When I’m asked about my experience in this last year of my life, all I can say is that I have lived more in this last year that I had hoped and imagined for. When I first left my life in Toronto back in June 2010, I had no idea what was to come, what to expect and what was to happen. The feeling of uncertainty however was quickly diminished by the sheer excitement of possibilities that would eventually allow me to discover and open up to every experience that came by way. What was supposed to be a one year contract at a company to ‘try something’ new welcomed a whole lifestyle change and perspective on life. A life dedicated to simplicity, enjoyment, fulfillment and passion.

Team in Costa Rica. Missing Del Mar Extreme and Del Mar Surfing Academy members.

Family in Costa Rica

And so, just over a full year of working with Del Mar Surf Camp and then subsequently Del Mar Extreme and Del Mar Surfing Academy, I can confidently say that what turned out to be ‘job’ developed into the likings of working for a family business. I love each and every business in the company, the people and the energy they bring individually. First and foremost, the business was an extension of every owner, to enjoy what they are passionate about to the fullest and to share with others. In doing so, the result and quality of service was 1000% more than what anyone else could offer. I have the most upmost respect and love every single person that I work with here as they constantly remind me what hustling and being passionate about something is like, without forgetting that at the end of the day, we work to live. Not living to work.

Following My Heart to Denmark

So today, it saddens me to say that I will be moving onto my next adventure.  Not for the lack of anything that this beautiful place could offer me, but because I am going to do what I’ve always known to do – follow my heart. And this time, while this place has won a large portion of my heart, a little bit of it is somewhere in Denmark with a certain special someone. I couldn’t live here fully and completely in the present, knowing that I wasn’t giving it my 100% wondering and thinking about that little person somewhere else. So while it’s an official resignation, it closes only this one chapter with Costa Rica hopefully to be reopened and revisited for later. And in the wise words of Maria Del Mar, my boss – “You have more to lose by being here and you know, that Costa Rica and we, will always be here. I have always followed my heart as a free spirit and because I have, I want you to.”

OPEN AVAILABILITY: Marketing Director of Del Mar Adventures

I am leaving this AMAZING job behind and want to give someone the opportunity to take a pay cut, take on a bunch of work, move to Costa Rica within the next month, work with a tiny budget, ride their bicycle to work, live in a tiny house by the beach, learn to surf and work with the best team in Costa Rica.

So if this is you, click here for the full job description and shoot me an email if you think this is you!

Disclaimer: The person we are looking for in this position is someone who wants to join a team of passionate individuals who live to provide a quality business while having fun. We are looking for someone who is completely self motivated, a team player and can push the team to understand and adapt to new marketing trends. While the job is demanding, it is equally as fun. By working with a team that promotes surfing and fitness, we expect it to be a complete lifestyle change for you as well. While, the nature of your work is independent (work from home, mostly), there is a always a need to join surf trips, set meetings, attend surf lessons and classes outdoors to get content and understand the day to day business. And if that is not something you would enjoy, then this job is not for you!

The beautiful part about having a tourist visa in Costa Rica is essentially you are forced to leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours in order to return legally back into Costa Rica. While it can be an inconvenience to many, putting a hold on everything that is demanded of you, to leave the country to travel to another country (god forbid) – it is a good wake up call and reminder to relax, remove yourself from adopting a senseless well oiled daily routine to explore the other countries so close to my proximity.

For this tourist visa run, I am venturing into Nicaragua. More specifically, the tiny surf town of San Juan del Sur. Initially, I had decided to do my 90 days tourist run this weekend, so that I would have some time to plan and get ready. But yesterday, I was notified that we had a big group of surfers coming for the surf camp on Wednesday and I wanted to be back at least mid week during their camp. So as of 12 PM this afternoon, I decided this destination & booked my Ticabus ticket at the local travel agency in Jaco.

