I had seen the odd picture on Instagram of its famous blue walls, but of course, those pictures do not do this place justice!
We are currently living in Chefchaouen, Morocco and LOVE it! Click ‘continue reading’ below to read about just why we love this place so much!
To say that we have been delighted and amazed by pretty much everything in the Chefchaouen area, would still somehow be understating it.
We arrived here (read about our first impressions) weary and jet lagged after travelling across the Atlantic Ocean from Canada. We had no idea what to expect, we hadn’t researched this place online, and we didn’t even know how to pronounce the name (it’s CHEF-CHOW-AN for those interested) before we arrived. Of course, I had seen the odd picture on Instagram of its famous blue walls, which has created the monicker “The Blue Pearl”, but, of course, those pictures do not do this place justice! Continue Reading……..
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I’ve never been one to keep a bucket list. I have places in mind that I would like to visit, and things that I certainly want to see, but they have never been written down, only thought about and dreamt about. Sometimes, and unbeknownst to me, the Universe throws me into one of these magical places, and I manage to live out the most epic dream of that place, that I could possibly have ever conjured up.
I’m delighted to say that the Sahara Desert was one of those places.
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Before the Morocco idea was implanted in our brains, we had planned to fly to the Southern US to visit friends, then travel by land down into Mexico, travelling by bus and public transit.
In 2017 we packed up our life, and quit the 9-5 to head out into the world. We came with no expectations, we only wanted to experience life. Since we have left, we have packed more fun and adventure into our lives than we ever could have imagined. Being on the road now for over two years, has brought with it the freedom to explore what it is that we want to do to create an income for ourselves, the time to pay attention to the things that are truly important to us, and the adventure to truly make life fun and interesting once again. We left seeking an exciting life, and we have not been disappointed! Join us as we explore as much of this big old world that we can!
Wow! Who can believe that we are this far into 2020 already? Time is zipping by, and I suppose that is okay because we are flying off to Morocco on the 15th of this month!
We have been back in Canada since the end of August. We never meant to stay this long, but we kept getting more offers of housesits, and it somehow felt right to just stay put for a bit.
How Morocco came to be……..
In early September, we had a visit from a good friend of ours that lives in the town we moved away from in Canada, before heading on our nomad adventure, in 2017. He was on his way to help his mom pack up her house, and decided to stay a night in Canmore while driving through.
He mentioned at dinner that he was trying to get a group of people together for a trip to Morocco in January. He suggested that we should join him. Morocco? Hmmmmmmm, it had a nice ring to it.
A chance visit by our friend John has sent us off in a whole new direction to Morocco!
Before the Morocco idea was implanted in our brains, we had planned to fly to the Southern US to visit friends, then travel by land down into Mexico, travelling by bus and public transit. However, we also realized that that plan could potentially get us back to Guatemala and once again stuck in the jungle because we love it so much. Or, we may have made it as far as our buddies property in Costa Rica, before the jungle grabbed a hold of us and held on tight. The point is, we LOVE those places, and definitely want to go back, but the problem is that there is also so much more out there to see.
The temptation for familiarity, though, and for visiting our friends that we made that we hold near and dear to our hearts, is very great. We see peoples faces on facebook, instagram, or whatever other digital means, sure. But it doesn’t replace the in person contact that is so crucial for our connection to our community.
But I also realize that there are SO many more great people out there in the world, and we want to meet as many as we can! We want to learn about how other people operate, we want to experience their culture and their language. We may not understand many of their belief systems, but that part is none of our business. We just want to know people for who they are as simple basic human beings.
And so, the more we thought about it, the more we realized that we were about to make a crucial mistake. We don’t have the time required to see all the things we want to see on this planet already! Let alone if we start spending 3 and 4 years in one corner of the world. We need to keep moving, keep exploring and keep educating.
Are travellers the real peacekeepers?
I do believe that as travellers, we are responsible for helping others to understand the world. For example, we are able to help people to realize that certain cultures do things certain ways because that is how THEY HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT! I think it is important for us to send out photos of our experiences, and the things we see, so that others can understand what a spectacular world we live in. I think it’s great to share local experiences such as festivals and fairs so that people can see how others celebrate.
Despite the bad news that has reign on social media, news paper outlets, television news……..any news, there are so many celebrations going on in the world, all the time! There are cultures that are not bogged down by these issues that plague “first world” nations (I hate that term). They take the time to celebrate the good in their lives, they spend time with families, and they may sit on a neighbours porch just to chat and hang out. These are all moments of celebration, moments of human to human contact. But don’t get me wrong, many cultures celebrate big large festivals on a regular basis. To them it is important to get EVERYONE together celebrating as much as possible, something I think is sorely lacking in our North American society.
This time, visiting my hometown and area, for this long, has meant that I have had the time required to check in and see so many great friends from my childhood. It has been a real treat to catch up with so many and to just see how good we are all doing. I am so lucky to have had the chance to grow up in a town with such close connections. I went to school with about 30 people from my high school graduation class, since kindergarten. Now those are some strong and lasting bonds that get formed.
Chris was happy to hear all the fun stories that were regaled about my *ahem* slightly rebel teenage years. Many stories long since forgotten, brought back to the surface to laugh about again. I’m so thankful for the happy and fun childhood that I had. I think it is the best gift that a child can get, and I am forever grateful for mine.
My spectacular hometown of Canmore, Alberta, Canada!New Years Eve on the Pond in Canmore with Jill’s parents!
It’s also been nice to have some solid time to spend here with Chris, showing him around to all my old childhood haunts, like literally ALL of them. In the past we would duck into town for 3-5 days, barely getting a chance to hug a handful of people, then jet out again. This time we have had the time to spend exploring trails and pathways, and many places from my past.
I also realized through this process that I haven’t been around my parents for this length of time in about 20 years! It has been an interesting and enlightening experience, really getting to know them again after so long. I mean, we all KNOW our parents, but over time, they grow and change like we do, and if you aren’t around them everyday, you don’t notice the subtleties. My parents are on their own change of life journey right now as they are downsizing their house so that they can sell it and move into a smaller place. So I have been using my experience of selling all of our things, to help them to get rid of the excess stuff that they have and don’t need anymore.
I have really appreciated having the time and space to really visit them and connect again. This is something that didn’t exist in my old life. In my old life I didn’t have time for such extravagances, it was work work work, busy busy busy all the time. So much running around…….. so much……… too much.
A visit on the farm at Christmas with Chris’ Mom, Stepdad, and his youngest sister Sienna and her boyfriend Landon.GROUP HUG!
It may seem now like all we are doing is running around, but it’s different. Yes, we move from place to place, and it seems to some like our life is upended all the time, but we spend good quality time in places. We spend time doing what is important to us. We try not to get caught up in the constant pressure from society to ‘get a job’ or ‘look busy’ or the common thought that we all have ‘you aren’t doing enough.’ We try as hard as we can to do only what we want to do, which usually means working on our online businesses and our various forms of artwork that we always have going on. We try as hard as we can to set boundaries and make sure that others understand what mission we are on and what we are working on.
