Cayo Santa Maria Cuba, Sanctuary at Grand Memories, Santa Maria Review

TMP 71 - Meggan's Cuba Trip
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Jenn: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Travel Mug podcast. And Meggan, welcome home to the cold and the snow.

Meggan: Thank you very much, I suppose, and also same to you as well, but we'll hear about that in a future episode.

Jenn: Yes, yes. Uh in two weeks. We'll be talking about me, but this is all about you and your trip to Cuba. I'm so excited to hear about your trip. Must have been so nice to be sun and warm in February and you missed a few winter storms. So that's nice. .

Meggan: Yes. Always nice. That's why you go hoping to at least miss one storm. .

Jenn: So we of course need to talk about Sunwing because leading up to your trip, we were really nervous about how this was gonna go after hearing some absolute horror stories. .

Meggan: Yeah.

Jenn: Tell me about your experience with Sunwing.

Meggan: Definitely. So for us it actually went very smoothly. So one thing Sunwing has is an app. So can you use that to check in, so that's quite convenient. Standard 24 hours in advance. Checking in. Our flight from Halifax actually left 20 minutes early. And it was a perfect flying day as well. We got really lucky with the weather.

And then on the way home we were directly on time. Also missing some snow on the Friday because we came home on the Thursday before, so we got very lucky that way. For us, honestly, Sunwing has always come through. I know there's other traveler horror stories with Sunwing, including, you know, Issues in December of 2022.

Um, But we feel really lucky, like including this trip. So definitely understanding, of course, that's not everyone ex everyone's experience, so I certainly sympathize, but for our own personal experience through the years, for us it's a gold star. And we really do hope as an airline they can survive because in Canada, we need all the airline competition we can get. So I do wish Sunwing the very best of luck.

Jenn: Yes. And so do they, is there like snacks or food on Sunwing flights or is it pretty like bare bonesy?

Meggan: It's bare bonesy. Um, they do offer it, of course, but for a cost, credit card only. And the only thing that is complimentary is coffee, tea, and water.

So even if you want juice or pop, you have to pay for those. But their, their snacks did look yummy, so, I mean, they have good options, but yes, they are paid options.

Jenn: Right. Was your flight full?

Meggan: Oh, the flight was definitely full every. Every single seat was full of Canadians escapin' winter .

Jenn: And we don't blame them at all.

Meggan: We do, that's for sure.

Jenn: All right, awesome. So you made it to Cuba on time or a little early. So where in Cuba were you? Tell me about your resort, how you liked it, all those things.

Meggan: Definitely. So we flew this was our first time to the area into Santa Clara Airport. So Santa Clara is the capital city of the Villa Clara Province.

So we got off the plane onto the tarmac. So right away we got like a full blast of like Cuban sunshine. It was the afternoon, so peak peak weather, and it was glorious. Also a bit of a shock to the system. So from there we've been inside lined up for customs. Then we were scanned through security. We picked up our bags and then onto our bus to the resort. You just have to wait till everybody gets on, of course and whatnot. But the whole process in the airport, Airport took us about 20, 25 minutes. So honestly, it wasn't that bad at all. Um, Now back in the day when you used to get on the bus and wait for people to get on before you went to your resort, there were often people that came on or the driver or the host of the bus, cuz there's always someone talking throughout the journey.

They oftentimes had the official, or unofficial, I guess Cuban beer crystal for sale.

Jenn: Right

Meggan: now, we were advised by the guide on the bus that they no longer did that. It happened, you know, it sort of ceased, I guess, through the pandemic. Now, that really should have been the canary in the coal mine, so to speak, in terms of shortages. We thought it was a little odd, but more on that in a minute. ,

Jenn: right,

Meggan: so no beer on the bus. I'm fine. I don't really. Beer. So I was cool with that.

Jenn: Right. ,

Meggan: so Cayo Santa Maria is where our resort was located, and it's approximately 90 minutes from the airport connected by a causeway 48 kilometers long. So it's actually quite a journey from the airport.