While I have the same feeling that I had when I first ventured into unknown territory back in July from Vancouver to Seattle, this feeling is a little different. I am still traveling on my own, with more unknowns (knowing very little of the Spanish language, completely different transit systems, absolutely no cell phone signals & now carrying a massive 6′3 ft surfboard with me) – I surprisingly feel more at ease this time around. Traveling solo anywhere is the same – you depend on the goodness of people around you, you learn to observe every aspect of your surroundings and you get smarter about when and where to go. With that said, if I don’t post to Facebook or Tweet about arriving in Nicaragua in the hostel by at least 10 PM tomorrow evening, please notify the local enforcements. I am staying at Casa Oro (pending availability) and they promised free Wi-Fi & Internet.

I am currently looking at a folded two-sided piece of paper with scribbled down notes from after talking with a few people about how to get from where I live all the way to Nicaragua, through a series of buses. I would have preferred to take a direct flight (snobby, yes I know) in the interest of saving time, but at least this way, will allow me to enjoy the view and truly practice my level of patience. Apparently, I will be waiting… alot.

A snippet of my “directions” from Jaco Beach, Costa Rica to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua:

• Take the 8:30 am / 9:00 am bus from Quepos to Puntarenas (I live in Jaco, Puntarenas is the next town north that connects to the bus lines from San Jose to the border
• Get out at the Hilton hotel
• Ask them to call you a taxi to take me to “4 cruces de Miramar”
• Get out at the Shell station (that’s right, there is no fancy bus stop or sign that says “Tica Bus here”, just a bunch of people on the side of the road. I better bring sun protection)
• You will probably be here around 11:00/11:30 am, the Tica Bus will pass around 2:00 PM (Great, 2.5 hours to kill. In the sun. With my board.)
• Once it gets close to 2:00 PM, cross and wait for the Ticabus, as they will not wait for you.
• The Ticabus will walk you as a group to pass the border. Give your passport to the representative and walk across the border and meet them at the other side.
• You will arrive in Rivas around 8:00 PM

Now this is where it gets sketchy. I have a few recommendations to stay in Rivas because apparently you don’t want to travel at night in Nicaragua. And then I also have recommendations to take a taxi from Rivas (the border of Nicaragua/Costa Rica) straight to San Juan del Sur because it is unsafe in Rivas at night and nowhere to stay.

And because I only have a board bag for a 7′2 ft surfboard, I hope my make shift board bag for the 6′3 ft surfboard doesn’t get me into alot of trouble at the border – that is, if they ask me to open my bag to check what’s inside. I have a feeling I’d be keeping the line up unraveling this rope.

Nonetheless, I shall see what the conditions are like when I arrive in Nicaragua by nightfall. Hopefully, I meet some friendly taxi drivers, or other travelers, or maybe – I meet the Nicaraguan president by fluke who will invite me to surf on the breaks on his own private island. Who knows? Oh, the joys of traveling solo.

It’s been a month since I’ve been living in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica and wanted to write a nice long update about my adventures so far. But with so much footage and video work I’ve been doing lately, I thought it would be a better idea to complement my thoughts with visuals so you can see for yourself the beauty that is Costa Rica. In my pursuit of happiness, this is my journey to pura vida. Enjoy!

Surf Spot: Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

Jaco Beach Surfline: 3-4 ft. Light and variable west-northwest winds with smooth seas. Small long period swell from the southwest. 3ft @ 13s from SW (218). 1ft @ 6s from S (173). 1ft @ 11s from S (183). 1ft @ 5s from SSW (208).

Board: 8′6″ NSP surfboard.

Getting waves, paddling out, wiping out and experiencing the washing machine is all part of surfing. While anything other than getting waves have less appeal, they have their benefits – whether it is waking you up while you’re out at an early morning surf or toning your upper body with constant paddle outs. Today’s waves were particularly heavier than the last few days, with more sets and larger waves. While I’ve always prided myself in being a relatively good swimmer, it’s a question of how long you can hold your breathe under water and hop back on your board as soon as the waves mellow out. But while you’re out in the water, depending on where you are, you have two options to try to get past the washing machine.

Paddling Out

The most important thing about always watching the ocean behind you is you never know when a wave is coming. Especially when it looks like it’s going to break farther back than you expect it to, so you paddle out as fast as you can to get over the wave before it breaks on you and takes you on a whirlwind of a washing machine ride.

