Maui

The Maui in my mind was a lush, tropical place with waterfalls, clear blue water perfect for snorkeling and an abundance of friendly, "aloha" spirit. The Maui I encountered was very much the same, I'm glad to say.

BF and I took a short (5 days and nights) trip to Maui at the end of July. It was my first time there though I've been on neighboring Oahu several times.

Though we initially resisted, we couldn't help but fill our itinerary chock full of activities. Many of them were of the "must do" variety such as:

• Road to Hana drive: Loved it - so picturesque with lots of great waterfall spots
• Visit to Paia: Fun to walk around and shop in. Do stop at Anthony's Coffee Company to pick up lunch for your road to Hana drive.
• Molokini crater snorkel tour: Could've passed on this - there were free spots we found that had better snorkeling than what we experienced on our tour which wouldn't have cost us the nearly $90/person.
• Haleakala summit to watch the sun rise: Wish there weren't quite so many people as it takes away from the spiritual experience of seeing the sun rise, but it was still beautiful. We cycled down the mountain and made a stop at the Kula Lodge for a tasty breakfast.
• Pa'iloa black sand beach in Waianapanapa State Park. The sand, more like small pebbles were a little uncomfortable under foot but was still very cool to see. Waves at the small beach are strong, so exercise caution.
• Maui Swap Meet: Fun, lively swap meet. Many stalls selling a range of items. We brought home jars of Maui made jams and jellies. Yum!

Haipua'ena falls (on the road to Hana). Great for a dip!

Three Bears Falls - on the road to Hana

Sun rise at Haleakala

Biking down Halekala

Black sand beach

Honolua Bay

A girl in conflict...travel versus saving

I came across a recent post about "The Price of Luxury" over at Brave New Life that really struck a cord with me. As an avid traveler who is also trying hard to achieve her goal of early retirement (or financial independence) by age 38, I am often faced with the opposing forces of saving and spending in order to achieve my dreams. Therefore, I often think about what it's really costing me to indulge in trips to far-flung destinations.

On the one hand, I try to be very diligent with my monthly budget and even have a set amount of money that I automatically deduct from my paycheck - roughly $100 per pay period - to go into an ING travel fund. I use this money solely for vacations and mini trips I take throughout the year. This helps alleviate some of the anxiety I might feel when spending money on travel. On the other hand, I realize that by spending this money that could be better utilized padding a savings account or investing in stocks or mutual funds, I am only prolonging my path to retirement. (A $200 per month or $2,400 per year travel bill really translates into a savings cost of $80,000 assuming a conservative 3% return on investment.)* However, there are some things that are good for one's mind, body, and spirit. For me, it's travel.

I've always viewed travel as first and foremost, an adventure. I love to be immersed in new cultures, experiencing exotic tastes, smells, sights and sounds that both transform and transport me. There's no substitute for getting lost in a chaotic bazaar, weaving your way through narrow, unfamiliar streets, making a connection with strangers who don't speak your language, or coming upon a quiet, undisturbed place to take your breath away. Travel holds promise. Travel encourages me to learn from my past, to keenly look towards the future, but to always be aware and firmly present on the path I'm on. That way, I'll always appreciate where I am in life and where I'm going.

As I struggle with some of the guilt I feel about spending the money on travel, I have to remind myself that part of it is the price I pay for living in my hamster wheel. There is no way around it - I work to live, but in order to escape some of the realities of my cubicle nightmare, I use travel as an escape. Until the day that I can break out for good, where travel will be less of a coping mechanism and more of an immersive experience, I can only hold my breath and continue saving.

*In the world of early retirement, instead of trying to calculate how much you'll need in retirement based on a fixed percentage of peak income figures (i.e. I'll need 80% of my current income to live off of for the rest of my life), early retirees tend to calculate how much they'll need in retirement based on their current monthly expenses and aim to live off their investments. In my example, a monthly travel expense of $200 or $2400 per year using an ROI after inflation of 3% means that I'll need 3% of my nest egg to equal $2400.  $2400/.03 = $80,000. So I would need to save $80,000 in order to draw $2400 each year.

I've broken down the gist of the early retiree method in more detail below. Basically, the idea is that to retire early, you need low monthly expenses. If your monthly costs are low, you'll need a lower nest egg in order to retire. Conversely, if you use the conventional "percentage of my current income" method, you'll need a really large nest egg to retire.

Early retiree method:

• Bring monthly costs down as low as possible by doing such things as paying off your mortgage, living frugally, investing and saving early.
• Assuming $2000 in monthly expenses means an early retiree would need about $2000 x 400 or $800,000 to retire early. And by early, I'm talking mid-30s or earlier if you're diligent! The retiree could then withdraw $2000 per month or about 3% of his/her portfolio and expect that it would last the rest of his/her life.

Regular or conventional retirement method:

• Save the "recommended" 10 to 15% of income each year
• Live normally, don't take too many measures to reduce monthly expenses
• Aim to replace roughly 80% of pre-retirement income. Assuming a pre-retirement income of $80,000, a retiree would need $64,000 x 30 years or $1.92 million before retiring. And the retiree isn't leaving the work force early...he or she would need to work until 65 in order to accumulate the $1.92 million.

