Out with the old and in with the new - my last post

I would like to start this post by showing my Canadianism and apologising for the long break between posts, but I’m not going to. I’m not going to because this blog was started 4 years ago as a travel blog, documenting my journey, discovery and thoughts on my adventures. However, this most recent adventure in Mexico has not only been one of internal discovery and adventure, but it has been one of transition. And neither category really fits the format of this blog.

It has been an adventure of transition, because we chose this location on the well-developed island of Cozumel out of all the possible rugged Latin American and European adventures because it presented the perfect opportunity for us to transition our lifestyle from one of nomad world travelling-backpackers to a relatively sedentary Canadian lifestyle. So contrary to my last 4 years of discovery and adventures, these last months here we have been actively focused on building our life, rather than exploring the lives of the locals around us.

There are just so many new things coming up in our lives and we are trying to embrace them all and be prepared to start the next chapter: We are moving back to Canada to settle for a few years (after 4 years away for me and 2 for Cena), Cena is going back to school upgrading her Degree, I am looking for work in Victoria, and we are getting married this summer! All this is happening almost at the same time in the next few months, so we wanted to spend some time adjusting and building a ‘sedentary’ life and goals before we got there. All while getting a last 6 months stint in Latin America of course.

What I’m getting at then, is that this particular 4 year set of self-discovery, travel, adventures, and updates are coming to an end in less than 2 weeks; we catch our flight March 12th. Which means that the context and background of this blog and this site will no longer be relevant to my/our life in Victoria BC. Our “adventures”, which we will of course still have, will be very different; our journeys will be different; and our ever-changing process of self-discovery will be different. So I believe, that this blog is coming to an end. Although, I do plan on getting the contents of this blog strung together and printed in to book form so I will always have it on hand, because who knows where the future of the internet lies.

I also may still construct another place to write about the next chapter of our lives, because I want a place to document our various hikes, treks and camping adventures, but we shall see.

So for now, I wish you adieu!

Life is a Journey: What I've learned from the last 22 months

These last couple days have been rough for me. October 17th is when my father passed away in a car/train accident 11 years ago at the age of 40, and October 2nd is when Gooner passed away 2 years ago in a car accident at the age of 33. And October 3rd is my birthday. It’s a lot to process in the span of a couple weeks.

After nothing short of a meltdown the morning of October 17th feeling my life was slipping away from me, I decided to take a couple days off from reading, researching, writing, and ‘constructive’ thinking in general, and just try to relax. That day we rented a scooter and spent the day driving around the island and sitting on the beach. The next day I spent reading a novel and in the evening drinking wine and eating brie. The following was spent watching Friends, and the next Stumbling through the Internet.

I cannot tell you how grateful I am for those 4 days. I feel a renewed grip on reality and my life, and a renewed sense of appreciation for the present moment and how I got here.


Early January of 2012 I left my hometown. I didn’t know where I wanted to be, but I knew it wasn’t there.

A couple of months before this in October, Gooner had died, and I had come back from Switzerland feeling lost, having left my career path in top-level international relations, realizing that that world was not where I belonged.

As of a conversation in a bar in small town Saskatchewan January of 2012, I decided upon a rough plan of departure and resolved to go find what I wanted, where I belonged, whatever and wherever it was.

Since that moment, 22 months have passed and I have journeyed through 4 provinces, 11 countries, 3 continents and 2 islands.

I have briefly dated a hippie, a chef, and a model, before falling in love with an eccentric French Canadian hippie-at-heart. 

I have lived in 17 different apartments, houses and rooms with anywhere from 1 to 7 roommates.

I have slept on ikea foam couches, futons, pillows, cushions, ½ cm thick foamies, hammocks, air mattresses, floors, tiny mattress, plush ones, hard ones, really cold ones, and really hot ones.

I’ve been serenaded by a Uruguayan Johnny Cash in a public plaza.

I met Molly in an afterhours club in Barcelona.

I’ve held a conversation with a group of German men in a Beer House in Munich.

I’ve shared rides with perfect strangers in countries where I didn’t speak the language, and had wonderful conversations.