We have also had a few nice visits with Chris’ mom, and his whole family, and even decided at the last minute that we were going to go and stay with his mom and her husband, plus see Chris’ youngest sister and her boyfriend for a good visit at Christmas time. It turned out to be a beautiful drive and all the trees were covered in white frost as we passed the vast, flat and barren landscape. Mother Nature was shimmering and sparkling as we drove along, and it was truly spectacular!
Spectacular Prairie Sunsets!Winter Wonderland!
In getting in all of this visiting, we have realized that the most valuable part of this experience, and what has made us the RICHEST, is certainly NOT the money we make (believe me it is a pittance). Instead it is having the time to do the things that are important to us and sharing that time with the people we love.
Freedom of time, from my perspective, is the greatest and best kind of freedom a person could ever ask for.
New changes in 2020!
We are very thankful for this community that has been following us along on this journey. We are uplifted and inspired by those that email us, chat with us on facebook, or pop us a whats app message or more. As this blog is coming to the end of it’s life (who knew that blogs had memory and it’s almost full!), we have changed our direction slightly and have put our efforts into our new website and newsletter over at http://www.artisticvoyages.com. This direction will have a more specific slant towards travel, creativity, and helping to make the world a better place.
If you have the chance, please click on the link and sign up for our newsletter! I will be sending out 1 or 2 newsletters per month just outlining what we have been up to, who we have met, what we have eaten, and what we are learning from each country that we visit. Our aim is to live life with an open heart and open minds, to see and experience all that we can, and to share it, in hopes to inspire others to live their best life.
We are very excited about new opportunities in Morocco and beyond. It doesn’t pass me by that the country sits on the north-western edge of the African continent, and gives us access to the rest of Africa itself, Europe AND Asia! There are lifetimes of places for us to explore, and we can’t wait to see where following our noses will take us this time!
Wishing you all a wonderful 2020! As my Dad says, it has a nice ring to it! Surely this will be humanities best year yet!
This is me signing off on this blog! Please join us over at http://www.artisticvoyages.com if you wish to continue to follow along with us on our journey!
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: Cochrane, Alberta Canada
Travelling Plans: Off to Morocco on January 15th!
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to sell all of our possessions to travel the world, click here.
To see many travelling photos and to learn about where we are travelling, please follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts by clicking on the appropriate icon in the right hand column. (Now under Artistic Voyages!)
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, (including all of the ones about letting our stuff go) head over to my Blog Post Menu.
To contribute to our Patreon account, please click here.
As we sat in stunned amazement, watching the spectacle unfold all around us, we couldn’t help but realize just how lucky we were to have witnessed this.
Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
As our collectivo (small shuttle bus running locals from town to town) wound its way from Palenque to San Cristobal, we noticed that the flora and fauna all around us began to change. And then, just like that, we were up in the mountain tops, not a palm tree in sight! It was if we crossed an invisible line, dividing the jungle from the mountains, I guess, in essence, that is just what we did. We were now amongst the pine trees and the higher altitude scrub brush. The lush tropical jungles that we had grown so accustomed to over the last year, disappeared behind and below us.
We arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas, the first time, at around 6:00pm. Immediately out of the bus, we could feel the cool crisp air, and I have to say, it was a bit of a relief. We were excited to not only breathe the fresh mountain air, but we looked forward to spending some days without the familiar sticky humid feeling on our skin that we had grown so accustomed to.
We had heard many a good thing spoken about San Cristobal, namely the amount of art and creativity that the city exuded, so we were eager to check it out. We had been warned that it was cooler, so we prepared ourselves for that, and were excited to finally use our wool sweaters and other warm weather gear that we had been lugging around with us through the tropics for the last 12 months.
We had left Guatemala only 2 days earlier, leaving behind our beloved Flores, the place we called home for 3.5 months. We were on a mission to get to Oaxaca, the capital of the Mexican state of the same name. There we would be celebrating Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), one of Mexico’s premier festivals. San Cristobal was on the road to Oaxaca, and we would visit it on the way, and again on our return heading back to Guatemala.
Since we knew that there was much to see here, we decided to spend about 5 days exploring the funky mountain town. The temperature was cool at night, I would venture around 15-17 degrees celsius (59-63 F) (although there would be frost on the grass first thing in the morning, so it must have gotten colder), but was brilliantly sunny during the day with temps at a reasonable 22-25 C (72-77 F).
We enjoyed ourselves as we walked around this magnificent town. Although, sitting at 2200m (7200ft) above sea level, we found ourselves very tired for most of the time, and also did a lot of sleeping and relaxing as well while we adjusted to the altitude. The town sits in a sort of valley that is perched between several small peaks that flank its edges. Normally, atop most of these surrounding peaks, sits a church or other significant building. Many of them have stairs that go up to them, so we found ourselves huffing and puffing up these stairs, in order to gain a good view, and a better perspective of the city below us.
The streets consist of ancient cobblestone sidewalks that are worn smooth with wear over the centuries that it has been occupied. The main downtown area, a pedestrian section only, bisects the center of the city and is rife with artisans and street pedlars from all over the world. From the get go, we could see that San Cristobal was not JUST another Mexican City, it was in fact very multinational. Because of this, for the first time in many months, we had access to Sushi, Noodle Bowls, Indian Food and more! In fact, our very first foray into the city brought us straight to a little corner restaurant that served Poutine! (If you don’t know what Poutine is, it is one of Canada’s national dishes along side Maple Syrup, Back Bacon and Ceasars. Check it out here.) Of course (!) we just HAD to have some poutine! It warmed our hearts and our bellies, and literally, our bodies, the first night we arrived.
After a couple days we found ourselves climbing some random stairs up a random hill and stumbled upon a funky bohemian bar. Immediately upon entry, we knew that we had found ‘our place.’ The building functions as an artist coop and we made quick friends with the people running it, plus met the current artist in residence, Jackie. Jackie is a hand poke tattoo artist, which of course, intrigued us. She is from LA, but would be living at the coop for 2 months while she promoted her art and secured some business. She has been travelling and working in many parts of the world, so we had lots in common and tons of stories to share. We hit it off with her right away. Most of the rest of our evenings were spent in this spot hanging out, and enjoying what must have been, one of the best roof top terraces with a stunning view over the city, that there was.
On our last full day in San Cristobal, we decided that rather than just hanging out in the city, we had better see something of the surrounding area. Together with Jackie, we decided to head to Mamut Caves, a cave system that was located just outside the city, a 15 minute cab ride for about $1 per person. We asked the guys at the artist coop where we should go. I had heard about Rancho Nuevo, but Meow (local born and raised) said that the Mamut Caves were just as spectacular, and not as busy. Perfect!
We headed off at around 12:00 and wound our way through the city streets and out into the wilderness. We arrived to an open field and a young man, clearly not happy with his day (or life) to pay our entry fee of about 50 cents. I asked him if this was his family’s property, and he begrudgingly nodded. After walking another 20 feet though, we were approached by another young man, this one asking for 50 cents more. He gave us a ticket and we reasoned that the first guy was charging us for driving onto his property to get to the caves, and the second guy actually owned the property with the cave on it? Who knows! Either way, for the price of $1.00, we weren’t going to put up a stink.
