We truly lived, more authentically than before, simpler, in full family love. Just having time to hang out and share every day with the loved ones is an amazing gift.

Time is much slower when you slow down: the three months seemed like 3 years, an experience we have had consistently on our trips. The main reason for this – in my view – is that new experiences imprint on your mind, and at home, on any given week, not much happens that you do not already know, it is the familiar week for week everyday life that we all know. On your travels, you constantly encounter new places, experiences, people – and the unexpected, especially if you travel, like we tend to, without a plan.

Travel style: like the personality, our travel style also evolved over the past decades. From free to Lonely Planet to the micro-explorative spontaneous flow that was our guiding principle on the last world trip 7 years ago. This time we followed an adaptation of this principle. We focused on 1-3 places per country and spent more time there, usually 1 to 2 weeks. The main effect was that we got a much better sense for the energy and dynamics of any given place, we were able to get to know the locals, and it gave us time to zoom in – look at the detail.

Debunking myths:

Myth number 1: rainy season

We may have just been lucky in the aftermath of El Nino, but surely the rainy season this year did not deserve its name. In 90 days, we experienced no full days of rain, and less than 10 days with any rain at all. In British Columbia we caught 20 days without any rain, unheard of in places like Tofino. In the Caribbean the rain typically hits hard and for a short time, with rainbows and sunshine very quick to follow. Even though it was humid, we never had the experience of unbearable heat. We lived barefoot in shorts and T-Shirt.

Myth number 2: unfriendly locals

We were given the warning that locals are sick and tired of tourists and unfriendly. We found no evidence of this, in fact quite the opposite. The vibe and attitude was quite different: from the clear black and white divide in Barbados, to Latinos in Dominican, Cubans with their fundamental joy despite decades of tiredness from communism, Ticas in Costa Rica who were probably the most difficult to approach, and the surf hippies of Tuff City at the end of the road on Vancouver Island – but in the end, they have all been friendly and open to let us take a peek into their life and share the beauty they are surrounded by. We felt safe everywhere, and were able to let the kids roam freely.

Myth number 3: boring bland food

We were warned that the settings may be exotic, but not the food. Again, quite the opposite was true and we opened new dimensions for our taste senses. One factor in this has been that we were fortunate to sample delicious fresh food from passionate expats in the secret garden locations we stayed at – Asian fusion, curries, Italian, Middle Eastern, local exotic fruit, amazing deserts, and the best cocktails in the world. Some examples of amazing locations with incredible food:

Why these 90 days felt so amazing? For me part of the answer is that I practiced extreme curation – I focused every moment on the few things that I have learned to be contributing the most to my fulfillment / satisfaction / joy / happiness:

• a circle of love within my family
• breathtaking raw nature
• surfing and kiting
• meeting inspiring minds

The first 30 days we kited almost every day, and surfed pretty much every day the entire trip, except for Cuba. We all became better surfers, and took the waves of our lives. They are still imprinted very strongly in my mind, the left at South Point in Barbados, the right at Encuentras near Cabarete, a big bombie out the back at Playa Carmen, the never-ending right at Cabuya, a steep drop at Nosara, a long smooth ride at Playa Uva in Puerto Viejo, and the biggest and most memorable one at Cox Bay in Tofino. I was riding anything from a 6’4’’ fish to a 9’6’’ Walden longboard beast. If I do the math I likely surfed two or three thousand waves on this trip, and every single one was new and different and had its own character. Some smash you down in a big closeout, some fizzle out, but then you get this magic where an empty glassy wall of water opens up below you and invites you to play with it. Surfing does amazing things to me, it moves the entirety of my self onto a different plane, removed from all the thinking, physical reality, past and future, into the pure moment of the NOW. It is so pure and magic – I am truly in love with surfing.

