cayo coco, cuba - the beach!

This year we vacationed at the Memories Flamenco hotel in Cayo Coco.

I had previously done a little bit of research on the best beaches in Cuba and Cayo Coco seemed to be the place to go! It did not disappoint! After searching around holiday packages I found the Memories Flamenco hotel, one of the things I liked about this hotel is that is was basically brand new and had just opened a year ago. Also, the bus ride from the airport was only about 20 minutes, which was great. One of the main things we love about Cuba, apart from the fantastic weather and great beaches, is the people! They are always consistently friendly and kind... and ever so happy. It is a joy just to be around them. Mind you, if you had heard my two girls say "Hola Amigo" to everyone they met, including the tourists!! ...well, you might have had a grin on your face too!

It was such a wonderful trip and I have SO many pictures, I hardly know where to start! But I figured I'd start with the best part - the beach! The weather was so ideal, every single day and the water was that perfect blue/turquoise with the sun shining down. Every single day the first glimpse of the water gave us that 'WOW!' moment. It was absolutely stunning.

The first day we introduced Phebe to the water she wasn't so sure about it, which is mildly strange because she LOVES getting bathed and even pours water over her own face - she has no fear of water whatsoever. Anyway, that first day she decided playing in the sand was so much more fun than water! However, by day two, she was sold on the water. It was so beautiful and warm, like a gigantic bath! It got to be that each morning Phebe would say "Mama beach. Mama water. Mama swim!" and her eyes would light up! She was so excited when I showed her how to swim one day with her armbands on... she talked about "swimming" non stop after that! The other two items she learned the name for were the rake and the hoe - two sand utensils that rarely left her hands!

Lilah loved the water, she wanted no part in the kids pool this year and begged to go to the beach every day... like we were going to say no! Ha! She spent a good part of her time sitting and playing in the water - I could hear her chattering away to herself have a jolly great old time. She was in Caribbean heaven! The only problem for me was having to drag her out of the water into the shade every now and again, as I was afraid of her getting too much sun exposure, even though I put Factor 50 on her several times a day!

Anyway, here's an overload of beach pictures... just because, it was *that* good!