Well… not just yet… but with your help, we can make it happen!

The first step is complete: Application for #60Days in Paradise submitted!!

The Job

If (when!!) I get hired, my job will be to go to the island of Tobago, stay in beautiful hotels, eat fancy food (and sample tasty drinks), do all kinds of awesome activities, learn about the culture, meet the locals, take LOTS of photos and videos of all of it, and then tell you guys (and the rest of Canada) all about it! Oh, and did I mention it would be all expenses paid PLUS salary?! (Whaaaaat?!!!)

I fully agree with my wonderful friend Dave who said I’m “tailor made for this gig!”

So please peruse my application and add your recommendation at the bottom if you think I have what it takes to get this job done!

Where is Tobago?

Tobago is one of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea just outside the hurricane belt. The island lies northeast of Trinidad and southeast of Granada, off the southern coast of Venezuela.

What Will I do in Tobago?

With a rich history and a ton of activities and eco-tourism options, there is something for everyone on this beautiful tropical paradise and I want to do it ALL!

• Scuba Diving, Sailing, Surfing, Wake Boarding, Fishing
• Hiking, Bird Watching, & Eco-Tourism including one of the Oldest Protected Rainforests in the world
• Golf, Beaches, Pools & Spas
• Great Food and Tasty Cocktails (mmm!)
• Local Art and Music, Jazz Festivals and Local Art

And much much more!  

I’ll need your vote between April 21st and May 16th

The application process closes April 4th. A group of travel professionals will then choose the top 10 applicants and then the voting process happens between April 21st and May 16th. Please keep your clicketty/tappetty finger ready to submit your vote! (It’s still unclear if it will be a one-time or daily voting process, but either way I will need YOUR HELP to spread the word.)

So stay tuned and please share with everyone you know (!!) cuz I know we are all imagining ourselves on a tropical beach as we wait for our (short) Canadian summer to arrive. I have selflessly volunteered because one of us should really go do it so that the rest can live vicariously… Hehehe! ; )

Follow Me so you don’t miss a moment of the action:

Facebook – http://facebook.com/mariskarichtersphotography
Twitter – http://twitter.com/mariskar
Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/mariskar
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+MariskaRichters
Tumblr – http://mariskar.tumblr.com
Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariskar
Youtube – http://www.youtube.com/mariskarichters
FourSquare – http://www.foursquare.com/mariskar
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/mariskar/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariskarichters
Vine – https://vine.co/mariskar

Thank you!

Sending big love and gratitude to you all in advance for your vote and support!

With your help I can get to Tobago and share the adventure with Canada and the world! It all starts when you leave your recommendation here!

It’s #TobaGOtime!

After an incredible month of travel and amazing experiences I guess I was due for a little string of bad luck. They say bad luck comes in threes, so fingers crossed that I’ve come to the end of this crazy streak! 1. Last week my hair dryer exploded. (It scared the begeezus out of me!) It sucked but was not too big of a big deal. 2. Last night my MacBook Pro had a disagreement with my wine glass. It didn’t end well. I thought it was going to be the most expensive half glass of wine ever, but thankfully after MacPro sobered up, she seems to be working fine today. (Altho, her fan is blowing out some serious hangover breath…) Lesson Learned? — Use only stemless wine glasses when working late-night with wine. So after the computer incident last night I was thinking to myself that with the way things were going, the 3rd piece of bad luck was going to be a doozy…

(Warning: this following may be disturbing to some readers.)

3. I was driving home today when the battery light came on and an “Alternator Workshop!” message flashed up in the dash. (I thought it was related to my having left the lights on earlier — oops! — while I attended the CIBC Welcome Home event for Paralympian Braydon Luscombe.) As I drove, I lost power steering, the battery light continued to blink at me and the beeping became more and more frequent. When I got home and we popped the hood to check it out, we found something we were NOT expecting. A broken alternator belt and … … wait for it…. An obliterated RAT splattered all over the hood and motor!

