Culinary tour of Cayo Largo

Over a month ago, my husband and I booked an all-inclusive trip to the Caribbean in celebration of our wedding anniversary.  Of course, we took our kids with us because we couldn't possibly enjoy it as much without them.  We also invited my Mom to come along, as she had never traveled anywhere in the Caribbean.  It was a real treat for us and the kids having her share the experience with us.  So, on Monday, June 6th, we flew to our topical destination - Cayo Largo del Sur.  This small, limestone island is part of the Canarreos Archipelago of Cuba.  Cayo Largo is the second largest of approximately 350 islets.  It is only 28 km long and approximately 3 km wide.  There are no permanent residents living here, only workers who stay in a small village while working at the hotels, etc.  They typically work for 20 days and return home for 10 days.  This was the schedule for all the people I spoke with.  The Island is very relaxing.  There is not much to do in terms of shopping, outside dining, or entertainment.  You are pretty much restricted to your hotel, beaches, and some limited excursions.  If you are looking to simply relax and enjoy incredible beaches, then this would be an ideal place for you!

Playa Blanca - beach in front of our hotel

Now since this is a cooking blog, I won't go into too much detail about what we did, but I would like to share with you some of the food and drink we experienced during our week's stay. 

This is a picture of me, on day two, eating a seafood entree at the restaurant located on Sirena Beach.  This was not part of our all-inclusive package. 

The entree included a large lobster tail, 2 grilled shrimp, and a delicious grilled fish as well.  It was absolutely divine!

At our hotel, at every lunch hour, there were offerings of grilled chicken, pork, and fresh fish for patrons.  I enjoyed this fish and rice with a glass of white wine.  If fish is not your fancy, there are also grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, personal pizzas, as well as pasta, and other buffet items. 

And this here, is one of the most famous Cuban cocktails -  a Mojito.  It was made by a bartender named Mathew at the Paraiso beach bar.  It contains sugar, mint leaves, lime juice, club soda, and of course, Cuban rum.  He also added a couple of drops of something called "angostura", typically used for flavoring drinks.  It was the BEST mojito I ever had!

Nuno and I went on a special sunset cruise on the day of our anniversary.  This gigantic skillet was filled with over one dozen large lobster tails for the guests.  I took this shot while sneaking into the boat's galley, when no one was looking!  The smell of the lobster and rice cooking was unforgettable!  We waited for our food to be served while we watched the sun set.  It was very romantic!

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Looking back, I wish I had taken more pics of the food.  But then again, I didn't always want to carry my camera with me to lunches and dinners.  After all, I was on vacation.  I hope you enjoyed the images of what I did capture.  We had such a wonderful, relaxing week in beautiful Cayo Largo.  It is nice to be home again after being spoiled for an entire week.  Although it was nice to get a break from cooking meals, I really miss  cooking!  I do hope you enjoyed this post.  Your comments are so welcome and appreciated.  Have a wonderful day! xo