We entered the cave and were pleased to find out that we were, in fact, the only people that were visiting it at this time. Thank you Meow! We explored the well worn trails that had lights on them, plus went a little further with our headlamps into the far reaching corridors, until it got to the point where we would have had to crawl on our bellies to get any further. At the beginning of the cave, and the largest ‘room’, we had noted a vent in the ceiling and we could see greenery and light coming down the shaft.
After exploring the rest of the far reaches, we found ourselves back at the beginning and kind of feeling like “now what”. We had explored every nook we could, and it had only taken about half an hour. We didn’t want this party to end so soon.
As I went over and inspected the vent, I noticed all sorts of greenery, lichens and mosses, growing on the sides of the shaft. I commented that it would be really cool to be there when the sun shone down, which I was certain that it must do at some point during each day. Not 5 minutes later, after we had started looking at other parts of the room again, Chris pointed and said, “Look!”
Looking up the shaft.
There it was, a single sun beam shining down the shaft. We were immediately drawn to it. The cave was quite cool, and we relished in the warm beam that came down and caressed our faces as we stood under it. Little did we know that the show was just about to get started.
Playing with the sun beam.
Favourite pic of the day!
Immediately, Jackie noticed a green mound at the base of where the light hit. It was iridescent green like pond algae, and it looked just as slimy. But when we all touched it, it was hardened rock. It was a feast for the senses as we took turns touching it. Water would drip on it from above every few seconds, and somehow, probably because of the tiny bit of sun that hit it, it was retaining some chlorophyl or other green element, that the rest of the cave didn’t have access to. We were mesmerized by this phenomenon, and we spent much time looking at it, and playing in the sun beams. We affectionately named the green blob…….well ‘Blob.’ How appropriate.
This is Blob. It is solid rock, no slime at all!
In no time at all, we started to notice that the cave was illuminating all around us. Previously missed features that were hidden in dark corners, were now receiving light beams that were refracted from the tiny crystal structures that graced the entire cave. Light bounced into every recessed corner and we started to see just how intricate and incredible this cave was. As the sun moved, and the light beam adjusted with it, the light would bounce around to different spots and we sat for about an hour and watched one of the most spectacular shows that mother nature could ever produce.
This formation didn’t have near as much detail as this before the sun came through the vent.
As we sat in stunned amazement, watching the spectacle unfold all around us, we couldn’t help but realize just how lucky we were to have witnessed this. Our timing could not have been more perfect, and we were all so grateful. As the sun beam crept up the wall, starting to leave the cave, we heard voices coming in. Those voices were followed by other voices, and it became apparent that we were no longer the only ones in the cave. Although we were sad to not have it all to ourselves anymore, we also couldn’t help but feel sorry for the new arrivals, as they had literally just missed the most awesome event of the day, by mere minutes.
People arrived just as the sun was starting to sneak back up the wall of the cave.
We thanked ‘Blob’ for the show, and continued outside back into the stunningly sunny and beautiful day. A little trail wound up the hill above the cave entrance, so we headed up to hang out on some sort of old zipline platform, to decompress from what we had just experienced. While up there, some butterflies flew by us and all around us, and as they flew away, Chris declared that he wanted a butterfly tattoo on his hand, to remember this experience. With Jackie being just the girl to do it, our plan was set, we would return to San Cristobal again on our way back to Guatemala after visiting Oaxaca, so that he could get his tattoo.
Jackie Graced us with her flute playing.
Looking down on the valley below the platform we sat on.
We hailed a taxi from the side of the road as the sun was setting, and headed back down to San Cristobal, but not before we took a selfie and watched the awesomeness of the San Cristobal valley below.
To be continued………
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Travelling Plans: We are housesitting here until the beginning of January 2019.
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to sell all of our possessions to travel the world, click here.
To see many travelling photos and to learn about where we are travelling, please follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts by clicking on the appropriate icon in the right hand column.
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, (including all of the ones about letting our stuff go) head over to my Blog Post Menu.
To contribute to our Patreon account, please click here.
If you like my writing, and want to follow along on our journey, please put your email address in the right hand column to subscribe. That way all of my posts will go straight to your email inbox:)
Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
Although we have been content here in our hostel in Samara for 3 weeks now, we also realize that we can’t stay here forever.We exchanged part of our stay for painting a mural for the hostel owner, but we are now living on paid time, and while the price tag is only $25/night, we also realize that over the course of time, that adds up.
A couple weeks ago I went online to find cheap flights up to Cancun.Obviously, flying is not our travel method of choice, but since the roads are blocked in Nicaragua, civil war has broken out, and the country is at a standstill, there really isn’t any other option.If we want to go somewhere, it has to be by plane.
As we are to be housesitting in November in Guatemala, it only made sense to head North, and not South, to cut down on future travel expense and time.
A couple weeks ago I researched flights up to Cancun.We have our sights set on Merida, a beautiful colonial city that we spent only 3 nights at back in 2015.It sits about 4 hours by bus to the west of Cancun, and is close to the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.We fell in love with the city and vowed to return for longer some day.Being close to Guatemala, makes it a good option for us to be close to our housesitting gig in November, and we can find apartment rentals for $150-$200 per month.Good deal!
Image courtesy of Googlemaps.com
When I did my my initial search, the flights were looking like they were about $200-$220 per person.Not bad.I researched many different days around the beginning of July, and found them all to be about the same price. So I figured that I would wait until we got closer, to see if any other opportunities came up for us around Samara, or in Costa Rica, before we committed to something solid.
When living a nomadic life, booking a flight is a bit of a big deal.When you are trying to live day to day, and take whatever opportunity comes your way, committing to some far off point can be stressful and a bit overwhelming.But as everything in life, we have to make decisions, and once we do, new opportunities will arise that never existed before.
Last night, feeling like our time is definitely up here in Samara, and in Costa Rica in general, I decided that I should sit down and find a flight and just book something.We needed to make a move.However, I was dismayed when I saw that all of the $200ish flights had now jumped to sometimes $350 or more!If we wanted a $200 flight, it would mean staying in Costa Rica for another 2-3 weeks, which would negate the cost of the cheap flight anyways.
Not to be deterred, I checked many websites and although I found the odd cheaper flight, most of them only allowed carry on bags and charged extra for checked bags.Unfortunately, although we are nomadic, our bags do not match our nomadic lifestyle!We have one complete duffel bag that is full of Chris’ tattoo gear, our tent, some thin sleeping bags, and (shudder) wool sweaters and cold weather gear!We do plan to get to Ecuador eventually and these warm clothes WILL come in handy, but just thinking about them at this point makes me sweat!
PLUS we have an entire carry on suitcase that is dedicated to our art supplies.This case in particular is a little worrisome as we have been adding heavy paper and other supplies to it making it quite heavy.Even if it does fit in the overhead bins, there is a chance that they won’t allow it onboard the plane due to its weight. On top of all that we have 2 small back packs and another large backpack that contains both of our clothing.
Like I said, one would NOT think we are nomadic with all of the stuff we are hauling around, that’s for sure!
