Beyond Words: Sailing from Panama to Colombia

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I love the writing process and creating the perfect flow to my stories. But sometimes words get in the way or they are not enough or they are too much. So I share some experiences visually via photos and videos. Certain moments, like the otherworldly vibrancy of an unconstrained forest, the genuine sweetness of a friend’s smile, or the sheer magnificence of an ancient temple, cannot be captured in letters. These moments are Beyond Words. Enjoy!

Exploring the San Blas islands via sailboat will always be a treasured experience. For a few days, I was able to hang out in a bathing suit and jump in the water when I wanted and play and discover and be amazed at the beauty the world has to offer. I met people from all over the world who shared their lives with me and listened to my tales. Even now, the difficult times seem hazy and dull. But I can still feel the current carrying my body over the reef as a calmness filled my body and my eyes spied sights I had never seen before. I recall laughing at word games and travel story swaps around the dinner table. The sun, the sand, the water - I feel it all. That is what I take with me and remember most of my time on the boat.

Beyond Words: Panama City

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I love the writing process and creating the perfect flow to my stories. But sometimes words get in the way or they are not enough or they are too much. So I share some experiences visually via photos and videos. Certain moments, like the otherworldly vibrancy of an unconstrained forest, the genuine sweetness of a friend’s smile, or the sheer magnificence of an ancient temple, cannot be captured in letters. These moments are Beyond Words. Enjoy!

Panama City was a wonderful respite from the backpacker lifestyle. Though I visited the historic Panama Canal and stayed in the gorgeous Casco Viejo, the week was a much desired dose of Western modernity before continuing on my travels. I was able to re-stock on quality running shoes and bathing suits that will last me the rest of my trip. The Internet was the best quality that I have encountered on the road. At the local coffee shop, soy AND almond milk were offered (I had an iced latte with almond milk every day – a true luxury!). I reunited with friends that I had met throughout my trip. We watched the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight at the Hard Rock. All this while my friends and I organized and prepared for our sail boat adventure from Panama to Colombia. It was fun, relaxing, stimulating, and exactly what I needed!

Another Bus Ride, Another Story

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Getting from Jaco, Costa Rica to Panama City turned into an unintentional adventure. Here was the original plan: Rachel and I were to catch the 9 am bus from Jaco to David, Panama. We would stay overnight in David and then take a local bus the next afternoon, ride 7 hours from David to Panama City and arrive by early evening. Simple, right? The funny thing about travel is that you never know when your perfect plan is going to bite the dust. Here is how our plan bit the dust quick and hard.

Rachel and I were going to use her friend’s car to drive us to the bus stop. The battery of the car died right as we were leaving. Our attempt to jump the car with a neighbor’s car did not work. We borrowed the neighbor’s car and were dropped off at the bus stop 15 minutes late but did not know whether we had missed the bus or not. We waited 30 minutes for the bus to arrive before we tried to hitchhike back to Jaco. Hitchhiking failed but 15 minutes later, our bus showed up! It was an hour later than planned. At the border between Costa Rica and Panama, even though Rachel and I each had proof that we were going to be moving on to other countries (she had a hostel confirmation in Colombia and I had my flight reservation from Peru to San Francisco), we did not have proof that stated when and how we were leaving Panama. After both we and our bus driver made several attempts to gain leniency with the border officials, the bus had to leave us. We went to an internet café in “no man’s land” to attempt to purchase an exit ticket from Panama. Two hours later, after many internet searches and the reading of multiple Refund Policies, Rachel and I bought acceptable tickets (that we cancelled a couple days later) and were over the border. We got on a local bus on our way to David. A friendly man started chatting with us and asking about our plans. From him, we learned that we could take an overnight bus from David to Panama City. So we decided to go with that option, cancelled our hostel reservation, bought our bus ticket, relaxed and ate a tasty meal, got on our bus at 11 pm, had a good night’s sleep, and were in Panama City within 24 hours of leaving Jaco.

Whew! It felt like our trip went any way except the way that we planned. The thing is, at the end of it, Rachel and I looked at each other and both agreed it was one of our favorite days together! We celebrated the victories and let go of the difficulties. We were positive and rolled with each new challenge thrown our way. We have fun together and just laughed at some of the ridiculous things that happened. Best of all, due to this crazy chain of events, we got to Panama City at an even better time than we had originally planned!

Before my trip, I dreaded these types of days. I thought I would meet travel obstacles with frustration and impatience. I worried these situations would cause me to be helpless and put me in danger. Instead, I greeted the challenges with a level-head and flexibility and humor. It made all the difference in my view on the day and my ability to reach my destination. Also, it gave me a great story to share with you all!

Happy travels, readers! Until my next post…

Beyond Words: Costa Rica

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"Beyond Words" is a post that is mainly a collection of photos. A short description is provided but the visual experience is the main purpose. Enjoy!

