Retro-post: Harder then we imagined

We are now on our third day in Havana and honestly we have not had a great start of the journey. Eveything is fine with us and Tilda is doing all-right, but the first days were rough. The heat is a bigger problem then we thought and Tilda is suffering from not being used to this kind of wheater. Additionally she was definitly out of sync the first days, sleeping badly, not eating very well etc. And we as parents are far more affected then we would have thought by being with our little daughter in this very different environment. We have travelled with Tilda before but this is something completely different. The second night was the worst with Tilda screaming all night and I think at that moment we were ready to pay all our savings for a teleportation back to Sweden. We were really doubting what kind of situation we had gotten ourselves into.

But things have started to improve. The heat is still an issue but Tilda is getting into the rythm and we as parents are finding ways to deal with the situation. Vlora and I are closer than ever and are really working as a team to get through these challenges. We had a decent night tonight and are step by step feeling more confident. Without the incredible support from our host Alberto and his son Daniel this would not have been possible. They are taking care of us and support us mentally when we need it and they are really taking Tilda into consideration. Cuba is fantastic in so many ways. One of them is that yesterday a neighbor knocked on our door concerned about Tilda and if she got some sleep last night. So the word has spread about the Swedish couple and now the entire neighbourhood wants to help out and show their support.

Although things are improving we are strongly considering to change our trip in some ways. Not because we are physically suffering but this trip is supposed to be something nice, not just a struggle and worry about Tilda. Our idea at the moment is to shorten the trip and spend more time in nice hotells and less time exploring entire Cuba. With a small child it seems like we can not be as adventouros as we first thought. We will take it day be day and see how things evolve.

But what have we then been up to these days? By no means has it been only suffering and struggle. Yesterday we had a very nice walk around Cuba with Daniel. We started off at the Malecon, a street following the sea in Havana. After that we got some well deserved realixing time with a beer in the shadow under the trees in the garden of Hotel Nacional de Cuba and Tilda got to run around and play.

After that nice refreshing moment we went to the number one ice cream cafe in Habana, la Copelia. Tilda got some nice sleep in her trolley despite all the crazy street life around her.

We also tried some genuin Cuban street food which cost close to nothing.

In the evening we got another nice stroll down to el Malecon. The heat was not so bad and we had a really nice moment as a family enjoying the sea view and the fresh evening in Havana.

Finally some pictures from the apartment where we stay and Tilda playing around and enjoying the morning view from the 20th floor.

Retro-post: Our first day in Havana

The Cuban sun greated us after an ok but a little bit chaotic first night. We live at the 20th floor with an amazing view over Havana.

After breakfast we took a walk to the Plaza the la revolucion.

Havana is hot once the sun comes up and Tilda was strugling with that and not being able to fall asleep in the heat. We also had a nice little hunger incident at the Plaza de la revolution that we were able to solve thanks to the friendly staff at a museum. This trip will definitly sharpen our crisis management skills as a family.
Just walking around in Havana is an experience and to some extent it is perfectly matching our thoughts of how Cuba is with all the old buildings, Che-Guevara paintings etc.

Retro-post: The trip to Havana - 10 hours in an airplane

The long trip from Sweden to Havana went really well. No delays and all luggage arrived as it should. Tilda were able to find some rest every now and then and the 10 hour from Paris to Havana was manageble and didn't feel so long as we might have feared.

Arriving in Havana we were met by our excellent host Alberto at the airport accompanied by the hot and humid weather. Tilda was of course totally out of rhythm and sleeping-phases so we had an interesting first night with a playful and awake Tilda at one o'clock in the morning with no intention of sleeping. The game of pillow-throwing really tried our patience but Tilda seemed to enjoy it for hours and hours.

Quoting Timbuktu: "Vi drar till Malmö"

The first part of our journey began today. By car we went to Malmö with an exciting but also somehow strange feeling of having started the adventure. Is this for real? Is it really happening now?

We were really lucky to be able to meet for a short time with my mother and her husband in Malmö. They were on their way back from a long trip in Europe with their camper and it felt nice to give them a hug before starting our adventure and they were really happy to see Tilda one more time before our departure.

Lina as always received us very well in Malmö and Tilda released some of the energy acumulated during the long car trip playing with Nils before finally going to bed excited with impressions from this short introduction of what is about to come. Be prepared Tilda, tomorrow will bring more adventures for sure.

 

Any last questions?

Through a colleague at Vlora's job we were lucky to get in contact with Dayni and Frank. They work at the university in Cien Fuegos in Cuba with international relations and interchange programs. Dayni has helped us a lot with the planing of the trip and arranging transportation, accommodations etc. Eventually we were really lucky to get the opportunity to invite Dayni and Frank to a dinner at our place since they were both visiting Jönköping only days before our departure.

We had a very nice evening. Vlora and I bombarded poor Dayni and Frank with 10 000 questions about Cuba and they patiently answered each one of them. We are now even more excited about going there after listening to Dayni and Frank telling us about all the amazing things in Cuba and we are walking around like small children waiting before Christmas Eve with stupid smiles on our faces.

Our home for the autumn

Yesterday we packed our bags into what will be our home during the autumn.

We were actually surprised by the amount of space we had in the bags so we were able to pack a lot more baby-food, diapers etc. then originally planned, and we are no where near of exceeding the baggage allowance.  Since most of it is actually consumables this means that our bags will become lighter as we go and we will have a lot of space to bring stuff back home if we want. Feels good. Departure is close and we are both getting a jiggling feeling in the stomach, realizing that we will start of journey very soon.

One year old

Yesterday we had Tilda's one year party for our family and close friends. Tilda seemed to really enjoy the party, she got a lot of nice presents and was completely exhausted when finally crashing into bed. It felt very nice to celebrate her first year on this planet and thanks to all of the guests, you all contributed to making it a special moment. With the party done we can now focus entirely on preparing for the trip.

Countdown

Departure date is getting rapidly closer. We are feeling rather well prepared with all the important stuff taken care of. Basically the only thing remaining is to throw a birthday party for Tilda this weekend, then pack our bags and head of for Cuba via Malmö, Copenhagen, Paris and finally Havana.

Tilda is looking forward to consume the approximately 10 kg of milk-free porrige and formula we will bring to Cuba. I think our baggage allowance will be filled with 90% baby-stuff and 10% for mum and dad. Good thing we are going to a warm country where we can survive with only tshirts and shorts.