A girl in Costa Rica - White water rafting

Another item on our "must do" list in Costa Rica was river rafting. We signed up with Wave Expeditions for the tour and highly recommend it. The outfitter has an office conveniently located in La Fortuna.

There were roughly 12 of us in the group total, not including the tour guides so it still felt small and personal. We were picked up from our hotel in a nice, clean van and driven the short 1/2 hour or so to the Bolsa River. Apparently, the white water tour is dependent on when the dam flood gates are opened each day, which was a bit surprising to us, but nonetheless, made for good rafting.

Our group of 12 was split up into 2 and we were all provided with all the necessary safety gear - helmet, floatation vest, paddle - and were also given a thorough run-through of the various safety drills as well as rafting instructions.

It was such a thrill going down the river. We even saw a sloth (our first and only sighting in Costa Rica) while paddling. There are also lots of wild life and flora to gaze at when you're not battling the river and trying not to fall in, of course!

Wave Expeditions was a standout outfitter for several reasons, including:

• Provided us with a tasty, mid-rafting fruit break - fresh pineapple and watermelon taste great after an hour or so of rafting.

• After we finished rafting, we were taken to Casona el Rancho, a preserved farmhouse where husband and wife owners, Milton and Elieth were committing to running the farmhouse the way it had always been run - without electricity and with minimal environmental impact. It was such a great experience to not only learn about their work in safeguarding a piece of Costa Rican tradition but to also enjoy their beautiful property, flush with beautiful birds, plants and trees. We were treated to a very tasty lunch and invited to sample their special homemade wine and molasses. 

They even demonstrated how they use the traditional ox/bull method for squeezing sugar cane, which they then convert into brown sugar/molasses.

This cheeky little goat seemed to really want its picture taken, so I had to oblige.

A girl in Costa Rica - ziplining adventure

After our one-night stay in the Arenal Observatory Lodge, we drove a few miles away to where we'd be spending the next few nights: the Los Lagos resort. What the Los Lagos lacked in terms of seclusion and a sense of being cocooned in nature, which the Arenal Lodge had in spades, it made up for in terms of its convenient proximity to the La Fortuna city, and its own unique appeal.

The property is known for its hot springs, with water corralled from underground into a variety of man-made pools with ranging temperatures to suit your preference. Our room was in a standalone bungalow that houses two separate guest rooms and which backs up to the forest. The room was also halfway up a steep hill which made for a great calf and butt work out after a few days!

Zip lining was a convenient stroll from our room to the on-site zip lining outfitter. While the various zip lining/canopy outfitters claim theirs is the fastest, tallest, etc., it's hard to tell. All I know is the Los Canones zip lining tour was great. There are 8 different platforms with sweeping views of the forest from the top of the canopy. We loved it. Here's a view from the treetops with the zip line extending through the center:

Other highlights of staying at Los Lagos:

• You're surrounded by wildlife. On the property alone, we saw (and heard) howler monkeys in the trees outside our room, were joined for meals by large, skittish lizards and iguanas.

• The property also has a butterfly garden, crocodile farm, ant farm and frog farm. The word "farm" is used loosely to describe the single crocodile pen, small frog enclosure and somewhat sparse ant farm. However, we loved the butterfly garden; it was quite magical to be surrounded by so many butterflies and hummingbirds.

 

• Complimentary breakfast buffet was good; we ate at the restaurant several times during our stay as well and the food was tasty.
• Whether you're traveling with kids or are simply a kid at heart, you should go down the pool slide. There are three, and while the larger one looks tame, it does catch you by surprise. First you're thinking, "eh, no big deal." The next thing you know, you're slipping and sliding around curves and twists through tunnels only to emerge - suddenly - straight into the pool. Remember to hold your breath!

A girl in Costa Rica - volcanoes & waterfalls

Our long awaited trip to Costa Rica finally arrived and I was so excited! Our itinerary was pretty jammed packed with: zip lining, canyoneering, hiking, white water rafting, surfing, beach bumming, shopping and more!

We split our time between the Arenal Volcano/La Fortuna area and the Papagayo (Guanacaste region) on the Pacific Coast. If we had the opportunity to stay longer, I would have loved to visit both the Caribbean coast and the Manuel Antonio area.

We picked up our trusty rental 4x4 Daihatsu "BeGo" - we laughed at first too, but it served us well to the end - from the San Jose airport area and made the trek to La Fortuna. We took the opportunity to stop in Sarchi, known as a little handicraft sort of town.

 Picture of a large painted ox cart - quintessentially Costa Rica. You can easily pick up (smaller) ox cart souvenirs to bring home.