Probably turns a few people off because once you've traveled in a plane, et cetera, you really just wanna get there. It was worth it. I love going through the Cuban towns. We were daytime, both to and from. Now if you're, if, if you arrive at night, probably a little less exciting, but I did enjoy seeing the countryside.

So yeah, 90 minutes, the unfortunate downside of a fun fact I'm gonna share with you is that no one lives on Santa Maria Island. I guess it's called, I'm sure it's called something different locally, but no one lives there. It's only for resorts.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: So it was developed specifically for that purpose, I'm assuming, cuz of the beautiful beaches that are there.

The downside to that is that for Cubans who work at the resorts they have 12 hour work days. Sometimes like one day on, one day off. Some people work six days a week for a little less hours. It's all according to you. But then they have to go two plus hours by bus to and from work. So pretty much four hours of travel a day.

Jenn: Ugh. That's brutal.

Meggan: I know everyone is very tired there, and I'm not even saying that in like a funny way. Like everyone is exhausted. So they get home, they sleep for a few hours. I'm assuming they all sleep on the bus. Like I would, I would sleep on the bus. It's probably decompression time for them as well. Cause they're not having to deal with like people.

So I'm assuming they probably look forward to that part of their day, although I'm assuming they also wish that their commute was shorter.

Jenn: Yes.

Meggan: I'm just going to assume.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And then so 90 minutes after leaving the airport, we did arrive at our resort. So we stayed specifically Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria. So first time at this resort and first time in the area.

Jenn: Awesome. And so, Paint me a picture of your days. What did you do?

Meggan: Yes, yes. Well, like I mentioned to you before we went, so after our busy European trip last year, our goal this year was sort of relaxation, and we got it like definitely. So our days were spent After eating breakfast, either by the beach or the pool.

We went for a lot of walks. The resort was fairly big. There was a market nearby that we visited a few different times as well. Some days we had drinks during the day. Some days we had drinks in the evening. Some days we didn't have drinks at all. Really just sort of depended on what we were feeling.

We chatted with people. I read a lot as well. And of course eating when I'm what, you know, regular mealtime, um, honestly, Pure relaxation. So it's not for everyone, honestly, you know, it's not for us all the time either. Like we love varied vacations, but the intention of this trip was to relax, and it was definitely fulfilled.

Jenn: Awesome. So it sounds like you didn't really do any excursions. You didn't really leave the resort.

Meggan: No. So, short answer, no. Uh, We did look at the re excursions before we left, but didn't see anything that we thought we would do, but we wanted to wait until we arrived to be sure once we heard everything from the Sunwing reps before we made our final decision.

So I know you've not been to an all-inclusive before. Just explain that when you arrive at a resort the next morning, there's usually a meeting for new arrivals with the rep from your tour company. So they give you the lay of the land, info about the resort. They advise you sort of on your departure day when the bus will leave, although no one's ready for that just yet and they also discuss excursions. As we suspected, there weren't there wasn't really anything we wanted to do. I think a drawback to Cayo Santa Maria as we saw it, is that it's quite far away from even the closest town, right? So imagine a 48 kilometer causeway, and then you have to go even further than that.

So there was a Jeep excursion through the jungle that did honestly sound kind of fun. But the Jeeps were only standard transmission, no automatic vehicles. And neither of us drive a stick, so that was out for us. Otherwise there was a really terrible sounding one to Havana. So Cayo Santa Maria is quite far away from Havana, but I guess they wanna offer people the option.

But the bus would, listen to this. I don't know who's doing it. The bus would leave at 4:30 in the morning. , and then it will take you five hours on the bus to get there. And then you would arrive back at the resort at midnight.

Jenn: Oh my God, no.

Meggan: So let's no, so let's picture you're on a seven day vacation, which is actually five because two of your days are travel, and then you decide to use one of them to go to Havana.

Jenn: Absolutely not terrible.

