GTMO – Tydingco Family

I had the unique opportunity to visit Anthony in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. He’s been out there since November for a 6 month deployment. My mother-in-law offered to watch the girls for me during the week that I was away. I flew from Denver to Baltimore and arrived at 1 AM. Stuck around for the 2 AM showtime for the standby military flight. Flight left BWI at 6 AM stopped in Jacksonville and finally to GTMO. I didn’t get there until 10 AM on the next day.

When we landed, I immediately noticed the brown and un-tropical vegetation. There are a few palm trees, but mostly everything was brown and more like a desert with cacti….absolutely not what I expected. The water, however was blue, clear, and beautiful.

Being that Cuba is off limits, we were secluded to a small part of the island where the Naval base is located. There is really nothing to see or do. We went to the NEX (a very small shop that sells clothing, electronics, etc.) everyday. Ate at the chow hall and a few other eateries. Anthony still had to work while I was visiting, so we only had the afternoons to hang out. We did go snorkeling a couple times. I’m not much of a beach person (don’t want to get dark..ha) but it was quite an experience.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and Anthony and I were happy to spend some quality time together.

Please forgive the lack of variety in the pictures. Like I said, there isn’t much to see or do there.

View from the plane