Ducking Under

Sometimes you never get to paddle out or realize that the waves are coming at you faster than you can paddle out, so you the next best thing to do is getting your body and your board under the momentum of the wave above the water as fast and as deep under as you can. By staying on top and letting the wave take you and your board back, can take you twice the effort and time to get back out to the break line. There are several ways to duck under with your board that I’ll talk about once I learn them all

While I got hit in the head with the surfboard today, the only sensation you truly feel after your session is the one where you catch the perfect wave. Today, I rode my longest wave in and could care less about the pain of the impact. Tomorrow, there is a swell coming in and a contest happening right on Jaco Beach where I can watch all the local Costa Rican surfers do their thing. Del Mar Surf Camp’s surf instructor, Josymar Fuentes is taking part and has been for the last few years – here’s to hoping he brings it home.

Pura Vida.

Surf Spot: Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

Jaco Beach Surfline: 3-4 ft. Light and variable west-southwest winds with smooth seas. Small long period swell from the southwest. SWELL: 2ft @ 14s from SW (217). 1ft @ 10s from S (187). 1ft @ 5s from S (184). 1ft @ 6s from WSW (248)

Board: 7′10″ NSP Surfboard.

While paddling out today was a little easier on the 7’10” surfboard that easily weighed 5 lbs heavier than my regular 7’4”, the speed of the waves definitely proved to be more difficult and I experienced the Costa Rican washing machine. One of the most important things you can ever know is to never turn your back on the Ocean, it can be fairly unpredictable and you’re always playing by its rules. After awhile you realize that surfing in itself is not just about getting up on your board and riding a wave. According to Paba, another Del Mar Surf Camp instructor – it is a science, right down to the chemistry and physics of the water, your board and your position.

Right Board

While it looks like many experts rock out the waves on short boards and seems like they can do it all the time or are using the same board, chances are they usually have variants of their boards for different kinds of waves in order to maximize on the experience. No sense in taking a board you are not comfortable with or is too rocky for you on larger waves meant for longboarding; or vice versa. Unlike snowboarding where you choose the board for your riding style (freestyle, terrain) and adapt to the snow conditions, surfing is a very particular sport where the water conditions are so characteristically different that the slightest change in board can change your entire surf session.

Right Wave

Watching the wave is probably the most difficult part about surfing. After 25 years of surfing, Paba can tell if an oncoming wave is going to close out, where it will peak and which way it will break or even whether it is even worth going for. This is probably the most important benefit of a surf camp – having someone tell you which wave to paddle out for that would be perfect for your position so you don’t have to waste your energy paddling out for one that isn’t worth the effort.

Right Bikini

For all the lady surfers, believe it or not, it can make your surfing experience all the more worthwhile to have the right bikini that doesn’t shift while you get turned over when a wave comes crashing down on you or when you are just paddling out. Having to think about your bikini often and worry about what is being exposed can certainly take away from focusing on the core activity of the day – surfing. I wore a string bikini top and bottom with hooped rings the first day I was in Costa Rica and suffered a cut to my hip from the impact of the board and was too concerned with the exposure of the top that I caught barely any waves.

Best part of today was right after my morning surf session, I moved into my new place right in the town of Jaco Beach with a porch view of the mountains and a backyard view onto the beach. For the first time in two months of travel, I finally have a place I can call home.

Pura Vida.

Surf Spot: Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

Jaco Beach Surfline: 2-3 ft. Light and variable east-southeast winds with smooth seas. Small short period wind waves from the southwest. SWELL: 2ft @ 6s from SW (228), 2ft @ 10s from SSW (195), 1ft @ 5s from S (173), 1ft @ 16s from SW (217)

Board: 7′4″ Ward Coffey Surfboard.

With the notion that I was to hit the waves at 8 AM for my first early morning surf session today, I fell asleep at 11 PM (earliest I have in awhile) at my temporary residence at the Cabinas Rancho Grande, steps away from Playa Hermosa. But with the Costa Rican Independence Day (from Spain) today, Maria from Del Mar Surf Camp picked me up earlier at 6:30 AM to get to Jaco Beach and I got about two and a half hours of decent surfing time in with the nice long waves today.