Meggan: Absolutely. I mean, bless, bless your heart if you're out there doing it. But no, thank you. Um, And then otherwise the main one was a catamaran adventure, but that also included, I think you could get portion of it without this, but it included interacting with enclosed dolphins. And that's not something that I can support. So, We had done a catamaran without Dolphins, of course on our honeymoon in Mexico in 2011. And honestly, like one catamaran trip in my life is enough , you know. I'm good.

Jenn: That is fair. . Yeah, I, I would just, I wanna make like a little sidebar because it's just funny that you mentioned standard because we were just in the US and I asked my friend that we were visiting who is an American, if she had ever driven a standard and she had no idea what I was talking about. They don't use the term standard. They used like manual. And I was like, oh. Okay.

Meggan: All, all the vehicles for the Americans listening had manual transmission.

Jenn: I was like, she had no idea what I was talking about and I was like, that's interesting. I know. I was like,

Meggan: does this vehicle have a clutch?

Jenn: Yeah. . Alright, let's talk. About the food. I've always heard that the food in Cuba isn't the best, but I assume that it is not good because of the supply chain issues that have been happening, of course, since the, since the pandemic.

Meggan: Yeah. So you're correct. So I'm like this review and I, it's gonna come off as like whining, but I'm in, I'm actually not a fussy person and I'm in no way complaining.

I'm just gonna be really honest about what our experience was like cuz that's why we're doing this podcast. So Cuba's just really not in a good place post pandemic. And I of course am doing like quotation signs cuz I know we're not officially out of the pandemic, but you know what I'm saying?

Jenn: Yeah, yeah.

Meggan: I mean, prior to the pandemic, things were tough, you know, because of the US embargoes and whatnot.

But things are definitely worse now in terms of shortages. So when I say shortages, I mean in goods. So specifically ingredients such as spices, pasta, condiments, stuff that actually brings flavor to foods, certain alcohol. , plastic cups, straws, et cetera. But it also has a short shortage of people,

Jenn: right.

Meggan: So last year there was a huge out migration of young, educated Cubans to the us. And that is reflected in some of the current staff at resorts. People go to Cuba for two things, usually the people and the beaches. Yeah. And there are a lot of new hires still learning the ropes and some spoke very little English and don't Me wrong. That is fine. I don't expect everyone to know English just because I speak it. But if you did ask someone a question that wasn't standard besides, could I have some water? Or if you went off script in any regard, they likely didn't understand what you were asking. So very super, super basic.

Now, most resorts in the past and other places besides Cuba have very seasoned workers because the jobs are good and they're secure. But that just wasn't our experience this time.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: So that was that part of the shortage. Now, As far as the food it wasn't bad. It was average, I would say. So our resort was made up of three sections.

So ours was the sanctuary, which was adults only. Then there was grand memories, which was for families and then Memories Perisio also for families. So as a sanctuary guest, the advantage of it, I would say, for staying in that section was that you could go anywhere. Eat anywhere, sit anywhere on the beach.

There were certain sections for the adults only, et cetera, and you could also eat at any of the spots as well. So the buffet for the sanctuary section of the resort, which is where we stayed, was quite small and it was partially outdoors. So whenever food is outdoors, what do you think that that brings?

Jenn: Flies

Meggan: Correct. Yeah, correct. . So we ate there the first day or two, and then I'm like, let's switch this up and try the buffet at grand Memories, which of course is also connected.

Jenn: Right.

So we mostly went to that buffet for breakfast and supper. The variety was okay. There were grill stations for stuff to be cooked in front of you.

So omelets, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, and at supper for like, meat at one. And then another one had like rice, where you could do your own sort of stir fry.

Okay.

Meggan: So those were sort of the grill stations. And of course there's fruits, vegetables, salads, cheeses, a lot of ham, potato, chicken, and pork, I would say.

Jenn: Okay.

