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happy friday!!! 🙌🏼

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embracing the wet coast with bowe (at Quarry Rock)

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take in all the beautiful moments - they'll help you through the tough ones #staystrong #pnw (at Brandywine Falls)

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Shout out to my favorite adventure buddy on national kiss a ginger day 😘 #letsgoeverywhere (at Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park)

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And I'm back in my happy place #winterstoke (at Piccolo Summit)

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when your backyard is a postcard 🙌🏼 #neverstopexploring #letsgoeverywhere (at Alpha Lake)

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don't be afraid to live life a little on the edge - you never know what challenging yourself can do! photo courtesy of @twisted_individual420 - miss our adventures, you always knew how to push the limits! #pushyourself #newyear #newgoals (at Morans Falls, Lamington National Park)

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Four years ago this is how I spent new years - a lot has changed since then but I'll never forget walking through these ancient Mayan ruins and being in awe over this unbelievable wonder of the world. Hope everyone is enjoying 2017 so far! #newyear #newgoals #neverstopexploring #wondersoftheworld (at Chichén-Itzá, Yucatan, Mexico)

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keep your head up; keep your heart strong 💛 all the positive vibes for 2017 #newyear #goodvibes (at Ancient Cedars Trail)

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Nicaragua Itinerary: 2 Weeks

Day One

Arrive in Liberia (Costa Rica)  This is a great alternative to flying into Nicaragua, as flights are much cheaper in and out of Costa Rica. However, you will have to be prepared for a very confusing border crossing - which can be intimidating for first time travellers. If you are an avid backpacker- it’s not THAT bad.

Take Bus from Liberia to San Juan Del Sur There are a few options for transportation from CR to Nica. We chose to use a bus company called Marvelus Travel. We booked online prior to arriving. With this reservation you do need to take a taxi ($20-30 USD) or the local bus ($1 USD) from the airport to the local bus station. This is fairly simple, the bus pickup is down the far left side of the airport (usually others standing there) but you will need to pass through the crowd of taxi drivers insisting you go with them. Once we arrived at the local bus station, there was a Marvelus employee waiting there with a sign with our names. From there, the bus will take you to the border. The border crossing you must do on your own. My best suggestion for a smooth crossing is to look like you know what you are doing, continue from building to building (they make you go through 4 buildings total), pay the taxes and do not accept help from anyone (unless you want to haha - not gunna lie, we did, but we were very confused and have little to no understanding of Spanish!). They will expect a large tip at the end for doing things you could have done on your own. Also, this is all much easier if you speak Spanish of course. Once you are through, there will be another Marvelus employee with a sign on the other end. This was the most stressful part of our entire trip- so don’t judge Nicaragua based on this experience. It’s about to get much much better!

Arrive in San Juan Del Sur This is the exciting part! San Juan Del Sur is amazing, very charming and beautiful. There are some very popular hostels that boast great reviews (Naked Tiger (unreal view), Pachamama, Hola Ola). There were 5 of us, and we were looking for something a little different this trip- so we opted for an AirBnB. Now if you’re looking for an unreal AirBnB, I highly recommend El Torreon. It was located directly on the main strip, with a beautiful view of the beach, massive balcony and swimming pool in the back.

Get a Taco/ Walk around Town I shouldn’t have to suggest this, as it seems quite obvious- and FYI this is what you will be eating for the next two weeks haha. Enjoy your first one – or five, they get less and less appealing as your travels go on. This did not stop me from trying fish tacos at every possible stop ;)

Go Party! It’s your first night after all! We went to Iguana’s Bar and Arriba’s, but the bars/clubs that will be open will depend on the night of the week. If you are on the main strip, the popular bars will be quite obvious from the noise and people (San Juan is very small), however if you are ensure and your hostel is locate doutside the main strip, ask at the front desk. Everyone is super friendly!

