Tag Archives: travel

And, I’m Back!!

Hey hey hey!!

Probably thought I was gone for good, huh? Nope, still here. I’m not going to get into all the crazy details, but I will give you a brief explanation for the absence. Erik and I took a 5 week vacation in the beginning of February, and while I was trying to post from the ten places we went to, I completely failed. To be honest, I was just not in the mood to write and was trying to enjoy every minute of being detached from “real life”. When we got home, I tried to recap the remaining places, but again, failed. I had to take a week-long vacation out to DC (rough life) for a family wedding, followed by a trip to Colorado for work. Needless to say by the end of March, I was exhausted from traveling. I spent all my free time catching up on work, with friends, laundry (never seemed to end), and getting my life back in order. I finally feel put back together and ready to post again!

Yep, I’m back and feeling super inspired to share so much with you!!

I’ll be back this week with some fun new recipes, but until then, I’ll share some pictures from the last half of our travels.

{ Erik. crossing the Costa Rica / Panama boarder }

{ Erik. crossing the Costa Rica / Panama border }

{ chita. monkey love }

{ Bocas del Toro, Panama }

{ boat ride in San Juan del Sur }

Ometepe, Nicaragua

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The island of Ometepe. Well this update will be fast seeing as I couldn’t get off the island fast enough!

Before I launch into why this was my least favorite spot, I understand why some people love it, we just aren’t those people! The island of Ometepe sits in Lake Nicaragua. It has two large volcanos, one of which is active. When we visited Granada last year, we took a boat tour on Lake Nicaragua. We heard such great things about Ometepe, we knew we had to include it in this years travels. There are basically two sides to the island to stay on, the side you arrive, which doesn’t have much more than a neat museum on it, or other side closer to all the outdoor activities. We chose the active side. After a $30 cab ride we arrived to a place where they suddenly didn’t have room for us. Not only did they not have room, the next 5 places our cab driver tried were all full. We finally found a place on the “beach”. We spent the first afternoon researching ways to get to activities which included kayaking, hiking, visiting a large permaculture farm, and seeing the “Ojo de agua”. We found out we could not walk to any of the activities, but we could rent atv’s for $70 or take a cab for $30 each way. Then we had to pay to do the activities. The reviews on the kayaking and volcano hike were average, which bummed us out even more. We realized we would have to spend a lot just to get somewhere (when we felt like we were so close) only to do a mediocre activity?! We decided to stop wallowing in how disappointed we were and get some food and drinks. All I can say is we probably ate more bugs than actual food. Their beach restaurants, which are the only ones walkable, were completely taken over by some little fly gnat things. Im talking EVERYWHERE. We even went in the water and realized we couldn’t swim far enough to get away. Definitely not the best day.

Day two, after walking up to an ant infestation and covered in bug bites, we decided to turn it around, try to have a better outlook, and do the one thing we could walk to, Ojo to Agua. It was described as a large mineral water spring. After a long walk along a volcano in 95 degree heat, through a cow pasture, and then through a palm tree farm, we arrived. Majorly disappointed, yet again. It was basically a public swimming pool. Covered in bugs,again. And Mosquitos. It was terrible. We were so hot though, and had a long track back, so we quickly jumped in then out and bailed. Even though we were trying to make the best of it, we decided that place wasn’t for us and we didn’t need to waste any more time. We stayed one more night then took the first ferry out!! The topper on the way out was rushing to get the 10am ferry that was randomly cancelled so we got to sit in the hot sun until noon. Yay! Not

Corn Islands, Nicaragua

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Oh my, the Corn Islands.

We were pretty bummed to leave Roatan, but we read such great things about the Corns, so we were pretty excited to get there. After an extremely uncomfortable evening of travel (slept in the Managua, Nicaragua airport…SCARY) we arrived on Big Corn Island early in the morning. From what we read, Little Corn was the best island for us, so we cabbed over to the ferry. The island is only accessible by these specific large speed boats. By far the craziest boat ride yet. They CHARGED through the open ocean, powering through gusty winds and huge waves. People were getting soaked, a few sick, and Erik walked away with a bruised wrist from my death grip (I was freaking out on the inside).

Anyway, once we got to the Island, we cruised to the other side. There are no cars, only bikes and your feet, pretty cool! The side we stayed on was breathtakingly beautiful. In contrast to the side we arrived on, which had a tiny beach and seemed to be pretty much just for divers, our side was a white sandy beach with crystal blue green water. There was nothing more than some random huts people rented, including us. I fell in love.

