You're How Old?!?! - Meeting Rodrigo

I’m sitting by the window ledge at Whalers on the Point Guest House, overlooking calm waters and mountains and reading the book, Three Cups of Tea.

There’s this really cute guy sitting nearby and also reading, except he’s glancing at me frequently and smiling.  I must stress, he’s incredibly cute.  Anyway, I glance over at him and he catches my eye and then starts to make conversation. He slowly inches his way closer to me and before you know it, his chair is right next to my chair and both of us have put our books down.  

I honestly don’t remember too much about the content of our conversation in the first half hour, but what I do remember is when Rodrigo made a comment about deciding what school to go to.  That’s when I felt a cold chill run through me.  I said to him, “Rodrigo, how old are you?”.  (Note: I was 28, turning 29 at the time)  He looked me in the eye and without hesitation said, “19.”  Damn.

I swear he didn’t look or talk like he was 19.  Maybe 25 or 26, but definitely not a decade younger than me!  You might think that immediately at that point, I would have shut him down and picked up my book to continue reading.. but I didn’t.  Rodrigo had an endearing quality about him that I couldn’t ignore.  So instead of continuing to flirt with him, I decided to just chat with him - and listen to his story.

Rodrigo is Mexican.  His mother recently got re-married to a Canadian and he and his 3 other siblings moved to BC less than a year ago.  He shared with me that his family is pretty poor and he can’t afford to go to college or university.  Also, his step-father is controlling and his mother listens to everything he says, as though she no longer has a voice.  Rodrigo recently left home.  He is in Tofino by himself, trying to sort out his life and figure out his next move.  He would like to become an engineer one day.  I tried to encourage him to not give up on that dream. I told him about government assistance programs that can help him pay for school, I told him which Canadian universities had the best engineering programs and I listened to him share his experiences and goals. We continued to chat for over 2 hours. Not one bit of flirting happened during that time. But what did happen was even better.

I was able to mentor and inspire a young person to take control of his life and do something great with it, and in turn, I was also inspired by his depth and perseverance. If I was with a group of friends, I wouldn’t have had that conversation with Rodrigo.  These are the kinds of amazing experiences you have when you travel solo.

Learnings and Self-Learnings - Costa Rica

This story is dedicated to Sara.

Costa Rica has become a popular tourist destination. Anyone I know who’s travelled there - or knows someone who’s travelled there, has only great things to say about it.  So when Sara suggested that we do a trip there, I was all in!

I had all kinds of ideas and perceptions about what Costa Rica would be like. Big mistake!  I knew that it was a popular destination for surfing, it was lush and green, that the beaches were still relatively untouched since it wasn’t rammed with resorts like some other islands ... I knew it would be paradise on earth… 

We decided that instead of staying at a big resort, we would do an eco-friendly trip.  We planned our trip to Mal Pais, located in the Nicoya Peninsula on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. 

Nicoya Peninsula, Mal Pais 

We booked a nice-looking eco-friendly lodge and had visions of us surfing and swimming in magnificent beaches and spending time with locals and hippies living in laid-back and charming villages.

We flew into San Jose Airport after a long and hectic flight from Vancouver. By then, we had been on 3 different planes, running from gate to gate.  We were tired and eager to get our vacation started.

We had to take a tiny hopper plane from San Jose to the Nicoya Peninsula.  Little did we know, that flight would feel like the flight of death. We got caught in a tropical rainstorm and our teeny tiny plane fought to stay in the air.  There were about 8 passengers in total and all of us were completely still and silent, no one dared to catch anyone else’s eye.  Thankfully we survived that flight and I’m here to tell that story!

A thus begins my story of learnings and self-learnings.

Costa Rica is lush and green – Yes.  That's because it is a rainforest and it rains for most of the year. As it rained for most of our time there... several of our plans were cancelled as a result.

Costa Rica is a popular destination for surfing – Yes.  Primarily for expert surfers.  Not for beginners like me.  I was so incredibly excited about surfing in Costa Rica that I felt the disappointment at not being able to surf during the entire trip.

Costa Rica has beautiful untouched beaches – Yes.  If fact, they are so untouched that there are massive rocks all along the coast and the waves are so rough that you can’t swim in them… or surf.  Unless you want to risk having one of those massive waves throw your body into one of the massive rocks along the coast.

Now don’t mistake me on this.  Costa Rica is stunning, and you’ll see that I’ve attached some pics to show just how beautiful it is.  

But my big learning was that I should never travel to a foreign place with set ideas and perceptions about what it will be like.  This is sure to lead to disappointment.

It’s always best to travel with an open mind and flexibility to adapt.  Absorb the geography, sights, people and culture for what it is, not for what you want it to be. 

I went to Costa Rica with a specific agenda of things I wanted to do and see, but nature had other ideas. I was grumpy, moody, kinda negative and failed to experience the wonder around me while I wallowed in my self-pity that my vacation didn’t turn out “the way it was supposed to.”

One afternoon, we were trapped in our eco-friendly lodge due to a torrential downpour.  We had no TV or other means of entertainment, so instead we had a long discussion that ultimately led to one of my most meaningful self-learnings yet.

Sara (a woman’s studies and psych major) exposed something about me that no one had ever told me and I couldn’t deny.  The truth shook me to the core.  I’m judgemental and rigid.  My idealism drives me to think that things should be a certain way (ie. vacation) and if people and nature don’t comply with my ideas, I immediately close myself to the person/moment/experience, etc.

