One Week in The Dominican Republic
I never really imagined traveling to the Dominican Republic - I don’t know why, but it was never on my radar. But in 2022, the World Surf League has finally restarted the Qualifying Series contests (which my husband Shaun competes on) and they announced a contest in Cabarete, on the north side of the DR. I started to do some research, and even though flights were a bit expensive, I thought why not go spend a week in the Caribbean sunshine?
A Week in the Jungle: Cabo Matapalo, Costa Rica
Shaun had been to Cabo Matapalo on the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica a handful of times growing up, and we finally planned a trip (my first time) to visit last April. I had heard all about it for years and was so excited to finally see the jungle for myself!
Searching for Wildlife: Costa Rica
To be 100% honest, upon arriving to Matapalo on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, I felt a tiny bit disappointed. Shaun and his dad had come here many times together and have really hyped up the wildlife - “monkeys everywhere!” - but the first day here was grey, gloomy, and no monkeys in sight… well, after settling in for a day or two, the jungle started to come to life for us and that bit of disappointment was long gone!
Trekking Through The High Atlas Mountains
We knew that the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco is a hot tourist spot for hikers and trekkers crossing Mount Toubkal, but we only found ourselves in the area as a detour from a surf contest, so we were obviously not prepared for a real backpacking adventure. However, we organized a short day hike with a local guide through our hotel. We had a memorable and wonderful experience–– even ending with a surprise souvenir purchase!
The Philippines on Film
Shaun always brings a film camera along for our travels, and every time it's always so exciting to have the photos developed and be pleasantly surprised with what was captured. This is the unedited film roll from our two weeks in the Philippines.
Taste of Siargao Island
There's a surprising amount of restaurants to choose from on tiny Siargao Island– we were there for two weeks and still didn't try everywhere on Tourism Road! We were also surprised by the amount of international cuisine available: Italian, Japanese, Hawaiian, Mexican, Indonesian, to name a few. Each restaurant typically had a couple Filipino dishes on the menu, but there weren't as many traditional Filipino restaurants in the area as I would've expected. All that to say, Siargao is full of delicious options! Read on to hear everywhere we ate during our two week stay.
How We Scored Business Class Seats for the Price of Economy
We booked our trip to the Philippines on a whim, thanks to an amazing “mistake fare” flight deal – literally, this means the airline made a "mistake" on the price! I found this unbelievable deal thanks to Scott’s Cheap Flights, an email newsletter that simply sends out alerts on awesome international flight prices. After subscribing on the free plan for a couple years, I paid the $39 annual free for "premium" membership and it immediately paid off when I received this alert just a few weeks later: $600 round trip BUSINESS CLASS seats to Asia! This exact business class round trip ticket normally sells for $6,000.
New Mexico on Film
Shaun's hobby of film photography is a really fun way to capture authentic moments. Since you basically get one shot per photo (unlike the dozens of identical images that I collect on my iPhone), it's super exciting to get the photos developed and revealed. Sometimes they're ruined by light leaks, sometimes the color is totally off, and sometimes it's a perfect imperfect photo.
10 Days on the North Shore of Oahu
A quick collection of photos from ten days exploring the north shore of Oahu (some photos were captured on 35mm film, others from my iPhone 6s).
How to Use the Barbados Bus System
The Barbados public bus system is intimidating, confusing, and then—suddenly— awesome!
An Honest Review of Our Airbnb in Martinique
We stayed at an Airbnb in Sainte-Marie, Martinique while we were visiting for the Martinique Surf Pro. Budget nightly rate, basic (but sufficient) accommodation and dozens of great reviews. What could go wrong? Well, hundreds of mosquito bites, several power outages, and an unreachable/unresponsive host. At least the garden is pretty, though.
Basse-Pointe, Martinique Surf Pro
Typically, our travel destinations are determined by surf competition locations. This Caribbean getaway was no exception! We came to Martinique for the Martinique Surf Pro which Shaun competed in. The contest was held at a remote point break in Basse-Pointe, on the northern end of the French West Indies' island of Martinique. The northern half of the island is rugged with jungle and rocky cliffs, sprinkled with tiny towns every few miles.
Why I Love Airbnb
Airbnb has been a travel lifesaver for us! For instance, we've been to a handful of tiny towns for a surf contest that only offer one or two hotel options within dozens of miles. Or (more commonly), when we visit a tourist-popular city (think: Paris, Sydney, Tokyo), all of the decent hotels are all ridiculously out of our price range. We used Airbnb in every country we've visited so far: up and down Australia's east coast, before/after our camper van reservation in New Zealand, in villas while in Bali Indonesia, in the heart of Tokyo and out in Japan's countryside, down the Atlantic coast of France and in the center of Paris, as well as for our quick trip to Spain. I'll be honest — some Airbnb accommodations have been better than others. We've stayed in a fabulous penthouse, but we've also seen cockroaches. I'll break down the good, the bad and the ugly, and ultimately, why I highly recommend using Airbnb!
Spontaneous Travel and Last Minute Decisions
If you know me, you know I'm a planner. I plan ahead, I organize, I schedule. I have flights and hotels booked (at least) several weeks, hopefully months ahead of time. I spend hours researching routes and airlines and prices to the point of Shaun exclaiming to just book one already! That being said, the last 48 hours have been a whirlwind. Our itinerary has shifted from flying home to California in a week, to instead flying to Tokyo in 3 days.
The Month Long Road Trip
32 days and 3,000 miles later, we returned our camper van! I'm sort of in disbelief that I just lived an entire month in a vehicle. I had doubted my own stamina to endure such a long time living in a van, feeling confident we would have had to get an Airbnb or at least a motel room a few times to break up the month... Nope! I have survived the month long road trip, loyal to the camper van.
First Impressions: Life On The Road
I was nervous to book a camper van for 32 days. Where would I shower? Where will I pee? Will it be cramped? Where will we park for the night?... But today is day 5 and it’s been fabulous so far!
Film Roll no. 1
Shaun has a fancy for film photography. The photos below are from our first roll developed abroad featuring Bondi Beach and Coolangatta...
The Lucky Rookie
We rented a campervan! Driving on the wrong side of the road is as confusing as it sounds.
22nd Birthday
Celebrating another year with koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, quokkas, and more!