Our few days there were spent completely relaxing…laying out, reading, beach walks, good food and drinks. I loved almost every minute of it. Almost, because I’m pretty sure the apocalyptic wind and rain storm that hit one night made me think our tin roof would be torn off and I would get washed away in some crazy storm. Yeah, I have a rather vivid imagination sometimes, especially when I don’t sleep a wink.

Sadly though after a few days of paradise it was time to continue on our way. We spent on more day and night on the Big Corn and then said goodbye to that little paradise off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua.

Hope you guys are enjoying the updates! Thanks for following!!

Roatan, Honduras

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Buenas Dias amigos!
Back for another update, woop woop!!

When I last checked in, I recapped our stay in Guatemala. As much as we enjoyed the historical sites and exploring the towns along the beach, we were beyond excited to arrive on the island of Roatan in Honduras. I will admit that I was a little nervous since Honduras isn’t the safest place (the mainland has the most murders per capita in the world), but the island does not feel the slightest bit threatening. It’s obvious with resorts on one side and cruise ships stopping in that they keep that ish under control
We stayed in the West End, across from the bay beach and what would soon become our favorite spot, Sundowners Bar. It was the perfect location to walk to everything .
We took a long hike down to the west bay one day and explored the fabulous resorts. It was an amazing area with a great beach, but a little too resortish for us.
Being known for its extremely large reef, Roatan attracts many divers. We weren’t willing to shell out the $$ or the time to get certified, so we took a snorkel trip with the craziest, funniest guide ever! This was the best snorkeling I have ever done. The coral was so large and colorful, it honestly didn’t look real. There were soooo many fish of every size, color, and shape. We even saw a little shark! Only downside, we got stung by several little jellyfish
We also got to see an incredible dolphin show!! They were so cute! Makes me want to be a dolphin trainer in a other life.
To top off the all the snorkeling and beach time, we discovered the Island drink, Monkey LaLa, which I am still craving. Far from healthy, but this thing was damn tasty.
I was sad to leave this little paradise, but I know we will be back. If you are ever looking for a tropical getaway, I highly suggest looking into a vacay there!!
Hope you enjoyed this recap! Be back soon

Guatemala

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Well hello there! It’s been quite a while since the last post. My apologies. Erik and I are currently on a month long backpacking trip through Central America. It’s been an unreal experience so far. We are currently on our 4th stop in our third country. I haven’t been as good as I thought on the updating, but I’m popping in today to recap the first 2 stops in the first country, Guatemala.

We spent a few days in Antigua. Aside from being way colder than we had anticipated (we got so stinky wearing our only warm clothes every day) it was so beautiful. We explored old churches, went on a tour of a coffee plantation, chocolate factory tour, saw a random pop star Guatemalan concert, and went up to some amazing mountain viewing points. Our hostel had some really interesting folk, but offered warm showers and cheep beer!

After the city, we headed to Lake Atitlan. Aside from being the scariest drive down a mountain (this road would NOT fly in the US), the town of Panajachel and the surrounding areas were so sweet and vibrant. We took water taxis to smaller towns and explored for a few days. The highlight was finding a holistic center in San Manuel where we got acupressure massages. Much needed from backpacking. We also found an amazing vegan restaurant; it has by far been the best food yet.

As much as I thought Guatemala was a such a cool spot with such life and vibrance, I think we were both happy to get to the more tropical stops on the trip. I’ll be back soon with more updates on the other stops. Until now, enjoy the pics!!!

Thanks for following an hope the updates are somewhat entertaining

Ciao!

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Dolls! I’m just popping in to say hello and goodbye for a bit. I’m heading down to Central America tonight for my month long backpacking adventure with Erik! I’ll try to do some recaps in each spot with pics. Until then, stay healthy, happy, and fabulous!

One backpack for one girl! Goodbye girlyness!

Path

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Not much to report here on the home front sugars, except that it is tons warmer today than it has been in weeks!! You can go ahead and roll your eyes if you have snow in the ground since the social media world is totally making fun of us babies here in southern California.

Anyway, I thought this quote was perfect to mark 2 weeks until I leave for an epic trip with Erik. I haven’t mentioned it yet, mostly because we were still figuring out dates. Now, tickets have now been purchased and arrangements made; in 2 weeks we are leaving for a month-long trip through several countries in Central America. The path may be somewhat mapped out, but I am so looking forward to the unknown adventure and where the path may lead. I was able to spend the first 3 months of last year in Costa Rica with a trip to Nicaragua, so this time around I cannot wait to see some new spots!

Of course this means The Vibrant Bean will be MIA for the most part. I will have some posts with pics and such, but until mid March (I get home March 3 but head straight to Washington DC for a week) the usual business will be mostly on hold. Please bear with me and stay tuned for hopefully some epic travel photos and adventure stories!

