Home from "Cool" Cuba

We arrived home from Cuba last Sunday morning. I say "Cool" Cuba because it was +13 degrees Celcius, misty and windy when we arrived on the Carribean Island. This lasted for three days!!! We sure were glad to have Maya's winter jacket, toque and mitts with us, (it took me a day to realize we had her jacket - she had it on when we went from the Airpark in a van to the airport. We had her in layers of as many long-sleeved shirts and lighter jackets as we could fit on her. Our resort was great - Sirenis la Salina, Varadero. It was a large resort and quite spread out, which we liked because then we were able to walk off the meals, Pina Coladas and Rum Punch (and Cerveza, of course!) Aside from the booze, having it be a large resort meant more choices for eating, snacking, swimming and just hangin' out. Our block of rooms was fairly close to the beach which was handy for the end of the week when we finally made it to the beach. Only one day was spent at the pool because the water in the ocean was warmer than that in the pool. They heated the activity pool a little, but the beautiful 'quiet pool' was unheated and FREEZING! Maya didn't mind wading in a little ways, but Les and I took turns - and took turns to get some circulation back into our legs. I'm serious! And of course, Maya came out to warm up every once in awhile, as well. Because of this, there was no one in this beautiful, gigantic pool. Usually the weather is much, much warmer in Cuba and the heat from the sun would help to warm the pool, but after several days of cool, cloudy days, that just didn't happen.

On one of the cool days at the beginning of the week Les and I took the tour to Havana, with stops along the way for Pina Coladas - which were the best! Mom and Dad kept Maya with them and had a blast back at the resort. Later in the week Les, Maya and I went on a Jeep Safari Adventure which was loads of fun! Maya, our little Chinita, was in her glory for the whole trip to Cuba. Everyone adored her and she loved it! She made friends with every other little person who we saw. She still comes out with, "Hola" every once in a while. She even got to perform with the band in the dining room one evening. By the end of the week, the weather was much, much nicer and we were glad to finally be able to relax on the beach. The beach and water were beautiful and Maya enjoyed having the waves tickle her toes, but only a little bit. She preferred playing in the sand.

We returned home to close to 0 degrees Celcius temperatures which was very odd for the middle of January. We weren't complaining as it made travelling home that much more pleasant.

In the fall we were privileged to have an article about our Journey with Maya featured in our Adoption Agency newsletter. I was just interviewed this afternoon over the phone for an article on being a Multicultural Family for a free local magazine titled "Westman Parent". Wow, what an honour! You can view earlier editions on-line at http://www.westmanparent.com/. This edition goes to print on Monday, should be out in the Westman area by mid-week and will hopefully be on-line for viewing by Friday. Thank you so much Jolene and Shawn! I cannot wait to read it!

Cheers!

Lori