2017 was a crazy fun year, I can’t believe how fast it went by! I’ve loved all of the adventures I’ve had this year and am sharing some of my favourites with you today.
1. June – Vancouver Island
Camping at East Sombrio Beach feels like a lifetime ago. We saw some beautiful sunsets at this spot and I loved spending three days in the sun so close to nature. One of my favourite memories from this stop on our tour was doing all of our laundry in a nearby stream and laying it all out to dry in the sun as if we were displaying all of our clothing to sell, something about that just seemed really funny to me.
2. July – Jökulsárlón
This glacial lagoon was one of the coolest (literally and figuratively) places I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing to see their formation, you get lost just staring at them. If I go back to Iceland, this is a place I would return to for sure!
3. July – Seljalandsfoss
My sister and I stopped at this waterfall a few times on our trip through Iceland. The first time we only looked from afar not wanting to get our clothes too wet. When we went back again with our rain gear we followed the path that goes behind the falls and got soaked! It was so cool though, and a free shower!
4. August – Prince Edward Island
As if driving across the country and back for tour wasn’t enough, I decided to do it again with my Dad in August. It took us about 5 days to drive from Edmonton to Summerside with a few stops along the way. To narrow that trip down to a single memory was too hard so I just picked our final destination at the cottage on P.E.I. to sum it up.
5. August – North Rustico
Once we arrived on the island, the rest of my family flew down to meet us. We had a huge family reunion and then a few of my Dad’s cousins and us went deep sea fishing out of North Rustico. We got lucky that it didn’t rain that day and we were able to catch some fish. This was the perfect way to spend some time with family.
6. October – Manzanillo
Our first weekend trip out of Guadalajara was to the beach in Manzanillo. My host had offered to take us there and we had such a great time by the pool, eating tacos, and not thinking about work. Manzanillo is a great beach alternative for anyone looking to avoid the resort life!
7. November – Tlaquepaque
November 2nd was Day of the Dead in Mexico. This was the sweetest celebration to see and is a day I will never forget!
8. November – Tapalpa
Another weekend trip in Mexico! A few of the host families took us to Tapalpa for two nights to check out the town. Before heading back to Guadalajara we all went ziplining! I had so much fun ziplining. I’ve only done it a couple times, but it’s the coolest!
9. November – Leon
I think if I were making a top 10 travel moments of my life this hot air balloon festival would be on it. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and I want to see it again from the inside of a balloon.
10. December – Guadalajara
At the end of my trip to Mexico my parents came out to meet me. We went with my friend Brooke’s host family to watch lucha libre. This was the weirdest, most entertaining thing ever. It’s all acted like WWE but the acting is even worse. The crowd chanting was almost as crazy as the actual wrestling. After it was over we went for hotdogs and then said goodbye to our new friends. Going to the arena was a little bit sketchy, but I thought it was worth it to see once anyway.
And an extra because relaxing on the beach is pretty great too!
I hope that everyone had an amazing New Year and is as excited as I am about 2018! I can’t wait to have even more adventures this year!
Happy New Year!!