I’ve had life changing spiritual guidance from a Catalonian artist.

I’ve gotten my braces removed.

I’ve been swindled by Peruvians living on floating islands at an altitude of 3800m.

I have climbed and ridden a mule up to 3400m in one of the most beautiful valleys and canyons in the world.

I’ve been ill in an electricity-less tropical oasis in the deepest canyon in the world.

I have waded barefoot in tidal pools in the Pacific Ocean looking for sea treasures with Ecuadorian children.

I’ve had to negotiate my way in and out of an Ecuadorian emergency room.

I have eaten fresh seafood by the shores of the Caribbean.

I’ve gotten robbed in the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica.

I have witnessed a woman chasing her passport thief down the road as he threw bottles at her to dissuade her pursuit in the capitol of Colombia.

I have ridden 3 people to a small moto driven by a man we had just met, and had the most wonderful day.

I have manoeuvred a scooter through Mexican traffic.

I have taught English in traditional classrooms, jungle open-air classrooms, cafés, bars, and huts on the beach to poor children, spoiled children, rich children, young wealthy adults, poor adults who could barely afford to miss work long enough to come to lessons, really appreciative, kind and eager adults, and adults who could care less about the English language.

I have been too sick to function and have witnessed someone puking out of a 2nd story window.

I have been proposed to at a beach town in Nicaragua at the most pedantically beautifully decorated outdoor restaurant.

I have braved snakes, moose, bear, cockroaches, flying horned bugs, rats, lizards and monkeys.

I have been part of an unsuspecting group dropped off in an unknown location in the Amazon with no map and no directions 2 hours before sunset.

I have spent afternoons lazing on the beach playing beach volleyball drinking fresh fruit smoothies.

I have surprised Ecuadorian children with what I think were their first homemade cookies.

I have played cards during a thunderstorm in the rainforest on the beach.

I have been squished with far too many people in far too little of a car.

I have gone an unexpected 3 days without electricity or running water in rural Nicaragua.

I have spent 4 days 13kms by foot away from all civilization in to the Canadian wilderness.

And I have met many magnificent people in both conventional and unusual places who have changed my life in some way.


Through all of this, 22 months and 3 continents later, I have survived. Floating from one place to the next serendipitously, I learned that it’s not a ‘something’ that I am looking for, or a goal of some kind to be attained, but that it’s rather the journey that matters and the people who touch your life along the way.

In the end, I did find what I was looking for, but only when I learned to stop looking. I am not farther ahead in my career than I was 22 months ago. Nor am I richer, have more things, have a set path, or have more security. But I am happier. I am more relaxed, more appreciative, more balanced, healthier, wiser, more connected to and more grateful for the world around me.

I guess the old saying is true, that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. You can read as many words of wisdom as you’d like about appreciating the journey, living in the moment, etc., but in the end, for it to be true, you must find it and learn it for yourself. 

What a month it has been...

1 month. It has been exactly one month since we first woke up in Cozumel, September 16th in Hostelito downtown. It's gone by so quickly.

One the one hand, I feel like we haven't done too much since arriving here. When we skype with people I feel like there's usually not much new. We do a lot of reading. But when I think about this past month...Well, I guess I'm wrong.

Not mentioning all the fabulous progress I have made regarding my readings, my application, my thesis, my ideas and methodology in general, and my plans in the PhD and career department, nor the wonderful plans and ideas Cena and I have made, since we arrived in Cozumel we have :