** EWWW!!!! **

Oh, and it got worse! There were 3 little unborn baby rats (thankfully all in one piece,) who had had a very harsh and premature start and end to their lives. : ( We called the mechanic, ordered a new belt.

Mechanic: “Will you be installing it yourself?” Answer: “Um. No. Please send a tow truck.”

I’ve earned a cup of tea…

After that mess was over, I thought I earned a nice warm cup of Don’t Worry Be Happy tea (chamomile, peppermint and licorice root) from Steeped Tea With Jenn to celebrate the end of my Bad Luck Trifecta!

(Ok… so that may have been a kind of an weird plug for my friend Jenn’s tea business, but it’s freakin’ delicious tea! Get in touch with her to order some!)

Have you ever had a streak of bad luck? Did it come in threes? Please comment below.

My first solo travel adventure was a 3-month backpacking trip around Europe when I was 21. I set my budget goal and worked hard to meet it, and within 6 months I was on a plane. It was the craziest (and scariest) thing I had ever done and it felt invigorating!

Since then, thanks to that experience, I’ve traveled solo all over the world and I’ve learned so much about myself and life through my experiences, and I wanted to share some that with you.

1. Take the Leap!

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~ Lao-tsu

The first step is always the hardest. Waiting for the perfect timing, or the perfect circumstances, or the perfect travel companion will have you waiting a VERY long time! In the end the initial leap is up to you. Choose your moment and jump! Your choice and the actions that follow will bring all the right things into your life. Once you make the commitment, the rest will fall into place.

2. Always trust your gut. Always.

Your intuition is your best friend in life, especially when you’re on the road in unfamiliar territory. It will tell you when something isn’t quite right. When you’re traveling and you don’t speak the language, and you don’t know anybody, your intuition is your best friend. It will keep you out of uncomfortable situations, away from shady characters and hopefully tip you off when someone is trying to rip you off. Trust it! 

When I took that first solo trip to Europe I took a detour to Morocco. When I dismbarked from the ferry I was approached by an 17-year-old kid who offered to tour me around the Tangiers. Despite my insistence that I didn’t need (or want) a guide, he followed me around for two hours while I waited for my bus out of town. I had this uncomfortable feeling and as I went to board the bus he pulled a knife, saying that I owed him money for the “tour.” Whaaaaaat?!! I wasn’t going to pay someone for creepily following me around for 2 hours! Thank goodness the bus driver was nearby! He instructed me to board the bus and he handled my “tour guide.” I’ve trusted that uncomfortable feeling ever since.

3. You Can Only Truly Count on Yourself.

Everyone is on their own path, and you cannot expect others to understand or follow yours. There are always reasons (excuses?) that stop people from taking that initial leap. If I had waited for others I would have missed out on so many experiences. I’ve learned that I can’t rely on others to fulfill my own dreams. All I can do is believe in myself to create the life that I envision and live it.

4. Fear Is Part of the Deal.

Traveling alone is scary! But my theory is that if you’re not scared you’re doing it wrong. If you’re not scared then you’re not playing a big enough game. It takes courage to step out of your comfort zone and go somewhere you’ve never been. It takes a brave person to be able to venture into the unknown, especially on your own. These are the opportunities where you will learn the most about yourself and grow. Don’t let your fears stop you from having an incredible life! Get out of your own way and FACE those fears. You will surprise yourself when you realize there was actually nothing to be afraid of, and you will feel a sense of pride for what you’ve accomplished.

5. I’m Not Running Away!

I always let myself believe that travel was my way of running away from real life. I’ve come to realize that I was never running away from anything, but instead I’ve been running TOWARD a dream! I’m creating an incredible life with every step, every flight and every new place I explore, and new person I meet. I’m seeing the world and experiencing new things and photographing it all! I’m living a life that so many only dream of and I’m so grateful for the choices I’ve made to make it all possible.

6. Roll With It.

Travel always comes with frustrations and mishaps.  No trip or adventure is ever perfect. The unexpected happens and things will not always go as planned. There’s no point in getting upset when it happens though. Getting upset isn’t going to make it go away, it will only frustrate you and affect your experience and your memories of it.

