Cuba IV -- Første tur til stranden -- First trip to the beach

Magnus første tur til stranden var i Trinidad. Stranden lå ca. 10 minutter fra byen og det var for os alle vores første dag på stranden siden vi var ankommet i Cuba. Stranden var som man forestille sig en strand i Caribien - hvid strand og blåt vand. Magnus brugte det meste af tiden på at lege med sandet og fik spist ikke så lidt af det. Billederne valgte vi, fordi det viser hvordan Magnus, mens vi var i Cuba, brugte meget tid på at komme i kontakt med andre. Hele vores tur på stranden var han koncentreret om at spise sand, indtil han fik øje på mand han kunne smile til. Vi måtte indse at Magnus var blevet en chamør!

Magnus' first trip to the beach was in Trinidad. The beach was 10 minutes from the town and it was for us all our first day at the beach in the Caribbean. The beach was what you would imagine a Caribbean beach to be - white sand and azure water. Magnus used most of the time playing with the sand and managed to eat quite a lot of it too. We chose the pictures because they signify how, whilst in Cuba, Magnus used a lot of time trying to get in contact with others. During our day at the beach he was very concentrated on eating the sand untill he caught he attention of a man he could smile to. We had to realise that Magnus had become a flirt!

Magnus loves music -- Magnus elsker musik

Magnus loves music and has for the past few weeks started to dance as soon as he hears any kind of rythme. He started of having a pretty good taste such as Johnny Cash and The Clash. However now it seems that any music with a beat is all it takes and one of his favorites is Ozone singing Dragostea Din Tei. The video was taken a Sunday when Matt was working and Magnus & Rikke was down in the local plaza. Magnus had a view of a band playing salsa which he enjoyed.

.

Magnus elsker musik og har i de sidste uger begyndt at danse så snart han hører rytmer. He startede med at have en rimelig god smag så som Johnny Cash og The Clash. Siden da er det næsten lige meget hvilken musik så længe der er rytmer og en af hans favoritter er Ozone som synger Dragostea Din Tei. Videoen blev taget en søndag hvor Matt arbejdede og Magnus & Rikke var nede i den lokale park. Magnus havde udsigt til et band der spillede sala hvilket var noget han nød.The video was taken a Sunday when Matt was working and Magnus & Rikke was down in the local plaza. Magnus had a view of a band playing salsa which he enjoyed.

Nye tænder -- New teeth

Magnus er nu den stolte ejer af fem tænder. De nye tænder har gjort det nemmere for ham at spise hans mad. Han kan nu især godt li' ting der knaser (selleri og æbler). Samtidig er han dog også blevet kræsen og efter et måltid er der mere mad på gulvet end i hans mave! På billedet kan i se en parably som vi bruger til at beskytte Magnus mod solen. I Cuba bruger mange mennesker parablyer som solcreme og vi bruger nu denne simple metode når han kun skal beskyttes i korte perioder.

.

Magnus is now the proud owner of five teeth. The new teeth are helping him eat his food and in particular he likes crunchy food (celleri and apples). In addition he has turned into a fussy eater and after a meal there is more food on the floor than in his belly! From the picture you can see an umbrella we are using to keep the sun away from Magnus. In Cuba many people used this simple method as a sun screen and we have adopted it when he only needs protection for brief periods.

Puerto Rico

Efter at have kigget på vores blog indså vi at vi ikke har fortalt at vi er i Puerto Rico. Vi har været her i tre uger og er faldet godt til. Vores lejlighed har udsigt over havet og ligger i centrum. Naboerne er rigtig flinke og har lært Magnus at kende.

Looking back on our blog we realised we have not made it clear we are in Puerto Rico. We have been here for three weeks and have settled in well. Our flat overlooks the sea and is close to the centre of Viejo San Juan. The neighbours are friendly and they have got to know Magnus.

Magnus nye kusine -- Magnus' new cousin

Magnus er nu en stolte fætter til den store og dejlige Sørine. Hun blev født d 12 April og vejede 4140g - 100g mere end Magnus. Det er nogle store fætre/ kusiner i familien! Vi er glade for dette foto og glæder os alle til vi får hende at se (og resten af Holm Diness familien). Sørine er lillesøster til vores søde og kærlige Bastian. Vi savner jer og vil ønsker vi var i Randers sammen med jer for at fejre den lille guldklump.

Magnus is now a proud cousin to the big and lovely Sørine. She was born on 12 April and weighed in at a whopping 4140g - 100g more than Magnus. The cousins are very big in the family! We are very happy for this photo and are all looking forward to meeting her (and the rest of the Holm Diness klan). Sørine is the little sister to the sweet and loving Bastian. We miss you all and wish we were there with you.

Ferie i den Dominikanske -- Holiday in the Dominican Republic

I slutning af marts tog vi vidre til Den Dominikanske Republic for at mødes med Bedstefar og Gitte. Vi var klar til at slappe af efter vores tid i Cuba. Vi glædede os til at være sammen med familien igen. Magnus nød meget opmærksomheden fra Bedstefar og Gitte. Vi spiste en masse af god mad og svømmede i havet (Matt mere end Magnus). Magnus nød rigtig at være på stranden og kunne især godt li at sidde i et hul Matt havde gravet på stranden. Billederne nedenfor er af Magnus i swimmingpool, os alle på lokal fiske resturant og Bedstefar & Gitte på stranden ved vores hotel.

.

At the end of March it was time to move on to the next part of our travel and we went to the Dominican Republic. There we met with bedstefar and Gitte. We were in particular looking forward to spending time with the family again. Magnus also enjoyed the attention he got from his granddad and Gitte. We had a lot of good food and swam in the sea (Matt more than Magnus). Magnus really like spending time on the beach. He in particular liked a hole Matt had made in the sand and spent a few hours in it just playing. The pictures below are of Magnus in the swimmingpool, all of us on a local seafood resturant and Bedstefar & Gitte on the beach by the hotel.

