Lessons from a Journey

Well it took me long enough to catch up on relating my trips this past summer. It wasn't my intention to retell events in the past as I remember them. But life gets ahead of us. At the end of my trip, I had a chance to reflect on what was happening inside me as I experienced it all outwardly. Here's a bit of what I learned.

Patience-with myself, with time, with others.

Practicing courage and self-confidence-This was a big one for me traveling by myself. I was out of my comfort zone so many times. Yet each time I decided to be vulnerable, or push the comfort zone a bit further, God showed up in the form of confidence, a friendly face, or something to forget my loneliness.

Enjoying the time in solitude-I'm one that wants to be constantly on the go. And when I'm not, I feel like I'm squandering precious time. I learned some of the best parts of this trip were when I accepted time in solitude, doing absolutely nothing but sitting in God's presence.


Gratefulness-In times of confusion and frustration, my best defense was offering up the big and small things I was grateful for. I also realized while on this trip, more than ever before, how very blessed I am by my community in Chicago. During my travels, I was surrounded by people on different walks of life. I remember sitting at a dinner one night with these people, appreciating their stories, but thinking how grateful I am for my friends and family at home who know my heart and encourage me to be the best version of myself.

Interacting intentionally and authentically-This trip taught me a lot about traveling intentionally. It would have been easy for me to jump from place to place only for the sights, activities and thrills. But I desired intentional conversations with people. I tried to be authentic in my words and actions so as to learn from the people around me.

Simplicity-This was tough to deal with coming home. I have so much. I need little. I was still happy (even happier) when I had less with me. When I was away, I started caring less about how I looked outwardly or what I had with me, and turned inward to improve who I really was under it all. It was hard coming home, and noticing the immediate shift in my thoughts-Ugh I have nothing cute to wear...Everyone here looks more put together than I do...I really should have worn makeup and done my hair today... I became aware of this shift in my mentality and the thought that had to look great in order to feel worthy. I'm trying to let God work through this and build integrity in striving to live simply.

Reassurance in my gifts and passions-I felt emotionally and spiritually full by the end of this trip. I was in my element on so many levels throughout this trip. Traveling, exploring, learning about language and culture, interacting with people, working at the school, taking it all in. I had so many emotional highs and lows throughout the whole trip, but through those moments I felt I learned more about myself and where life might take me.

God is faithful-Every lonely moment. Every time I felt anxious, nervous or stressed. In my quiet times and in my conversations. Jumping off bridges and climbing volcanoes, journaling in a hammock and sitting for hours by the lake. He showed up. He did work in me. He was faithful throughout this journey, and He will be in the next.

Pura Vida Part 2

After our full days of adventure, fun and exploring Monteverde, we hopped on a bus, then a boat, then another bus-to finally arrive in La Fortuna.

La Fortuna is known for the large, active volcano called Arenal. There are plenty of adventure tourism activities to keep people busy for days. However, we had already zip lined, walked through the cloud forests, and rappelled waterfalls in Monteverde. We were actually pretty tired and beat up a bit and it was only day 3.

We opted for an easy volcano hike combined with soaking in the hot springs. The volcano was great, but the hot springs were one of the highlights of our trip. We had paid for a package tour, and it included entrance to one of the nicest resorts with over 25 hot spring pools, complete with swim up bars, waterfalls, and lounge seats.  The next day, we trekked to an incredible waterfall and swam a bit.

Volcan Arenal

Hot springs at Bali Resort

La Fortuna waterfall

After all of our active and exciting activities in Monteverde and La Fortuna, we were ready to relax on Costa Rica's amazing beaches.

We had originally planned on being in a large beach town called Jaco. However after spending one night and a day in Jaco, we weren't thrilled with the atmosphere and vibe there. It was a large town on the coast, filled mostly with ex-pat surfers. Not exactly our scene.

So it was off to Manuel Antonio, a short hour long bus ride south of Jaco. Best. Decision. Ever.

Our hostel in Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio hit almost every mark on our list. It was very small and really just consisted of several hostels, shops and restaurants sprinkled along the stretch of road that followed the coast. We stayed in a little hostel with a great happy hour and an even better view.

We went to Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve, and it was one of the best days of our trip.  Manuel Antonio is a unique environment where the park is on the Pacific Coast and has several beautiful beaches along the edge of the park. However it also bumps right up into a warm, tropical area which feels like a jungle complete with a large tree canopy, active wildlife and long, hilly hikes through the tree cover.