I’ve had my share of travel mishaps including lost luggage in Russia, food poisoning in Indonesia, and floods delaying trains in Thailand. These things used to stress me out, but I’ve learned to roll with it. Getting upset isn’t going to get my luggage to me any faster, get the food poisoning through my system any quicker, or make the floods clear the tracks any sooner. I’ve learned to adjust my plans and make the best of unexpected situations over which I have no control. And, surprisingly, I’ve found that these adjusted plans tend to make for some amazing adventures and the best travel stories! 

7. You Will Get Lonely, but You’re Never Alone.

Traveling solo isn’t always sunshine and lollipops, and can be lonely at times. Sure, I’ve met some wonderful people along the way, but at the end of the day everyone goes their own way. It can get lonely when you have no one to share the experiences with, no one to have those “remember when” conversations with, and no one to share your meals or a cocktail with. But loneliness comes and goes. When this feeling hits, I remind myself that I’ve chosen to be where I am, to live a dream that inspires and excites me. How many people can honestly say that?

We have so many tools at our fingertips (eg. Skype, Facetime and Facebook) that staying connected while on the road is super easy. I travel with a laptop and an iPhone and most hostels and hotels have free wifi, so when loneliness hits I hit up the internet and the next thing I know I’m enjoying a glass of wine and a laugh with a friend.

8. Follow Your Heart.

If you have a sudden inspiration to do something, DO IT! Don’t wait! Set the wheels in motion! Don’t allow yourself to come up with all sorts of reasons (excuses?) not to do it. I’ve had many regrets as a result of those internal conversations talking me out of doing something, usually leading to a lot of “what-ifs” and missed opportunities.

The way I look at it now is that if I’m in an amazing place with a chance to do something that I will likely not have again (like zip-lining through the Costa Rican rainforest, or diving the Blue Hole in Belize, or playing in the river with elephants in Thailand, or hiking a waterfall barefoot in Bali), then I’m going to do it! Who knows if I’ll ever be back in these places for a second chance? If I have the inspiration and opportunity to do something, I do it! It reduces regrets, leaves me with a lot less “what-ifs,” and a lot more wonderful memories and stories.

9. “What the mind can conceive and believe, it can conceive.” ~ Napoleon Hill

My recent trip to Russia proved this to me when I was successful in raising the funds for the trip through a Kickstarter campaign for the Olympic Spirit Project. I raised $7300 in 25 days! It took a lot of work , cold calling and self promotion, but it was all worth it because it got me to Russia for the 2014 Olympics! I have proven to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to. All it takes is the decision and commitment to do it and then put in the effort to make it happen. 

If you have a dream, chase it! You will come up with all sorts of reasons why it won’t work, but you need to focus on the reasons that it WILL work. If you can come up with the idea, and envision yourself making it real, then you can. It’s really that simple. Then you set the wheels in motion and the universe will deliver what you need.

It’s not going to be easy, but I promise you it will be worth it! 

What lessons have you learned from your travels?

This week I headed into Amsterdam with my aunt and cousin to check out the Anne Frank Huis and do some walking around the city.

Anne Frank Huis

The Anne Frank Huis was an emotional experience for me. I read the Diary of Anne Frank years ago in high school, but still remember the impact it had on me then. To think of myself at age 13 to be living in this house with eight people while in constant fear of being found is just unimaginable. And that Anne was still able to enjoy the smaller pleasures in life is so admirable. It was such a different world back then and I am so thankful for all of the people who had the courage and strength to give their lives so that my family had the opportunity to live in a better world. It gives me goosebumps to think of all the history attached to that house and this city, and that my grandparents lived through it and my dad was born right in the middle of it. Wow.

(The Anne Frank House doesn’t allow photography, so I have only a few photos.)