Partly driven by our choice of location we encountered many people who seem removed from this world – in a good sense. They all seem to have run to somewhere or away from something, with the common thread of leaving something behind: hamster wheel, sickness, boredom, depression, lack of joy… It seems like these are the new hippies, the gypset generation. One the one hand the people we met were all very unique in character, they had something about them that set them apart from others. On the other hand they also shared commonalities: acceptance and tolerance of those differences, love and respect for the beautiful nature surrounding them, a simple life without many so-called luxuries of the big city, no need for materialism, a sense of community and support, responsibility to preserve the little world that they are part of. In a way they live the Utopian dream in a secret garden. The other thing they share is a deeply rooted grounded energy, aura of contentment, lack of restlessness and stress. I have seen the exact same energy in mountain guides in romantic mountain villages. Most people on the planet would be scared or apprehensive to live such a life, away from all the comforts and progress. Looking into the eyes of citizens of these spirit places it is very clear to me that they have the biggest luxuries in their life: time, nature, community, love, inspiration from their fellow citizens. For me all these people served as an inspiration, and instilled the desire to spend more time in spirit places, secret gardens such as

Santa Teresa

Lanikai

Las Terrenas

Cabarete

Byron Bay

Margaret River

Tofino

Puerto Viejo

Klitmoeller

Nosara

Sagres

Formentera

We return with some of the energy from these places, and with a large amount of gratefulness for all the love, happiness, bliss… and yes surf, great food, good friends, inspiration,…

“When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.” – Yo-Yo Ma

Ready for the continued flow of life.

Gerry

It is pure, raw energy, pitched in raw Pacific surf, with a back drop of beaches, forests and snowcapped peaks. You can only reach the island via the sand bar at low tide. It is owned by a Dutch couple, and they built an amazing cabin hidden between the rocks:

With 360 degree ocean view, open shower, fire place, a large kitchen, and the fact that you are the only one here, this has to be one of the most beautiful and romantic places on this planet.

stunning views , watching whales

wave meditation

We spent a week there with our family of six, with our friends Scott and Leilah close-by:

family

the boyzzz

Sienna playing in the waves

Gerry, Sienna, Sisley on the same wave

Kiting session surrounded by nature – one man standing

The evenings we gathered wood and made a bond fire…

Leilah and Rose

Sisley & Finn

Every day looked different from our lookout in nature…

Robinson and Sienna

Surfing and kitesurfing right in front of the door! In the morning, the boys Robinson and Finn, looked at the waves, grabbed their wetsuits and boards and walked from the island to the next beach for a bro session, …

while Sienna and Sisley started preparing some vegan breakfast feast. …We were very lucky, as we were spoiled with Sisley’s vegan choices for one week.

seeing the stars at night and the sunrise in the morning from this very magic bed

sharing what life is all about

dancing in the sunshine

There is amazing food in Tofino. TacoFino is a legend. A food truck, where people wait patiently to indulge in the best tacos ever…

There are so many endless beaches with beautiful waves and lots of drift wood to be creative….

in balance

A grande finale to an amazing family time…

Tree dragon in Rathvenor Park

Back in Vancouver at the airport, happy and very grateful for all the amazing moments this trip and this life has given us!

The Lufthansa 747 taking us back to Europe had been christened KIEL, our home town. Kiel gave us all those elements of raw nature, companionship, sports, being outdoors, authenticity. We try to take these elements into our life, but sometimes forget. This trip has definitely made us aware of this again.

Big smiles when we meet Sisley who is instantly taken hostage by Robinson and Sienna

same for Finn of course

Our friends Felix and Mogli are on their Happiness Expedition on a converted schoolbus, en route from Alaska to Argentina. Time to reconnect with a few local artesan beers:

Selima aka Mogli in her kitchen

We are blessed with real summer weather, perfect for a hike to Dog Mountain, which offers amazing views of Vancouver, Georgia Straight, Vancouver Island, and Mt. Baker…

sister love

friendly whiskey jack

more sister love

Marco from Expedition Happiness

Post hike post ice cream sentiment

Circumnavigation of Stanley Park: a great way to experience Vancouver’s beauty. Pure nature in the middle of a city with 3 million inhabitants…

Building stone towers facing the Pacific

Vancouver has not lost its spirit, it continues to be one of the most attractive places in the world to live. Real estate is the one big threat to the city’s future, as skyrocketing prices drive families to the suburbs, Vancouver Island and countries promising a new future. The breathtaking scenery, chilled vibe, cutting edge spirit in terms of healthy eating and reaching the next level of consciousness, professional opportunities, amazing outdoor activitiy options, melting pot global citizen scene, a progressive government – all these are great prerequisites for peace love and happiness.