However, this is a cross that we bear, and is why once we got down here we had resigned ourselves to bus travel only, at least in the near future. But, with travel comes uncertainty, changed plans, and never really knowing what is around each corner.So here we are, booking flights and stressing about our luggage!
I continued my searches through many websites and finally decided to switch things up a bit.Previously, I had considered checking flights to Guatemala, and they had all been quite cheap as well, in fact cheaper than to Cancun.I decided to throw that into the search engine to see what came back.Right away it was obvious that flights were cheaper, but Guatemala City is so far away from Merida, it seemed silly to try to save the $100 when we would have to spend days travelling north from there.Sure Lake Atitlan is nearby, a very popular destination and a “must see” Guatemala sight, but with the explosion of Volcan Fuego happening recently, maybe that wasn’t the best place to go.I’m sure there is an economic spin off happening with that, tourism is likely down and possibly, there could be other problems.No, we weren’t really interested in going there, at least for now, especially having just gotten over our shell shock from Nicaragua.
However, as I typed Guatemala into one search engine, just to see other options, in tiny writing and in an obscure corner of the page, was an option for other airports.Other airports?I had no idea that there were other international airports in Guatemala!I assumed that all international flights flew into Guatemala City, then connected from there (never assume….I know, I know.)I quickly chose another destination, Flores, yes, that looked like a nice name, meaning Flowers in English.Lets look there, I thought.
Image courtesy of googlemaps.com
Our German friend Nico, one of the same hostel family members that had been with us since we arrived in Samara, and who also left Nicaragua, had been to Flores.He quickly announced “Oh yes, Flores is lovely, then you can go to Tikal.”
Tikal???What??I have dreamt about going to Tikal for so many years, but it’s never been a solid plan, just some sort of far off fantasy.One that would manifest itself one day when I ever got to Guatemala.Well, all of a sudden this far off plan was suddenly manifesting itself before my eyes. Chris announced “Book it!”, and Nico was immediately on his feet with enthusiasm, whipping out his Lonely Planet guide, pulling up maps on his phone, and showing me all sorts of things to do and places to go in that area.I had to get him to slow down for a few minutes while I booked the flight, but I was pumped for his excitement.Clearly this was a great place to head to!Plus, it’s located in the Northern part of the country, which means getting to Merida, may be a little bit easier than it would be from Guatemala City.
The flight to Flores is $160 each, and includes one checked bag each (now we just have to make sure they are below 24kg!).BINGO!In an instant our flight was booked and just like that we are off to Guatemala.The hilarious thing, also, is that our flight is on the same day (July 5th) that our friend Nico’s is to Mexico City, and within half an hour of his.So we are all going to travel to San Jose together, stay in the same hostel, and see each other off at the airport.
In the course of a couple hours, we went from not knowing what we were going to do, or where we were going to go, or if we were EVER going to get out of Costa Rica, to finding a cheap flight, booking it, and planning our trip to Guatemala!For the first time since leaving Canada, I am finally going to a country I haven’t been to before, and I couldn’t be more excited!
We have no idea how long we will spend in Guatemala, we don’t really know anything about what we will be doing when we get there (other then going to Tikal of course!) but we are going, that much is clear!It feels incredibly good to have a bit of a plan, and to know that very soon we will be in a new county, experiencing a new culture and seeing new sights.
This is the life of a Nomad, this is what is exciting!One day at a time, step by step we choose our futures.It’s an exhilarating feeling and we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Pura Vida from Costa Rica (for only one more week!)
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: We are currently in Samara, Costa Rica. After having to leave Nicaragua unexpectedly due to civil unrest. We have been in the El Dorado Hostel (highly recommended!) for 3 weeks.
Travelling Plans: Heading to Guatemala on July 5th!
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to sell all of our possessions to travel the world, click here.
To see many travelling photos and to learn about where we are travelling, please follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts by clicking on the appropriate icon in the right hand column.
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, (including all of the ones about letting our stuff go) head over to my Blog Post Menu.
To contribute to our Patreon account, please click here.
If you like my writing, and want to follow along on our journey, please put your email address in the right hand column to subscribe. That way all of my posts will go straight to your email inbox:)
I am more interested in inspiring people to get out into the world and to live the life that they can only dream of.
Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
As we sit in Costa Rica, after 8 months of arriving here, I can’t help but feel like pieces are finally falling into place. It’s not like all of a sudden everything has become easy, and that we have it all figured out. No, it’s more of a feeling. A feeling that big things are starting to happen. A feeling that we are both stepping into our shoes.
This past 8 months has allowed us the freedom to explore our deepest desires. It has allowed us the time to really consider what it is we want to do, and where it is we are headed. Day by day, bit by bit, the petals unfurl to our souls, moment by moment we are finding out who we really are. Who we are without the crush of society telling us who we should be.
Since leaving Nicaragua, 21 days ago, we have rested, we have recuperated, and we have done a lot of thinking about where we are going and what is next. And the only thing that has been really clear, is that we really don’t know. We have discussions about going to Mexico, or maybe Columbia. But when that will happen, is something that has not yet presented itself to us. For some strange reason, we are content here in Samara. We are back in the safe arms of Costa Rica, and we are happy with our place in this life right now.
An eerie rainy day in Samara.
Living in a hostel is not something that I ever would have considered in this life. But I have to say, I am really enjoying it. We have our own room, our own bathroom, a kitchen to cook in, and a social scene that is just perfect. The average age of people that stay at our hostel is about 35 years old. This isn’t your typical party hostel scene, and I’m realizing that at the ripe ol’ age of 41, most hostels aren’t really like that anymore. I mean sure, if you go to well known party places like Whistler, Thailand, or Australia, and I’m sure even in parts of Costa Rica, sure there are party hostels. But here, it’s different. It’s nice. We have a constantly changing rotation of roomates, and we like it that way. We are meeting other travellers and are learning about where they come from, and what their cultures and traditions are like.
We have made lasting friendships with some of them, with promises to visit their countries one day. We have exchanged travelling stories, and we have become immensely inspired. Having this time to really dictate what we do with our days, has been refreshing and rewarding. We both feel like our minds are clearer and our goals are manifesting.
My online stores have finally grown their own legs. I mean, obviously it all takes work, and I will be putting effort into those things until the day that they cease to exist, but the hard work of getting them off the ground is finished for now. I feel like now I have time to focus on my writing, and to really set out to start making a difference in the world.
You will notice that the visual format of this blog has changed to reflect something a little more professional. It no longer serves as a fun Travel-y blog type thing, now it is a platform for me to share my experiences, I call it a Travel Lifestyle Blog. I’m not interested necessarily in trying to promote travel destinations. I’m not into doing those blogs that do “Top 10 budget destinations” type writing.
No, I am more interested in inspiring people to get out into the world and to live the life that they can only dream of. And when I say “get out into the world”, I don’t necessarily mean to go travelling. I guess more of what I mean is to get out of YOUR world. To leave the feelings, the places, the normal-ness of your life to explore something different. Try those things that you have always wanted to try. Take that salsa class, do a pottery class, go to a paint and wine night. Write that blog, go to that restaurant, call that person.