“We cannot change what happened anymore. The only thing we can do is learn from the past and to realize what discrimination and persecution of innocent people means. I believe that it’s everyone’s responsibility to fight prejudice.” ~ Otto Frank, 1970 (Anne Frank’s father)

Anne Frank, 1929 – 1945

Amsterdam Photowalk

After visiting the Anne Frank Huis, we took advantage of the gorgeous day and just walked around the city. Down one side of a canal and back along the other. Up and down the shopping streets, ducking in and out of little shops.

These are some of my shots from the day, you’ll find more on Flickr.

I’m starting to think that I may be cursed when it comes to air travel, as it seems something interesting always seems to happen. Haha! My journey from Sochi to Amsterdam was no exception.

Sochi to Istanbul

I taxied to the airport at 2am for my 5:20am flight. It was a good thing I gave myself that extra time because the airport was one big unorganized crowd of people all wanting to check in, with no real idea of where they should be lining up. It took over an hour to get through the lineup and through the checkin counter.

Next I had to visit the Turkish Airlines office to pick up my compensation for my lost luggage when I arrived. When I filled in the paperwork initially, they had told me that I could pick up the compensation when I left Sochi. So imagine my surprise when they said that it wasn’t possible and that I would have to visit the Turkish Airlines office in Amsterdam! There was no reasoning with them, so I moved on.

I passed through security and was surprised that it had been stricter to get into the Olympic Park than it was to get through the airport! Once on the other side, there were minimal chairs for people to sit down, so most sat on the floor, myself included. There was no food available so people were splitting 6-packs of beer from the Duty Free shop and drinking them right there.

The plane boarded and the doors were closed, and what the pilot announced next made me laugh out loud: “Our cabin crew is ready, but the cargo doors are still open and we are not sure what we are waiting for.” The flight was about 30% Canadians, and most of us thought this was hilarious! After sitting at the gate for over an hour, we finally took off.

Istanbul to Amsterdam

I had about an hour and a half layover in Istanbul, which has to be one of the busiest airports I’ve ever been to. First thing I did was check the board for my gate. Of all the flights listed on the board, mine was the only one missing the gate number. Haha! Comedy! So I found some food and wandered the duty free stores for about a half hour and then went to check again. Still nothing. It wasn’t until 40 minutes before flight time that the gate number appeared. It was a ways away, so I ran!

The Istanbul airport doesn’t have enough gates to accommodate all flights, so they have a bus system that takes passengers out to the planes on the tarmac. (I had never shared the road with airplanes before!) After boarding, we sat on the tarmac for about 45 minutes. Finally we were moving and we took a run at the runway for takeoff and suddenly they slammed on the brakes and taxied back to the terminal. Two airline technicians boarded the plane and opened the emergency exits two rows ahead of my seat and next thing I knew they were telling us to gather our belongings and deplane onto waiting buses.

The buses took us about 50 meters to another plane. I watched them unload all the luggage and cargo from the first plane and onto the second plane, and finally 2 hours later, we took off. Whew!

I was grateful to land and deplane at Amsterdam’s familiar Schiphol airport. I half expected that my luggage wouldn’t arrive, but it did. Yay! I found my aunt and cousin who had been waiting for over 2 hours due to the delays and felt immediately at home.

Turkish Airlines

So my next mission was to find the Turkish Airlines desk to deal with this compensation issue. We found the desk. They asked for my luggage claim paperwork, I gave it to them. They said, “This is in Russian.” Um, yes. Yes it is.

After explaining my story, they sent me up to the 7th floor office to someone whose first language is Russian. (Yay!) And it seems that the Sochi office did not fill in the forms properly and it was missing a claim number. Great. So I left it with them to sort out and am expecting an email hopefully today to clean this mess up. Wow!

What Have I Learned?

Through the lost luggage, the claims process, the late flights and unorganized airline offices I have learned a few things:

1. Roll with it.
Stressing is not going to sort anything out any quicker or get you there any faster. Roll with the hand you are dealt and try to keep a sense of humour about the mishaps. It’s a lot healthier to laugh about it than to get upset or cry about it.

