the balancing act

it’s been an absolutely wild beginning of the new year between leaving guatemala, flying to san fransico, surprising family back in canada with a week at home, and finally returning to costa rica. trying to process and understand where I’m at in these higher times of travel and moving around can be difficult but I always know to come back to gratitude for the unexpected and crazy parts of life. after travelling from guatemala to san fransico for the last round of a long job interview process (and celebrating the excitement of a new work placement!!), I came home to spend time with my family - snuggling my niece, hanging with my oma, good long life chats with the fam, and even having a long enough layover in toronto on the way back to central america to visit with my older sister! coming back to costa rica, I felt an overflowing sense of love, joy, and rejuvenation before settling back into life on the road.

after landing in san jose, I met up with hailey to reconnect back where we first met. it feels surreal and incredibly special to have spent most of our time together here in costa rica. and heading out to one of our favourite beach towns with some amazing new friends in tow was perfect. spending the week enjoying the company of one another, enjoying endless fruit smoothies, trail running together, taking in every sunset and connecting deeper was a beautiful entry back into costa rica.

at the end of the week we returned to san jose to kick off costa rica’s most gruelling trail running event - the coastal challenge. this race takes runners through rolling hills in the countryside, up into the mountains, trekking through rivers and gorgeous waterfalls, and along lengthy stretches of the coastline. over the course of six days, the racers cover a distance of 235km though any and all circumstances and crazy conditions imagined. each day starts with an early wake up call, rolling out of the tents at 3:00-3:30am, pushing past the previous days exhaustion and pain, and lacing up the shoes for another day of beauty, unreal views, total exhaustion, deep lows and epic highs.

coming to this event to work alongside many of my guiding/trail running friends from costa rica and meeting so many others who were apart of the team was truly remarkable. I was instantly welcomed into the tight knit family and fell in love with the work, people, and efforts involved with helping put on such a success trail running event. each day looked so different and added to the excitement of needing to be on your toes and ready for anything. whether it was setting up and taking down camp, following behind the last of the runners to sweep/clean up the course (while simultaneously enjoying the beauty of the trails!), helping at the finish line, or being one big cheerleader for all of the inspiring individuals who took on the incredible challenge of such an demanding race. from beginning to end, the event was simply wonderful and allowed me to connect and meet so many inspiring individuals who I feel so blessed to have met.

after the excitement of the event, I decided to stay down south to explore a bit more and take some much needed time to rest. this time was wonderful and challenging all in the same. one day was spent boating out to a beautiful island and snorkeling alongside sea turtles and stingrays (UTTERLY AMAZING!) while others were spent walking along the beaches, reading, and taking things at a slower pace. I was filled with so much joy from the race and all of the new experiences, but also felt a sense of burn out and mental exhaustion take place.

this brought on a feeling of emotion discomfort that can often come when travelling solo. by now, I’ve come to understand that it is all part of the experience and is beneficial to lean into and learn from, but in the thick of these times it isn’t always easy to see. however, after some much needed salt water therapy (a.k.a. ocean swims, sweaty runs, and some good tears), I woke up the next morning feeling lighter and more accepting of this time knowing it’s the discomforts in life that are where growth and understanding take place.

after being down in the southern osa peninsula, I headed far up north to the nicoya peninsula where I travelled around a bit and found new places in the country I hadn’t yet experienced in my trips to costa rica before. and now having settled perfectly into a lovely ecolodge in a quaint little village, I feel so incredibly grounded and a huge sense of peace and contentment has overcome me. through this quieter period of travel I’ve been able to connect with some beautiful travellers, take some wonderful yoga classes, enjoy ridiculously long solo beach walks, eat all the tropical fruits and simply ‘be’. it’s truly been an incredible blessing and has allowed me to reflect so much on this time.

now with another week of work ahead guiding with Jen Segger for her Run BC Adventure’s trail running retreat I’m grateful to move between these periods of travel, work, challenges, and joys as they come. I’m reminded of the fluidity of life, the need to be adaptable to change, and also the understanding that life is often just one big balancing act - each day continually learning so much from all these experiences and flowing through days with a little more grace, understanding, and one big thankful heart.

and wishing you all a beautiful day now, wherever you may be in this time.

xoxo.