Day Two

Sunday Funday Pool Crawl Our second day in San Juan was a Sunday, and being the party seekers we are, we had planned for this to go down haha. This is an all day drinking event, where you will “crawl” to 3 different hostels throughout the afternoon. This is one of the original party pool crawl’s and definitely highly recommended. You can tap out at any time throughout the crawl, should you not want to stay for all three stops (but c’mon, of course you do). You’ll need to go to Pacha Mama hostel in the morning and get tickets which come with a tank top. See website for full details: https://www.facebook.com/SundayFundayPoolCrawl/

Day Three

Hike to the Jesus Statue This was a great way to get a bird’s eye view of San Juan Del Sur, and a good little short hike (as temperatures can be very intimidating!). I’ve included a site that we found helpful with directions on how to hike up, however you can also access the viewpoint by car (if you’re feeling lazy).

http://sanjuandelsur.org/jesus-statue-san-juan-del-sur/

Hang out at San Juan Del Sur beach There won’t be many days where you will want to hang out at the main beach of San Juan, so take this hungover day to relax and not have too many plans- that’s what we did anyways.

Day Four

Maderas Beach We organized a shuttle and surfboard with a local company in town to get us out to Maderas Beach. You can also organize surf lessons if you like. You can do this in town or at Maderas beach, so no worries if you can’t get boards in town. There are two restaurants at the beach as well, but be sure to bring cash along with you as there are no ATM’s. Surf all day and take in the views!

Day Five

Ziplining I will be honest here in saying that if you have been Ziplining before- this experience may not get your blood pumping, however we still had a ton of fun and enjoyed being in the jungle. As with most tours in Nicaragua this one cost $30 USD, we chose to go with a company called Da Flying Frog. They were extremely nice and we all felt safe throughout the tour. You will get the opportunity to see great views of San Juan as well as howler monkeys and beautiful lush forest.

Loose Moose Pub Crawl Being Canadian- we definitely went on the Loose Moose pub crawl (this takes place on Wednesday nights). It is a night crawl, and begins at the Loose Moose bar on the main strip.

Day Six

Playa Remosa Again, we organized a shuttle and surfboards in town to take us out to the beach. Spent the entire day surfing and lounging.

Day Seven

Playa Maderas We came back here to surf more- loved this beach the most J

Day Eight

Playa Gigante We checked out of our Airbnb and headed to Playa Gigante (beautiful) with a boat cruise tour. You can book this boat cruise or other one day cruises through Rojo Loco (bar on the main strip). They checked us into a hostel at Gigante Bay for the night and within an hour we set sail on a sweet boat, loaded with Pirate Juice, music and party people. I would say that the tour did make a few promises that were not delivered, but overall it was a great time and a chance to get out on a boat! It’s $50 USD so chose to partake knowing not everything may come through haha.

Day Nine 

Porte Jorge to Isla de Ometepe We headed out from Playa Gigante to Porte Jorge where you catch the ferry to Isla de Ometepe (about 1.5 hour drive). The ferry goes a few times a day, so be sure to check the schedule so you are not sitting at Porte Jorge for hours (nothing to do here). The ferry is about an hour long across Lago de Nicaragua. Once on Isla de Ometepe, we organized a taxi with our accommodations to pick us up for a set price. I would recommend doing the same as there are many locals offering rides on either side for very high prices. I would also recommend booking your accommodations ahead of time, as it helps to know where you are going when you arrive. Most hotels/hostels are located in very different parts of the island. We stayed at the most fantastic hotel and if you’re looking to splurge a bit for part of your vacation, this is the time to do it! Ometepe is absolutely stunning, our hotel was perched up on a hill and it overlooked the lake and the volcano from an infinity pool (not to brag or anything). I’ve included the website below. They are super accommodating, we rented one house for all 5 of us to split and they had no problem setting up and extra bed for no extra charge!

Hotel La Omaja : https://laomaja.com/

Day Ten

Hike to Cascada San Ramon Our hotel provided a shuttle for us to the bottom of the Volcano to begin our hike to the waterfall. There is a small entrance fee, but consider this an almost free day! YAY! The hike took approximately and hour for us, but I would allow an hour and a half depending how quick you hike. Also you will not want to leave once you get to the top! The waterfall is stunning and you can swim in the pool at the base. This was definitely one of my favorite days!

Drinks in the Infinity Pool to celebrate!