We are passing Limon, the hub of all containers transporting bananas, pineapples, papayas etc. to Europe. Further south is Puerto Viejo, the little village, that people love for their reggae and Rastafari vibes, party and surf, and much more as we find out within the next days. As always, I need a while to tune in. Tune into a place, its vibe and people.

We almost instinctively, follow a rough road along the beach for a few kilometres. At the end of the road, right at the beach, is our house.
This is where Josi lives, the Israelian guy who came here 5 years ago and built his dream house, where the jungle meets the ocean.

Our beach hut in front of the beach house:

This is truly off the grid. The house is built with open windows, just mosquito nets. From our big porch we can see the sloths in the trees and the waves running smoothly. Surfing in front of our Robinson Crusoe house on our private beach break seems like the biggest luxury on Earth:

Here, at the end of the track, it is like an arrival. An arrival to ourselves, to nature, to our love and truth. It feels like there are no limitations. There is this feeling of being madly in love. With what is. With life. love & gratitude.

What makes you feel alive?

There is a concept of things, that make us feel alive. I feel very alive, when I feel a deep connection to myself and what resonates within me. It is a bit like a drum, that found its unique sound and rhythm. It is like playing the drum and be happy from the music that comes up. Every drum sessions inspires to be more playful, to try new things and to open up to those around.
The surest way to feel good is to love and take care of your self and to honour the beautiful journey of life.

We wake up early and watch the sunrise over the ocean. We spend our days surfing, doing yoga, drinking out of coconuts, and taking long naps in a hammock. Everybody is on beach cruisers, we have our sundowner listening to reggae music, spontaneous jamming sessions, extensive talks to the people who come here or live here.

Puerto Viejo is full of free hippie spirit, surrounded by jungle and ocean. A very unique place at the end of the road:

Koki, our favourite chillout restaurant

One of the coolest jungle things we saw was the chocolate tour with the purest jungle cocoa. We were given a complete tour and taste of how artesan chocolate is created…

one of the many jungle creatures here in costa rica

cocoa beans ready for being turned into yummy chocolate

cocoa fruit, containing ca. 50 cocoa beans

a very funny looking thing

On the final days, we had our private family surf spot, a gentle but large right off this point, Punta Uva:

Happiness lives at the heart of each of us, and it’s within our power to awaken that happiness. We must choose happiness, especially when it feels hard. After all, happiness is not where you are, happiness is who you are.

We had heard rumours about high winds (wrong time of year). Instead we entered a world of jungle, a beautiful lake at the foot of a volcano, and a funny town filled with “things to do” ranging from lying in thermal hot water, to hiking and biking. We opted for zipline and horseback. It was horribly expensive but fully worth the price as we zipped on lines 100m above ground and up to 1km long across waterfalls and right through the jungle.

Lago Arenal

If you have money left over, you have plenty of options here. We instead opted to head away from the tourists, to the Caribbean side, down towards Panama. On the road again…

count the pineapples…

Gerry enlightened by the sunset

endless beaches

It is all about surf culture, nature, healthy living, local art and products…

In the jungle, there are some huts and restaurants, some surf hostels and shops. Not much. We stay in a beautiful place in the jungle. Every afternoon about 30 monkeys with their babies jump into the huge mango tree, grab a mango, take some bites and throw it on the street. A nice way to have an organic healthy fresh delicious snack.

The streets are rough with holes, so that we have to circle around the holes to make it through. When we were just leaving the house, Gerry pulled to the side to give us a smooth ride. Suddenly we hear a loud crash, the front screen has a big hole and glass pieces are all over Gerry. Luckily nobody got injured. It took us a second to figure out what happened. We crashed into a big brunch of tree that stuck out on the road. It hit into the front shield, went then sideways and scratched the whole side of the car.

These moments make you realise how life is a precious gift. We were lucky that the brunch did not go into the car.

Nosara beach is surely one of the best in the world, miles of sand with powerful sets rolling in and now buildings in sight.