• Met with the realtor and landlord, signed the contract, and moved in to our apartment. 
• Ventured all over San Miguel (the city on the island) to find various discount things for our apartment including bed sheets, pillows, cleaning supplies, air fresheners, soap, etc. and got our exercise carrying them back. (We may have caved and gotten a taxi once or twice). 
• Found and carried back all the food staples including spices, corn flour, olive oil, eggs, etc. that we can't get at the market. 
• Cleaned our musty and dusty man-lived apartment top to bottom. 
• Walked across the city to Cablemas to successfully get through the confusion and get our internet hooked up, all in Spanish. 
• Tried out all kinds of restaurants, Mexican cuisine, and taco shops.
• Surprised Cena with a private Mexican cooking class in the home of a Mexican former French teacher.
• Braved the local market to start our shopping there. 
• Walked 5km (each direction) in the swealtering sun then in the pouring rain to try and find the outdoor mall and market to buy running shoes. 
• Explored our first Beach Club, Playa Azul and had a delightful Sunday afternoon lazing under a palm hut drinking lemonades by the turquoise blue sea. Occasionally broken up by some snorkelling and swimming. 
• Got ashiatsu massages by an expat of 11 years. 
• Got gym memberships to the fabulously air-conditioned gym down the street, as between 11am and 3-4pm it's too hot to do anything outside, let alone anything active.
• Started a strict cleanse and have been following it with minor exceptions until present day.
• Rented an old VW Beetle and toured and explored the island and beach bars all day. 
• Solved the crisis of Cablemas disconnecting our internet claiming we hadn't paid the bill, again all in Spanish
• Explored many different cafés, trying to find the perfect one where it's not too hot, not too much A/C, and that have tea actually worth the 2$ price tag.
• Spent an afternoon seeing the Museum of Cozumel, and since we're nerds it did take an entire afternoon.
• Cooked almost every meal at home from scratch for the last 3 1/2 weeks.  
• Braved the local Cozumel chiropractor and discovered (to Cena's relief) that he is American trained, and for locals payment is by donation.
• Started a morning routine involving 6am, meditation, journaling, and no communication devices (FB, email, news, etc.) for the first couple hours. 

Like I said, quite the list of adventures considering that is not including the at home work and reading! And still so much more to do, see, and explore on the island. New mission for this week: Find t-shirts or tank tops that aren't too touristy (neon and have Cozumel written on them in big letters) or too latina (skin tight with leopard print).

Plus I believe we will have a steady stream of visitors until we leave for Vancouver Island March 12th, the day our visa expires. 

Will being the first, staying for a week arriving November 16th. Jasmin, forever TBD of course, but mentioned a week beginning of December. Jasper mentioned possibly a week over Christmas. Garry and Diane are planning a week or two in January. Meaghan (and Saul?) mentioned a week in February. And then we leave! 

Time will absolutely fly by. One of the many reasons we are really working on living in the moment. Taking this time to re-balance and re-centre everything, after close to 2 years of travelling country hopping chaos for me, and 1,5 for Cena, and create some good healthy habits before moving back to Canada for a few years. Yes, I actually said moving, not just visiting. But to another island of course, so the transition won't be so bad ;)

My Cozumel Birthday(s) Part 2

The morning of October 4th was bright and sunny. I woke up to find Cena out of bed again, but unlike the previous morning where breakfast was all laid out and she was peacefully working on her computer, this morning she was busy running around, collecting items for a pile on the table. Clearly the birthday plan was in full swing today.

As I sat down, she was in the process of making a bowl of oatmeal for me. She had no sooner put the bowl down on the table than announced that she had a last minute birthday related errand to run, and that we could leave as soon as she got back. With that she grabbed the purse and dashed out the door.

When she came back, she said everything is good. According to plan. For her sake, I hoped so. She had been sneaking around planning at this for weeks now. But planning and Latin America don't exactly go hand in hand.

So she had a quick banana, finished packing up the 2 backpacks of things, and said we were ready to go. So I followed.

Eagerly wondering where we were going, I was scouring for hints. Were we walking left or right? Both hinted at different plans. But we were each carrying a backpack and her a 4L bottle of water, so we couldn't be going terribly far in the heat. We left the parking lot and turned right. Hmm.. However no more than 10 feet around the corner from our parking lot, I see this. And I see Cena smile and start walking towards it. Oh my, what had she done...

She had rented an old, nay ancient bright orange convertible bug for us to drive around and explore the island with! And had researched more than a days worth of possible stops all along the way, depending on our/my mood. Hence the two backpacks worth of stuff. Everything from swimsuits to snorkel gear to snacks to raincoats was thought of and brought with.

