CAYO SANTA MARIA PT. I

Let me start by telling you Cayo Santa Maria is absolutely beautiful. It’s quite, calm, & peaceful and exactly the sort of vacation I was in need of. A majority of our days were spent either at the beach, or by the pool, and when it stormed (which was a lot during our first week) we would simply head indoors to play board-games and hang out.

While the weather left something to be desired, the company we kept brought up our spirits. Growing up, it was rare that my family was able to go on big vacations together. We always wanted to go away, but time & money never really afforded us that luxury. So this year when my brother & his girlfriend said they were looking to go to Cuba, and Jer & I had already booked to Cayo Santa Maria, we figured it would be the perfect opportunity to combine our trips.

We ended up spending most of the week at the resort, or in the nearby marketplace, but we did venture out one day to go on a catamaran tour & swim with some dolphins. I’m always a bit nervous going to aquariums because I don’t like to support keeping animals that should be free in these unnatural habitats; but I was impressed to find out that the dolphin we swam with was actually a rescue dolphin that had been saved & rehabilitated after it had been attacked in the wild. The dolphin was the highlight of the day for me. The tour was really neat (though super cold because it was a stormy day) and I can see it being even more fun on a hot and sunny day.

Here are a few things I learned during our first week:

1. The sand on the Cayo Santa Maria beaches is soft and fine like flour. It’s really incredible. I have to say the beauty of beaches, and the softness of the sand is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or anywhere I’ve ever travel. It was absolutely stunning.

2. Bring bug spray. The mosquito’s are intense and my legs are still healing from all the bites!

3.. The thunder & lightening storms in Cayo Santa Maria are intense, but also pretty beautiful. We loved sitting out on our balcony to watch the storm rage on.

4. Cayo Santa Maria has an abundance of mango, and I had it with nearly every meal. #yummy

5. You can eat Piranha fish! At our resort they were cooking whole piranha fish and serving them up – teeth and all. It was delicious, but a little scary to look at.