We pick up our rental car and spend the first night in a hotel close to the airport. http://www.hotelbrillasol.com/
But still, it feels already a bit like in the jungle, for sure Costa Rican with the typical Costa Rican breakfast with rice, black beans etc.

We have done a bit of talks and research about Costa Rica. I trust my Swedish connection, recommending Santa Teresa.
We head towards the Nicoya peninsula through the lush tropical rain forest.
From Punto Arenas we take the 1.5 hours ferry to Paquera.

We heard, that 4×4 are a must, but as we did book a normal car, we go for the adventure of driving off road with our funny rental car. Sometimes we have to drive slalom around big holes in the unpaved road, sometimes we have to cross little rivers…
Santa Teresa unfolds its beauty at an unpaved road along the Pacific coast.
We do not have accommodation yet, we check out the area, the beaches, the surf breaks and several beautiful locations with ocean view. Finally, we are lucky at Peter Ottingers Iguana Lodge, right at the beach.  http://iguanalodge.com/  Peter is an Austrian longboard champion, who came here in 2004 and bought a great piece of land right at the sea. In the morning you can swim in the tidal pools or you can choose among several beach breaks. He came here before there was any road or infrastructure, enjoying the waves with very few others. Today, he has a prime spot with legendary full moon parties with bonfire, life music or him DJing. Still, in the morning, he checks the waves and goes for a surf session, does his yoga with ocean view and reserves time for his lovely wife and daughter.

The Pacific coast has great swell these days and we are looking for the smaller waves…

We do some rental hopping to the tommy relax place and the tropico latino.

Yoga with waves rolling in

Bondfire at the beach of Santa Teresa

just chilled

family time

girls in tune

more chilling

la vida with ocean view and the sounds of the waves

super foods from super man

At Santa Teresa, there is an amazing vibe. The little village has attracted expats, that decided to live the endless summer life.There is an immense number of very healthy and happy looking people from various countries. You see them on their bikes in tiny bikinis with their surfboards on the dusty non paved roads.
They seem to be happy and relaxed, doing yoga and going to surf, enjoying the community and the purity of nature, being kind and caring. But is this enough?
There is Tommy from Italy; he is a chef and ski instructor – just sick of the high taxes in Italy. There is Christophe from France – a yogi with long term experience in India, who wanted to find his peace of mind. There is Maryann from Cape Cod, who feels in peace and in best company in Santa Teresa. There is Aleja, who has had her job in the hip advertising agency in El Salvador and trying to go surfing every morning until she decided to dedicate her life to surfing and moved to Santa Teresa.  There are many more from Florida, Brazil, Argentina, Sweden, etc. who love the remote place with gerat vibes and great people.

pura vida surf

the perfect place to enjoy & progress

Where jungle meets the ocean

sunset surf

family wave

Olam – the best choice to be happy

smoothie heaven

Olam, at the Nautilus hotel, a tranquil yoga-lovers retreat, is an amazing healthy food place with delicious food in a great environment. When you do your yoga upstairs, you get the tempting smell of croissants, scrambled eggs etc.

food for yogis and surfers

go green

happy vegetarian

A must is the bakery – amazing food and great people.

Sienna in heaven

yummiieee

ready to surf

Our surf mobile

yessss

tommys place – name speaks for itself

Best pasta West of Madonna di Campiglio – made by Tommi

and shared by lots of kids at Tommis

When it gets big in Santa Teresa, we head to our private familty spot Cabuya, with a beautiful long right…

cabuya parking

getting ready

girls after their session

after surf glow

Montezuma Bay

Montezuma Art

here and now

no better place

This is what is supposed to happen…

As it turns out, it seems as if Cubana sells seats on scheduled routes and then tries to figure out how to actually fulfill what they have sold at a later stage. This led to us being carted away from the airport on a bus to a four star hotel, and left without any information re what happened or will happen. We never quite got down to the very bottom of the issue, but it is likely a combination of