So with that we threw our stuff in the back and took off out of town, dodging crazy latino motorists to get to the highway to start our day, with everything we could possibly need. Except of course for the map of the island and cash, which in her excitement Cena had forgot to print off and withdraw. But really all that meant was a little bit more exploring, and a little bit more adventure to the day. Even more so when we got to the 'wild' east side of the island where there is no electricity to speak of, therefore no atms and no credit card accepted.

But for now we were still driving the highway, as our surroundings were getting progressively more and more green. Until we hit a point where there was no more civilization, just jungle and highway. And of course the occasional hotel and beach bar. Our first stop was the infamous Mr. Sanchos which we had heard so much about.

In two words, tourist paradise. Mr. Sanchos has everything from its own little souvenir marketplace, to a tequila factory, to a swim up pool bar, to an ocean waterpark complete with trampoline and climbing structure, to massage huts, to beach loungers to hammocks, to all-inclusive drink and food day packages. It was beautiful. But also crowded. Just not what we were in the mood for just yet, so we walked back to the parking lot to our bug to hit the road again. However, not before taking another 5 minutes to fiddle with the bike lock keeping the hood/trunk locked with our stuff in it.

We kept driving the single lane and only highway down the island and decided that we would rather spend the day exploring the island in general and different beach bars and huts rather than individual ruins and national parks for now.

The drive was so beautiful. So wonderful. In this ancient steel car that was so simple it didn't even have a radio or buttons, or a dash or vents to speak of, just a simple speedometer, gas gage and hazard lights. But who needs vents when you're in a convertible, driving on a coastal highway on a caribbean island?

Before we knew it we had left the west side, crossed the south filled with natural reserves and parks, and had stumbled on to the 'wild' east side. The first place we see is one we had been wanting to check out since we first arrived on the island, this reggae beach bar called rastas.

Incredible views, incredible food, and obviously incredibly friendly laid back atmosphere and servers who walked around the place barefooted and lazed in a hammock when they weren't serving. 

After this we continued driving up the coast, marvelling at the turquoise waters, occasionally stopping at random beach huts just to take in the views. 

Our next real stop was at this bar Cena had researched ahead of time called Coconuts. We nearly missed it had it not been for this inconspicuous sign and a few cars parked along side the highway. The cars were parked next to this hand painted sign that read 'Entrance' and led to this stone stairway trail up a hill through the jungle.

We followed the trail and passed some signs that indicated that we were definitely on the right path. We finally arrived at this circular beach hut bar perched on a hill almost hidden by trees. Blasting rock music with remarkable views of the sea, I thought it was definitely time to cheat the cleanse and have a birthday drink here. Only, as Cena had forgotten to take cash out, and we were on the east side with no electricity, we scrounged our purse and found we had just over 50 pesos on us leftover from lunch, or about 2$. Just enough for one large margarita. The only problem, was the server was so friendly that we end up chatting with him, Martin was his name, and telling him that this day was my birthday celebration. And since we only had money for one margarita, he felt he should make it worth our while.

At the table arrived this enormous margarita. It looked like it could fit most of a bottle of booze, and tasted like it had a least half a bottle of tequila in it. Fantastic as this was, Cena was driving, and at this point we had both been on a liver cleanse for 2 weeks and hadn't had a drop to drink in that time frame. So after managing to bring the contents of this margarita bowl down about an inch, we already felt a little happier. We asked Martin for more ice and lime in hopes of toning it down a bit. Successful, yes. But it was still no match for the mickey of tequila.

After a while, we wanted to move on go to another place to swim. So I nonchalantly took the cup under the table and poured the remaining half in to Cena's nalgene bottle to take with us. We thanked Martin, and despite his pleas for us to stay, even going so far as to offer drinks on him, we promised him we would be back another time, when we didn't have more island to explore. 

After Coconuts we kept driving around the island, taking everything in, and decided to continue and loop back through town to stop back at our apartment to have some snacks and take money out. Then we continued back on our original highway and headed to Mr. Sanchos to get in an hour of so of swimming before it closed. Because you see, most beach bars close at 5 or 5:30pm. This has a double function of sending boozy customers off to nice restaurants for supper, and preserving energy. As once night falls, there is no more energy to be had and only the bars or hotels who could afford to run their own electricity cables could stay open. Cena however had done research ahead of time and had found this Ecuador-like beach cabana reputed for its fresh delicious seafood, that stayed open after dark, Alberto's. 