Just switch things up a bit. Don’t become stagnant, don’t become normal.
Throughout this journey, and from day one of making this decision to sell all of our possessions and travel the world, I have been keeping a log of what we were going through at each stage of the game. Some of this is reflected in this blog, but much of it is also kept in journals, by voice recording and memos to myself. It all has to do with living a life that we create, stepping away from the normal day to day routines that have been set out for us by society.
I will be writing a book that will bring this message together. My hope is that it inspires others to build a life that they love. To get away from the everyday grind and to seek out a life that you love, one that inspires you, one that excites you.
Something else that is new is that I have set up a Patreon account. (Click here to see that.) Patreon is a platform that allows individuals to fundraise money for certain causes, to create a product, to launch a book, to create a constant income stream to allow them the time to be creative. I feel like we fall into all of those categories. We are constantly creating, and putting our best work out into the world, but it takes time to build. It takes time to build our own brands and to reinvent ourselves.
Patreon is a way for our fans to contribute to our journey in some small way. You can donate as little as $1 per month to help us to keep moving forward and to bring our projects to fruition.
As always, we are so grateful to our friends and family that have supported us in our journey so far. Without the community and family support that we have received, this journey and decision to live this life would have been much more difficult.
And so, here we stand. We stand in immense gratitude for this life that we have created. And we look forward to continuing to share that with the world.
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: We are currently in Samara, Costa Rica. After having to leave Nicaragua unexpectedly due to civil unrest, we are here still figuring out where we want to go next.
Travelling Plans: We have nothing scheduled at this point other than a housesitting job in Livingston, Guatemala in late November.
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to sell all of our posessions to trave the world, click here.
To see many travelling photos and to learn about where we are travelling, please follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts by clicking on the appropriate icon in the right hand column.
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, (including all of the ones about letting our stuff go) head over to my Blog Post Menu.
To contribute to our Patreon account, please click here.
If you like my writing, and want to follow along on our journey, please put your email address in the right hand column to subscribe. That way all of my posts will go straight to your email inbox:)
Of course, we were all horrified by the lives that were being lost by the hands of the government, but the ‘talks’ were coming, surely something would be sorted out then. Wouldn’t it?
We arrived in Nicaragua on April 9th, 2018. On April 18th, we got news that President Ortega had put into law a new social security reform which would negatively affect the entire population. The students took to the streets to protest, and in what would become the historical beginning to this crazy civil war that they have now entered, over 70 people were killed, mostly students, and many more hundreds were injured, around the country. On May 10th, we began a housesitting job in Rivas. Things had calmed down a bit, and we felt right in our decision to stay in the country. The violence had’t reached where we were, we really felt like it would stay calm. Day by day we watched as things escalated around us. We started to feel trapped. Roadblocks made travelling impossible and we weren’t sure if it was even safe to go anywhere. Maybe it is best where we are, we thought. On May 30th, a peaceful Mother’s Day March took place in Managua, the capital of the country. Estimates of 200 000 people took to the street to show solidarity and a will to make a point, to tell Ortega they wanted him out. They marched to remember their children that had already been lost in this bloody war. They were thousands upon thousands strong, mostly waving the Blue and White striped flag of Nicaragua. It was a sight to behold and I felt a surge of pride for the country and what it was representing. We read the following morning that late in the day, Snipers located high off the ground, started shooting into the crowd. That day they killed upwards of 15 people and injured hundreds more. One boy was shot right from his mother’s arms. On Mother’s Day. This was the turning point for us. This unspeakable and despicable act is what forced us from the country. Because you realize that if a person is capable of that, he is capable of anything. This is our story of 8 weeks in Nicaragua, when a civil war broke out.
To start at the beginning of this story, click here.
I think back to the days when we were at Amanda’s farm and wonder what our decision would have been had we not have been housesitting. Would we have stayed in Nicaragua anyways?
We stayed on the farm for a week more, just to see what would happen. We were safe there, it is a remote area well off the main roads, and her small community has a road that links directly to the local center, where we would go to the market and do our shopping. As it was, we knew that we didn’t want to go to Granada, but where else would we have gone? The north end of the country would have been hard to get around, as Leon, Masaya and Matagalpa were hot spots right off the bat. Perhaps we would have chosen to go see the Corn Islands off the East Coast of the country? As it turned out, one of the guys staying at Amanda’s farm ended up doing just that on May 4th, and wasn’t able to return to Managua by road, he had to fly as the roads were all blockaded and no buses were running.
However, as it was, we were supposed to be housesitting starting somewhere near the beginning of May, so we decided to stay. The town where we were going, Rivas, is in the south of the country, there had been no violent conflicts there so we felt that it was safe to stay there, and we would just take it day by day and see how things went. We rationalized that if we didn’t find ourselves in any danger, then what was the problem?
It seemed simple enough.
As stated in the previous post we had had it with the conditions on the farm, and we really just wanted a bed to sleep in and a dry place to hang out as the rainy season was just beginning, and having a sopping wet tent day in and day out didn’t seem like much fun. Plus there was the fact that my business is based online, and with having no wifi access for 3 weeks, it was time to get somewhere that I could get all caught up.
We weighed our options and knowing that the North of the country was already unstable, we opted to just head straight to Rivas and hang out there until our housesit started.
We arrived in Rivas on April 29th, 11 days after the chaos had begun. Rivas was business as usual. Tourism had dropped a little bit, but we stayed in one of the more popular hostel type hotels in the area , Hostel Julieta. When we arrived, we were the only ones there, but over the course of the next few days, a few more travellers arrived here and there and it seemed to be business as usual. Some of them had retreated south from some of the Northern Cities and were leaving Nicaragua. Some were staying, but were headed to quiet and quaint San Juan del Sur which is just down the road.
During this time things had calmed down a little bit. However, we did hear reports of attacks on the Universities, and even reports of some of the students being poisoned by the rations and water that were being brought in for the ones that had holed up in there. So I guess in saying that it “calmed down”, was relative to where you were in the country. The Universities had become battlegrounds, and the buildings served as make shift fortress’. There were still demonstrations and small road blocks up north, but Ortega had agreed to talks with the church at this time, so it seemed to be like everyone was just holding their breath to see what would happen next, after the “talks.”
To us, it was business as usual. I think we both still felt like things would just blow over. At some point this craziness will all end. Won’t it?
We walked the streets at night, we hung out in the central park and watched the kids play and the world go by. Nothing, I mean nothing, seemed out of sorts at that point. It really felt safe, and we maintained that until we felt unsafe, we weren’t going anywhere. We didn’t want to jump the gun and deny ourselves of a great opportunity to see and experience Nicaragua by letting fear get the best of us.
But on the other hand, we also didn’t want to act like we had our heads in the sand. It was important to stay on top of the news and to pay attention to what was going on. I joined a couple facebook pages for Expats in Nicaragua, and followed along on the progression as good as I could. And of course there were still horrors happening, but our immediate experience was just so safe and non threatening, I think we brushed it off a little bit and just thought of it as a problem in the North, not where we were.