Meggan: Those were the main options. It did get repetitive and honestly the food was barely even. A lot of the time.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: So even though we both got twinrix and took the oral vaccine Dukerol, Peter still ended up getting sick.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: So Cuba just does, there's something there. It does not agree with him. He was sick for about five days.

Jenn: Oh.

Meggan: But he did come out of it by changing the way he ate. So he only ate bread or donuts, bananas that he could peel himself.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: And food that was cooked from the grill, so it was freshly cooked and hot. At that moment.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: So it wasn't sitting under the heat lamps or anything. And then luckily I also had really random antibiotics with me from our Europe trip and he was looking up ways to sort of help alleviate his symptoms.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And he said the word antibiotics, and I'm like, I have antibiotics with me. He's like, you do and. I didn't think people would utilize those for your issues. So I got them. He Googled it. One of the very first things that came up that they assisted with was traveler sickness.

Jenn: All right then per, I mean, thank you, thanks past Meggan.

Meggan: Thanks to your paranoid wife. Oh we have medication with us, so. He was, luckily it was five days and he was actually, by the time we left, he was better.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: But it was unfortunate, especially with all the precautions we took this time. Yeah. You know?

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: We really did prepare. So, yeah. Just for, you know, our listeners, like you can still do all the right things, but if you are a sensitive traveler in terms of your tummy. Just really be prepared. So to sort of summarize, I guess, you know, food was sort of quite bland, warmish at best.

Every resort usually has a la carte restaurants, so those are supposed to be a more specialized experience. We ate at one, it was supposed to be Italian, and I, I really do mean supposed to be, but without many ingredients including tomato sauce for pasta, it was just food. It wasn't Italian food. ,

Jenn: right.

Meggan: I think that the flavoring in my pasta was actually curry. I couldn't place what the flavor was, and I have to say that that was probably our third day there and it made me quite depressed. I was like, This is it for the next nine or 10 days. Like it actually was a moment where I was like, we've made a bit of a mistake just because it really hit me.

Jenn: Yeah,

Meggan: exactly what's short here. I got over it very quickly, but it was a moment of regret, I'm not gonna lie. And then we didn't even try the other a la cartes. We heard of people getting up and actually leaving them mid meal and then Peter got sick. So we definitely weren't gonna do them after that. So for lunch we did eat at the beach. There was a pizza shack nearby where we usually sat. It wasn't too bad and we rarely did the buffet at lunch.

Breakfast was probably my least favorite meal. There were sometimes eggs, but a lot of what they had for breakfast was supper foods.

Jenn: Okay.

Meggan: Now I'm into like breakfast for supper, but I'm not into supper for breakfast. .

Jenn: Gotcha. I mean, that's fair. I'm kinda the same way too.

Meggan: Yeah. So I really, I'll give some more tips later, but I really do suggest, especially if you are fussy or you have fussy kids, kids bring condiments to Cuba. So whether that's ketchup, packets of mayo, peanut butter, Nutella hot sauce, if you wanna have food that you can taste that will give it to you, you know? Yeah. But they are, I do wanna stress doing their best, but ingredients are hard to come by, even including bottled water. .

Jenn: Okay. Interesting.

Meggan: Yeah. You got one a day.

Jenn: That is not enough. Really just

Meggan: no, especially, you know, my water anxiety. . I do know your water anxiety. We've talked about this before and you can't drink the tap water, so like, anyway, the only other thing I really wanted to mention that may interest people is of course alcohol. So each resort is likely different, but ours did not have an option for any frozen cocktail. Okay, so no pina coladas. No margaritas, and that's, but the drink I usually have. Now, don't get me wrong, it probably saved me a crap ton of calories, . So like, I guess thank you . Um, But it was also disappointing. Yeah. Now if you enjoy rum, they have literally all the rum you could ever wanna drink, so, , they're good for rum, they make their own.

But everything else was very hit and miss.

Jenn: Mm-hmm. .

