Caribbean Chronicles - Part 1: Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands

SAINT THOMAS - the most cosmopolitan island of the US Virgin Islands, and also one of the most popular Caribbean cruise destinations. 

This is the third time we've been to St. Thomas .. and it just never gets old! Truthfully, I'm automatically in love with any destination that consists of countless scenic vistas, beaches, and diamond stores. Initially we were planning on taking the Skyride (700 ft gondola ride) to the Mountain Top, but ended up taking an open-air taxi tour instead. The Skyride was $21USD/person for a 20 min ride to the top, while the taxi was $25USD/person for a 2 hour tour (and it also took us to the Mountain Top).

Our tour guide and driver, Patrick (yes, he has the same name as my faja!), did a fantastic job. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the island. The US Virgin Islands are comprised of three islands: St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. St. Thomas, being 32 square miles, is the second largest of the three. In 1917, the US acquired the island during WWI as part of a defensive strategy to maintain control over the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. The island was purchased for $25 million in gold!!! The residents of the island were granted US citizenship in 1927.

Mountain Top - looking out onto Magens Bay

The Mountain Top (top of St. Peter Mountains) is the highest point in St. Thomas and is home to the Caribbean's largest duty free gift shop. At the back of the shop, there is an observation deck that is situated 1,500 feet above Magens Bay.Magen's Bay is the most popular beach and snorkeling destination in St. Thomas.  Previously owned by Jacob Jorgenson Magens (and named after his daughter Magens), the bay is now owned by Arthur Fairchild. As a result of a generous donation from Arthur Fairchild, the municipality of St. Thomas and St. John now owns 56 acres of the beach and surrounding areas.

What's the story behind the Banana Daiquiri? In 1953, Captain George Soule (an allegedly famous British sea captain ... sorry, I'm not a History major) decided to venture out from his home in the Barbados on a quest to uncover the perfect Caribbean cocktail. So I was told. Please do not hold me accountable to the truth and accuracy of this story. And so, he sailed the Caribbean Sea and discovered Guava Gimlets from Guadeloupe, Sour Sop Sodas from Saba, and Mango Margaritas from Martinique. The last stop on his journey was on the island of St. Thomas. Mixing the Virgin Islands' Cruzan Rum with sugar cane extract, ripe bananas, fresh lime juice, and homemade (secret, of course) banana liqueur, Capt. George Soule invented the Banana Daiquiri. The Mountain Top makes more than 3 million sales of their Banana Daiquiri every year. 

As we were driving down from the Mountain Top, Patrick pointed out many different trees that carried fruit that were native to the island, including: avocado, banana, mango, sour sop, coconut, papaya, breadfruit (it's not part bread), pomegranate, and fig! Fruit salad for dayssss. Patrick picked out some leaves from a tree on the side of the road and asked us to guess what type of leaves they were.

These leaves are female! Hey girl ... 

The leaves smelled sweet, kind of like lemongrass. Any guesses? Turns out, they were bay leaves. I had no idea bay leaves grew on trees. Sorry, I'm not a botanist either. After a closer look, it seemed pretty obvious. The freshly-picked leaves look quite different than the dried ones that you usually see in grocery stores. We also learned that there are male and female bay trees and that the leaves of each type of tree look and taste distinctly different. Male bay leaves are thinner in width, while female bay leaves are plumper and thicker in width. Male leaves are the ones that are typically used in cultivation, as they are more pungent and flavourful in taste. Sorry ladies!

Before heading back to the docks, we stopped by two more view points. After awhile, all ocean/beach pictures look the same, so I will spare you by not posting anymore. 

Ok, maybe just one more:

Patrick pointed out several houses along the shore and identified them as homes that are typically occupied by vacationing celebrities. One of the beach houses was formerly used by Ex-President Bill Clinton as a celebratory spot, right after he won the election in 1992.

He had a lovely bunch of coconuts.

Before I end this post, I would like to point out another fun fact (or not fun fact, if you are not a fan of amphibians)!  The island is actually crawling with iguanas and geckos. You could literally see them everywhere. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a good photo of an iguana ... but, here's this little guy instead!

This poor guy already shed is tail.