2. Everything will work out in the end.
These adventure will  make you a stronger, more experienced person and traveler.

3. Never fly Turkish Airlines again.
Stick to major airlines.

What travel challenges have you experienced? Please share in the comments below.

After waking up from a much needed nap on my first day in Sochi, I ventured out to explore a bit. I had a few things I wanted to accomplish on this first day, since I didn’t have any events scheduled until Day 3:

1. Pick up my media badge at the Sochi Media Centre

2. Get a SIM card for my phone

3. Buy the postcards that I had promised to my Kickstarter backers

The city of Sochi is about an hour’s train ride from Adler and the Olympic Park. I left the hotel, hoping to find a bus to the train station, but there were no bus routes nearby. The nearest bus stop was a 20 minute walk away. So off I went to find it from the broken Russian directions I got from the hotel’s front desk. I finally found a bus that took me to the train station, where I caught my very excited first glimpse of the Olympic Park and Bolshoy Arena from the train platform!

It was a gorgeous day, which made for a beautiful train ride along the Black Sea.

My first task was to find a SIM card for my phone. From my research before arriving, I had decided to go with the Megafon Olympics package for only 400 Rubles (about $12) giving me 5GB of data. I found it and I was in business!

From there I met up with a lovely Canadian, who I had met on the Canadians to Sochi Facebook group, for lunch and we exchanged travel stories and information. She had taken a 24 hour train from Moscow to Sochi! Wow!

My new friend knew exactly where the Sochi Media Centre was, so she led me there after lunch. I was really surprised to find that no one in the media centre spoke English. I communicated completely through my phone’s Google Translate app and after about 20 minutes, walked out with my pass.

Next, I walked around Sochi looking for postcards, Olympic landmarks and fun touristy stuff. I never found the postcards that day, but I did find these:

Sochi was a beautiful city with lots to see, beautiful architecture, and the warm weather (about 17 celsius) made the experience that much better! I would have loved to spend more time there, but it wasn’t possible with my crazy Olympic event schedule.

I returned to Adler in the late afternoon/early evening and headed to the Olympic Park to try and get the lay of the land. Stay tuned for that story and my inspiring first visit to the Canada Olympic House!

My flight from Amsterdam to Sochi was smooth. I enjoyed some classic Dutch pub food (bitterballen & een biertje) at the Schiphol airport pre-flight and then boarded the plane for the first leg to Istanbul. The layover in Istanbul was short and the board was already flashing “last call” for my next flight, so I was once again running thought he airport. It was probably one of the more confusing airports I’ve seen with unclear signage and odd organization. But after some confusion and asking around, I found my gate. This was my first experience boarding a bus to get out to the plane on the tarmac. (I’ve never shared the road with giant airplanes before!) It was kinda cool to feel how big these machines actually are by standing with beside it on the ground and then climbing the stairs to board.

I sat down beside a man who turned out to be an agent for many of the USA hockey team’s NHL players and he told me that he had been sitting beside the Stanley Cup on display in the airport lounge for about 8 hours that day. Then he told me that the Stanley Cup was on the plane with us! How awesome is that?! Ya, pretty awesome!

We landed at the Sochi airport at 4am and it took about 30 minutes to pass through passport control and then I went to the luggage belt to I wait for my bag. I waited and waited and in the end, no bag. Arg!

photo: Kyle Brayer

I spent the next 2+ hours filling out paperwork and trying to figure out where my bag got held. It seems this isn’t uncommon with Turkish Airlines, as I was one of four people whose luggage didn’t arrive. So after much frustration, they found that my bag had been left behind in Istanbul and it would be on the next flight out. On Monday. Today was Friday. I’m not looking forward to 3 days in the same clothes.

After activating my Spectator Pass, I went looking for a taxi to get me to my hotel. The 10 minute drive took a half hour because he had no idea where he was going, even though I had printed out a map to the hotel. After much convincing, he finally called the hotel and we were only a block away. I thanked him, paid him and he ended up giving me some money back for the inconvenience. Pretty sure THAT has never happened before!