Meggan: Some days they had it, you might show up and they'd have some vodka the next day they wouldn't. Right. And then when they ran out, it was gone. And even for beer they would give it to you in a small plastic cup, and if you asked for a can, they wouldn't give you the can because they said they would have to give one to everyone. And they had to try to keep as much of their supply as they could. So honestly, having said that, the whole situation is heartbreaking and I'm really not sure as a country how much longer they can go on like they are, because if this is happening on resorts where people have paid money for, imagine what it's like for the everyday citizens.

Jenn: Yeah. Wow.

Meggan: Yeah.

Jenn: That is wild. .

Meggan: It is wild. Like I, I have been to Cuba before, so I knew to have tempered expectations, but for people who have traveled to Cuba in the past, it is different than it was before.

Jenn: Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, it's , I could tell you, it's not making me wanna jump up and book a trip to Cuba right now.

Meggan: Not right now,

Jenn: no. So you were there for two weeks, so, Two weeks too long, too short, just the right amount of time. How did you feel about it?

Meggan: So I would say under these circumstances that I have described to you two weeks was too long. Yeah. So in Europe or somewhere like we both feel the same. Like, give us as much time as you want to, like, let's go.

But in Cuba on a resort with shortages in 2023, I would say give me nine or 10 days, and I would be good. Now, I always say that because seven is great, but again, it's really five. Yeah. So if you gave me nine, I would get seven. Yeah. So, because really there were some people arriving in particular from Ontario and when we were at the bar in the evenings, they would were getting there at 9:30 to 11:30 PM So that's one day of their trip.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: That they did not spend. At the resort technically, right? Yeah. So it really, the travel days make a big difference. So yeah, I would say if I'd had nine days there, I think it would've been good with no excursions, which we have never done that before.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: Especially in a two week trip. So by day 12 or 13 we were getting a bit sort of shack wacky.

Jenn: Yes.

Meggan: But luckily the resort was big, so there was lots of room to roam. , which helped a lot. And we were in a paradise setting. Like, I'm not going to say we weren't, so life could have been a lot worse. I'm not boohooing, I'm just saying like it was a long time to be in the exact same place though.

Jenn: Yes. That's, I I, it's too long for me, for sure. And I knew, I knew Meggan, that you were losing it because you went to the gym and I was like, The, the girl needs to come home now.

Meggan: we had taken our stuff though on purpose. My intention actually was to go, I, I don't disagree, . My, my intention was to go to the gym, so we didn't find it until Sunday before we came home.

We didn't know where it was, and then we heard someone talking about the gym and we're like, the gym? We didn't see a gym and then we found a gym and we're like, oh, let's go to the gym. So we did, but you're not totally wrong.

Jenn: Time for her to pack her stuff,

Meggan: sweetie, come on home, .

Jenn: Alright, so like you said, you were in paradise. It wasn't all bad.

Meggan: No.

Jenn: Uh, share some highlights.

Meggan: Of course there definitely were, I would say the, the low parts of the fact that, you know, people are living in this country and are experiencing this. So it, it impacted my trip, but I mean, let's be honest, it, it overall doesn't impact my life. And that's the part that's sort of heartbreaking is the fact that this affects the Cuban people on an every single day basis.

So for highlights, for us, for the trip, I mean, in the 14 days that we were essentially there, including the day we left, we had zero. Rain.

Jenn: Wow.

Meggan: Well, there was one time we climbed over the corals into this little private beach, which was really cool. The pelicans were diving for fish. It was dreaming. I know.

There was a cloud that passed then, and I would say I had my sunglasses propped up on my head and like seven drops of rain fell on my sunglasses. And then, so besides those, Seven to 10 drops, like we had perfect weather. Like I've never had a vacation that had the most perfect weather. It was the stuff of dreams in terms of getting outta bed every day and it being sunny.

And we kept saying if people at home had 14 straight days of this kind of weather, they'd lose their minds. Even in the summer

Jenn: I, yes. Even in the summer.

