This is probably the most beautiful and heartfelt interview anyone has done on my journey and projects, therefore, I felt the need to share it immediately. Some of you may have already seen it on TV, for everyone else, here it is! I'll do my best to try to get someone to add English subtitles to the video soon.
Love you, guys! Thank you for the constant support and love!
This giveaway has me beyond excited! The blog has been growing at a fast rate and I wanted to find a way to say THANK YOU and express my deep love for you guys. None of what I do would be possible without you! Therefore, I've partnered with one of the first eco-friendly hotels I reviewed for the blog to make a winner's wanderlust dreams come true!! What a better way to introduce you to the WTS conscious lifestyle than by giving you an opportunity to experience it yourself?! Don't you think? Laguna Lodge is the second hotel I reviewed for the blog 1.5 years ago and a place that changed my life forever. The hotel is located in front of Lake Atitlán (literally!) which means that you open your bedroom curtains every morning to a blue lake with huge white clouds mirrored on top of it. Behind the hotel, lays a 100-acre Nature Reserve entirely consumed by tall trees and a trail that takes you all the way up to the top to a hammock hanging under a tiny hut. This was my favorite place. From there you can see life! Green trees, the bluest of blue lakes, infinite mountains, and little boats floating on the lake. Laguna Lodge screams pure nature-loving magic, guys! Completely circled by it, running on solar energy, offering vegetarian and vegan options only, eco-friendly bath products, a holistic spa, yoga classes, and so much more! Click here to read the post I wrote about Laguna Lodge. Click here to watch my travel videos.
Now, back to the giveaway details! A winner plus 1 (yes! you get to take your friend, partner, family member, husband or wife along too!) will receive:
-2 night stay at luxury suite (value of over $300 per night!)
-Breakfast every morning: vegan or vegetarian. You will flip once you see their menu! My favorites were the vegan pancakes and the scrambled tofu with arepas.
-Boat ride from Panajachel to Hotel and back (10-15 min ride)
-20% off in any other service or extra night you want to include (use code WaterThruSkin with concierge)
-As if that were not enough, they winner will also receive over $200 of fair-trade, handmade and charity-oriented jewelry prices!!! (Details on brands at bottom of page)
**Please note that hotel giveaway is not valid on public holidays.
To participate all you have to do is:
-Submit your story via the box below or by sharing it on IG and tagging @waterthruskin and using #wtswanderlust. We want to know what sets your soul on fire, a little about your life, what this trip would mean to you, and who you would take with you. Entries can be written in English OR Spanish!!! :)
-Follow @waterthruskin on IG & Facebook
-Follow the brands on IG: @lagunaLodge @carlaspeck @31bits @guadalupedesign @openheartwarrior @oramajewellry @scrapbydworak
That's it!!! Winner will be announced August 19th!
Conscious Jewelry by (Photos at bottom of page):
1) Handmade healing crystal necklace with hemp cord by OpenHeartWarrior
2) Handmade and fair-trade wrap around bracelet inspired in different ancient cultures worldwide by CarlaSpeck.
3) Recycled paper bracelet empowering women in Uganda by 31bits.
4) Hand-knit and fair-trade bracelet by GuadalupeDesign
5) Handmade silver bracelet that helps empower women in struggling communities by giving them the chance to create businesses with the help of micro-loans, by OramaJewellry.
6) Handmade necklace made from recycled electronic parts by ScrapbyDworak.