Views for days at Manuel Antonio

We did our own tour of Manuel Antonio and hiked every foot of that park. We loved every minute of our self-guided exploration of this incredible place. We saw sloths, large lizards, numerous birds and tons of monkeys hanging out among the trees. We climbed hundreds of stairs to reach a summit view overlooking the ocean. We discovered 5 or 6 beaches along our walks.

We even reach a beach called Puerto Escondido, which is only accessible at low tide by climbing down on a ladder and over rocks. We ended the long morning of hiking at one of the quiet beaches. We loved this place so much that we came back to the public section of beach the next day and soaked up more sun, sand and waves before heading back to San Jose.

Puerto Escondido.

For only being in Costa Rica for 7 days, we accomplished a lot. But we know we only scratched the surface of all that this amazing place had to offer.

By the end of this huge journey, I was pretty exhausted. I had never traveled this much in such a short amount of time. In less than a 2 week period, I had been in 2 countries, 7 cities and 7 different hostels. This was on top of the previous 3 weeks that I had just done in Guatemala.

My stuff smelled, my backpack was tired of being tossed around, and my legs ached from all the hiking we had done.  I had seen and experienced a lot in a month's time. 

But like all good things, my trip had come to an end. Chicago and its beautiful people were calling me home, and I was ready to be back.

A taste of Pura Vida

After 3 full weeks in Guatemala, it was time to pack up and move on to another Central American destination:  Costa Rica.

Pura Vida =  Pure Life

The famous catchphrase of the Costa Rican people. I'm not exaggerating when I say everyone, from tour guides to waiters, exclaim this phrase in every conversation you have with them. It means living a life that you love and loving the life you live. This statement is not only a touristy slogan or logo for attractions. It is the way of life in Costa Rica.

Monteverde Cloud Forest.

My teacher friend Pia met me in San Jose. Our first impression of Costa Rica was seen through the windows of our van on the 4 hour trip to Monteverde, and through our chatty driver, Minor.

Minor became our personal tour guide for the day as he would pull over at various stops along the way. He spotted howler monkeys on the road and taught us how to holler back. He pulled over an hour later and walked us down to a small stream that was so hot, it boiled within the rocks and people had left remnants of cracked and fried eggs on the rocks. He scheduled our canopy tour excursion for the next day and told us the best restaurants in Monteverde. 

Zip lining in Monteverde.

Suspension bridge walk through the Cloud Forest.

We drove along the seemingly endless bumpy road and saw the landscape change to hills and valleys completely covered in green. We saw a rainbow through the clouds. We heard about the Tico lifestyle and the pride people have for their country.

This place truly was Pura Vida.

What was interesting was I had more culture shock coming to Costa Rica than I had going to Guatemala. In Guatemala, I had known more or less what to expect of the culture and people. Costa Rica was pretty different from the other Latin American countries I had visited in the past. People and buses showed up on time. Everyone more or less spoke great English. We could drink the water out of the faucets. Good customer service was a value in most agencies and restaurants. People genuinely enjoyed talking to you and helping you a lot of the time.

Rappelling waterfalls in Monteverde.

Living La Pura Vida.

But mostly, I could tell the people we just...happy. Jolly even. This is of course observations from the very limited experience I had in Costa Rica. But, maybe there's something to be said about a country with no military, a 97% literacy rate, little history of war and violence, and a better economic standing than all of the countries surrounding it.

The Costa Rican people were truly living the Pura Vida. A life full of meaning, connection and simplicity.

Tikal Ruins

There was one thing I knew I wanted to make sure I saw while in Guatemala. I couldn't come all the way to Central America, and not see one of the largest sites of the pre-Colombian Mayan civilization. 

I did my own self guided tour, but was amazed at how many structures were still standing and preserved over so many thousands of years.  Some of the earliest findings date back to 4th Century BC, while many of the current buildings dating back to 200-900 AD. 

                                       

People were allowed to climb, sit and walk among the different temples and ruins. This made the experience come alive for me. I was able to feel the strong rock structures and walk the pathways that the ancient Mayas had walked thousands of years prior.

  

   

In the whole Tikal kingdom, there is thought to be thousands of remains and structures. Most of these areas are still be excavated, mapped and discovered. The park itself has over 35 or so buildings and sites to explore. Some of the temples were taller over 230 ft tall and towered over the jungle canopy.

                                    

 One of the best features of the park was that I didn't feel like I was at some large tourist attraction with plowed down areas and roped off sections. Of course at many of the main buildings and areas there were the expected big groups of people and guided tours and people selling concessions. But a nice dirt path through the jungle forest connected each structure, and many times throughout the morning I would go 20-30 minutes without seeing a soul...

It was just me, the jungle and the ruins of Tikal.