🇬🇧 It´s been 6 years

So it´s been six yeas and few months since we got married. And this year for the very first time we managed to invite Fidel´s mom over. We always wanted to do it. After 6 years of being married our families could finally meet. Of course it would be logistically easier for my parents to visit Cuba but unfortunately because of the health issues (she has to be in the hospital 3x a week) my mum can´t travel anymore and she also can´t be left alone.

Anyway we wanted to bring Teresa over since the longest trip she has ever taken was to Varadero and she had never left the country before. We wanted to show her that there is a different world out there and life doesn´t have to be that complicated. And let me tell it was a shock.

So how did it all start?

We went to Cuba in January 2020, just before the pandemic and this is when we took care of Teresa´s passport. We wanted to invite her that summer but we all know how did it end up. So we waited. And this year finally the Polish embassy started to issue tourist visas (aka Schengen visa).

I started to gather all the papers in April. To invite a Cuban citizen you need to have official invitation issued by local authorities. To get it you need:

• confirmation that you are employed and what you salary is
• bank statement to show you have funds to invite somebody
• confirmation of accommodation (booking reservation for hotel or confirmation you own a property etc)

After we got the invitation Teresa booked the appointment in the embassy. The waiting time – 3 months. Cool, that gave us time to book a flight and prepare the rest of the papers ( travel insurance, 80€, confirmation of her retirement etc.)

We were lucky enough that .one kind lady travelling to Cuba from Poland took all the papers with her. Big kudos to Aleksandra ❤

It went quite well however they did ask for our wedding certificate issued in Poland to prove we are family….I guess they want to confirm everything since a lot of Cubans ask for Schengen visa only to go to Mexico and cross the border (people with Schengen visa don´t need any other document to enter Mexico). And since flights to Nicaragua are almost impossible to book with crazy prices on the black market I guess it´s quite a good option.

Anyway Teresa got her visa and spent all August with us and my family. We have been married for over 6 years and this was the first time our parents met 🤭

After she went back home the hurricane hit Pinar del Rio. Fortunately the new house stayed untouched but the wooden house we love so much got destroyed. All province had no power for weeks but it looks like things go back to normal. Cuban normal which mean high prices, expensive dollar and lack of stuff.

We already have our tickets booked for February for our annual Cuban trip so can´t wait for that. Especially now in the fall time when it gets dark like 4pm. Hope to write more often but lately got carried away with work. I work for Spanish office now which means a lot of travelling which is cool but takes time and energy.

Big hug to everyone. ¡Cuidense mucho! And talk to you soon!