It was now 7am, and I was finally in my hotel. Evgeny, the lovely man who runs the hotel, doesn’t speak more than about 5 words of English, so he communicates through his mobile phone’s translator app. He’s pretty awesome. Finally, everything was done and I creeped into the room where my new roommate was sleeping, apologized for waking her, brushed my teeth and flopped into bed for a much needed nap after a long night and frustrating morning of travel.

I think I more than doubled my Canadian Olympics attire in the past week and I have NO idea how I’m going to pack it all to Sochi! Not only am I bringing stuff to wear, but I’m also bringing some things to trade with other fans and photograph around the Olympic venues.

Additions to my collection this year include a reversible down jacket from the Bay, a couple of hoodies from the Sport Chek Olympics collection, and of course this year’s mittens and toque from the Bay. It’s so easy to get carried away when shopping for this stuff! Seriously, I could have bought one of everything but I was able to restrain myself. I was seriously coveting the wool sweater, but had to hold back for budget reasons.

Of course the entire Quatchi family in this photo will not be making the trip to Sochi. Only one of the small ones… Quatchi will be my “travel Sasquatch” for this adventure. He has accompanied me on a few trips now, including Thailand, Bali, and Costa Rica. Quatchi will be posting to his own Twitter account: @QuatchiTravels, so please follow to see what he’s up to!

Only one more sleep until I board a plane and start my journey to Russia! I can’t wait to get to Sochi to capture and share the Olympic Spirit with you all! I’m pretty sure I’m all set… Am I missing anything?

Go Canada GO!

The last 25 days have been one heck of a ride! WOW!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Kickstarter campaign, the Olympic Spirit Project went from a dream to becoming a reality!

Thanks to a few last minute contributions and pledge increases, final total on the campaign came to $7290 from 94 project backers!

So I am sending all my backers giant cosmic hugs today, as I say…

“Thank you!” and express my #Gratitude to all of you who backed the project! I’m blown away by your generosity, and would like to reiterate that #PeopleAreAwesome!”

Thanks you you all I’m headed to the #Sochi2014 Winter #Olympics in Russia!!

To seek out and document Olympic Spirit and cheer on Team Canada! #GoCanadaGO!!!!!

I invite you to Follow Me at @mariskar on Twitter and Instagram, and to like the Mariska Richters Photography page on Facebook. Quatchi will also be joining me on the journey, and you can follow him on Twitter at @QuatchiTravels.

The Olympic Spirit Project is now officially LIVE, and I’ll #SeeYouInSochi!

“What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve!”  ~ Napoleon Hill

* Photos courtesy of Pim Richters (Thanks Dad! xo)

Back in October, I took the leap of becoming a Digital Nomad and 2014 is the year this becomes a reality.

I watched this video made by oDesk today and it has inspired me once again to believing that it’s all possible.

Digital Nomads: Goodbye commute, hello world

My nomadic adventure began with a month-long trip to Costa Rica at the end of 2013. I had sold and donated all of my things and Costa Rica was the perfect place to unwind and leave my old life behind to be inspired by what life has to offer outside of an office.

I spent the month traveling around the country, exploring, photographing, learning Spanish, eating well and working out. It was truly an amazing five weeks that I often go back to in my mind when I start to have doubts about the path I’ve chosen and it brings renewed confidence.

After my return from Costa Rica, I began work on a new project and after MUCH hard work on the Olympic Spirit Kickstarter campaign, the adventure and travels will continue, thanks to my many generous supporters. In less than a week I fly to Europe, spend a few days with family and then 10 days from today I land in Sochi, Russia to capture the Olympic Spirit as the world celebrates their athletes! I can hardly believe it!

Through this project I will share the Olympic experience with my amazing Kickstarter backers and others through social media and this blog. Once the Games are over, the stories and images will be compiled into a book documenting the Olympic spirit and will be available for sale. I invite you to join me and share in the experience from wherever you are!

Napoleon Hill’s wrote what has become my mantra:

What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

This project is living proof!!

With gratitude,
Mariska