This trip! God.. where do I begin? Last time I wrote a post on the blog was almost three weeks ago during a moment of heartbreak, doubts, and anxiety. A moment most sane people sleep on to avoid making any drastic decisions. But then again, we are not like most people are we? Each one of us is different. Some choose to play on the safe side and let sanity and stability be the rulers of their kingdom, and then there's those who embrace risks and adventures with open arms… The fearless free spirits and wild hearts that see change as an opportunity to grow. In the past few years I've had too many people in my life tell me what to do or not to do during moments of stress or pain, and for some reason I would always end up listening to them and doing as I was told. Almost every time I regretted listening until the day I grew the balls to believe in myself and in the power within me to know what's best for ME. Yes, I said balls. I don't think there's a word that describes what I've been going through better than "growing a pair"! I mean, in less than 60 days I did not only say goodbye to a 1.5 year relationship but I also left a $100K paying job to follow my passions, travel the world, write, take photos, start my own business, do good and simply be...happy! Not thinking too much about where the next paycheck would come from or what I would lose while chasing my dreams and happiness but focusing on everything I had to gain. I don't know about you guys but to me that took a gigantic pair!! But then of course, like anything new in life, changes can be a little overwhelming. Specially if they involve the important pillars we've been taught since kids to build full of strength and stability: Relationships and careers. So...on April 14, 2015, I found myself at home meditating on the major changes that were taking place in my life. Those thoughts and emotions- good and bad- started to take over my mind and body faster than a granny on the loose speeding through the highway!! Instead of panicking and letting fear take over me, I chose to challenge it by doing what I love most- traveling- but this time solo and completely unplanned. My goal? To clear my mind, meditate, lose fear of dark hotel rooms and lonely nights, forget about perfect calendars and itineraries, forgive, move on, and come back fresh…reenergized…renewed! I didn’t think twice and bought myself a ticket from Miami to Barcelona to visit my brother for a few days. From there, I thought about flying to Milan to visit a friend and… the week after that?? No idea!! I told myself I would figure it out once there and kept repeating these words to myself over and over again: “just flow. Everything will work out in its own perfect way and at its own perfect time. Let it.” I never imagined those words would become the mantra that would lead me to one of the best trips of my life!
Without planning or booking any hotels, I spent 5 days in Barcelona, 4 days in Milan, 3 days reviewing an eco vegetarian hotel in the mountains of Perugia (Umbria) and 1 day in Assisi. How did this all happen? No clue! I’m still trying to figure it out! Except for Barcelona and Milan- which I bought tickets for the night of my meditation and realization- all the other cities and the hotel I ended up visiting and reviewing came alive once I was already in Europe! The only thing I can come up with as a conclusion is that positive thoughts do in fact attract positive outcomes. And…energy is EVERYTHING!
I will share the pictures I took (some by random strangers, others on timer, many selfies, and tons of earthy panoramas.)and eco hotel review with you guys next week. I’m still going over everything. But in the meantime, here are a few lessons I learned throughout my 13-day unplanned trip. This might be extremely helpful to every wanderlust soul out there who whishes to travel the world but has been facing to many “ifs” and “buts”. Time to conquer them, babes! One life. An infinite world. No time for excuses! <3
1) It's ok to say we are not ok! As humans, we tend to worry too much about what others think and try to hide our feelings with a 24/7 smile even though inside we are breaking. It's ok to feel and let go. We are not perfect!
The ones who love you will be there for you. Even if they don’t understand you, your thoughts or decisions, they care about you. So stop being afraid of falling apart in front of them. Let go!
2) Traveling alone is the best medicine. For EVERYTHING! Most of us are afraid of being alone but you see, being alone does not mean we're lonely. Spending time with the "self" helps us meditate, understand ourselves, accept ourselves, change the things that need changing, and love every inch of our own existence.
Dare to take that solo trip you’ve been thinking about for months now. It will help you grow in more ways you could ever imagine!
3) The best way of conquering our fears is by challenging them. This is for all my ladies. As women, we tend to be afraid of traveling by ourselves. We think we can't do it. The maps, the trains, the heavy suitcase, the unknown language, the weird guy who is staring at us intensely, the darkness of the hotel's room... Reality is, if we never try, we'll never know how capable we are and how fearless we can be! ( More explanation with details of my experience on #4)
4) Life is beautiful, energy is everything and positive thoughts do attract positive outcomes. I know you guys might've heard this about a million times already but every part of it is truth. Life is 1% what happens to you, and 99% how you react to it.
Like I mentioned a few sentences earlier, my trip had no schedules or itineraries. I was just flowing. Waking up early in the morning and googling “things to do in…” while sipping my coffee. Once I found the spot I wanted to visit, I would just walk to a bus/train/metro station, buy a ticket there and begin the journey. Yes, I got lost more times than I can count and came back with lots of bruises from carrying my heavy suitcase down the stairs of train stations but that was all part of it! That was what made this trip even more memorable and worth telling. I found myself in wonderful places and then others not so much but instead of seeing it as a bad thing I saw it as a lesson. Never losing the positive thinking, attitude and energy.