That Time I Got to Meet a Penguin

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was pretty much what was going on in my head the night before right after Sameer told me about what we were going to do the next day. I was quite literally on the verge of shedding (happy/excited) tears. I love animals as it is. However, I have always had a special place in my heart for marine mammals. When I was in grade 4, my dream was to become a marine biologist.  I even remember telling my parents that I wanted to go to UBC because they had a good program there. Coincidentally, I did end up moving to BC.  However, we all know that I didn't quite fulfill my dreams to become a marine biologist.

As an early birthday surprise, Sameer booked a "Close Encounters" session for us at the Vancouver Aquarium. It's an approximately 45 min long interactive private session that includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the animals' habitat with an "Aquarium Interpreter" and a one-on-one meeting with the animal(s) accompanied by a trainer. The aquarium offers sessions with dolphins, otters, sea lions, and penguins. You can probably tell by the title of the post which one we chose to do. Usually each private session accommodates up to four people. We were lucky because no one else was signed up for our session, so it was just the two of us.

Some background about the Vancouver Aquarium, for those of you who don't already know ...

The Vancouver Aquarium is a self-supporting and non-profit organization. The organization's focus is on the conservation of aquatic life. Over the years, the aquarium has strived to achieve its goal of increasing awareness to the issues clouding the world's oceans' ecosystems by promoting awareness through community education, research projects, conservation programs and initiatives, like their Close Encounters sessions!

Shout out to Lara, who was our Aquarium Interpreter for the tour portion of the encounter. She was so great! She started off by taking us to the penguin exhibit to give us an overview of the species of penguins that they housed at the aquarium -- the African Penguins aka the Black-Footed Penguins. African Penguins naturally originate from the southern coasts of Africa. The penguins at the Vancouver Aquarium were brought over from the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts. Although the seven African Penguins at the Vancouver Aquarium were bred as part of the Zoos and Aquarium's Species Survival Plan, they act more so as ambassadors of the aquarium for their species; allowing visitors (like us) to learn more about them and where they came from. Since these penguins were all bred in captivity, mating is discouraged due to their similar genetics. To deter them from giving in to their natural mating instincts, the aquarium has had to structure and build their habitat in specific ways (i.e. the absence of burrows).

Sadly, we learned that these adorable tuxedo birds are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species. Since the early 1900s, 95% of the species' population has disappeared. Lara explained to us that among a number of contributing factors, overfishing is the number one cause of the species' continually declining numbers. In the wild, the penguins are constantly competing with commercial fisheries. As a result of the lack of available food (sardines and anchovies) in their natural habitat, the birds are forced to venture further and further for food. Because of this, they have less energy and resources to care for their young and become more vulnerable in the face of predators and other obstacles that may threaten their survival. In efforts to buffer the effects of overfishing, the Vancouver Aquarium has created a conservation program called "Ocean Wise" that aims to educate consumers on the significance of choosing sustainable seafood. Many Vancouver restaurants employ the Ocean Wise symbol on their menus to provide consumers with the assurance that the seafood that they are using in the preparation of their meals is chosen in accordance with approved sustainability guidelines.

We visited the "feeding kitchen" where they prepare and store the food that is fed to different marine mammals at the aquarium. On average, an African Penguin eats about 3-5 sardines a day. At the aquarium, they pay special attention to the fish that are being fed to the birds in order to prevent the occurrence of any food borne diseases. Lara told us that each fish is inspected very carefully to ensure that there are no cuts, bruises or abnormalities. From time to time, the penguins also receive vitamin supplements to ensure that they are fully nourished. They had very detailed feeding schedules for each of the marine mammals displayed on various white boards next to the kitchen. Part of the trainers' job is to feed the animals based on the set schedules every day. The animals are also introduced to different toys throughout the week, so that they constantly have the opportunity to interact and adapt to something new in their environment (there is a detailed schedule for this too). Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any photos of the kitchen area. 