From Nicaragua, Rachel and I had only five days to spend in Costa Rica because we were meeting a friend in Panama City on a set date. Therefore, we picked two spots to spend our time – Monteverde and Jaco. In Monteverde, I wanted to go zip lining (a “must-do” on my travel list) and we both wanted to explore the Cloud Forest National Park. In Jaco, Rachel had a friend, Wendy, who was renting a house for three months and had invited us to come and stay with her.

Costa Rice ended up being an unforgettable experience in so many ways! While zip lining, I felt like I was flying and kept thinking, “I’m actually doing this!” and then whooping at the top of my lungs. So much fun! The Cloud Forest hike was good for the body and the senses – it was awe-inspiring. And then there was the time we spent with Wendy. You know those people who have traveled all over the world, succeeded in business, lead their personal lives according to their own rules, AND are captivating storytellers? Well, that is a brief description of Wendy. Her, Rachel, and I spent two days relaxing, talking, eating, talking, swimming, and more talking. Her stories and advice made me think and gave me such inspiration. I left Costa Rica with a new zest and excitement for the remainder of my trip!

Three Months In

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Month Three is complete! I traveled faster than I have during my whole trip and moved on from Central to South America. Here is a recap: I arrived in Nicaragua and ping ponged around the country as I traveled to meet up with Rachel, then hang out in Leon with Sian and Anna one last time before I see them in the States in August (!!!), then back down to southern Nicaragua to travel with Rachel once again. After Nicaragua, she and I spent a few days in Costa Rica and then bused to Panama City to meet another friend by the end of the month. We spent a week in Panama City while arranging and waiting for the start of our sailboat trip from Panama to Colombia. We spent six days sailing through the jaw-dropping San Blas islands and the open sea to arrive in Cartagena, Colombia on the 11th, which is the official beginning of Month Four. Whew! Month Three was another transition month. In my day-to-day life, I struggled with being present in the moment. I have always been a daydreaming, life-planning, big-goal thinker. While it leads to incredible life events (this trip, for example), it makes it difficult to truly experience anything. Instead of focusing on what is occurring at the current time, my brain consistently concentrations on the future. Countless times, I have thought, “This is an important moment. This is special. Be present. Embrace this.” But to no avail. I was there and enjoying myself but it was almost as if the moment was just a bit out of my grasp.

In Month Three, that changed for me. I realized that being present comes from happiness. Not momentary, fleeting spurts of giddiness, but from a steadfast awareness and appreciation for the life that I am leading. More and more, it is becoming normal for me to pause at some point in my day and think, “I am so happy right now.” To be honest, I do not think I have ever been this tested or sad or lonely, but I have also never been this present and happy. Each day, I am realizing that happiness is truly a mindset. Even in my most difficult or frustrating times, I am making the effort to consciously change my perspective, remember all that I have to be grateful for, smile, and be content in the moment.

I understand that the life I am leading now is not my norm. Still, removing my typically stresses and distractions and pressures has given me the time to slow down and finally become present. To be content. And with that contentment, my trip finally became an adventure in which I fully enjoyed each experience. I did things this month that I had hoped I would have the guts to try – from traveling yia local chicken buses to zip lining through the rain forest to snorkeling coral reefs and voyaging by sailboat. It was amazing and scary and exhilarating!

With this improved mindset, I move on to Month Four! I have decided to spend the whole month traveling around Colombia and will fly to Lima, Peru at the beginning of June. Once in Lima, I will get to celebrate the end of Month Four with a super special treat – a quick visit with my parents! They will be traveling to Brazil for a few days and then doing a three-week tour of Peru. We organized our schedules so that they overlap and I am so excited to see them! Until next time…

Beyond Words: Nicaragua

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"Beyond Words" is a post that is mainly a collection of photos. A short description is provided but the visual experience is the main purpose. Enjoy!

Yes, Nicaragua was challenging, but I also had some of the best times with my friends there. As I sit here thinking of all of the new and old friends that I spent my two weeks with, I smile and laugh. For me, traveling is about the people that I meet along the way. Though Nicaragua tested me in several ways, it was the location of so many fantastic conversations, memories, moments, and lessons. Capturing that in pictures is near impossible, but here is my best effort. Gracias, Nicaragua!

Challenging Nicaragua

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Oh, Nicaragua. How do I sum up my time spent in Nicaragua? The main word that comes to mind is challenging. So many travelers rave about Nicaragua, but I could not fall in love with it. I ended up having a wonderful time and I will definitely be back, but I did not have an easy experience during my visit.