Meggan: Right, right. So it was, that part was definitely dreamy. I have zero complaints about. also, the stuff of dreams was the beach. It was the beach that you see on brochures. Crystal clear blue water.

It was absolutely perfect. And honestly, this is gonna sound super dramatic, but it like nearly brought me to tears sometimes. Like just looking at it. There's no rocks, there's no seaweed. , it's pure sand. As you walk out, you know how here you have to be like careful you don't trip over these giant rocks you can't see in the ocean.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: It's so clear that you could walk out to over your head and still see your entire body, the entire floor of the ocean. You like, literally can't imagine it. until you see it. So that was absolute. It's world class beach like. Absolutely. And I would go down by myself in the morning before Peter was ready and I would just lay there on my beach chair and I would listen to the ocean and watch the sea and literally it, it was heaven. It was, I couldn't have asked for anything better in that regard. The other thing that's cool about the ocean, if you haven't been south before, is- I know you've done this as a kid, maritime kids, we had to get numb first before we could actually be able to swim in the ocean. .

Jenn: I feel like I, I mean, I've been to the beach a lot in my life.

Meggan: Yes.

Jenn: Nova Scotia beaches.

Meggan: Yes.

Jenn: I could probably count on all of my fingers and toes, how many times I've been completely ducked underwater.

Meggan: Right, right

Jenn: in a Nova Scotian ocean Beach because it is too cold. And if you do duck, you're in there for 30 seconds and then you're back out. .

Meggan: Well, essentially in the summer here, you're doing a polar bear dip. I don't care what you said. No matter the time of year in Nova Scotia, you're polar bear dipping, and there you just walk out and then you get in and you have fun. Like it's unimaginable. So the ocean was probably, I would say my, the ocean and the beach were my top highlight. Mm-hmm. . The other couple things I wanted to mention is one of the entertainers in the lobby. The sanctuary had entertainment each evening, and there was a female acoustic guitarist. She played old favorites like Hotel California, et cetera, things that people would recognize, but also some Cuban music. She literally brought down the house. I've never. and she had her guitar like plugged in, so it had an amp and stuff, but it was acoustic, right?

It was incredible and like such incredible talent that the wor the rest of the world will never know about because they're in Cuba and there were people on resort in the evenings playing violin, flute, like just thi. It was really incredible Musicians that were like an honor to hear. So that was definitely a highlight too.

And Valentine's morning, we were there over Valentine's. We got up at 20 after six in the morning. Not my idea . Um, And we went for a seven and a half kilometer, sort of to and from Sunrise walk. That was really lovely and special, and I won't forget that. That was really nice. it. It just showed me how old I am because my heels were sore for like two days.

I'm a bit of a stomper, I'm not gonna lie, . And you don't normally walk seven and a half kilometers without shoes on.

Jenn: Hmm.

Meggan: Right. And so in the sand, stomping along for seven and a half kilometers, my heels were like, sweetie, or almost 47. Yeah. This is. Um, .. And then the final thing I wanna say in terms of a highlight is just being able to spend that time with Peter. So I know that sounds really cheesy, but I'm just really grateful that no matter whether we're sort of driving in rural Germany or going to Italy for lunch or you know, a Nova Scotia weekend getaway or like literally spending 24 7 together. On a resort in Cuba with not the greatest circumstances at times.

It just worked and I was, I'm just really lucky and grateful that I have a, a traveling partner like that. So that was the other highlight things, things went perfectly for us in that regard. So

Jenn: Oh, that's awesome. Plus, yeah. So I, let's, let's wrap up this episode and give the people out there some. If they are planning a trip to Cuba this year or maybe probably next year and probably for the foreseeable future, cause Yeah. Shortages aren't going away anytime soon, but let's,

Meggan: I don't know how they change. So, you're exactly right. Not just in 2023, but it, I would say in the years to come. And so the first one going really along with that is really, it should be Cuba; tempered expectations. So, you know, like I said before, we've been to Cuba for, we knew what to expect with the food.