And then, onto the MOST EXCITING part of the session ... we got to meet a penguin! As I mentioned earlier, the Vancouver Aquarium currently has seven African Penguins -- Tofino, Nelson, Sechelt, Salt Spring, Hope, Lillooet, and Steveston; all named after places in British Columbia. We got to meet Hope, a six-year-old female. The trainer (Kristin) told us that Hope was by far the most social and friendly of all the penguins. She told us that if a penguin is not comfortable with their surroundings, they tend to express aggression very visibly. Hope, on the other hand, seemed so comfortable that she was fluffing her feathers and dozing off while standing within arms reach in front of us. 

Interesting fact #1: Each one of the penguin's feathers are connected to a special muscle in their body that is activated when they fluff up their feathers.

Kristin also mentioned that Hope is pretty much potty-trained (without any training from them). Since she seems to enjoy the company of humans so much, they often let her waddle around their office to explore. This immediately prompted me to start fantasizing about having a penguin waddling around in my office. 

CAN WE PLEASE ADOPT HER?!?!
I'd like to think that she loved me just as much as I loved her.

Interesting fact #2: The only place on the African Penguin's body that is not covered by feathers (aside from their feet) is the bare skin directly above their eyes. This fleshy area turns pink when the penguin is hot and acts as a cooling mechanism that allows them to exert heat.

I could probably go on and on with many more interesting facts that I learned about these amazing birds, but I will spare you. Meeting Hope was undoubtedly one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had. I love that the Vancouver Aquarium started doing Close Encounters and think that it is a great way for animal lovers (or just any one in general) to learn more about the animals. Especially knowing that the African Penguins are an endangered species, I feel so grateful to have had the chance to come face-to-face and interact closely with such a fascinating and curious creature.

Last, but not least, major thanks to the guy in my life who made this happen. You da best!!!

Wake Up and Be Awesome

I LOVE THIS MUG.  Shout-out to my friends, Nikki and Jay, for gifting me this mug for my birthday lat year.

Wake up and be awesome.

Such a good reminder, especially for those rainy days when you've forgotten your umbrella; for those days when you have to get up after a sleepless night; for those days when you're hungover after having one too many drinks; for those days when you wake up with sore throat and runny nose and have to miss work.

The latter was the case for me when I woke up this morning. AWESOME! Not really. Sarcasm aside, it definitely wasn't great waking up with a cold. I didn't feel like being awesome. I wanted to sleep all day.  Not my preference for how I would've liked to start my week.  It's easy to let your negative emotions take over and set the tone for your day.  That's why I love this friendly reminder - wake up and be awesome.

Now when I say that I didn't feel like being "awesome",  I don't mean "awesome" in the sense of, "YAY!", "HURRAY!", "in-your-face" kind of awesome. Although, I obviously didn't feel that way either.  When I look at that mug, I take it as a reminder to be a different kind of awesome. Now I know I'm probably being way too introspective here, but after spending all day in my apartment (without much to do), can you really blame me for doing some self-reflection?  Before I get into my own interpretation, let me tell you what Merriam Webster has to say about the word:

awesome | expressive of awe; inspiring awe

And the word, "awe"?

awe | a strong feeling of fear or respect and also wonder

I've never personally associated awe with fear.  Respect and wonder, however, is a lot more in line with how I've chosen to interpret the word "awesome".  So, back to what I think it means to be awesome.  To me, being awesome means acting in a way or interacting with others in a way that garners respect, and very possibly, wonder.

I've always had a very deep respect for people who continue to be kind, generous, and resilient, even in the face of adversities.  And I wonder - I wonder about how someone manages to maintain such class and grace, even when things aren't going their way ... because it's hard.  But, that's why when someone does act a certain way or does something that's pleasantly unexpected considering the circumstances, they're awesome.  As human beings, we're used to putting our needs first.  I'm only human!  When the going gets tough, being awesome might not come naturally.  I, for one, would be the first to admit that I'm guilty of this.  But, it's within all of us to try - to try and wake up every morning and be awesome.

Being a good friend, even if your friend hasn't been the most supportive.
Doing someone a favour without expecting something in return.
Not taking out your anger on someone when you're having a bad day.
Working hard to achieve something you're passionate about, despite numerous obstacles.
Appreciating someone else's struggles that may be different than your own.
Being a good listener, even when you really want to rant.
Offer to help someone without them asking you for help.
Respond positively, even if your first impulse is to react negatively.

