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We cancelled our formal wedding and spent the money on a Get-a-way that was to try and save our new yet already failing marriage if for nothing other than our 2 year old. Little did we know it would spark our love of travel. As soon we stepped off the plane in Cuba we felt ‘home’. The smell of the ocean, palm trees and the heat of the sun instantly filled our souls. We no longer cared about the minuscule things we spend months fighting over and for the first time in as long as I could remember he grabbed me my hand turned to me and smiled. Having never left the country or been on a plane I was a ball of nerves and he could sense that. I WAS a homebody and never strayed more than a few hrs from home, always playing it safe. The ride from the airport to the resort we took in the scenery and culture that Cuba has to offer. We checked into our hotel, changed and made our way around to familiarize ourselves with our surrounds while waiting for dinner to be serve in the mess hall. For the first time ever we put our feet in Caribbean sand and the ocean. For the first 2 days we sat by the beach and pool building our courage to venture off the resort. I learnt that the sun is much hotter there than here in Alberta. I burnt the first day, but put aloe and sunscreen on and ventured out day after day for 7 days. On day 3 we went into the city and met wonderful vendors at the market. The craftsmanship of their work is impeccable and we had never seen anything like it. Day 4 we wandered around where we were staying and took in all the cars that here in Alberta we consider classics. They were all lined up on the street and the drivers were standing around talking waiting for a call to taxi. Days 5&6 we spend conversing with the locals and trying to get a hand on what life was like in a country that wasn’t ours. We have never met a harder working, kinder island of people. Day 7 was time to pack up but not before we had one final breakfast and lunch. The food was like nothing we had ever tasted. Lunch that day was Ropa Vieja, a dish that I have spent the last 4 years trying to perfect like they did. I’ve come close but never exact. On this trip I knew I wanted to travel more and start a blog to document all of it however I never took that leap until about a week ago. I also enrolled in travel and tourism and completed my diploma when we got back. This leap into the unknown opened our hearts to something we never knew we wanted or needed. My husband and I realized on this trip why we fell in love and decided to continue work hard every day to keep our marriage intact. We have been fortunate enough to experience 2 more trips in the last 4 years. We’ve done this as a growing family of 3 and then again with 4 members and we hope that now that we have a round total of 5 of us that we will have the continued fortune of travel. The world is vast and there is so much of it we yearn to explore.