• no kerosene: Fidel and Chavez had a long standing deal and friendship which ensured regular fuel shipments from Venezuela. Since Chavez’s death and the drop in oil price and the chaotic situation in Venezuela (3 day work weeks due to lack of electrical power) the supply chain seems to be much more complicated
• technical issues: we flew Tupolev 204, somehow I felt like I may as well put on the life jacket before take-off, just in case… when leaving Havana I saw one plane near the terminal and five in the hangar for repair
• flight management Cuban style: I really think they arrange their schedule based on load very close to departure, regular Cubana flyers must be used to the hotel routine
• staff motivation: not sure if this includes captains and crew, but we saw very few motivated employees, average salary is 20 EUR per month and no real incentive or motivator to do a good job

On the way from Santo Domingo we finally got to our room at 1:30 am, were woken up at 4:30 am, and then departed at 9:00.

Not so easy to be alive at 4:30 in the morning

Indeed life is better at the beach than stuck in Boca Chica

Amazing practice in the virtue of patience. On the way out we stayed with guests from 3 other flights in the Memories Miramar Habana, a nice enough 5* hotel with tennis, a large pool and some music (regular price 400 EUR / night !!!).

http://qcostarica.com/70-costa-ricans-stranded-in-cuba-airline-says-there-is-no-fuel-to-fly-them-home/

We were left for days without any sign of life from Cubana, stranded in this hotel. We have learned to be flexible and would have enjoyed our time in Havana, BUT: we were not allowed to leave as we were waiting for instructions from Cubana, which were still “wait until we tell you when the flight will leave”. We did get amazing light shows from the nightly thunderstorms:

Ultimately, it felt like being in prison, albeit a very nice one. After 48 hours and no sign of kerosene anywhere I realized that we may be here for much longer – so I took the initiative, took a taxi to the airport, asked around for any Cubana staff I could find and eventually found the “flight operations supervisor”, the man apparently in charge of arranging for planes to actually take passengers from Havana to their destinations. 10 min later I had tickets on Copa Airlines to go via Panama to San Jose in Costa Rica. Off we went, in style, drinking champagne in business class, our surfboards safely below and amazing Cuban memories.

One piece of paper can work wonders…

traveling in style

What if…
the water sports centre would be open and you could rent all the water sport gear that they have had in the shack?
the snorkels and masks were in perfect condition…?
the salsa teacher would be there every day…?
the staff would thrive to make the guests happy…?
the cocktails were twice as big?
the electrician, the salsa teacher, the coconut man and the receptionists were not all the same person?
the rooms would not smell mouldy?

Somehow the staff was not motivated to make it a beautiful place and to see guests happy.

We spend our days snorkeling, swimming, playing, reading, writing and meeting lots of wonderful people.
And dancing salsa. Basic. But starting enjoying it.

cayo levisa view from snorkeling site

After 3 days we were ready for some more exploring…

where to go

From Havana we explored a bit the countryside. Viñales is a  small town in the mountains surrounded by lush green jungle.

We live the very basic pleasures. Swimming in the river, surrounded by pigs and piglets, oxes passing by…

Time to meditate and think about what is. From the distance, many days would look the same, many people, many waves, many encounters. But when you take the time to get closer, to explore, to dive into, you find new unexpected treasures.

We thought it is worth exploring the famous Cuban cigar production. And this is where this famous cigar got rolled:

In Vinales, we stayed in a casa particular. At this time of the year, it is easy to find a place. We loved our stay at Edouardo. It is calm with a stunning mountain view, they cook lovely food and are very helpful arranging transfer and trips:

Various travellers mentioned Soroa as a beautiful place in the countryside. When we approaching Soroa, we were expecting a kind of main road, but all we found was a few houses and a 60s style hotel.

Art gallery and B&B in a tranquil garden

Our casa particular is an art house situated in a lush garden. On our exploring walk along the main road, we discover an amazing water fall with several natural pools.

We endulge in tranquil jungle, less than 100 km away from the bustling busy Havana. The next day we explore on horseback, like the locals…

family ride

up on the hill, looking to the Caribbean Sea

nice place for a farm, getting coconut water with a stick

chilling on the farm, muy muy simple

On the way back to Havana, we get a glimpse again of life in the countryside:

a very rare sight

this is the more common one

or this, the real cruisers built between 1949 and 1958

given the choice, we pick the coolest ones

next