I have always had a very strong opinion towards all-inclusive vacation trips. I have promised myself, that I will only buy a package like such when the need arises. That need being when I am old enough to not be able to carry a heavy backpack, or there's a milestone in a friend/family's life that we needed to celebrate with a drink or a thousand.
One of my cousins is getting married next year(congrats Sam and Ed!) and a part of her pre-wedding last hurrah is a trip to Cuba with our closest friends. We stayed in an all-inclusive resort in Varadero, Cuba where we spent most of our time within its blue waters and fancy marbled gates. We got stuffed by food cooked and served by nice locals; we bought tour packages which includes, swimming with dolphins(which I highly recommend only if doing with a large group of people that you know), and city and snorkeling tours; we spent our nights getting drunk with infinite local alcohol; and we slept in suites where our bed was already made by housekeepers.
I must say, I never thought that I would have so much fun in an all-inclusive resort at this point in my life. I have had the pleasure of travelling nine countries before where I got to see cultures and paid my accommodations per night This trip to Cuba is just something different. I have said many times that travel could be from a simple walk to the park or a plane ride. Travel is a matter of learning from a journey where our hearts and minds end up feeling fulfilled. Travel is an experience where we go home feeling exhausted because of our sleepless nights thinking about what we have learned throughout that day, planning our next destination, or simply observing our surroundings in order to get comfortable in the foreign land we were currently exploring. Travel is cruising smoothly in airports, packing lightly and smart. It is going in a place with an open mind, alone and eventually meet people you already knew, came with, or will be knowing.
I went on this trip thinking I am going on a vacation, I ended up leaving Cuba and going home feeling that I have traveled. I felt exhausted from the laughs I shared with close friends. From all the info I have taken from the tours we all went together to. From the hangovers. To exhausting our wallets giving tips to resort employees. To dancing endlessly. To watching colourful Cuban shows. I could not enumerate them all because experiencing it is just something different. No words will be able to express what we all felt and shared.
My point is, travelling is different from a vacation. You are not wandering if you stay inside a hotel. You are not travelling if you complain that your drink is too sweet, or your bed is not soft enough. You are not travelling if you complain at all. A huge part of travelling is still feeling joyful although you are more than experiencing anything different. Please see the difference.
Until the next travel adventures with these people. Thanks for making this trip a traveling one instead of a vacation.
Much love. <3 p="">
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