7 months ago
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This has been another whirlwind year. In 2021, I learnt that being happy and content is a daily decision which requires effort, and that being grateful even in the midst of crisis is an act which will eventually beget more blessings. As such, I give thanks for everything– the ups, the downs and the in between. For me, 2024 has been beyond spectacular in the grand scheme of things, and today let’s recap it all. Also, today commemorates EIGHT years of Adventures from Elle! Give thanks.
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2024 Adventures
In last year’s recap, I hoped to visit at least one new country for 2024. However, I ended up visiting not one, not two but THREE new countries, namely Canada, Panama and Colombia. I had a blast visiting Canada and reconnecting with my Jamaican-Canadian relatives. I spent time in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Kingston, the first capital of Canada. I had a lot of firsts with this trip: my first time seeing snow, experiencing first world medicine, being on my own in a foreign country and best of all, my first total solar eclipse! I wish I’d had someone with which to share my eclipse experience, but I never felt lonely sitting on the grass by the Kingston Ontario waterfront, surrounded by excited locals and visitors waiting for what is easily one of nature’s best spectacles. I rounded out the year by witnessing 3 shooting stars from the Geminid Meteor Shower too, so I suppose one could say that I had a celestial 2024.
While in Canada, I began daydreaming and brainstorming of an adventure which would take advantage of the Copa Airlines’ stopover program. Stopover programs allow you to visit two countries for the price of one, and as Copa Airlines is the flag carrier of Panama, I was able to visit Panama City and Medellin, Colombia for the price of one roundtrip ticket! I enjoyed this trip immensely; it is second only to my Peru trip in 2022.
Dining on the Casco Viejo rooftops for my 29th birthday was priceless, and I got teary-eyed seeing the Panama Canal up close which was built by mostly Jamaican labour. I’ll always remember this Haitian-Panamanian officer who was excited to meet my partner and I, and asked if he could get a photo with us. I love meeting my Caribbean brothers and sisters across the globe. Medellin also holds a special place in my heart as I’m in awe at the city’s transformation. My home city of Kingston and Medellin share a similar history of crime, poverty and narcotrafficking, and I hope that Kingston can follow in their footsteps with a 180° transformation one day. Also, Guatapé, Colombia is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen!
Aside from my cumulative four weeks abroad, my life in 2024 mostly revolved around work, school, home renovations and basic everyday life, so my local adventures were slim. Aside from one or two parties and a few live music events at The Compound and Skyline Drive, my local travels led me to:
- Overnight Stays (2): Bluefields Organic Farm Homestay, Couples Tower Isle All-Inclusive Resort
- Beaches (1): Bob Marley Beach
- Rivers (2): Tapioca River Getaway, Mad River
- Waterfalls (2): St. Peter’s Waterfall, Penfield Falls
- Hiking (3): Cinchona Botanical Garden, Clydesdale Forest Park, Hermitage Dam
- Historical Spots (1): Shafston Great House
- New Restaurants (2): Koi Sushi and Club Cubana from this list of international restaurants in Kingston. I also dined at old favourites: Chez Maria with its Italian and Lebanese cuisine, Chilitos JaMexican, Tac Bar, Broken Plate, Orchid Thai and Tamarind Indian Cuisine.
I also had the pleasure of attending the Bob Marley One Love Movie launch in Kingston!
Blog Stats & Milestones
- This year’s blog reads equaled last year’s! Despite the plateau in blog views, Adventures from Elle passed a cumulative total of 900,000 reads in November, and I’m on track to reach 1,000,000 reads by spring 2025!
- I published new articles on Fridays at 6am for 81 consecutive weeks! I’m happy to have maintained that streak for as long as I did, as I love to write and the feedback from my articles gave me something fun to look forward to on my favourite day each week. However, I broke that streak this month for the first time as life got busy, and will remain busy for the next few months. As such, I plan to publish fortnightly instead of weekly in 2025.
- I published 63 new blog posts this year, bringing my total blog count to 350+.
- This year, my readers mostly hailed from Jamaica, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Trinidad & Tobago, in that order. I had a perfect 50/50 demographic of local and foreign readers!
- My top 5 referrers were Google, WordPress, Instagram, Reddit and Facebook in that order.
I welcomed a few brand partnerships and social media collaborations this year too; huge thanks to all the past brands which have worked with me. I’m now closed for new collaborations till July/August 2025 (I explain why later).
Best of the Blog in 2024
Out of my 63 new blog posts this year, these 3 were your favourites in terms of readership & engagement:
- Best & Worst Time to Visit Jamaica (3,040 reads)
- Visa Free Countries for Jamaicans (2,592 reads)
- Where’s the Best Place to Visit in Jamaica (2,173 reads)
However, my favourite articles are the ones which recapped my favourite 2024 adventures! These were:
- 8 Reasons to Visit Medellin. Medellin inspired me so much.
- Cinchona Botanical Gardens. I’ve had this place on my list for years and it lived up to my expectations.
- 48 Hours in Niagara Falls, the largest waterfall I’ve seen in my life so far. In case you haven’t noticed, I LOVE waterfalls.
Personal Life
2024 was a tumultuous year for doctors in Jamaica, culminating with a “strike” on December 9 for unpaid overtime pay spanning 20 months, among other grievances. By law, essential workers aren’t allowed to strike in Jamaica but we can all report sick for work. I hope our negotiations will go smoothly now and no further industrial action is required. As for residency, it gets more unpleasant each passing week but God’s willing, only 6 more months remain. While I love my specialty of internal medicine, there’s no denying that residency is hard. I work around 60 hours per week. While this is 20-30 hours less than I did during internship, one has to balance work with classes, studying and presentations in residency. As I prepare for exit examinations, I’ll reduce my social media usage and WordPress posting frequency, and close for collaborations until summer 2025. I aim to post new articles on Fridays every fortnight but we’ll see how it goes!
In other news, I got engaged this month! While we’re on this note, you may remember me mentioning earlier this year that my partner and I had opened an Airbnb. We chose to close it after a few months because it required too much effort to reply to messages, restock and organize the cleaning. Also, our high utility bills in Jamaica vs. what we could fairly charge for our suburban location made it unprofitable. That being said, I ended with five 5-star reviews, some great experiences and lessons. 🙂
2025 Hopes
For 2025, my goals include: completing residency, taking at least one overseas trip (can you guess where from the photo above?) and having the wedding of my dreams while staying within budget. I also strive to eat healthier and be more active; after all, I have a dress to fit. What better motivation could one need than that? 😉
Wrap Up
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading & following along on my 2024 adventures! I pray that all your dreams for 2025 come through, and I wish for you good health and success. I appreciate every read, like, comment, share, social media follow and email or WordPress subscription. What did you enjoy about Adventures from Elle this year, and what are your goals for 2025? Sound off in the comments section below, and remember to support the blog on all platforms because it’s free! 🙂
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