Alberto's was perfect. Just like Ecuador it was comprised of various beach huts nestled in the trees, a bar/kitchen, beach volleyball court, dance floor, sound system, tiki torches, and tables. That's it. Oh, the one thing it had that Ecuador didn't was a massage lady. We arrived there just an hour before sunset with plenty of time to take everything in, listen to their wonderful mix of latino, classic rock, and current tracks, an order delicious seafood.

After a grilled Maji Maji in a lime garlic sauce (the island favourite) for me, and fish tacos for Cena (surprise surprise), we stayed a while longer to enjoy the atmosphere, chat with our new server friend Jorge and promise him that we would indeed go salsa dancing with him at Tikitok in town another night, and to watch the sunset.

This was the flawless image engraved in my mind just before we left Alberto's and put a magical birthday day to rest, fearing that our trusty car didn't have great headlights for night driving (a fear that proved justified). Taken with a 120$ digital camera with absolutely no editing.

My Cozumel Birthday(s) Part 1

This may come as a shock to some of you, but Cena is a little bit competitive. I know. Let me give you a moment to catch your breath.

...

Because I gave her a 'birthday month' this year, threw her a party at our place in Costa Rica, and then had her actual birthday on the beach in Nicaragua, she felt the need to at least match that for my birthday this year, if not top it. Then when I surprised her with private Mexican cooking classes a couple weeks ago, it was on. 

So it all started exactly a week before my birthday, I was to get the first surprise. As I did with her, she led me out of the house saying we were going somewhere but not telling me where. We walked oddly close to where I took her, when we stopped in front of this adorable run-down looking courtyard with little cabin/bachelor apartments all around. Cena walked up to a particular one, and a very swami looking middle-aged woman invited us in. We were getting massages. And not just any massage, an Ashiatsu barefoot massage. 

It was wonderful. I walked back to the apartment feeling like I was walking on clouds in dreamland. 

Have I also mentioned that she was completely determined to keep everything a surprise? Because of everyone jabbing at her that she can't keep secrets, she was dead set on having me be in the dark for everything. So for the week preceding my birthday days, she would be doing secret research on the computer, wander off for a couple hours at a time on secret errands, would have secret phone calls and mysterious emails. So as much as I loved the idea of the surprise, I was looking forward to ending the sneaking around and moratorium on questions because she didn't want to give anything away. 

So the next of the surprises was the evening before my birthday on the 2nd. We left the house at 6pm and started walking North, which we've only gone once before. I figured we were going out for supper, but clearly not at your average tourist restaurant as we were walking farther away from everything. 

At 6:30pm exactly we reach this enormous gated property with a lush garden and 19th century style lighting through the walkway to this large colonial era house, Casa mission. The first thing I noticed was the overwhelming amount of crosses on the wall. I kid you not, there had to have been at least 200 crosses.

I put 2 and 2 together and realized it was an old religious house for the priests and nuns coming over doing mission work in Mexico, converted in to a restaurant. Culture and supper, all in one stop. Not to mention the band that was playing an interesting set of traditional and modern instruments. One was like a cross between a stool and an xylophone. 

When we got back home, we watched a couple short episodes of TV in the living room, and Cena wanted to watch another one in bed. I protested but finally gave in. She led me to the bedroom and I opened the door to find the entire room illuminated by candlelight and three different scented massage oils on the nightstand, because she "didn't know which one I would like best". 

After a glorious massage, she confirmed to me that her plan for tomorrow (the 3rd) was going on rain or shine, so to be prepared...

Well when I woke up the morning of the 3rd, Cena was not there. Thinking she had decided to let me sleep in instead of up at 7:30am for her plan, I lazily laid there with my eyes closed slowly waking up. Until I realized that there was this wonderful mist spraying my legs. I opened my eyes to find it pouring down rain so hard it was raining inside the bedroom on to the bed. So I went out to the kitchen to find her at her computer at the table, with a wonderful little breakfast already laid out and waiting for the two of us. She had been up for over an hour already rescheduling everything until tomorrow. After having a week of blue skies and sun, the damn Cozumel rainy season had returned.

