Cuban locals welcomed us with open arms. We stayed in people’s houses and were treated to their yummy food. Everybody was so kind and generous. My backpack was full of kids clothing I wanted to give away. I didn’t expect anything in return but I received so much from everybody. Most of our accommodations were in small towns except the last 2 nights in Havana. In Boca we stayed with Yenny and her husband. They took us around the town, we visited the school their daughter goes to and met lots of their friends. In Casilda (small town close to Trinidad) we met Sergio and his lovely family. It is hard to describe in words the hospitality and friendship we received. We stayed a block away in a traditional Cuban house with Yoandi family. Everybody’s tears were sincere at the time to say goodbye. I will miss all the friends I made.
We visited iguana island where mom was in heaven taking pictures of iguanas. The island had the biggest shells I have ever seen in the wild. It is a national park and well preserved. Mogotes in Viñales welcomed us with peace and tranquility before chaotic Havana. We learned a lot about Cubans that books will not give you, it is a feeling that stays in your heart.
Of course we couldn’t resist and Che tee shirts are coming home with us.
Cuba You will be missed. “Hasta siempre Comandante!”
Enjoy 6 pages of pictures.

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Blue sky, sunny peaks, no people and mega cold -26 Celsius. It was fun to celebrate New Year’s up on the mountain.We met mom’s friends and we all hung out for a few days. Skiing was the thing though and I had so much fun even a with cut lip after an epic jump. Taking picture with Nancy Green, Olympic Gold medalist in 1968 was priceless.

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The trip came to an end. We did a quick LA tour to see and touch Star Wars on the Hollywood Boulevard. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre had a Star Wars exhibition and in general wherever you turned you saw Rogue One signs. Right there we found out the news about Princess Leia being taken to the hospital :(.
We visited Beverly Hills, saw one of Marylin Monroe’s rental houses (with no windows as she liked privacy). I managed to snap a picture with a Bugatti, a 2 million dollar car. We were all tired and ready to go home.

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Our journey by boat and land was filled with wonderful people I will remember for ever. My biggest success was winning Flag Trivia against 40 other adults participants. I got 19 flags out of 20 and the second place got 16 out of 20. I was lucky to participate in a magic/card show and I was helping the magician with his tricks. My heart was fulfilled with new friendships.

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Acapulco used to be a mecca for actors and musicians so we decided to follow in their footsteps and visit all their favourite places. We stumbled upon John Wayne’s (I used to have crazy crush on this guy when i was 2) favourite flamingo hotel with the best view. Visiting an old part of Acapulco was a bit creepy as we didn’t see many people on the streets and of course hearing it being the most dangerous city in Mexico Mom started using her 360 degree sensors. Nevertheless, the taxi driver told us that during Christmas season they bring over 12 000 police to town and it becomes the safest one 😉 So Mom decided to get to a small island and see the Lady of Guadalupe sunk under the water and the sculpture on the island. We found out that that was the main destination for Mexicans on their vacations and we had a great time with them sharing the boat and the beach.

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Guatemala was a very special to Mom as she was here about 8 years ago backpacking around with dad. We drove to Antigua through an active volcano landscape. Locals dressed up in traditional clothing, colorful buildings, yummy food and lots of history hidden in the little gem of Antigua. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We visited a community which lives off of their handmade arts and crafts. I got a beautiful old hand woven poncho while we were there. We visited an old monastery, some churches, candle factory, jewelers studios and we walked and walked in the cobbled streets of Antigua.Shotguns seems in fashion in Guatemala.

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Thanks to Reynaldo (mom found him online) we had a great time in lush Nicaragua. Volcanoes, hot mud pools, the colorful city of Leon and lovely people is what I remember from the trip.
It was hot no doubt, mom had to carry me for a bit as i just didn’t have the energy in such heat. We visited a lovely village next to hot volcanic mud pools where kids my age were digging mud and making lovely pottery for sale. We had a great time in a great place.

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To get to Tortuga wasn’t easy, but knowing my mom she would manage. The lovely thing about Costaricans is that if you ask for something they will do everything they can to make it happen. We asked our taxi driver how to get to Tortuga (well a boat is not a taxi, but mom does stuff like that). The taxi called somebody who called another person and than we had another person picking us up in a car and dropping us off at fisherman house. And off we go! The fisherman had a boat It took us 1.5 hours to get to the paradise. On the way there 2 tortoises stuck their heads out of the water. In the port we found a craftsman who carved my name in wood.

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