So I said I’d come back and start writing again and I didn’t at that time ok but I’m back now so everybody just calm down. I just skimmed my last blog post from 3 years ago and LOL its so outdated now. My life has progressed, let’s just leave it at that. But we aren’t here to talk about my everyday life. I have travels to share. Here’s a bullet-point list of the trips I’ve gone on since 2022 that I can recall just to catch up. Question marks bc idk when exactly these trips were, so I offer my best guess 😂
- Aug 2022 (?) Jasmine and I took Maddie on the world’s greatest sisters trip to Paris, Interlaken (Switzerland), and Milan. Back when she was a little grade-school pipsqueak we promised her we’d take her wherever she wanted to go in the world after she graduated high school. Our trip was delayed bc of covid, but we found the time and had an amazing trip exploring city streets, hiking, Maddie went skydiving in Interlaken, and we all had an amazing time paragliding and enjoying the beauty of the Swiss alps.
- In Feb 2023 (?), I went on the best girls trip ever to Costa Rica for my good friend Kayla’s birthday. It was me, Kayla, Jasmine and Brittanie and we all had such a great time enjoying the beach of Jaco, getting massages on the beach, taking a boat to an island for a chill day with the best food, relaxing and dancing by the pool at our airbnb, enjoying a day-tour around the countryside, ziplining, exploring San Jose, and everyone but Kayla experiencing ✨️traveler’s stomach✨️We had so much fun and I look back on that trip so fondly. Not only did we pull off an amazing and very well-coordinated (thanks to Kayla) adventure, but there was also zero drama.
- November 2023 I took my first big solo trip to French Polynesia and had an amazing time exploring and spending lots of time in nature, with Mama Ocean and learning about some local customs. I flew into Papeete, Tahiti then took a jumper plane to Huahine. Rode a scooter around the whole island and broke my phone by putting it in the ocean like a dingdong. Got to eat super fresh vanilla ice cream (vanilla is a staple there) and relaxed on the beach. Did some biking too. Then I took a jumper plane to Tahiti then a ferry to Moorea and spent a couple of nights in this really amazing, absolutely beautiful forest bungalow. I spent my birthday on a traditional fishing excursion where a local, Sam (and sons) took a few of us out on row boats (idk the formal name for the type of boat, but no motors). We snorkeled and swam and set up a large net in the water beyond the reef and parallel to the shoreline then we swam loudly in front of the net. The scared fish swam away frantically and got caught in the net. Then you just collect the net. I was like thats it 😆??? But we got 3 fish! When we were in the water, one of the guys was pointing in my direction but I was underwater and had no idea what he was trying to say. He later told me a reef shark was right behind me. Thankfully reef sharks are harmless, but of course I was freaked out. Anyway then we gutted the fish in the water (the reef sharks lurked from a distance lol), cuddled with some sting rays (well they were doing the cuddling, I was just fear-laughing LOL), and headed back to Sam’s home where he gave us a tour of the most incredible home garden I’ve ever seen. He showed us how to process a coconut and we cooked up some dishes to go with the fish we caught. The next days I went hiking, drove around Moorea, and then moved to an overwater bungalow which I HAD to try at least for a night. I stayed at Manava Resort and it was as magical as you can imagine. I had access to the water from my own private deck on my own private bungalow where I could go snorkeling and there were so many beautiful fish right there. At night, I could see a sky full of stars and enjoyed a delicious, but overpriced dinner at the resort restaurant. I would absolutely 100% splurge on this again if I was very rich. The next day I went stand-up paddleboarding out into the ocean and got to see a turtle and many vibrant corals and fish. I took a ferry back to Tahiti and spent my last night in a resort where I really enjoyed walking around the grounds and admiring plants, looking at the water from the rocky shore and enjoyed a delicious dinner with a cultural show. This was the trip of a lifetime and I’m so thankful I was able to go enjoy it as much as I did. I actually started making a vlog for this trip bc I captured a lot of beautiful content. One day I’ll finish it and share it.