Cuba III. Taxi in Cuba

Having travelled to a number of different countries in South America we are used to walking everywhere or use public transport. We quickly came to realise, travelling with Magnus, that our way of getting about had to change. So part of our sightseeing schedule was using taxis and thereby maximising the time we had to explore Havana. An added bonus for Magnus was the lack of seatbelts resulting in him being able to look out of the windows whilst driving. We also have to mention that the taxis we either old cars from the 50's or cars from Eastern Europe.

.

Vores rejser rundt i Sydamerika har gjort, at vi er vant til at bruge offentligt transport eller at gå alle vegne. Vi indså hurtigt, at vi blev nød til at gøre tingene lidt anderledes, nu vi havde Magnus med. Så en del af vores sightseeing routine var at bruge taxier, så der var mere tid til at udforske Havana. For Magnus var der også den extra bonus,at uden sikkerhedsbælter, kunne han kigge ud af bilen mens den kørte. Det skal lige siges at taxier i Cuba var enten gamle "flyder" eller ladaer fra kommunist tiden.

Magnus kan gå -- Magnus can walk

Magnus has been walking since the beginning of April. We had thought he would have started sooner as he was showing signs of walking when we first started out on our adventure but he choose to hold on to walls and furniture for a while. He was a little apprehensive to begin with but has since abandoned his preferred mode of transport - crawling. He took his first step on a beautiful white sanded beach in the Dominican Republic. Always a good memory to have of where the first step was taken.
.
Magnus har gået siden i starten af april. Vi troede at han ville været begyndt noget tidligere da han viste tegn på at han var klar. Istedet valgte han at holde fast på væggen og møblerne. Han var lidt nervøs til at begynde med, men har siden stoppet med at bruge sit fortrukne måde at bevæge sig på - at kravle. Han tog sit første skridt på en flot hvidsandet strand i den Dominikanske Republik. Det vil altid være et godt minde.

World's strongest man -- Verdens stærkeste mand

We gave Magnus his name because it denotes strength. In this video he shows how strong he is by pulling himself up. Who knows pullups today and maybe the
Worlds strongest man


Vi gav Magnus hans navn fordi det betyder den store (og stærke?). I denne video viser han hvor stærk han er ved at løfte sig selv op. Hvem ved; styrketræning idag og imorgen
Verdens stærkeste mand

Cuba II. La Feria del Libros, Havana

Cuba er i denne uge vært til en stor bogmesse. Den bliver afholdt i et af fortene, Fortaleza San Carlos de la Cabana i Havanas havn. Atmosfæren var helt utrolig med udsigt til havet, solskin og masser af bøger. Magnus fandt sig et par legekammerater. Han lader sig til at være kommet sig over sin generthed. Messen mindede Rikke om Høve stævnerne med morgenmad på parkeringspladsen (selvom folk ikke spiste morgenmad så var klapstolene stillet op ved siden af bilerne). Det sidste indtryk vi fik var tidlig aften med folk der gjorde sig klar til grilmad og musik i en af de gamle voldgrave. Billedet er af Matt, Magnus og Antonia. Antonia er vores værts søster. Hun agerede som en guide for os og havde i de forløbende år arbejdet på messen.

Cuba is this week host to a bookfair. It is held in one of the old forts, Fortaleza San Carlos de la Cabana in Havana's harbor. The atmosphere was incrediable with the view of the sea, sun and lots of books. Magnus found himself a few playmates. He appeared to have got over the worst of his shyness. The fair reminded Rikke of old handball tournaments where people had picknics in the carpark. The last impression was of people getting ready for BBQ at dusk with music being played in one of the moats. The picture is of Matt, Magnus and Antonia. Antonia is our host's sister. She had in the previous years worked on the fair and acted as our guide.

Back in the highchair -- Tilbage i stolen

Whilst in Cuba we were not able to use Magnus' highchair. We did not expect him to take to it again but he really enjoyed sitting in it and the meal times have taken on a whole new social event .

.

Da vi var i Cuba kunne vi ikke bruge Magnus stol. Vi havde ikke regnet med at han ville kunne li stolen igen, men han nyder rigtig at sidde i den når han spiser. Måltiderne er nu en meget social begivenhed for Magnus.

Cuba I.

Having been in Cuba for one week we have come to realise that updating the blog concurrently would be too difficult due to a lack of internet infrastructure. Instead we have kept an account which we will publish on the blog when we can in the future. By doing it this way we hope to convey the spirit of our experiences more accurately.

Efter at have været i Cuba i en uge har vi indset at det liver svært at opdatere bloggen, da der ikke er en effektivt internet struktur. Istedet har vi holdt en journal som vi vil udgive på bloggen når vi kan i fremtiden. Ved at gøre det på den måde håber vi at kunne vidregive vores oplevelser på en mere indlevende måde.

We are back -- Så er vi tilbage

We are back in contact with the world and thought you might like an updated version of Magnus. Since last he has started to walk and, despite not looking like it, has hair. The blogs from Cuba and The Dominican Republic will be updated as we go along and may therefore be a little out of sync.

Nu er vi tilbage i kontkt med omverdnen og vi tænkte at i nok villle værdsætte et billed af Magnus. Siden sidst er han begyndt at gå og selvom det ikke ser sådan ud så har han hår. Bloggerne fra Cuba og den Dominikanske Republik vil blive opdateret langsomt så hjemmesiden vil til tider være ude af sync.