What’s best about advancing with a surf camp is that you have a seasoned surfer to help you spot the mistakes in your riding, especially critical when you’re first getting into surfing. I met Del Mar Surf Camp’s head instructor today who is also sponsored as a Lost Team Rider, Josymar Fuentes who with Maria Del Mar gave me three of the best beginner tips.

Paddling

One of the key things I realized today was that while I didn’t mind paddling out so much and getting smacked constantly by water, I needed more strength in my paddle to actually get myself into the wave. Cupping your hand and extending it deeper into the water (“slow and deep”) made it seemingly easier to understand that paddling was in itself a technique to be learned and developed that is detrimental to catching good waves. Slow and deep gets you stronger momentum than frivolous speedy strokes.

Watching

As soon as you try to get up on the board, one of the first things you naturally do is watching where you put your feet. Unconsciously not realizing this, I was always watching where my feet were placed on the board rather than looking straight ahead at where I wanted to be. Just by looking up at where I needed to be and adjusting the placement of my feet if need be, I was able to garner more balance and stabilize myself on the board.

Breathing

Finally, after all the paddling to get yourself into the center of the wave, the first thing you tend to do is hold your breath and hope you caught the wave at the right spot sometimes overwhelming yourself. Just before popping up onto the board and breathing, I was able to think about all the changes I needed to make from the last wave in order to improve and apply them to the current wave without letting the rush of the water get to you.

And that’s it. First surf here at Jaco Beach with three waves under my belt. Tomorrow, I am up at 6 AM again to head to another surf lesson with Del Mar Surf Camp, move into my new house in the town of Jaco and get settled into life in Costa Rica for the next few months.

Pura Vida.

As I sit here in 37⁰C degree weather in an unopened, unoccupied desolate campsite in Quartzville, Arizona it is the first time since I started the California leg of this trip where I have found the opportunity to seclude myself and my thoughts to recollect all that has been seen and done on this trip. I knew before starting this adventure that I would grow as a person physically, mentally and emotionally. First, spraining my ankle on a down hike in Vancouver with a 40 pound backpack, and climbing the rest of the 8 km despite the pain. The journey continued from Canada into the States as a solo traveler, venturing into the world of the unknown and for some reason, initial perceptions of negativity prevailed. What I quickly learned, was that people are inherently good. I want to share a short story from the beginning of my trip.

A Short ‘Explosive’ Story

On the long bus ride from Vancouver to Seattle, for the most part I was largely comfortable with two seats in the aisle all to myself. Until we reached Mt. Vernon and man with longer tangled hair, wearing a loose fitting shirt, jeans (and while this all sounds normal), his arms were covered in grease holding a circular metallic contraption with both hands down in front of his abdomen. While this may well have been a regular site to see, as a lonely traveler this of course was a little intimidating. Of course, of all the empty seats around, he chose the one next to mine. To be honest, nothing about his demeanour was off-putting, but the way in which he carried the contraption hovered closely bundled next to his body, immediately sent mental thoughts eluding along the lines of “Bomb? Wtf!”. I caught myself mid thought and decided that this would be my first test towards understanding the world with loving perception and so I did. Jeremy, was a resident of Seattle and was the proud owner of a Peugeot, whose alternator broke down on him (hence why he was on the bus), and found the most reasonably priced part at the junkyard in Mt. Vernon. Of course, an alternator. We spent the next two hours talking about our own individual journeys in life and what I should go see in Seattle and just like that, I made a new friend. A smart friend once told me, strangers are friends you just haven’t met. And from that point on, I truly believe it.