On May 3rd we met the home owners that we were supposed housesit for. Our housesit was to start on May 10th, and while we were now all in the same city together, it just made sense to get together with them and get to know them a little bit. We had a hilarious first 5 minutes of conversation as we found out that they are from British Columbia, Canada, the same province we had been living in before leaving on our travels. We thought they were Americans for some reason, and unbeknownst to us they thought we were Americans. Nobody knows where either of us got that info from, but here we were…….practically neighbours after all.
As we hit it off so well with them over Pizza at a local restaurant, we decided that it be best if we just went and stayed with them for a few days before we started the housesit, so that they could introduce us to their friends, and show us the good spots to go around in the neighbourhood.
We headed to their place on May 7th, giving us a full two days to do some touring around, meeting people and learning the ropes of Rivas, before they left on the 10th. Things really seemed to have stabilized at that point. We went down to Cardenas, along the south shore of Lake Nicaragua, and a stones throw from the Costa Rica border. As the entrance off the highway to Cardenas was pretty much right at the border crossing to Costa Rica, we saw miles and miles of trucks lined up along the road, waiting to cross the border. I was told that this was the normal scene down here, always tons of trucks.
We visited their friend Kelly in Cardenas and spent the night in an idyllic setting. We chatted about what was going on, but really at that point it wasn’t affecting peoples lives the way that it would in the weeks to come. Kelly has lived in Nicaragua for 15 years, and even has a resident status. So clearly, she had a much bigger concern on her hands then we did. Of course, we were all horrified by the lives that were being lost by the hands of the government, but the ‘talks’ were coming, surely something would be sorted out then.
Woudn’t it?
The owners of the house where we were to housesit left on May 10th to fly out of Managua. It was clear sailing all the way to the airport, no blockades, no hassles. Good news, things MUST be getting back to normal up there!
We had almost 4 months in front of us in a great Nica house, in a tiny Nica neighbourhood, in a safe city, and we really felt hopeful that everything was going to be just fine.
Disclaimer: The information provided in my writing is based on articles that I have read from many publications, information gathered from Nicaraguan Expats and Locals, and from videos that I have seen posted online. I don’t pretend to be an expert on Nicaraguan politics, and if you feel like I have misrepresented information in anyway, please email me at jillamatt@me.com.
For news on what is happening in Nicaragua and to learn all about this crisis, please visit the La Prensa website. Their online newspaper has covered this from the beginning.
After selling all of our possessions in Canada in 2017, we flew to Costa Rica to do an initial housesit for 2 months. Our journey has continued and we have now been ‘on the road’ for almost 8 months.
Current Location: We are currently in Samara, Costa Rica where we are staying in a familiar hostel with 2 others that left Nicaragua in the last few days. We have also met 5 other people in town that just left. We call ourselves the Nicaraguan Refugees.
Travelling Plans: Our ‘plans’ have been flipped upside down and we are now trying to figure out a new one.
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to sell all of our posessions to trave the world, click here.
To see more travelling photos, and to follow our progress on Facebook, please follow our Facebook page Just Some Wandering.
Please follow my Instagram Page Just Some Wandering by clicking on the bottom right hand corner of this feed.
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, head over to my Blog Post Menu.
If you like my writing, and want to follow along on our journey, please put your email address in the right hand column to subscribe. That way all of my posts will go straight to your email inbox:)
We clearly have been here too long if we are starting to get woven into the Payton Place dramas that are going on around us.
Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
Well, after spending 4.5 months here on the same remote-ish beach in Costa Rica, we have found that it is definitely time to move on.
When we look back at the state we were in when we arrived here, we were nothing short of shell shocked. We had just come from 9 months of selling all of our stuff in multiple garage sales, renovating our house to get it ready for sale, finishing up our work contracts and moving as fast as possible through life, so that we could get here and just breathe. Well, we did that! We collapsed on this beach and literally hibernated for at least 2 months while we fulfilled our first housesitting gig here on Playa Matapalo in Costa Rica.
We never get tired of the perfect sunsets and warm water literally right at our doorstep! We will miss this there is no doubt!
Just as that gig was finishing, we were asked by a neighbour if we could manage his Cabina Rental property. This meant moving 2 doors down, temporarily adopting his three awesome dogs, and managing the day to day goings on of his 2 Cabinas. Not a huge chore in return for a couple more months of accommodation, not too mention the chance to make a bit of money on the side! Hell yeah!
We jumped into our roles here with both feet, right at the busy Christmas and New Year season. Did we know what we were doing? NO! Were we nervous, frightened or afraid? NO! We were just gung ho to try something new, and get a chance to extend our stay on a beach that we really didn’t want to leave after all.
The view from our front porch for the last 2.5 months! Sigh………..
Well, fast forward 2.5 months, and we are now ready to move on. Although this place is spectacular, and well, perfect really, we are yearning for new and exciting experiences. It is a pretty remote place and coming and going is a challenge with bus schedules and walking 2 km back and forth to catch it. There is only so far that we can go on the bus, as it only goes in a couple different directions, and of course, we need to return to the house each night to take care of dogs and guests etc. So we have explored as far as we can around us with those limitations, and really feel like there isn’t much else to see. Our beach is spectacular, and we make a special concerted effort to not take it for granted, but it really is the same every day, and we yearn for some action. Something new and different. Something that only travelling can bring!
Besides, the other day we were accused of spreading some vicious rumours about one of our neighbours. While what we were accused of is definitely NOT true, it was in that moment that we both decided that YUP, it’s time to move on. We clearly have been here too long if we are starting to get woven into the Payton Place dramas that are going on around us.
Off to El Silencio!
We have been promising our Canadian friend that lives really close to here, but up in the mountains, that we would come and help him with some projects on his property this spring. We didn’t know how long we were going to have to stay in our current spot, but we figured we would have plenty of time to help him out after we were done here.
(Our friends property complete with his own perfect clean stream running through it!)
He has a bunch of acres of property up a river and deep in the jungle. Every day he bears witness to Toucans, Scarlet Macaws, Morpho Butterflies and numerous other animals flitting to and fro. We have visited his property a couple times, and have similarly fallen in love with it. It really is a perfect little jungle paradise, and we look forward to staying there for a few weeks and experiencing Costa Rica from a different perspective. Not too mention that we have formed an incredibly tight bond with him in the last few months that we have know him, and we feel like he is family to us more than just friends. We really look forward to hanging out with him more, and on his terms as most of our friendship has taken place down here at the beach when he comes to visit. So that will be a nice and new experience.
His neighbours that live less than a km away have a house that sits high up on the hill, that is currently unoccupied. The matriarch of the family had lived in it for many years, but recently decided that she is unable to climb the hill to get to it numerous times per day. So it sits vacant, just waiting for someone to stay in it. At a price of $60/week, we are excited to know that we will have our own space complete with Electricity, a Fridge AND a flushing toilet! All of these things are a bit of a luxury in the parts where we are headed!
We are off to El Silencio on March 15th!
Next to Nicaragua!
While at Envision Festival a couple weeks ago, we received a happy text message telling us that we had been selected to housesit at an apartment in Rivas, Nicaragua starting in May. We had applied sometime at the beginning of February and had gone back and forth with them numerous times, each time getting shortlisted a little more. Well, thankfully we got chosen and we are really looking forward to that as well.