Now I’m happy to be able to tell you that this trip happened in July 2010, so I’ve made a lot of progress since. I am continuously working at becoming a less judgemental person.  I’m working to become more open to life’s experiences (including people) and flexible to accommodate changes.

Because of my learning and self-learning experiences that week, I would say that Costa Rica is one of the best vacations I’ve had.  Had the trip not taken the course that it did, my less than attractive attributes may not have been exposed and I would not have learned those critical things about myself.

Since then, I’ve travelled with an open mind, willing and ready to embrace whatever experiences lie ahead of me. 

Adventures and Misadventures - NYC

Big city, bright lights… there’s definitely something adventurous and special about NYC.

I decided to hit the Big Apple this past Christmas. Araceli and I flew out on Christmas morning and arrived just in time to have a delicious Christmas lunch at Cibo Restaurant.  http://cibonyc.com/  We then made our way over to watch the Rockettes Christmas Production at Radio City Music Hall.  It was the perfect Christmas Day!

Our plan was to spend 4 days in NYC, checking out museums, shopping and exploring the city.

On March 26^th, NYC got slammed with the biggest snowstorm in years.  Snow covered the streets and sidewalks and it became even more impossible to get a cab!  The weather put a bit of a dent in our plans, but no biggie, we still had a fantastic time.  I bought myself a cute Russian fur hat and a Tory Burch handbag at Bloomingdales and I was one happy woman!

Our flight back home was on Dec 29^th at 8pm.  At 5pm, we lugged our suitcases out of Maria’s cute Soho apartment where we stayed [tear] ...and thus began the story of our misadventures.

5pm – where are all the cabs?  This is NYC for goodness sake!  (we’re standing at the corner of Broome and Lafayette and we’re COLD and WET.)

5:15pm – every cab that we tried to wave down already had passengers. (sigh)

5:30pm – several empty cabs drove right by us!  (those @^%$#*!!)

5:45pm – several cabs stop for us.  Cab driver # 1, 2 and 3: “Where are you going?”  Us: “La Guardia."    All 3 cabby's drove away.

6pm – Araceli:  “We’re going to have to bribe them to take us. Let’s offer $50." (that plan didn’t work)

Rachel:  “We’ll have to up the ante. Let’s offer $75.” (again, that didn’t work)

6:30pm – Araceli:  “This is crazy. $150. It will cost us more if we miss our flights and have to re-book.” (the next cabby isn’t impressed.  He drives away from us – with the door half open)

6:45pm – A cab stops. Rachel:  “We will pay you $200 to take us to La Guardia. Please Sir! We’re going to miss our flight if we don’t get a cab now!”  (he popped open his truck to take our luggage and we got into the cab)

At this point, we’re both completely exhausted and pissed.

We arrived at La Guardia at 7:15, with plenty of time to check in because our flight was delayed due to the storm…. and that’s when I realized that our passports were missing from my purse.  

Panic set in.  I frantically checked every bag and luggage I had in hopes that I’d find them. No luck.

I must have left them at Maria’s apartment in Soho. Thankfully our flight was delayed so we might have time to catch a cab back into the city and then back to the airport before boarding time.

15 minutes later, we managed to hire a cab who agreed to take us to Soho. As we drove back into NYC, I was struggling to keep calm.  Inside, I was burning mad at myself - and Araceli was being so kind and positive about the situation.  Even our cab driver, Mohammed, was trying to console me. 

We arrived in Soho and Araceli stayed in the cab with Mohammed while I ran back into the apartment to find the passports. I must have left them on the sofa… or maybe on the console.. or maybe they fell on the floor in the staircase..

15 minutes later, I had torn apart the apartment and still hadn’t found the passports. Several tears trickled down my cheeks. I resigned to the fact that I had lost our passports.

When I got back the cab, I struggled to fight back tears as I told Araceli and Mohammed that I had lost our passports. Mohammed said, “Don’t cry, Lady. I will pray to the god and the god will help you get home. Don’t be sad, you have to be positive. If you need me to drive you somewhere tomorrow to find your passport or replace your passport, here is my cell number. Call me and I will help you. And I will pray to the god to help you.”  Mohammed was so sweet and a little while later, I was able to smile because of him.

That evening, we called several police stations in hopes that someone had found and returned our passports. We knew it was a stretch to hope, but we had to try. One police officer even said to me, “Lady, this is NYC.  No one is going to return your passports.”

I won’t drag the story out much longer.  I’ll just tell you that thankfully, both our bosses were sympathetic about why we didn’t make it into work the next day.  Araceli and I decided to make the most of the extra days we had in NYC while we waited for documents to get sorted out at the embassy.  We checked out museums, (I went to the MOMA – loved it!), we ate at several amazing restaurants, including Blue Ribbon Sushi, The Burger Joint, Crif Dogs and PDT/Speak Easy Bar.. and I shopped a hell of a lot more!  Museum of Modern Art, Blue Ribbon Sushi, The Burger Joint, Crif Dogs, PDT - Speak Easy

In the end, we didn’t have to get our passports replaced.  On the evening of Dec 30^th, Air Canada called my cell phone.  A Good Samaritan had found our passports and had returned to the Air Canada desk in La Guardia Airport.  My e-ticket was in the passport case and that’s how they knew where to return the passports.  It's nice to know that there are still good people around - even in New York City.

We booked our flights back home on January 1^st.  In hindsight, losing our passports wasn't so bad..  we were able to spend a full week in NYC, doing all the things we wanted to do.. and we had a fabulous time!