Without Cause

Whether it’s the compassion for traveling souls with larger than life backpacks that has people turning their heads, the confused traveler with the day pack holding a map at each intersection or the fact that I might look just absolutely helpless when I am walking the streets of each city alone – I have had so many random encounters and interactions with strangers that have truly restored my faith in the human population. Walked into a T-Mobile store to get a new US SIM card in Seattle and spent the next two hours speaking with local sales rep, Sarah – who also happens to be a large Yelp user and foodie, and marked along all the restaurants and places worth eating and spending time at. While looking for a place to stay in Portland while at the Seattle hostel, another traveler heard I couldn’t find any hostel beds and suggested I look up his family friend for help in which he made the introduction immediately. In Portland, while traveling with my new Japanese friend Yas from the Seattle hostel, a local woman approached us asking if we knew how to get to our hostel and asked us if we needed any help finding it. In San Francisco, I met Luke Kilpatrick on Twitter months prior to my arrival and as soon as I arrived, helped me buy my new surfboard, took me to meet the shaper of my board and took me to surf three counties in three days. This is just a quick shortlist of all the amazing interactions thus far on this trip. What is most profound to me is that while people are inherently good and help is always a question away, most of us might not be as receptive to it as we think we are when a stranger approaches us. Let’s face it, we are all a little apprehensive when someone we don’t know starts speaking to us. But, when you’re traveling alone, you take all the help you can get and allow for these interactions to occur – and when they do, they usually make the highlight of your day.

[ Written on the Amtrak train from Portland to Sacramento. It is now 10:40 PM PST on Sunday August, 1^st and after many days of thought processing, wandering journeys, turning strangers into friends and appreciating the fullness of everyday life, a message on Facebook to inspire me to continue ‘to seek, to strive & to find’ has me pouring these depths of my souls from such interactions into this. ]

Let me tell you about Johann. With the human mind that exists as the vessel that has propelled our society into the modernism we enjoy today, it is a wonder how the manifestation of thought can sometimes be the biggest challenge for this immensely powerful organ. Many times a day I feel restless, other days I feel at the height of mental stimulation with ideas so far along the horizon it is sometimes hard to contain and streamline into anything substantive. In my recent musings, I have a newfound obsession with Johann Gutenberg – the inventor, innovator, thought leader behind the printing press. I cannot imagine what the state of our society would come to without the gift of reading, the precious words without interference of characteristic writing and of course, the contribution in mass production for widespread consumption and equal opportunity. Despite how little history there is left of Johann’s legacy left on earth, I’ve been reading literary works that emphasizes in every case that he was a particular man of perfectionism, a man that wanted to make something of himself for the greater good, through his feelings of universal responsibility. Imagine being in a society where when you were told, “To love the world is to hate God. To create is to accept that God is not perfect, and God is perfect”. And through this he persisted. Johann Gutenberg was a man of the earth and through this gave himself little credit for the invention of the printing press in his name as it was his purpose on earth to create for all to use. I feel inspired and humbled by his journey he took to create one of the greatest inventions of our day through accepting failure and allowing a transient lifestyle to manifest into his visions. “To know what is in you, you must travel elsewhere”.

Removing the forest from our minds. And for this, I feel compelled to withdraw from the demons we have created within the forests of darkness that only exist within our minds. Prior to this leg of the journey, I sat in the kitchen hostel amid leaving the one nation I maintained as my breeding ground for the majority of my human existence, afraid and fearful of the unknown that bewilders beyond my adapted comprehension of said potential torment. While I know that fear was unwarranted, it is one that we ingrain deep within ourselves without cause and to understand the world without fear, is to live without reason. I made the decision to pursue the journey with myself because if the decision doesn’t make me the least bit nervous, then I am perhaps not making the right decision.

The human heart is inherently good. The core of human existence is human interaction, understanding and learning from one another to serve the purpose of your greater existence on earth united by our fears, our aspirations and our visions for a greater good. The only difference is when we try to create & manifest diversity. One of the greatest lessons so far on this trip has been the contestation of a menial, perhaps sometimes equally judgmental question that delves into qualifiers of a person’s life that comes so subconsciously when dealing with new interactions; yielding perceptions of income, residing location, lifestyle without first inquiring about other more conversationally relevant topics. Try meeting someone new and not asking them what it is they do for a career; instead ask what are their interests, what their hobbies are, what inspires them – notice the difference?