Day Eleven

Visit Agua de Ojo Again, our hotel provided us with a shuttle. Ojo de Agua is a natural spring pool filled with crystal clear water from an underground river that comes from volcano Maderas. It is definitely worth the visit and allows for a little relaxation. They also have coconuts available there and make a sweet rum cocktail in them if this excites you. I definitely indulged in a few haha.

http://www.ometepenicaragua.com/ojodeagua/

Day Twelve

Ferry back to Mainland – Head to Granada Unfortunately, the time came to leave Ometepe L We had a taxi drive us to Porte Jorge again and took the ferry across. We then bused to Granada and checked into an amazing Airbnb (I will try and find the link for this).

Volcan Masaya There are both day and night tours to the Volcano. We opted for a night tour so we would be able to really see the fiery lava. I would not miss out on this opportunity if you have never seen an active volcano before. It is so incredible!

Day Thirteen

Lago de Apoyo We took a day trip to Lago de Apoyo. A few of the hostels allow you to pay to stay for the day for a small fee and use the beach and amenities of the hotel/hostel. This is a beautiful lake and definitely not something to miss. You are also able to stay out here instead of in the city, which was also highly recommended to us. Depending on how much of the city you want to see I think staying out at Apoyo would be a great option!

Day Fourteen

Check out of Airbnb and head to Costa Rica!

- Zoë

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excited to get back to this winter wonderland and celebrate NYE with my Whistler babes! ❄️️#happyfriday #neverstopexploring (at Whistler Blackcomb)

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One of my favorite days in Nicaragua, we all climbed up one of the volcanoes on Isle de Ometepe to this beautiful waterfall! Hiking is up there with my favorite activities and it's always so nice to be rewarded with something spectacular at the end. I'll be posting our Nica itinerary for anyone that's interested on my Tumblr, may help to give you some ideas of what to do there 👊🏼 Happy Thursday 🌍 #happyadventuring #neverstopexploring

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I am 100% in love with San Francisco 😍 this city is so amazing! This day will definitely go down as one of my favorite days ever haha. Drove up hwy 1 from Santa Cruz to San Fran, saw the golden gate bridge (took stupid touristy photos), stopped at fishermans wharf and got greasy AF seafood, then walked to the painted ladies and to see the full house, house! Everyone should come to this city!!! #sanfrancisco (at Golden Gate Bridge)

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Had the most special Christmas Eve with my baby sis. Slept in, went to brunch @jamcafeyvr (holy moly it is so good- worth the wait!), then went exploring in Lynn canyon. Now off to @yvrairport on our way to meet the fam in Cali ☺️🎄🎁this is a photo of the suspension bridge (attempting to get one without tourists haha - proves very difficult) and the sun shining though the trees. Hope everyone get's spoiled tomorrow!#merrychristmaseve (at Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge)

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Last weekend we decided to head up to Whistler, pretty standard decision haha. I invited my friend Megs, who never lived up there with us. I get especially excited to bring friends up to Whistler, because I feel like I get to show them a little piece of me. After four years being my home - it obviously holds a very special place in my heart. Anyways this is a photo from the Whistler train wreck, which is an unbelievable hike/walk, great for beginners and anyone looking for a little taste of the outdoors. The new trail takes you along the Cheakamus river, past waterfalls and gorgeous views of Wedge and Whistler Mountain, along the traintracks to an old train wreck site. The trains have been graffitied up by some amazing local artists The site is home to a brand new suspension bridge as well- for all you daredevils 😜. It’s definitely a must see for any Whistler visitor. We finished our day by grabbing treats at @purebread_canada and a flight at @coastmountainbeer.

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I really enjoy music (I know everyone does), but also love creating playlists - which is why I thought this would be a great place to share! I try to create one for each season that will pump me up for the months to come and also reflect the kinda vibe i'm feeling. It's always nice to have playlists to go back to as well, everyone gets sick of their own music haha. This is my latest one, but you can follow me on Spotify to enjoy any of my playlists from the last year!

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This photo makes me think back to one of the best roads trips I will remember. It also reminds me just how awesome my family is. I had flown out to Calgary to meet my Dad, who had just drove across Canada with my SUV (#1 dad award-seriously). This photo was taken at stunning Lake Louise during our trip back to Whistler. If you’re ever thinking of doing a road trip out West, the drive from Calgary to Whistler is UNREAL! Some of the best views you can find in Canada no doubt. #bitofwanderlust #letsgoeverywhere (at Lake Louise, Alberta)