Nevertheless, I had an absolutely wonderful relaxed birthday. After breakfast she pulled out yet another surprise.

A beautiful handmade card filled with wonderful things, and Scrabble Twist! Essentially its scrabble but without the board and points. So it's all about finishing your pile of letters first. Because we've played scrabble a lot while travelling, but always with just the pouch of letters because you can't exactly travel with a board. I believe Cena's exact words after we read the rules were, "Take that Jasmin! Make fun of our Scrabble rules.." 

Because it was pouring rain and we were inside all day, we decided to have a gourmet food day for my birthday. So we spent some time scouring recipes online for healthy cleanse recipes and finished with an italian theme. Cena went to the market, and got the missing ingredients for the day. For lunch we made a homemade chicken, onion, spinach and goat cheese pizza with an olive-oil and garlic base, with fresh basil and parsley, on top of a homemade gluten free pizza crust. For supper, a simple olive oil, garlic, basil, parsley, menthe, mung bean noodle pasta beside an aichiote marinaded grouper fish. omg. What an incredible food day. 

But to top it all off, like she had planned the whole day at home, rain and all, she had prepared 14 coloured cards, each with a trait and something beautiful written on them to give to me at random intervals throughout the day. 

Oh, and she played me happy birthday on the ukulele. Amazing. And all this was apparently just in waiting until the grand surprise tomorrow...

11 weeks, 3 provinces, and one island

Yet another 3 month hiatus. What a half a year this has been. Oh my. After a quick scan of my last post plus a mental check list of the things I want to write about today... No wonder we're exhausted. Apparently there's been a pattern of 2 1/2 months on the go, 3 weeks rest, followed by another 2 1/2 months go.

However, despite following a seemingly self-repeating pattern of exertion, life could not be more different at the moment. These last 2 1/2 months, rather than being punctuated by an endurance testing amount of hours at work, followed immediately by 4 day amazing race style travel, was a Westerly journey through Canada filled with visits with family and old friends.

 ------------


That, up there, was written September 12th, the day before we left the valley. I started it, obviously intending to write this very post that morning, then wouldn't you know it, we got too busy for me to finish/continue it. That last week was absolute chaos. We finally sat down to rest for exactly an hour and a half before Veronica took us to the airport.

The 24 hours travelling was largely uneventful, yet hectic at the same time. (Yes, this will indeed be the theme for this post) We left the Comox Valley and their adorably small and friendly airport in the evening, around 6:30 or 7:30pm and arrived in Calgary at 10pm. There Garry and Saul picked us up and brought us to Cena's wonderful aunt and uncle's place, where of course there was some visiting until about midnight. We retreated upstairs, while everyone else kept visiting, and proceeded not to sleep until about 5:30am, when we finally just got ready and had Garry drop us back off at the airport. Being too tired for breakfast, Garry wanted to buy us some parting food, yet there was nothing nearby. So he bought us some Bernard chocolates for the trip, and we were off through security. (Which we didn't eat until a couple days ago, and were absolutely marvellously delicious, particularly the salted caramel ones)

We had both planned on getting some work done that morning; me writing and Cena doing training work for a certification, but were far too exhausted for that. It seems now like that entire day passed in this half-conscious dream-like state, that is until we were boarding the smallest plane of life to go up into the storm clouds over the Caribbean ocean to get to Cozumel. I was definitely conscious for that.

These past 9-10 days though, have been wonderful. After we got our apartment, unpacked, settled in, went shopping for the necessary food, cleaning, and bedding staples, we finally got to just sit and relax. I think those first 5 days were just a seesaw effort to try and adjust, unwind, and find food. Once we finally succeeded though, and had simultaneously totally readjusted back to Latin America and let go of the tension of the last 2 1/2 months of travelling, it was marvellous. We stayed at home in our pyjamas all day.