We knew that we shouldn't expect the things you can get in Mexico or Jamaica, and that was fine, you know, when you go there for different reasons. But it even goes beyond that. . Like I said earlier, we're not fussy. Like I'm not a complainer. I'm, I'm pretty basic when it comes to traveling, but right now the Cuban people, like I said, they're overworked and they're tired.

The shortages are worse than ever. And while I was really happy, of course, to support them, because without tourism, it would be a lot more bleak than it is. Um, But I just want people to understand in terms of my first tip, that it isn't the Cuba of even 2019. So you really have to be patient and kind and understanding and realize, you know, where you're going and, and just what's happening there.

I think it's really important to be aware of that.

Jenn: Mm-hmm. . Yeah, for sure.

Meggan: Um, Tip two. Having said that tip people what you can or bring stuff for the staff. So not just for your maid, but maybe a favorite bartender that you have, or the gardeners who work so incredibly hard all day in the heat on those resorts to make them look beautiful.

And even though they have no formal relations with the United States. Everything, it's so weird is still based on the US dollar there. , we went to a, we went to a restaurant in the market and we wanted to get what we thought might be real food, but it was just okay, but the prices all USD.

Jenn: Weird. Right?

Meggan: It's so weird. But anyway, it's wild to me. But having said that, they do prefer tips in American money, even though the Canadian government website says not to take USD, they want USD, because when they exchange it, they get more money. Right. So, so it, it. . It does make sense. So yes, bring tips. We did not.

I would, so if you do bring Canadian either bring toonies and loonies to tip with, or what we had to do, because we didn't, is get our money changed at the front desk into Cuban pesos and we just had to tip them in Cuban pesos. So you can do that as well. So yeah, like bring stuff for them. So whether it's a gardener, maid, bulter, um, if your resort comes with one maybe bring clothes to wear that you can leave behind in your room. So pack a bunch of stuff. Wear it. Maybe it's older for you. Leave it for them. They are short on basically everything, but especially things like sanitary napkins and tampons, toothbrushes, toothpaste, literally medications of any sort. We left a bunch of Tylenol and Advil behind. They even are short on like pens that you write. There's a huge shortage. So we took a big package of pens and really something for fun. Bring candy or snacks like li. Literally we could not find anything even in these stores. That was actually really sweet. Like, there's just not, there's a shortage on anything that you can, like snack on that might be sweet. So while of course cash is king if you have cash, but there's nowhere to buy the things you need, still the cash isn't as useful. So while cash is great, if they can't buy a toothbrush with it, they still have no toothbrush.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: So bringing actual useful items for them is a really great idea. . Yeah. Now think of yourself for a moment though. Let's not be totally giving, and I would say bring some snacks for yourself. And condiments if you want them to. So for our particular resort, the Sunwing website is still falsely saying that there is 24/7 room service.

Jenn: Oh,

Meggan: this is not true. Right? And I bet there are people out there who are making decisions based on that information. After a night of drinking, you're like, yeah, we'll go back to our room. We'll order room service, we'll chill there. But you get there, it's not an option. So you honestly can't really even trust kind of like what's being said right now because things are in such, you know, disarray. So to be safe brings snacks. So chips, we could not find chips anywhere. We dreamt of Doritos for four. Oh my God. So bring those protein bars, granola bars, all the things you enjoy. We did bring a bit, but we didn't bring nearly enough. And every food commercial we saw on tv, we just like salivated. It was not a good scene. Tip number four, even though we didn't do it this time, based on our location and the type of trip we wanted to do, , get off the resort if you can and support local businesses and the local economy. They certainly need it. And I guess we did, we did go to a restaurant off resort, so I guess that was a bit of local support.

Even if it is through an excursion it's always important to see the real side, in my opinion, of any country you visit. It's like going to the airport and saying you were in Boston, but you never left the airport, honestly, right. Sort of the same idea. So not just the tourist side of Cuba, but all, any area of Cuba that's off resort.

