The photos from our last wedding of the year were delivered, our inbox was empty and we were dead tired. The weather in Vancouver was depressing, with no promises of improvement. So I made the decision to book us a last minute trip! I did something I thought I’d never do. I booked a ten-day vacation at an all-inclusive resort: Grand Palladium Vallarta in Mexico. 

If you’ve followed us for a while, you know we love adventures and when we travel, we usually drive around a lot (yay road trips!). The thought of staying in an all-inclusive resort made me a little itchy. What if I got bored after two days? And what about visiting all the little towns and places away from the resort? On top of that we added the challenge of not working at all and staying off social media and the internet as much as possible.

For the first time since we started our business, we had an auto-reply for our incoming emails. And we had a rule about not talking about work and only checking email every 2 days. 

I’m not going to lie, the first days I felt like an addict with withdrawal symptoms. Not being on my phone all the time and doing nothing, except for reading and playing in the water felt like a challenge! But after settling down, it was just an amazing experience! The entire vacation felt like a mindfulness exercise: just be in the moment and nothing else matters. We went kayaking, snorkeling, paddle boarding and body boarding. We walked at the beach, watched little hermit lobsters move around in puddles and collected little shelves. The little birds at breakfast, trying to steal pieces of food of unsuspecting people’s plates became a great source of entertainment. 

My favourite moment of our trip was me and Jelger having our own private party at the beach. There was a wedding at the resort, Mexican mariachi music and all. (Grand Palladium Vallarta is amazing for weddings!) For some reason nobody walked on the beach after dark, but the party lights illuminated the shoreline and the music was loud and fun. So we jumped up and down like two crazy monkeys, dancing in the ocean under the stars. It felt like our second honeymoon. 😉 

We’re back in Vancouver for almost two weeks now, but my heart carries that careless feeling with me. I will need a lot of reminders to stay this mindful, but I know it’s my key to happiness. We’re both wishing you a mindful 2017 and can’t wait to start the new year and share a lot more shoots with you. 

PS: We did leave Grand Palladium Vallarta for one day! We took a taxi to colourful Sayulita, which has the best taco’s I’ve ever had. And amazing art, fresh coconuts, a gorgeous beach. Well, all the things… 😉  I highly recommend it!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Grand Palladium Vallarta video