- This is where I might be trippin bc idr going anywhere in 2024.
- Feb 2025 I did another solo trip to La Libertad, El Salvador. Almost 10 years ago, someone I met in Spain told me about a surf camp somewhere in Central America and it never left my head bc it just seemed like such a cool, fun, therapeutic yet challenging way to spend a few days and thats exactly what it was. I didn’t stay at a fancy surf resort with private lessons and rigorous schedules, I stayed at El Pelicano surf hostel which was the most laid back place I think I’ve ever stayed. Literally wake up, go downstairs to enjoy a traditional breakfast of beans, plantains, eggs and bread, relax in a hammock and look at the ocean, go for a walk, wait for the waves to get big enough, then go surf for a couple few hours. I did a lesson on day 2 and went out to go practice on my own the next 2 days. Its such a good workout, the water felt so good, the people were all chill and kind, and the trip was really affordable.
This brings me to present day- October 2025. I have finally after all this time made it to the motherland. I write to you from Kenya in a small town outside of Naivasha a couple hours west of Nairobi. I’m spending one month here volunteering on a farm and learning/practicing permaculture in a whole new environment than I’m used to in Seattle. This farm and homestead are fully off grid too, so after watching probably 100 hours of homesteading YouTube content, I’m so happy to finally be able to come here and experience it for myself and learn what it’s really like. This homestead has chickens, cows, dogs and cats, biogas is used for cooking, solar power is used for electricity, and everything is organic.
I arrived yesterday afternoon after a taxi ride from Nairobi. That ride was so interesting I think there were people on the side of the road along the entire route, walking to markets and from church. In the city it was wild with cars and scooters (boda bodas) everywhere- no lanes so jusy organized mayhem. The only place I can compare this to that I’ve experienced is Indonesia. When I arrived yesterday I was getting to know the people here, helping with some sewing projects and getting my bearings, so I didn’t take any photos aside from dinner plate pic. Of course as I spend more time here and get more comfortable I’ll start documenting as appropriate. I should say, when it comes to experiencing an event versus documenting it in that moment, I will almost always choose fully experiencing the moment and just keep my phone in my pocket. I’ll try to find balance here as I know I’ll want to remember and share what I’m seeing and learning.
So itinerary-
I’ll be living and working on this homestead for the next month M-F and doing trips on weekends. I’m scheduled to leave the homestead on my birthday. From there, I’ll go chill in Nairobi for a couple days before embarking on a 3-day safari at Masai Mara. Then back to Nairobi, bus to Moshi, Tanzania where I’ll explore a new city and do a day-hike at Mt Kilimanjaro. From there, I haven’t scheduled any transport yet but I intend to end up in Mombasa, Kenya on the coast where I will have my first experience with the Indian Ocean from some of Africa’s most beautiful beaches. As I write this, its 3:44am Monday local time (5:44pm Sunday in Seattle). I’m laying in my bed typing on my phone. I have a private hut, which is nice because it allows me to unpack my bag and not have to live out of my backpack. I woke up having to pee despite going to the bathroom TWICE within 15 mins of going to bed lol and I finally just got up and went. I got this headlamp years ago from a woman in Seattle who was giving away a bunch of stuff and its proven very useful so far. My biggest concern with being here was the use of pit latrines rather than toilets. I was nervous about having to shit in a hole in the ground but you know its actually not that bad and surprisingly doesn’t stink. I can smell the cow dung more than anything and I must have been a farmer in a past life bc that smell doesn’t bother me at all in fact I find it a little comforting lol. Anyway, I’ll need to be up at 0530 and have only slept a few hours, so I will do some laydown meditation and see if I drift back off for a little longer. Here are some photos. P.s. I know the formatting isn’t great but I can’t be bothered to care about that rn. Hopefully you can at least read this comfortably. Write later!