But what brought us back to this point? What was the journey from the last blog post until this one? Well, I won't go in to too many details, as we've actually seen many of you in person, so you mostly know what went down during the 11 weeks we spent in Canada.

The first 2 1/2 were spent in Redvers and Brandon. We hit the ground running and were picked up from the airport at midnight, driven back to Redvers to arrive at 5am, slept for a couple hours, then were woken up to be brought to a family reunion. As good of a visit as it was, there was a lot to see and do, and we didn't complete nearly the list of things we had wanted. After this, we went up to Saskatoon to spend a fantastic couple days staying with Lindsay and Josh. Absolutely wonderful. I wish we could have stayed there much longer.

From this point, Saul came from Edmonton to pick us up, and we road tripped to Calgary to spend an action packed all too exciting weekend there, and drive up to Edmonton Sunday morning. We spent exactly 1 very busy week in Edmonton before heading to Jasper for the first of the 'big' things on our list of what we wanted to do in Canada.

There we camped the first night near town, then the next morning left for 4 days of backcountry camping 13km in to Jacques Lake. An incredibly rewarding and unreal experience that we are both very eager to repeat. Then after a night in the town of Jasper, we left to spend 2 nights in Kelowna for a music festival, Center of Gravity. From there we continued on to Vancouver to spend 2 nights at one of Cena's old friend's places for Vancouver Pride, where Veronica met us. Literally at the Pride Festival site. That night we travelled to Surrey and met Cena's Uncle Poncho, Veronica's brother, and his girlfriend. The next morning we left Vancouver for Surrey again, then her fabulously eccentric Aunty Leah picked us up to drive us to the ferry terminal that would take us to Vancouver island.

From this point forth, despite the mountain of planning, activities, trips, and visiting we did during our 6 weeks on the island, everything was a little bit more relaxed and calm. In fact, from the very moment we met up with Veronica (Cena's mom) in the middle of the insanely long Pride Parade in the midst of the chaos that was the festival, I think we both felt that we could somehow breathe easier. We could stop and smell the roses again. Even if just for a moment before continuing on to then next activity.

Part of this is clearly the vibe on Vancouver island and Comox Valley itself, but the other half, I believe can be attributed to Veronica. I could not find enough wonderful things to say about that woman. She just exudes this air of calmness and inner peace, if you had to label it. She clearly has her share (or more than in some cases) of health problems, life frustrations, and general stresses, but doesn't let it get to her. She has her moments of weakness, like everyone else, but the rest of the time she works to maintain this harmonious serenity. This caring tranquility that she makes seem effortless. I cannot tell you how pleasant, refreshing, and just plain good it was to be around someone like that while back in Canada.

I mean, that is a large part of why Cena and I love living in Latin America so much; because everyone takes a breath before doing anything. They have mid-afternoon siestas and don't sweat the small stuff. They don't concern themselves with many of the trivial things North Americans do. They are all around happier. The very possibility that I could enjoy a life similar to this with my fiancé while living in our breathtakingly beautiful '1st world' homeland was a little mind blowing for me. It triggered a lot of new visions of the future that don't involve being permanent backpacking gypsies. And I will always have Veronica and the Island to thank for that.

The 3 month hiatus

Dear blog followers,

I feel like the last 2 1/2-3 months have been the busiest in possibly my entire life. Except perhaps my last semester of my Bachelors in Saskatoon while I was taking full-time classes, working at La Fédération Part-time, running Le Cercle Français, and balancing a relationship, all at the same time.

In fact, when I counted, I couldn't believe that March was just 3 months ago. An unbelievable amount has happened since then, none of which I have had time to write about. It is very difficult to explore, live in, and take in a new country when you are locked in to a 40 hour a week contract where most of your free time is spent running errands, procuring food, and unwinding. So we basically did it all in one shot at the same time that friends and family were visiting, all while continuing to work 8+ hour days the moment we were back in Sarapiqui. As you can imagine, this made for an absolutely wonderful albeit very packed and exhausting time.