P.S. if you have any must see/do/stay at/eat at things in Guatemala, Hondaras (only Roatan), Nicaragua, and or Panama, please share!!! Thanks friends!

Friday Wrap Up

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Happy Friday Friends!

It’s crazy weather time here in SoCal. To think, just last week for Thanksgiving we were playing around at the beach. Now it’s all rainy, cloudy, yet oddly warm. Mother Nature, you’re a goofy one

Anyhow, the detox I have been on this week has turned out to be surprisingly easy. I don’t have amazing willpower or strength now, rather I have come down with a nasty cold. Juices have really been the only thing I have wanted. I guess being sick is a blessing in disguise making the cleanse so easy-peasy!

In all seriousness though, I have felt like crap all week. Normally I don’t stress being sick, it happens to us all. Being healthy isn’t about not getting sick, it’s about how well our bodies deal with sickness. So again, I normally wouldn’t worry except tomorrow Erik and me are taking off to MEXICO with a small group of friends. The last thing I want to do is be that sick sneezy, snotty (sorry for the visual) person on the plane, or be all sicky on the beach!!!

I have tried so hard to get better…rest, vitamins, nutrients, etc., so I have faith I’ll kick it just in time (I’m thinking tonight pleeeease!!) I wanted to share a couple of juice recipes that did make me feel loads better.

This one was spicy and helped clear my nose:

1. 4 carrots, 1 small beet, 1 apple, 1 large ginger knob, a handful of parsley, 1/2 cucumber

This next one is loaded with vitamins and gave me a lot of energy:

2. A large handful of spinach, several large kale leaves, about 4 dandelion leaves, 1 lemon, 2 apples, 1 ginger knob, 1 cucumber

Well, these are just a couple of what has helped. I made some of my other go to’s as well. And of course I loaded up on lots of ginger and lemon teas, a special tincture my brother made me with reishi in it (how cute is he?!?!), and Echinacea drops in my water. Lets hope this all helps.

Ok enough about me and my ~~feeling sorry for myself~~ being sick! Hope you all have a wonderful, cozy, sick free weekend!! I’ll be back late next week with some pics from MEXICO!!!

Until then this will be me

{ old picture from Bocas Del Toro, Panama }

What do you guys do to take care of yourselves when you are sick??

Snaps! Seattle Recap

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I may not be getting fall yet in SoCal (still a blazing 90+), but last weekend’s trip to Seattle has temporarily satisfied my craving for fall. It was such a great, fun-filled trip with friends and family, great food and drinks, sight-seeing, exploring, and some football (go Ducks)!.

We got super lucky with absolutely amazing weather. It made wandering around Pike Place, the views from the Space Needle, and the game just that much more spectacular.

Here are some snaps from the trip. Hope you all had a great end to September

{ space needle }

{ chihuly exhibit }

{ view from below }

{ pike place entrance }

{ Oregon crew }

{ outside Seahawks Stadium }

Since there was good amount of indulging going on last weekend, the first thing I did this morning was down a big-green-JUICE. Yeah, my body definitely needed that

That’s all for now! Be back later this week with some yummy posts

Northwest Bound

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Hello, and happy ~~weekend~~ Thursday! It’s the end of the week for me! I’m off to Seattle with a quick stop in Eugene, OR to meet up with some family for a night. I am beyond excited to visit Seattle being a it’s my first time (other than several layovers at the airport). The weekend will be filled with family, friends, exploring, and most importantly the Oregon Ducks football game!

Have you been to Seattle?? What are some things I must do, see, places to eat, drink!? Do tell

Also, while I was getting things cleaned up and packed up today, I whipped up this protein packed, immune boosting, super healthy and good for you yet so yummy smoothie!! You must try it. This will be my new go to breakfast I think

Blend up 1 frozen banana, 1/2 avocado (promise you can’t taste it), 1 cup almond milk, a few ice cubes, 1 small handful cacao nibs, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 3 pitted medjool dates, some raw spouted protein powder, and some MACA powder (more on its amazing benefits later).

Ok, that’s all I got for ya! I’m off to the great Pacific Northwest! Have a healthy and fabulous weekend!

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Not much to report here on the home front sugars, except that it is tons warmer today than it has been in weeks!! You can go ahead and roll your eyes if you have snow in the ground since the social media world is totally making fun of us babies here in southern California.

P.S. if you have any must see/do/stay at/eat at things in Guatemala, Hondaras (only Roatan), Nicaragua, and or Panama, please share!!! Thanks friends!

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