We will be there for 4.5 months, but unlike this place where we currently are, we won’t have pets to take care of, and surely no Cabinas! In fact, the owners have insisted that they don’t expect us to be there full time, just to make sure that we are checking in on the place once in a while. As we don’t plan to travel a ton while there, it is surely nice to know that we can come and go as we please, and it will be so nice to have a place to leave the majority of our stuff, so that we can travel light throughout the country! Not too mention that we will be close to buses that can take us in any manner of directions, and Lake Nicaragua is nearby where we can ride the ferries and do some exploring around there. We are very excited about this opportunity!
(Some pics of time spent in Nicaragua back in 2004. I’m looking forward to seeing San Juan del Sur again!)
On a side note, in 2004 my ex-husband and I spent 4 months living in Nicaragua in the then quiet and quaint San Juan del Sur, which is only 40 minutes from our housesit. I made many friends there that I still keep in touch with today, and I look forward to re-connecting with them some 14 years later!
This is Yajira. She was my first spanish teacher and now owns her own school! We intend on attending her school while in Nicaragua!
We were on the Radio! (And other news……)
I keep meaning to mention that before we left Canada, we were interviewed by our community “Let’s Talk Trash” group about our minimalist journey. They aired the interview on their radio show at the end of January. Here is the interview if you would like to give it a listen: http://cjmponline.ca/podcasting/index.php?id=2526
It is such a trip for us to listen to this now that we have been away for a few months. Our perspective on life has definitely shifted, and we are constantly aware of what it is that we are buying as we now have to carry it all around with us!
I was also recently featured on a blog that features Etsy shops specifically. She wrote a thoughtful article on my Etsy shop and my journey as a Digital Nomad. You can check that out here: http://thewomenteam.com/psychedelic-fun-design-by-a-woman-of-travels/ If you enjoy the article, I would be super grateful if you could share it on your social media pages! It certainly will give my Etsy shop a boost.
As usual, thanks for reading and following along on our journey! We are still constantly in awe of this life that we have created for ourselves, and look forward to so much more fun and excitement to come!
Pura Vida from Costa Rica!
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: We are managing a Cabina on the beach at Playa Matapalo, between Quepos and Dominical, in Costa Rica.
Travelling Plans: On March 15th we are headed up into the Costa Rica mountains to stay at our friends farm in the jungle. There we will be helping him with some large landscaping projects for 5-6 weeks. After that we have been accepted to housesit at a house in Rivas, Nicaragua beginning May 4th. We will be there for 4.5 months. To learn how you can housesit, click here.
To head back to the beginning of our journey, and the moment we decided to sell all of our posessions to trave the world, click here.
To see more travelling photos, and to follow our progress on Facebook, please follow our Facebook page Just Some Wandering.
Please follow my Instagram Page Just Some Wandering by clicking on the bottom right hand corner of this feed.
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, head over to my Blog Post Menu.
If you like my writing, and want to follow along on our journey, please put your email address in the right hand column to subscribe. That way all of my posts will go straight to your email inbox:)
Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
Today marks one year since we made this crazy decision to sell all of our things, to not only seek out a life of travel, but to free ourselves of the burdens that society had placed on us. (To read my post that day, click here.)
We had found ourselves suddenly drowning in debt with no clear picture of how we were going to get out of it. We were living a life that seemed normal to others, but was terribly uninteresting and uninspiring to us. We both made and created art, but because of our need to make money doing our “REAL” jobs, we didn’t have the time to properly sell it or promote it, something we really wanted to do.
We lived a life that was the epitome of being on the hamster wheel. Running, running, running, working ourselves to utter exhaustion, but never getting ahead.
I asked myself all the time: “Is there more to life than this?”
I knew there was, I knew there had to be, but I didn’t know how to get there. I didn’t know how to pay all the bills at home, keep my house, keep my car, keep my things, keep my small business, and still do the thing that I really wanted to do…….travelling.
As I sat in my art studio one year ago, I was watching ‘Minimalism’ a new documentary that had just come out on Netflix, while working on my creations. As I watched this enlightening documentary, in the most quintessential way possible, I had an epiphany. It was as though a lightening bolt blasted down from the heavens and jolted me in the back of the head. From that film, I suddenly realized that my house, my car, all of my stuff, was actually what was keeping me from travelling. All of the stuff, was literally drowning us. All of the stuff was what was making us feel like we were treading water. All of the stuff was what was keeping me from doing what I wanted to do the most.
I say this in a first person narrative because Chris, at that point, hadn’t travelled a ton. We had done a 6 week trip to Europe in 2015, and had done a 2 week trip to Mexico, but that was it. He understood that he liked travelling, but he didn’t really know what it was like to LIVE in a different country, to really spend time learning different cultures, customs and traditions, and to learn about what makes different places tick. He had had a taste, that was all. But thankfully, he too decided that he wanted more.
On that fateful evening, we decided that enough was enough! All of our stuff didn’t matter anymore! The only thing that mattered was making our life count! We knew in that moment, that we had some HUGE changes ahead of us, and we knew it would be a ton of work, but we were committed. We had a plan, it was set, and we immediately got started on undoing the life we had built, to seek out a vastly different one. One that was fulfilling, one that was inspiring, one that was EXCITING!
Fast forward one year later, and it all seems like a distant dream. In nine months we held multiple garage sales, we sold items on Facebook, to friends, to neighbours. We took mountains of things to the thrift store and inevitably, the dump. We finished renovations on our house that had been half done for over 3 years. We sold our vehicles and our house. We closed down our business’ and we worked our butts off to pay off as much debt as possible. We stopped drinking, eating out and buying things. We completely flipped our life upside down, in order to make this happen, in order to unburden ourselves, in order to seek out a life of freedom.
It was not an easy ride! We were utterly exhausted most of the time. We put in as much effort as we physically could, and worked harder than either of us ever had before. But guess what? It worked! We did it!
Our life has gone from “normal” to extraordinary, and it happened all in 9 months!
Today I sit in Costa Rica, staring out to the waves breaking, to the pelicans soaring by, and sometimes, to a sloth climbing the tree in our front yard. Today I feel FREE! Today the worries about money, how I’m going to pay the next bill, how I’m going to find the next client, and how I’m going to be able to travel again, are gone. Literally gone!
Don’t get me wrong, life is not a perfect, easy, breezy time, all of the time. Of course, we are both working on ways to secure a financial future, as the money we now have will run out eventually. But we are doing it with clear intentions. We are focussing on what is important to us. We are seeking out those things that inspire us, that motivate us, that move us. We are going where the wind blows us. When we see a good opportunity, we take it. If we don’t like the situation we are in, we change it. We don’t owe anyone our time. We certainly don’t owe anyone our souls. We are in charge of what we do, that is it, that is all.
Many people we meet ask the same question over and over again. They hear about what we are doing now, but then they can’t help but ask “But what about your future? What is your plan for the future?”