5) Nature heals. My God, I was in Milan (one of the most beautiful cities in the world) but I connected and found myself more at peace in Perugia and Assisi. Two places where mountains and trees take over and birds delight everyone with nonstop orchestras. It was there, in the middle of a forest, where I was able to let all my concerns and pain go and felt my soul smile again. It was up on a mountain while watching the sunset and feeling the cold breeze caress my cheeks that I was finally able to clear my mind. I was able to analyze my feelings and emotions. I was able to forgive myself and the loved ones that hurt me. I was able to let go. And above all, being up there by myself helped me realize (even more) that this world is wonderful and infinite and that nature is bigger and more powerful than us in every way imaginable.
For some odd life’s reason, I got to spend Earth Day there. In the middle of the forest of Umbria. So yes, nature heals!
Flowing, breathing, playing with light and shadows, and just letting life...in and out. Trusting that everything happens for a reason and that change does in fact make us stronger and better.
The past two days have taken a complete toll on my life. It’s one of the many reasons why I didn't stop to say hello to you guys on IG or post anything on the blog. To be honest, I didn't know what to say. I still don't! I have so many thoughts and words going on in my mind right now that I thought it would be best to digest everything on my own and later share it with you in case someone out there might be going through the same situation. It's shocking how life, destiny, God or energy (whatever each of us likes to call it) unfolds either by sending you nothing at all or everything at once. And by that, I'm not referring to success like we see on all those social media quotes but to change itself. As most of you know, I quit my 9-5 about a month ago. Since then, I’ve been enjoying every second doing the things I love and working on what I feel most passionate about but that does not mean it has been easy. My days have no routine or fixed plans. Every day is totally different… every day is completely unknown. Giving up my private banking job meant giving up a piece of stability in my life. Most people don’t realize this, and neither did the person I was sharing my life with until recently. You see, I did not only give up a fixed salary but also a routine I was used to and a job I was good at and felt safe doing. Besides losing this financial and professional stability, I also found myself in the process of moving to a new house with the person I was madly, deeply and childishly in love with. So of course, the only stability I had during the past month was this relationship. This relationship was my rock throughout the year and half we were together, my shoulder to cry on during the tough moments, the arms that hugged me every night, and the lips that smiled with me whenever I was happy. But, as I mentioned a few sentences earlier, when change takes place it takes place all at freaking once! Out of the blue, life manages to throw a bucket of cold water on you by delaying your car at the valet for 20 minutes, placing you at the right moment at the right time and having reality hit you in the face. No, this is not one of those caught-in-action cheating episodes but the hard realization that we are two different people traveling two different paths. It is not about which path is good or bad, or which one of us is is right or wrong, but simply about not being the right match for each other. The person you are supposed to be with will only bring out the best in you. She or he will smile when you smile or cry when you cry or think twice before doing something that will hurt you. So, yeah… Here I am! Unemployed chasing my dreams, looking for new apartments by myself, and fresh out of a broken relationship with a heart shredded to pieces. Why do I choose to share this with you? Well, because I’ve learned something that might be useful. LIFE IS CHANGE! Constantly! But only for those who wish to get out of their comfort zones, follow their dreams, love and have their heart broken and dare to love again, and simply live fearlessly! I’ve learned that people will come in to your life to make it better and stay forever or leave and teach you a great lesson. Pain is a part of that too. It makes us stronger and it’s because of the existence of it that we are able to distinguish what love and happiness feel like. And of course, in moments like these we act as the humans we are and look to escape reality at least for a little bit. Take a trip somewhere nice. Somewhere far and new where you can sip a delicious cup of coffee while looking at new faces and writing down the story of your life. Sometimes we just need to escape to recharge, forget, and come back fresh and reconnected. It is for that reason that I’ve decided to take a little trip to Europe. :) I haven’t been there in over 10 years! What’s the plan you might ask? There’s no plan! I’m just flowing. Letting life take its course. The only thing I did was buy myself a ticket with miles to Barcelona, and another one from Barcelona to Milan and I’m even currently considering making a pitstop in Paris. I’m leaving tomorrow so next time you’ll hear from me will be from Spain, babes. I need this and I’m sure great things will come out of it for the blog and the new business I’m starting with a dear friend of mine. <3
Love you all and I truly hope you can find any words of wisdom out of my experience. Even the tiniest one!
xoxo
