Near the end of our trip, we’d been asked by the kind gentleman in the blue cap, who we saw tending the garden every morning by our room, if we’d like some coconuts. Yes, please! Fresh coconut water on a hot spring day was heavenly. Something I would’ve loved to have tried though, was climb a tree and knock down a coconut myself.

Someone had been hard at work building this adorable elephant in the sand

The second time we had coconuts, which we’d purchased from a stand by the beach, my sister was so bent on eating the meat that she flung her coconut on the floor of our room, hoping to smash it in two. (Now we know that if there’d been an earthquake at the resort, it was definitely her sassy coconut’s doing.)

On our last night, during a Cuban dance performance, one of our friends — he had beautiful clear green eyes — had asked me to join him, and I knew what to do at that point: I pointed to my sister instead. That I put her on the spot and she was shy because of how handsome he was — which she didn’t care to admit, and let’s be real, everyone was watching — made for a comical and sweet moment. She was fantastic and she had a good time. Bystanders from the crowd joined in and it became a very fun night.

I’ll miss Cuba and the people, most definitely. I’ll also miss spending time with the big sis — waking up and eating together, sharing jokes and laughing, and just having a relaxing time.