i am returned!

Hola! (That’s Spanish for Hello, don’t you know?) Happy New Year!

I had a wonderful time in Cuba. No, seriously. Our resort was absolutely AMAZING. Imagine a garden of Eden, on a beach. Then imagine building a super luxurious summer-camp-for-adults there. Then imagine adding free-flowing alcohol, lobster tails, steak, calamari, amazing cappuccinos, and the sweetest, frothiest pina coladas in the world. An orchestra in the lobby. A piano bar. Perfect sangria. Not one but two beaches, more than a mile each, and whole sections where you can’t see a single other guest. Lush, tropical vegetation everywhere else. Two gorgeous pools with pool bars where we drank beers and got drunk and sunburned. A balcony off our room and 24 hour room service. A New Year’s Eve party with fireworks, a band, Cuban drummers and dancers, and champagne that wouldn’t quit.

Paradise. Total paradise.

Needless to say, when I stepped on the scale this morning I weighed a full 7  lbs heavier than I did before I left. Impressive, no? I have no doubt that at least a couple pounds are water retention from consuming nothing but alcohol for a week, but I probably am still up a good 5+ lbs. Do I feel bad about it? Not in the slightest. I was in paradise and I ate the food that paradise offered up to me. I have absolutely no regrets – and I have absolutely no intention to keep eating that way now that I’m home. I woke up this morning so hungry for my regular oatmeal / almond butter / banana combo that I rushed out the door straight away to go buy the bananas. I’ve been drinking water like it’s going out of style, and the only other thing I’ve been in the mood for today is spinach and apples. Pretty sure I’ll make short work of those 5 lbs.

We took almost 800 pictures while we were there, so it’ll take me awhile to sort through and get some of them posted, but for now I’ll leave you with this sequence, which I think speaks for itself. (Note, this was pre-beer, even!)