And the list goes on.

Regardless of whether my interpretation of "awesome" is the same as someone else's, I can bet that we all share the same mutual desire of wanting respect.  Anyone's interpretation of what awesome is or what being awesome is is subject to constant re-definition.  The bottom line is, who doesn't want to be thought of as awesome?

So, as I sat on my couch and had my morning coffee (in my pjs, with a box of tissues, staring out at the overcast sky), I set an intention and reminded myself (to try) to be awesome and to inspire at least one other person to do so the same.

Happy Owl-loween!

Idea stolen from Pinterest! Who doesn't love baby owls? (answer: MONSTERS.)

Some of them have dirty eyeballs because the Oreos didn't twist off as cleanly as I would've hoped.

The remainder of this blog post will consist of pictures and captions only -- it's just that straightforward.

Oreo = eyeballs.
Reese's pieces = pupils & beaks.
Not pictured: 1 egg and 3 tbsp vegetable oil -- to be added to the cupcake mix.
Gold cupcake cups because we fancy.

It's always good to have a trusty helper.

 HAPPY OWL-LOWEEN FRIENDS!

Chillin' Like a Villain

For as long as I can remember, I've dressed up for Halloween every single year. I'm fairly certain that I was dressed up for Halloween even for those years that I can't remember ... Thanks, Mommy! 

Year after year, I've dressed up as something cute/sexy/clever, a superhero, a well-liked protagonist, etc, etc. Never have I dressed up as a villain or anything remotely scary. Before yesterday, I never really stopped to think of why that was. 

Yes, sometimes I like to psychoanalyze my life choices. Yes, even trivial life choices, such as what I choose to dress up as for Halloween.

So ... surprise, surprise! My original Halloween costume this year was going to be a "social butterfly". To give you a visual -- I was planning on wearing a plain black shirt with social media icons (i.e. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter) attached, along with some butterfly/fairy wings and antennae. Cute and clever, right???

Thanks to a suggestion from Sameer (who actually dressed up as Batman), I changed my costume last minute and did a complete 180.  Usually, I don't like last minute change of plans, so I don't know what came over me. I had my reservations, but I just decided to go for it. 

Prior to yesterday, I think the only time I wore face paint for a costume was when my parents put face paint on me for Halloween. I generally don't like face paint; I don't even like wearing foundation. I've also never worn a wig. They've never appealed to me because I find them itchy and creepy. Alas, I somehow managed to wear a full face of face paint and a wig all night. And it actually wasn't that bad! 

I ran into London Drugs pretty much right before I had to get ready, in hope to find some face paint, and was lucky enough to find this palette that had just the colours that I needed.

After looking at A LOT of Google images of "The Joker" and 45 min later. 

Thank goodness Sameer had a green wig handy (don't ask why) because I had no idea what I was going to do with my hair.

Long story short, I was a villain (a damn scary one too, if you ask me) for once ... and I liked it! I actually scared myself a couple of times throughout the night because I barely recognized the face that was staring back at me. I prayed that I wouldn't run into any kids as I was leaving my building because I literally looked like a child's living nightmare.  It made me feel like I had been missing out on the real Halloween fun -- the opportunity to be someone else for a night; the chance to embody a character that's completely different than your own. I've always stayed within my comfort zone and dressed up as something "safe".  

NOT THIS YEAR.  I think it's safe to say that I ventured into new territory.

Oatmeal ... Meal?

Lately I've been on a happy streak of healthy eating. I started experiencing these really unpleasant "food hangovers" (that's what I'm going to call it) after my San Fran trip, so I figured it was time for me to do some detox. Over the past month, I also did a lot of kitchen re-organization that has really given me a lot of motivation and inspiration for clean eating.

I had originally planned on making a blog post about my DIY kitchen organization containers ... but, I got busy and it didn't end up happening. I am debating on whether I should still do one.

I am really a "clear space = clear mind = FOCUS" -type person. Any type of clutter tends to weigh down on my determination.

So, my first order of business was to DECLUTTER. And by declutter, I mean getting down to the essentials kind of declutter. If you've been to my apartment, you'll know that I value minimalism. If I don't need it, I'm not going to keep it.