Well, the answer if simple. We have no real plan for our future. We are simply just being. Being in the moment, taking life one day at a time, enjoying ourselves and really getting to know ourselves. We have given ourselves the gift of presence. We have given ourselves the gift of living each day as it comes. We don’t know what is around the corner, and quite frankly we like it that way. Our future is not some construct that we have laid out, hoping that all of the pieces fall into place the way that we have planned. Our future is determined one day at a time. Each day determines tomorrow’s path. Each day brings new directions, new thoughts, and new opportunities.
And so, I ask you this. Are you living a life that is inspiring and exciting? Is there something that you would like to do, but just can’t quite figure out how to do it?
My advice is simple, take a hard look around you and find ways to let go of what is burdening you. Maybe you are like me and you realize that it is your stuff that is weighing you down. But maybe it is your job, your relationship, the place you live, the people you surround yourself with? There can be any number of things that we carry around with us that are holding us back from doing what it is that we really want to do in life. But it is up to us, and ONLY us, to figure those things out, to let go of those things, and to build a life that we truly love.
Pura Vida from Costa Rica!
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: We are managing a Cabina on the beach at Playa Matapalo, between Quepos and Dominical, in Costa Rica. If you are travelling in the area, please get in touch! We would love to connect with fellow travellers!
To see more photos, and to follow our progress on Facebook, please follow our Facebook page Just Some Wandering.
Please follow my Instagram Page Just Some Wandering by clicking on the bottom right hand corner of this feed.
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, head over to my Blog Post Menu.
So I leave this with you! What do you want to create for yourself in 2018? Because until you decide, and until you ask for it, it simply will not happen!
Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
I’ve noticed that many bloggers are doing some sort of wrap up or feature about their 2017 blog posts. Some people post their favourite posts, and some post their most read posts. At first, I wasn’t going to do anything, but then I got curious. I decided to take a look, just to see which ones actually were read the most. It turns out that my 5 top read posts are definitely some of my favourites as well. So here goes!
In 2017 I wrote 47 blog posts all together. It’s interesting because I just made a 2018 goal yesterday to do at least one blog post per week! So it’s nice to see that I was already really close to accomplishing this last year!
If you haven’t read any of these, take a look, maybe they will resonate with you as well! Just click on the post title to go straight to it! Enjoy and Happy New Year to you all once again!
By FAR this was my most read post at 420 views and 7 comments! However, as I also list my email address at the end of each post, I got many emails from complete strangers who also grew up in Canmore, who resonated with my words.
In the post I outline how the town that I grew up in has changed so much, yet there is so much of it that is also still the same. Over time I have become angry and jaded by the multitudes of changes, but recently I was able to make peace with it again. I realized that no matter what, I had an incredible childhood growing up there, and nobody can take that away from me!
Did you grow up in a place that has changed a lot? Maybe there are some insights in here that will make you see things in a different way.
I’m very excited that this is the second most visited post at 287 views and 30 comments! This post was the start of all of this! This post is when we decided to sell all of our possessions and hit the road. It feels so amazing to look back on this and remember how full of excitement, nervousness and fear that we were feeling. It was a HUGE decision to do this! But now, here we are, and looking back it actually all now seems so incredibly easy!
Through this process we have both realized that our life, and how we live it, is simply a long string of choices that we make. By making this choice, we have opened ourselves up to a whole new world and we couldn’t be happier!
I hope this post inspires you to make some tough decisions that will give you the best and happiest life possible!
The third most visited post at 182 views and 12 comments is definitely one of my favourites! It is a re-cap on our final days in Powell River, the place that I had called home for 11 years, and a little bit about my feelings a couple days after we left. To say it was an emotional roller coaster, would be a massive understatement! But we never faltered in our plan. We were heading in one direction, and we were doing it together!
This is when we really felt like we had unplugged! Unplugged from what society had dictated that we do, unplugged from a life that wasn’t serving us anymore, unplugged from other’s expectations of how we live our lives. In this moment, we felt free! Free to head out into the world with no incumbrances and no commitments to anyone else. The horizon was laid out before us, and that was all that mattered.
In number 4 spot at 121 views and 4 comments, this little Bear got much more attention than I anticipated. He became a symbol of letting go, the mascot if you will.
After posting this post about the difficulties that I was having of letting this little guy go, I received many messages from friends and family wanting to adopt him, instead of seeing him go to the thrift store. It really struck me that not only was it difficult to let go of my OWN posessions, others definitely had a vested interest in my posessions as well. How strange of a species we are when we are so attached to things, that we can’t even bear to see others getting rid of their things?
In the end, this little fella flew all the way to Alberta where he is now part of a greater collection of family bears, living in Edmonton at my cousins house.
At number 5 with 93 views and 5 comments, this post was the culmination of a ridiculous amount of hard work to get this place ready to sell. We finished it about 5 weeks later than we had wanted, but we worked day and night, while also working our full time jobs, and knew that we were doing the best that we possibly could. We were so exhausted, it’s hard to even comprehend now.
Because we had a housesitting gig in Costa Rica lined up for November 1st, we wanted to leave by about September 20th to give ourselves time to visit family and also arrive in Costa Rica a little early, so we could do some exploring before settling into our job. Because of our late listing date we knew that for this to sell before we left, it would have to happen quickly. Well, about 4 hours after posting the video that you will see in this post, our Realtor called us to tell us that he was writing an offer, sight unseen. The buyers were gardeners, first and foremost, and they knew that it was the house for them based on this video. They wanted it primarily for the work we had put into the yard, for the time and effort we had put into building the soil and cultivating the land from scratch. They were EXACTLY the buyers that we had requested from the Universe! Not a more perfect match could have been made!
So! That is it! My top 5 most visited posts that I wrote in 2017! I’m glad that I chose to do this as it has again reminded me how amazing this journey is that we are on.
We made a decision back in January, almost one year ago, to change our lives. To live with more purpose and meaning, to live with happiness and joy, to only do those things that inspire us and motivate us. We made a decision that absolutely changed our trajectory, and along the way all of the pieces have literally fallen into place. Along the way we have asked for what we wanted, and we truly have received it all.
Miracles can happen, but it is up to us to ask for them! Don’t sit and wait and hope that something manifests itself. We must do this work for ourselves. We must seek out what it is that we want out of life.
So I leave this with you! What do you want to create for yourself in 2018? Because until you decide, and until you ask for it, it simply will not happen!
Pura Vida from Costa Rica!
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: We are managing a Cabina on the beach at Playa Matapalo, between Quepos and Dominical, in Costa Rica. If you are travelling in the area, please get in touch! We would love to connect with fellow travellers!
To see more photos, and to follow our progress on Facebook, please follow our Facebook page Just Some Wandering.
Please follow my Instagram Page Just Some Wandering by clicking on the bottom right hand corner of this feed.
To learn about where I have previously traveled, visit my Countries Page.
To see all of my blog post headings on one page, head over to my Blog Post Menu.
I’ve never been one to keep a bucket list. I have places in mind that I would like to visit, and things that I certainly want to see, but they have never been written down, only thought about and dreamt about. Sometimes, and unbeknownst to me, the Universe throws me into one of these magical places, and I manage to live out the most epic dream of that place, that I could possibly have ever conjured up.
Just Some Wandering 