As some of you know, I take the winters off and try to travel as much as I can in that time. I love the two extremes of working really hard from April to October and then relaxing and playing hard from November to March! This helps me recharge and get ready to do it all over in the spring and give it my all. I love my job so much and I also love to live life so this is the perfect balance for me right now.
As much as I would be thrilled to have my professional camera with me while traveling, I’ve been leaving it at home more often on trips for two main reasons:
1) It’s a bit like having a baby with you in that it’s heavy and you can’t leave it unattended. Since I’m a fish, I’m usually at the beach as much as possible (especially surfing now that I finally took lessons and have fallen in love with it!). So when I have my good camera, it stays locked in my room a lot and I have to make specific photo outings to go back and get photos of the places I saw and liked when I was enjoying them… which, for me, kinda takes the creativity and spontaneity out of taking photos. Capturing things in the moment is what I love most, which is why I love weddings and portraits so much. : )
2) I go into photographer mode. Big time. If I have my good camera with me, I find it very hard to put it down. I go into photographer mode and before I know it, I’ve witnessed most of the views through my camera lens instead of making real memories in the moment.
SOLUTION: iPhoneography! It’s not all about the tool you have, it’s about capturing the moment and being creative with what you have and I’m quite content taking iPhone photos on most of my trips these days. The quality is good enough that I still like the photos, but not so good that I get in “professional photo mode.” As someone who usually travels alone, I love to share my travels with friends and family back home with Instagram. Most of my friends back home have kids or jobs that don’t offer them as much free time to travel, so, although they sometimes meet up with me for a week of my trip, I travel solo most of the time, making new friends as I go (which is part of the adventure!).
I’m perched at the end of the diving board, about to dive into my busy season and I thought it would be fun to share some of my Instagram feed with you from my trips this winter. First stop – Costa Rica… with a pit stop in Montreal first. This was my 5th time in Costa Rica and it won’t be my last. It feels almost like a second home now. I love the stunning nature, the friendly happy people who know how to enjoy life in the moment, the lack of huge cities (hello cute beach towns!) and the Pura Vida lifestyle. Pura Vida, simply translated, means “The Pure Life.” It’s used as a way to say hello or goodbye, “cool,” “awesome”…. anything positive really! To them, the Pura Vida lifestyle is about living without stress, enjoying the simple things in life and being positive and grateful. This lifestyle really resonates with me.
I hope you enjoy! If you’d like to read more of the stories that go along with the photos, you can find me on Instagram, username: jessicazais
You can also search the hashtag: #jesszaiscostarica to jump to my Costa Rica photos.
Montreal Pit-Stop! I visited a dear high-school friend, Jessie and her daughter and partner for a few days and had the best time with them. The Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal is stunning! I love this city. Coming from Western Canada where there isn’t much old architecture, I felt like I was in Europe! Off to Costa Rica! I took a small plane from San Jose to Montezuma and the runway was right beside the beach.I did a 2 week surf and yoga retreat at the amazing Anamaya Resort. Below is the view from one of the yoga platforms, my open air shower and the hut I stayed in with 4 other girls. This was my splurge of the trip and it was well worth it. One of our surf instructors from Young Vision Surf in Montezuma shimmied up a coconut tree to get us fresh coconut water to enjoy! I am still a total novice surfer but holy crap do I ever enjoy it! Off to new adventures after my amazing 2 weeks surf and yoga retreat. The following photos were taken in a variety of places. If you’re really curious you can search the hashtag: jesszaiscostarica to discover them. : ) Coolest hostel ever! The Flutterby House in Uvita. I stayed in the tree house below one night and then some cool dorms (see pirate flag) the next. This place made me think of the Lost Boys from Peter Pan if they made a hostel. Organic market in Santa Teresa. Yoga on the beach!
Stay tuned for posts on the other places I visited this past winter; New Zealand and Australia.
: )