Second, I started a new project -- a Meal Planning Binder. It's still in the works and there's not enough material to show right now, so I'll likely blog about that later (if I remember!).

Now you're probably wondering how this relates back to oatmeal (and it does, I promise). As part of my Meal Planning Binder project, I've been doing a bunch of research on healthy recipes/meals - mostly on YouTube and Pinterest. From my research, I discovered ...

...
..
.

SAVOURY OATMEAL!!! Excuse my excitement if you're reading this and are thinking "duh... that's totally a thing ... who doesn't already know this". I, on the other hand, have never even thought about oatmeal in that way before.

If you're thinking that I might have been a bit heavy-handed with the parsley, it was intentional - I LOVE parsley.

It is so easy to make and I'm obsessed with it. I've always been a huge fan of the risotto-like texture in food and this just like that. Instead of milk, I used all water and then mixed in sea salt and black pepper.

I also mixed in a bit of shredded cheddar cheese (not pictured here).

So, there it is! I felt compelled to share my newest discovery with everyone because I found it totally life changing ... and sharing is caring :)

If savoury oatmeal is news to you as well, PLEASE let me know so I can feel less like I've been living under rock my whole life.

Garibaldi: 9km Climb to Utopia

"Hike up to Garibaldi Lake" has been on my bucket list ever since I moved to Vancouver. The first time I saw a picture of the beautiful turquoise-coloured lake, my mind was set on getting there. (Several weeks ago) I finally got to check this off my list!!! Please forgive the extreme procrastination.

I had known that my sister (Haily) was coming visit me about a month before and had planned to do the hike when she was here. The weather towards the beginning of July was fairly temperamental, so I was worried that mother nature wasn't going to cooperate with our plans. Haily must have brought over some sunshine from Toronto ... because summer decided to finally show up when she got here. We were blessed with beautiful weather on the day of the hike and I couldn't be more happy.

The last hike that I did was the Buntzen Lake trail. It only took us a bit over 2 hours round trip, but we were parched and famished by the end of it. Needless to say, it instilled a bit (a lot) of fear in me of running out of food and water. So, I took the liberty of ensuring that hunger and thirst was not going to be a concern. I wish I had remembered to take a picture of our ginormous food/beverage stash. 

As you will have likely inferred from the title of this post, the hike up to the lake was 9 km. Although I was mentally prepared for the distance, I don't think I fully anticipated how tiring it would be. 

After a countless number of deep/random/silly conversations, multiple snack breaks, and many questions of: "are we there yet???", "how much further???", "is this Garibaldi Lake???" ...

... WE MADE IT!!!

IS THIS EVEN REAL???

... but, really ...

IS THIS EVEN REAL???

We hung around the lake for an hour, as we ate our lunches in satisfaction and tested out the frigid, ice-cold water.

This lasted about 12 seconds before I came running back out.
The water was so cold that I thought that I had lost my toes forever.

And, we made some friends ...

His name is Alvin (because that is what I named him).

The thought of hiking back down the mountain was not something I was looking forward to. By that time, my legs were already feeling jello-y and sore. While my glutes really felt the burn on the way up, going down was a different kind of pain. I have bad knees and ankles to begin with, so it doubly sucked for me. If you're thinking that going down is a piece of cake ... YOU ARE WRONG. After what seemed like 5 hours later, we finally reached the bottom!!! 

The whole hike took us around 6 hours to complete (that's round trip). We went at a pretty leisurely pace. I know there are much longer, tougher, and more difficult hikes out there ... but, I still felt a huge sense of accomplishment! The feeling you get when you finally accomplish something you've been meaning to do, is honestly one of the best feelings. Even though I was borderline limping (which goes to show how very fit I am) as we walked the remaining 1 km to where we had parked our car, I felt amazing on the inside. See below for our tired, but happy faces:

YAY WE DID IT!!! 

Now that I've made it to Garibaldi Lake, my next goal is to go back and hike all the way up to Panorama Ridge (which is another 7 km from Garibaldi Lake). One step at a time!

The aftermath. My muscles rejoiced.