It all started back in March. March was the beginning of the stress that would lead to the proverbial shit hitting the fan at the end of May. End of March however, we had to take our 3 months border run and leave the country for a minimum 3 days. We took advantage of this to de-stress and go to a place a friend of ours had recommended, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. This also happened to line up with Semana Santa (Holy Week - Easter) and Cena's birthday. Blog post on this to come. When we got back, it was straight back to work, finalising unfinished work from the days we were gone and preparing for when Jasmin would arrive the 17 of April. She finally arrived on a Thursday, I believe. The first days of the weekend with her were spent relaxing and catching up. Then when Amanda arrived on Monday or Tuesday, the tempo started to pick up. In fact, the tempo picked up, and didn't drop back down until about a day or two ago.

That month and a half was filled with 3-4 day speed weekend trips followed immediately by 8+ hour work days back in Sarapiqui, followed immediately by more trips. Blog posts to come. We went to La Fortuna and the volcano Arenal, then Monteverde the coffee growing region in the rainforest, then Jasmin and Amanda continued on while we went back to Sarapiqui for 2 days. Then to Tortuguero, a coastal town accessible only by boat whose 'raison d'être' is sea turtle protection, then to Cahuita, an beach town with afro-Caribbean vibes right next to a national park and coral reef, then back to Sarapiqui while they continued on down the coast. Photos to be posted. Garry and Saul (Cena's dad and brother) then arrived, with Jasmin arriving for her final stay back in Sarapiqui shortly after. That weekend was then filled with celebrations, touring our area, hiking and swimming up the river, night walk through the jungle, a day-long tour of Finca Sura, followed by more hiking/swimming in the river. Monday morning we were back at work, and Tuesday night we had an epic going away party for Jasmin. Wednesday morning the guys left for a two day trip to the Caribbean while we worked, then Friday we all left together and spent the morning at La Paz Waterfall Garden and Animal Reserve and the afternoon walking on Poas volcano. We then drove and navigated down to Manuel Antonio, and the next day farther down to Uvita. After 2 nights there it was back to Sarapiqui for work. Garry and Saul left Monday evening and the shit hit the fan Tuesday evening. Blog post to come.

So Tuesday evening was spent in tense discussions with the other EFL teacher Cait and Jenny the Director. Wednesday morning was a continuation of these and discussion of our plans, then we went in to Puerto Viejo to pick up Cena's friend Katie Jasper from the bus station and finished things up that night. Thursday we packed and Friday morning we (us, Katie, and Cait) left first for San Jose for Cena's appointment, then 6 hours North to Playa Hermosa, 2 hours from the Nicaraguan/Costa Rican border where we stopped, caught our breath for a couple days, and tried to process what had just happened before continuing on in to Nicaragua to return to San Juan del Sur where we are now.

Here we arrived Monday afternoon after leaving Playa Hermosa bright and early, checked in to a hostel, ate lunch at about 2pm, then Cena and I spent the next 3 hours wandering town answering signs and looking at apartments. At about 5pm I started feeling ill. This was the beginning of the flu for the next 2 days for me. Nevertheless the next morning we packed and changed hostels to something cosier. Thursday I finally felt better and we resumed the search hiking outside of town and all around, and finally celebrated being here with some 2X1 mojitos. Friday morning Cena and I packed all of our things, checked out of the hostel, and waited patiently for a contact to get back to us to confirm a room or not. Finally by 3-4pm we had dropped our bags off and paid for our room at our new home for June, Javier's House. A nice big 2 story house with beautiful hardwood floors and tile, kitchen, living room, terrace with hammocks, and 6 bedrooms, each of which Javier rents out through Luis, a Surfing Guide living here as well.

Then, after all that, we basically collapsed. Right now, it's Monday morning and I'm finally feeling a touch more rested. Enough to write this little update to all you beautiful people and let you know that I/we are alive and, well, I wouldn't say well, not quite yet, but getting there. Breathing easier. This next week will STILL have some activities as Katie and Cait are still here with us until Thursday/Friday. So all of these posts and photos will come within the next couple weeks. We are here (thank the universe) until the end of June, where we'll take a quick trip back to Sarapiqui to pick up our large suitcase, then off to the airport in San Jose for July 4th to start our 2 months trip back to Canada. Oh my.. We'd better get well rested this next month.