So they need any and all support. And then the last tip I guess I would have before we wrap things up is your vacation and your fun is always what you make it. So understanding it's up to you to know the circumstances. And choose to have a great time. You're not in winter . Um, And you have to make that choice.

So I wanted to make sure with this trip report that I was really honest about, like what's happening in Cuba, but also that we had a lot of fun and we made a lot of really great memories. So no matter where you go and like, no matter the lack of creature comforts that you might have we usually enjoy ourselves, and this was no exception. We could have spent two weeks worried about what we didn't have. But we were so lucky, you know, in so many ways. And to be able to spend that time in a tropical paradise, return to a life that we also love. I mean, we're just really grateful. So go to Cuba, I would say with an open mind and open heart. Support The people. And if you wanna have a miserable time, then you're going to .

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: If you wanna complain the whole time and make your time that you've spent money on not fun, well you're gonna do that. But if you actually wanna have fun, meet new people, lay in the sun on literally one of the most beautiful beaches or stretch of beaches in the world, you can do that too.

The people there are literally doing the best that they can with what they have. So you can do the exact same thing, you know what I mean? Whether it's seven days, 14 days, although I recommend seven at this point. . , but go there and enjoy yourself or choose somewhere different right now if you don't think the things that I've mentioned are right for you at this point, then that's not where you wanna spend your money, that's fair too. I would say just maybe don't go to Cuba.

Jenn: Yeah. I think right now it's probably harder for people that are traveling with kids because it's a lot harder to like temper those expectations with kids who are used to. You know, the privilege that we live in here where we can find basically anything we want anytime, you know?

Meggan: Yeah.

Jenn: So, yeah, I think that, I mean, I'm glad that you had a really great time and mostly had a really great experience and . Yeah. But yeah, I think it is important to kind of know. what you're getting into. And it, it, even if you've been to Cuba, you know, 20 times, but if you haven't been since 2019, it's a different world out there.

Meggan: Yeah, no, it is for sure. And so I think it's just something to really keep in mind. But if, if that kind of stuff doesn't bother you and you're not really, you know, going for those, you know, things that we expect to have and instead you wanna go and you're open to drinking, you know, You know, rum or beer and laying by a beach or a pool and and doing what, you're gonna find it.

You're gonna, and you're gonna find people to chat with, and you're gonna find all of those things. But I just wanted to be really honest about the things that you won't find. And maybe you can then make a more informed decision of whether now is the right time to visit Cuba for you or not. And of course, collectively, we all hope that things get better there as soon as possible.

Jenn: Yeah, absolutely. Cuba is on my list. I really do wanna go. I think it'll be a seven day and not a 14, but

Meggan: I would recommend a seven .

Jenn: Awesome. Thank you Meggan. That, that was amazing and I wish that you had brought the sunshine and the warmth home with you.

Meggan: Ditto.

Jenn: You forgot it. I don't know how you forgot it.

Meggan: so selfish.

Jenn: That was the one thing that I asked you to bring back. . I mean, I could have brought it from Florida, but honest, we'll talk about the weather that I had when we talked.

Meggan: I can't wait to hear.

Jenn: So that is all we have for this week. Thank you so much everyone for listening to the Travel Mug Podcast. You can support us on buy me a coffee. It makes us do a happy dance every time we get a notification and it's so exciting. Another way you can support us without costing any money is leaving us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. It really, really helps the show reach new people. So we would really appreciate if you could just take a second and. You hit five stars and write just that you love us. I mean, , that would be great. Hello? And we would appreciate it if you shared the show with a travel loving pal and you can find us on our website travel mug podcast.com. We're also also on Facebook and Instagram at the Travel Mug Podcast. Come hang out with us.

Come see Meggan's Cuba pictures on social media, and look at the amazing beaches, and we will chat with you again really soon. Bye everyone.

Meggan: Bye!