Just like that. I see the world in a completely different light, in my own voice, with my own eyes and through my own lens. Miscellaneous encounters of kindness have exceeded my programmed perceptions of society that exists by first impressions, instinctual judgements. My premonitions of potential fear have been unjust and rightfully so. The way I see it, I’ve renewed my outlook on life and given a second chance at humanity, with a greater capacity for unconditional love trading the boundaries of negativity for the fairness and gentility we all deserve to benefit from. And this I trust, can only be done when you are at the point of uttermost independence from the world you are accustomed to, forced to truly trust and believe in the power of sincere human interaction without profit. And to do so, you have to put your mind through the trials of mental and physical loneliness – heightening the voice and taking action to the voice within without the comfort and plague of physical distractions.

Life as a transient. To be fully happy, is to know that despite any circumstance I am satisfied. As a transient, I could not have been happier to travel from Toronto to Costa Rica on my own two feet and the clothes in my backpack. Every day is a day I wake up to appreciating the explorations of new cities, new people, new adventures, discovering lands of water that I feel most at peace with. Hostels are by far the greatest assets for any traveller; at the heart of each new location you are amongst strangers who are not only likely to be in the same situation you are, but will be able to share valuable information about the same travels they’ve encountered perhaps not too long ago. In the last few days, I’ve met more new people than I have chatted with old friends on Facebook, all over different parts of the globe united with the same purpose, in the same community of gaining worldly perspective and internal exhilaration.

We are 95% water, 100% life. A good friend once told me, the water is like a metaphor for life – it flows strong downstream and you can either be a log that flows with it or you can be the rock at the side letting it pass you by as you lie adamant. I want to be one with water, no matter the amount of ripples, the stream will continue to flow with me within it. My life as a solo journeywoman is one that allows me to appreciate the goodness of people, to discover the intricacies of life as we know it and define it within my own individual story of life – I don’t have a sense of temporary illusion of my reality that resists the truth of my life, this is my life and my journey towards ultimate fulfillment.

As I sit here in a hostel in Vancouver before I head into the second leg of my journey traveling through the states as a solo traveler, I can’t help but have feelings of uneasiness, anxiety and fear. I have waited so long to see the wonders of the world from my own eyes at my own pace and on my own time – and here I am, in the face of this new adventure and while I am excited at the thought of new discoveries, I am desperately seeking refuge from doing this alone. They say, the best way to discover yourself is to spend time with yourself – I used to think that I spent a sufficient amount of “alone” time to myself thinking and pondering without external commentaries. Yet, here I am in a situation no different than being beside myself on a regular day in Toronto; only difference now is, I am thousands of miles away from home and feeling disheartened and dejected knowing that in a few hours when I get on a bus from Vancouver to Seattle and check into a hostel, I have no one to rely on but myself. No one I can trust, no friends to turn to, no familiarity to recognize – and that is what I will know to being completely alone. I have barely begun this phase and already feel the intensity associated with the distance from familiarity and accessibility. It is with this that I realize just how dependant I’ve become on instantaneous accessibility to things and people, taking for granted what it means to rely on yourself.

When I break my ankle and need help, who do I turn to? When I need directions to get around, who will I turn to? When I have thoughts on my mind, who will I share them with? Without the certainty to connection, access to networks or people – I am taking the chance to survive in the world that is out there based on the kindness of humans and the networks of backpackers I come across in hostels and in my journeys.

My heart is racing, my emotions are flustered, there are rats running under my feet in this hostel in Vancouver. Tomorrow, I will begin the real journey of mind, body and soul – alone.

What time is it? Who cares, the only time is now.