  • The main difficulty I had in Nicaragua was acclimating to the climate. Something I did not know prior to my visit: Nicaragua is HOT! After Guatemala, which had moderate to mild temperatures, I found the daily temperatures of high 90’s and at least 50% humidity difficult to handle. The temperature was perfect from 3-6 am, but unbearable at all other times. Further, businesses do not have air conditioning so it was impossible to escape the heat during the day. It was too hot to explore or do activities or even write.
  • Guidebooks and other travelers named Granada, Leon, and San Juan del Sur as “must-see” destinations (and I ended up spending most of my time in these places), but I believe that Nicaragua has much more to offer than these cities. If I were to do it again, I would do a couple of days in each of Granada, Leon, and San Juan del Sur while focusing my time on Laguna del Apoyo, Ometepe, and the Corn Islands. These last three areas are naturally beautiful and filled with culture. The weather is milder or the location is near swimmable water so the day is not wasted trying to avoid the heat. It is more expensive but I would have rather bore the expense and enjoyed more of my time in Nica.
  • Out of all of the Central American countries (and I have now visited all of them), I experienced the most amount of aggression from men in Nica. It could be quite crude and I got at least one whistle, catcall, or comment on each block that I walked. That was just during the day and became more extreme at night. The aggression was not dangerous, but it was unwanted and constant and tiring.
  • On top of the aggression, my fellow travelers and I were constantly lied to when it came to the timings and pricing of taxis and buses. Typically, I had to pay too much for bus tickets or activities, and bartering did not lower the price by much. Here is my perspective on pricing while I travel: in general, I do not mind paying a higher price because my dollar helps a local more than it does me. As long as both parties feel happy with the price, I am cool with it. In Nica, it got to the point that I was given an extremely high price no matter what I did and where I was. So I decided to stop doing activities and to leave after two weeks instead of three. I met some very nice locals and was given a fair price a few times, but this tended to be the exception rather than the rule.
  • The reason I will always love my time in Nicaragua is because the fellow travelers that I met were awesome! Not only did I spend almost all of my time in Nica traveling with some of my travel besties, but I was introduced to such a wide variety of travelers. I was able to get lots of recommendations and stories about other locales that I should try out. Further, I met some travelers that were only visiting for a week and some that were in the middle of a multi-month backpacking trip. It was such a fantastic mix of people from all walks of life who were on their trips for different reasons and with varying end dates. Despite everything else I felt about Nica, the people that I met and times we shared made my time worthwhile!

So that was Nicaragua. I am glad that I visited the country and am grateful for my time there. I met some of my favorite people and have some wonderful stories and experiences. And now…on to Costa Rica!

Two Months In

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*This post is about a month late as I just completed Month Three a couple days ago. There were some unexpected delays, but that is travel. I will be catching up this week with lots of photos and posts. Get excited!

So Month Two of my trip is officially complete! This month was quite the whirlwind! At the beginning of the month, I celebrated my 28th birthday in San Pedro; surrounded by my road friends and family and more joy than I ever expected. I finished out my month of Spanish lessons and homestay and moved on to Antigua for Semana Santa (Easter Week). After a week full of Easter processions, Monopoly, great hangout time with some new friends, and a very special visit from Stephy and Santiago, I left Guatemala and traveled to Nicaragua via El Salvador.

This month was still a transition month for me (and I am starting to believe that every month will be some new transition). After my month in San Pedro, I found myself traveling to Antigua and once again solo. The feelings of loneliness came back, but because my life in San Pedro was extremely social, my loneliness was compounded in Antigua. So I spent my first two days in Antigua watching movies in bed or hanging around the hostel; not interacting with my fellow travelers.

And then I met Jing, Alex, and Reto. The four of us were in the same 10-person dorm from the beginning of my stay, and we ended up spending the rest the week together. All three of them are experienced travelers and I loved hearing their stories and plans. We shared jokes and drinks and Monopoly games. There was such an ease and comfort that was created within that week. At some point during the week, I was chatting with Jing and telling her about how much I was struggling when it came to meeting new people each time that I moved on. I told her that I was lucky to have met my three Antigua friends. Jing was so surprised by this and explained to me that it was not luck that I had met the right people. I had just needed to speak up and stop holding myself back. Her words were so sincere that it became a moment of realization for me and my trip significantly changed after.

From that discussion on, I have made it a point to make the first move and talk to others and to stop being so self-conscious. This caused me to meet Gabriel and Alli on the shuttle from Antigua to El Tunco, El Salvador, and then from El Tunco to Leon, Nicaragua. It gave me the confidence to talk with Guillermo and Raphael in Granada (also Nicaragua). And here I am, at the beginning of Month Three, and the loneliness and fear is becoming more and more foreign to me. Consequently, Month Two has been filled with more awesome people and memories and experiences than I ever expected.

And now on the Month Three! I am so excited because I will be spending a majority of this month reconnecting and traveling with friends that I met earlier in my trip. I have not intentionally traveled with others so I am looking forward to this change in travel style. Hasta luego, amigos!