This was my third vacation to the magnificent island of Puerto Rico. I hadn’t been there in over 15 years, but always remembered the culture that made this island so very special to me. I had visited many islands but always felt Puerto Rico in my heart. It wasn’t just about sand and blue water, but it has so much more to offer. Puerto Rico has a flavor that never leaves you. Full of culture and beauty, Puerto Rico is an island to be discovered. The people, the food, the music and the history are unmatched anywhere.

Post Isolation Dream Day

Not only do I live moments away from sandy beaches and that lovely ocean breeze, that reminds me so vividly of how free life once was before this much needed lock down was establish. As I sit and think about the place I would want to be right now, I wonder how sad it is to be 5 minutes away from everyone else's idea of vacation. To just be able to feel the millions of grains of sand flowing beneath my feet sounds so beautiful right now... to be able to smell that one of a kind ocean aroma that in its self is already a digital dream vacation, that I can't wait to take just a mini, beautiful vacation. But let's get into that vacation that I am dreaming of taking.

In the turquoise seas and rose kissed skies of the Caribbean, just over 90 miles south of the neon bikini-clad beaches of Miami, lies Cuba, an island nation that sits bordered in mystery and allure. Its past, shrouded in revolution, change and oppression, and its future that is what stories like Les Miserables are made of, is what makes Cuba an intrigue to travelers of all walks of life. 

"Gosh, that flight was rough," I said to my husband as we unloaded our luggage. "You'd think the pilot could warn us about all that turbulence, but I'm glad the flight staff had a sense of humor about it all."

Take me to this place. Definitely anytime, but not just anywhere. Here. Away from the grey skies and isolation, to clear waters and freedom. Although a virtual holiday is the best we’ll get right now, I know the next real holiday I take will be magical.

History

You all know I love to travel! My best friend Jen and I decided one Tuesday afternoon that we needed a mini vacation, a sort of quick and inexpensive getaway. She lives in Seattle. We had already arranged with our jobs to have Thursday-Friday off. The only requirements we put on ourselves were that there had to be a beach and a party scene involved. We wanted to spin a globe and end up wherever our fingers landed, but you know – the way our corporate jobs are set up, we needed to be gone no more than 3 days. When you’re a working professional who also happens to be a wanderlust, capitalizing on your weekends off is key when traveling. You shouldn’t have to take several days out of your Paid Time Off (PTO) each time you want to go somewhere. I like to try and save my PTO for longer and more extensive vacations.

My trip to Cuba was actually a slight accident—wait, let me explain. It was a friend of mine's birthday, and we had big plans to travel to the "Travel Instagram Hot Spot" Tulum, Mexico. After getting conformations from both of our jobs, pet sitters, and bank accounts, we realized we were not in the position to pay $966 Roundtrip to go to TULUM! I mean come on, $966 to fly into Cancun sounds crazy. I had to think on my feet where to next? It's one of my best friends birthday's and I realized she needed a break from regular life. Between me and her, there weren't many places we had both never been. After spending two hours looking at a globe sitting on my desk, I realized we had both never been to Cuba. After a quick search on google ( to make sure we were still allowed to go there), I realized this might be an option and she agreed. A week and half before the departure date we booked a extended weekend trip to Havana, Cuba. A roundtrip flight for $360 and an Airbnb for $260 left us a lot of money left over for some fun. We quickly googled, spoke to friends and used youtube to figure out all the things we needed before the trip. We came up with an excuse on why we were traveling to Cuba (Support of the Cuban people—that's why we staid in an Airbnb vs. Hotel). From Atlanta, we had to make a layover at either New York or Florida in order to get our visas (In the airport) to travel into Cuba. Our layover in Florida was quick and easy as well as the visa process.

Jaco is one of the best-known beach and surfing towns in Costa Rica. It is popularly known for its nightlife near the beach and beautiful women. Just like numerous cities in the country, there are some of the best bars, clubs, and dine-out options available in this town.

I guess before I talk about how I survived, I have to give a little information on how I got there right? Ha, wouldn’t you like to know! So my story isn’t a funny one. It’s actually pretty serious, but it goes to show that if you don’t take a break when you need to, your body will force you to take a break when you’re supposed to. In my heart and body I felt okay, and I wasn’t just being hard headed, but by the time you’re 2/3 up a couple of mountains and you feel congested, do you turn around or keep marching on? I kept marching on.