Redefining Happiness

It’s been seventeen days since I’ve left the only home I’ve ever known from the people I love in pursuit of the one of the greatest virtues in life, happiness. While I know that trying to achieve a constant state of happiness is unrealistic, I am working towards fostering an internal happiness that will for the most part, withstand and maintain a positive outlook throughout the difficult and unavoidable fluctuations in life. Yet one of the greatest challenges in this is accepting the fact that these uncertainties do exist; there are no certainties in life. Even so, we spend a majority of our lives co-existing to strive for this perception of perfection that we define for ourselves creating a greater margin for unhappiness when the gaps for achievement become larger and more unattainable. And so, while this journey is one about happiness – it is more about making the significant changes in the ways in which I’ve habituated and having the ability to ignore the trivialities of life external to my pursuit.

The only constant in life, is change.

At a very young age I knew and accepted the fact that the only constant in life is change. If I had lost a friend, moved to a different city, ended a relationship or lost a personal item, I knew that it signified that it was time to close that chapter of my life to start a new one. I saw change as the natural process within the evolution of life, and sometimes holding onto things of the past can be detrimental to the movement onwards; accepting it for what it was worth, appreciating its value and allowing yourself to take from its learnings was how I kept the onward movement in my life.  As such, change no matter how good or how bad would come easily to me knowing confidently that it was what I wanted to do.

What’s been different so far on this trip is that change occurs at a naturally faster rate than before, moving from city to city, meeting new people every day, not knowing where we’ll end up next or have our next meal. The only satisfaction of constant within this is the soul within the temple that will always be there when I need it. My old life was full of certainties leaving no fraction of worry for what were the most important things in life – food, shelter, my gadgets and online access. I’ve removed all the external elements of stability from my old life that I was used to, and now I find a greater appreciation for a wider range of things that are truly essential in life. Living out of a 60L backpack from campsite to campsite, many times there is no access to running water, flushable toilets, showers, healthy food and especially electrical outlets for my technology addiction. What’s more interesting is while I do find a greater appreciation for the elements of the natural environment in which we live in, I find technology becoming more and more obsolete as I live day by day. Without the ability to recharge what is the benefit of our gadgets deep within the woods, but water will always rejuvenate, fire will always burn.

Changes on the Trip So Far

If not just for the experiences, this trip has me changing myself in more ways than one so far:

• I wear no make up or do my hair, nor do I feel the need to
• I wear the variations of the same outfits three days in a row and visit the laundromat when I can
• I want to talk to anyone who has a great smile and met the awesome Jordan Bower (@streetcarphoto) who is walking from Vancouver to Mexico to document life in a way that will bring beauty to people
• I take time to breathe and appreciate all the moments that occur all the time around me and its amazing to realize how much life there really is happening all the time
• I visited a clothing optional beach and had the time of my life appreciating the different shapes and sizes of people in their most primitive states
• I use my technology gadgets less and less and rely on nature and humanity more and more to survive and get around
• I find more and more, I am relying on my own mental strength to get me through to the next step – whether its hiking up mountain, a 10km hike, dealing with different personalities or even spraining your ankle in the middle of the forest, I am becoming stronger and stronger each day knowing my mind is working to push my body to conquer it all
• I am content in solitude and in company, I am eager and need a balance of both

Creating New Realities

Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself – anonymous.

Since my last blog post at the beginning of this journey, I’ve written about three intended blog posts as a follow up to the current updates on this trip. But with each variation, the more dissatisfied I became. What do I really want to write about? What is the purpose of each blog post here on in? Am I going to write about the things I see and do on as a tourist in each city I visit? Am I creating an online journal to keep a running log of everything that happens? Or am I reflecting on this adventure and how it pertains to the journey to pura vida, and what that even means? I’m not sure. What I do know is that I have had to constantly remind myself that this journey is the furthest thing from a vacation. Vacations to me have expected times, must see activities and planned expectations in which value the purpose of the trip away from your regular life – it is a temporary release from reality. But for me, this is my every day reality.

Next Stop

So far: Rodeo in Saskatchewan, Calgary Stampede, Glaciers in Jasper, Banff Mountains, Surfing in Tofino, Inukshuks, Nude Beaches.

Today is my last day in Canada and now that I’ve seen more of it, I love it more. While I will be sad to depart the country where I have friends and roots, I am excited to journey into just south of the border. Tomorrow I head into Washington State on Highway 99 – who knows what’s next?