The drive from the airport with a stop in Sarchi to La Fortuna took about 4 hours. We had some difficulty with getting out of the San Jose area, which was partially due to a GPS unit that wasn't providing clear directions and somewhat confusing turnabouts and the chaotic traffic. Once out of the city limits, however, driving around Costa Rica was much simpler. Take note that many of the roads are one-lane highways or small, dirt or unpaved roads. A 4-wheel drive car is definitely recommended.

Driving up to La Fortuna, Arenal volcano looms large on the horizon.

The volcano is dormant and in speaking to those who lived there, hasn't had any lava flow in a number of years. It's still great to gaze at however, especially when it's top is slightly fog covered.

We spent our first night at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, the closest accommodations to the volcano. Note: it's a little bit of a trek on an unpaved (read: teeth chattering in our little 4WD vehicle) road on the turn-off to get to the Arenal Observatory Lodge. However, it was well worth it. We were treated to a great view of the volcano from our balcony. Other highlights of the property:

• Tasty, complimentary breakfast every morning
• Great hiking trails on the property itself -- we explored the old volcano trail, which leads you through verdant forests to a little lazy river. There's also a waterfall trail and a trail to a hanging bridge. Additionally, the staff lead free, early morning hiking trips most days.
• Wonderful pool area, with infinity pool surrounded by the forest. You can swim to the sounds of beautiful song birds.

Can you ask for a more relaxing spot? On the opposite side of the forests is a view of, you guessed it, Arenal Volcano.

Spied a turkey during our explorations around the Observatory Lodge.

Beautiful tropical plants on the property

Waterfall at the end of the waterfall trail

A girl in...Joshua Tree National Park

Drove out to Joshua Tree National Park for a rock climbing tour with the great folks at Joshua Tree guides. On the way to our meeting point at Intersection Rock, we couldn't resist the urge to stop and take pictures of the unbelievable scenery and awe inspiring rock formations.

 

Joshua Tree National Park encompasses two deserts - the Mohave and the Colorado desert and as such, the landscape at the North entrance varies from that in the South entrance. For this trip, we entered and exited at the North. It's such an interesting place and while one has the tendency to think of a desert as barren and well, deserted, there really is a lot of life and activity just underneath the stark veneer.

Our guide was Miriam and she was wonderful - a wealth of knowledge and really friendly. We started our first rock climb (a level 5) at a location close to Intersection Rock and got re-acquainted with tying the rope to our harness, belaying techniques and general safety procedures.

We then moved over to Reggie Dome. It's located east of the Key's Corner parking lot (about a 10 minute walk). There, Miriam led us through a variety of climbs: regular rock climbing using the rock's natural cracks and crevices to climb, rappelling, and slab climbing. We rock climbed up a route called "Pops goes Hawaiian" - gotta love that!

Slab climbing definitely took some getting used to since it involves putting your feet in small cracks on nearly flat, slab-like rock (hence the name) and slowly climbing up its face. See picture below:

All in all, a really great day - felt great pushing myself physically and mentally and couldn't ask for better weather. :)

A girl in...her spiffy Barefoot Merrells

I'm getting geared up for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica (so excited!) and one of the decisions I made was to purchase a multipurpose shoe that would be good as both a walking and water shoe. Our Costa Rica itinerary is pretty packed with all sorts of fun adventures, including a volcano hike, night jungle hike, canyoneering, white water rafting and zip lining.

In ticking off my mental packing list, I realized I'd be bringing five pairs of shoes: hiking boots, waters shoes, tennis shoes, flip-flops, and a dressier pair of sandals. That's a definite no-no for me, so I thought I should try and find a shoe that will serve multiple functions. Enter the Merrell Pace Glove Barefoot running shoe.

Though I was initially drawn to the shoe for its cool styling, light weight and breathability, the friendly gal at REI spoke really highly of the shoe and espoused the benefits of barefoot running. Granted, I'm not a runner by any means but even I was tempted to take the shoe out on a few trial runs around my neighborhood. Verdict: I still haven't developed a great love for running but did notice the difference in that I take lighter steps.

I also took the shoe out last weekend for a trip to Joshua Tree for a guided rock climbing trip. While I didn't climb with them on, they came in handy for running around and taking breathers from having my feet squished into tight rock climbing shoes.

The Merrells hanging out with our climbing ropes.

A girl in...fear of failing

Out of the blue, I decided to dust off my blog (after initially having grandiose dreams of creating blog entries every week and for every trip I went on, which obviously didn't happen) and attempt to pick up where I left off a few years ago.

Looking back, I think the reason I stopped blogging was fear. It's a little scary to put your thoughts down in a consistent manner and especially so when I start thinking about the friends and family who may stumble upon my blog. I start thinking, "was that last post any good?" or "what if people don't like what I'm writing?"

I've come to the conclusion that sometimes you just have to give it a shot and shut out all those little voices - especially your own. You may try and you may fail, or in all likelihood, you might write a bunch of crappy posts until you get into the swing of things and then start really finding your voice. The idea is just to keep the momentum building. In this case, it would be to write small blog posts frequently so that I can overcome my writing-fright.

With that said, let's start over. "Hello, I'm Joycelynn. Thanks for reading my blog!"