food as well)
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There were a lot of nice and fun moments of course! And it was a blast to watch the two kids together (it was actually the best part). Although I came to a conclusion that it’s too early or too late to go on this type of vacation with Ivan. It might be fun but not relaxing at all.
Yours,
Irina
