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My Deztination

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Press stories of travel work, volunteer projects and awards.

Dez K.
May 16, 2016

Advocating for Animals, A Solo Travelers Dream

Dez K.
May 16, 2016
Advocating for Animals, A Solo Travelers Dream

By Statesman Examiner Reporter, Katie Dunn

Desaray Kjolseth’s life calling as an animal advocate came in steady increments as she discovered herself, and bits of the world.

Source: www.statesmanexaminer.com

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The struggle was F%#€$ real to get this shot today with no people in it. But I got it 👊🏼 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #playacolomitos #colomitosbeach #waterfallhikes #chasingwaterfalls #puertovallartawaterfalls #bocadetomatlan #lasanimas #mydeztination #visitvallarta You can take the girl out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the....wait, hold up....never mind. Just don’t take the girl out of the jungle 🍃🙅🏼‍♀️😆 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #travelbali #visitbali #bali #indonesia #baligirl #islandgirl #mydeztination #junglefever #travelwriter #balitourism #explorebali #exploreindonesia If you love your work, you never work a day in your life 💻🌴 🥥 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #mydeztination #livingabroad #workfromhome #businessowner #travelblogger #vacationrentals #entrepreneur #thefreelife #travelwhileyouwork #instagood #bikinilife #9to5escapeartist Foster Pets In Puerto Vallarta July 2108 ➡️ now on the blog 🐈🐕🐘🐊 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Something my Mom used to always say to me when I was little as I'd leave the house to go play at the park: "Now don't you bring home another animal!" Not that I'm that crazy cat lady, well....I may be crazy, I just I haven't established full Cat Lady status yet.... Read more ➡️ LINK TO BLOG IN BIO ⬅️ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #puertovallartafostermom #puertovallarta #saveanimalsinpv #savethecats #savethedogs #puertovallartaanimalrescue #conservationist #mydeztination #volunteer #saveanimals #creatureadvocate #animalrescue #preventalitterfixyourcritter Sometimes the biggest question of the day is whether to spend it exploring above the sand 🌴 or under the sea 🐠 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Oh ya, and how to NOT make my flaws show up in photos 😆🙈 #doitforthegram #thinkskinny #travelbloggervibes #puertovallarta #mydeztination #livingabroad #visitvallarta #visitpuertovallarta #explore #hike #bikinigirl ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 🌠edited by: @amarelux.photo Busted, twice! And I don’t remember either photo being taken 😆 @lacondesamarina @pacificorentals @shoreh_qds
Today is the last day I am 31 years old! 🙌🏼 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• It’s been a hell of a year, but I am ready for what’s next! I feel as though there is a bit of a misconception about the transition between your 20’s & 30’s. Some seem to resent getting older & want to hold on to the youth of their twenties as if it’s the best years of their life. The reality is, however, that the older I get, the wiser I become. I am more secure with myself, I’ve established a strong foundation for my moral code, embraced my diversity & uniqueness & have experienced so much life that I’m able to narrow down what I truly want. ••• I no longer suffer from the insecurity & uncertainty that comes along with your twenties, & feel I’ve overcome the hurdles of Erik Erikson’s stage theory for young adults between 20’s-30’s successfully. ••• His theories suggest that we are presented with two crisis at this stage in life he calls ‘Isolation vs Intimacy’. How you choose to overcome these two crisis’s depicts your overall view of your life when you reach his ‘Generativity vs Despair’ stage in your 60’s-70’s. ••• Erikson theorizes that you have two choices when presented with each crisis: healthy & unhealthy growth. When presented with intimacy, the goal is to get to know yourself in a relationship in the most intimate form. Do you love in an attached, absorbed & possessive way, or do you love with detachment, embrace vulnerability & know how to let go? ••• His other theory suggests the ideal personal growth in isolation. Are you viewing this stage negatively with extreme loneliness & lack of motivation, or do you view it as an opportunity to discover yourself, hobbies & new relationships? ••• The healthier you overcome his two stages, the more fulfilled you will perceive your life once you reach the final stages of ‘Generativity vs Despair’. ••• What he means is, will you look back on your life feeling like you’ve lived it to the fullest? That you loved vulnerably? That you explored your true passions & dreams? Or will you view your life as wasted, on guard, regret & lack fulfillment? ••• If you are anywhere near my age, the choice is yours to make now. Google him! The people in #Mexico are always asking me why I’d ever choose to live in #puertovallarta over #Hawaii 🤔 I suppose this is bc Hawaii has some idealistic belief that it is the #ultimateparadise - partly bc of excellent tourism marketing, & partly bc, well, it is. But after living & exploring all the islands had to offer, I made the decision that I wanted to see MORE. I wanted to #travel the 🌍, experience all cultures, as a visitor & as a local, and frankly, Hawaii isn’t the cheapest spot to travel from. ••• So I started to dream 💭 what other versions of paradise existed around the 🌎 that offered an inexpensive lifestyle, tropical climate, unique culture, Ono kine grindz (Hawaiian pidgin dialect for Good Food), & a place that I could easily bring my 14 year old travel companion & perrito, Myra Marie? ••• Then, like the ✈️ hacker I am, I eagerly got online to my favorite air travel websites @skyscanner & searched #flightstoanywhere. And there was Puerto Vallarta. ••• By this point I’d never traveled to Mexico, but since I was born in California I’d been exposed to the #MexicanCulture for years, so it didn’t feel difficult to adapt to. I found a round trip flight for under $300 & took 10 days off work to come explore it. ••• And just like Hawaii, the second I’d arrived, I knew I’d found a new place I could call home. Within 5 months I liquidated everything I owned (for the 1000th time), packed everything I had in a carry on bag, grabbed my perrito 🐶 & flew to Mexico. I was home. We were home. ••• Within 2 weeks, my Vacation Rentals business doubled, my travel blog went viral, the local people reached out to me for collaborations, friendship & romance, while Myra was the happiest she could possibly be. ••• It’s been almost a year, & I feel like I’ve accomplished more than I have in the last 10. I’m so grateful for strength - to give up the good to go for the great, to see failure as opportunity, & to be a free spirit that thrives in the unknown. I’m so thankful for the people who have shown me love, friendship, support & encouragement, & that flame the fire inside me. I couldn’t do it all without my cheerleaders. Cheers Vallarta 🥂I am home. #livingabroad 💦 4 Best Waterfall Hikes in Puerto Vallarta 💦 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Puerto Vallarta offers a limitless amount of adventure & exploring above the sand & unda da sea. Though the beaches are the reason most travelers choose Vallarta, the jungle offers just as many sights to see & things to do, with short day trips or all day excursions, & almost free! Check out all 4 now on the blog! ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ➡️ LINK TO BLOG IN BIO ⬅️ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• http://bit.ly/pvwaterfalls #visitpuertovallarta #puertovallarta #visitvallarta #visitmexico #waterfallspuertovallarta #waterfallhikes #hikemexico #mexicoissafe Sundays are meant for jungle yoga & spa days 💆🏼‍♀️ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #wpuntamita #puntademita #visitmexico #sundayspaday #nayarivera #relax #girlsday #mydeztination #jungleyoga #badassgirl Everyone thinks the east coast is the best coast of Mexico for snorkeling, but I think I’ve found it right here in Puerto Vallarta! •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Check out this post: 21 photos to inspire you to explore Playa Punta Negra in Mexico 🐠🐙🦐🦀🐡🐊 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ➡️ Link to blog in Bio ⬅️ •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #visitvallarta #bestbeachesmexico #puntanegra #puertovallarta #getinspired #bestsnorkelingmexico #snorkelinginmexico •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 📸 by: Desaray Kay . http://bit.ly/playapuntanegra Finally found the best Eggs Benedict in Vallarta @cocoscocoskitchen #puertovallartaeats #bestfoodpv #foodbloggermexico #mydeztination ✅ Bucket list goal complete! ✅ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Spent the day yesterday climbing the rock walls of Palo Maria in search of clear water swim holes & waterfalls! This is my first time rock climbing in Mexico, now I can finally check it off my bucket list! It’s also a great full body workout - By the time I was finished I was chanting “Soy Machita!!” 💪🏼💃🏼 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #palomaria #chasingwaterfalls #rockclimbing #badassgirl #bucketlistgoals #rockedit #strongwoman #mydeztination #visitvallarta #puertovallartawaterfalls #hikemexico 🙌🏼 It’s almost Fri-yay! 🙌🏼 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #playapuntanegra #puertovallarta #discoverpuertovallarta #visitvallarta #mydeztination #snorkel #seattleseahawks #bestbeaches #ilovepv Everybody say cheese! 📸 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Went trekking in the jungles of El Nogalito today searching for swim holes and chasing waterfalls with this badass crew 💪🏼 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #nogalito #visitvallarta #waterfallsinmexico #junglemexico #puertovallarta #waterfallhikes #explorer #discoverpuertovallarta #vallartaadventures #mydeztination There are simply not enough days in a week to instapost all my favorite shots! 📷 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A few nights ago, one of my favorites @tessapv took me out to explore PV after dark. And tho the two of us together equal nothing but trouble 😈 we still made it home in one piece to those we love ❤️ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #pvafterdark #puertovallarta #maleconpuertovallarta #girlsjustwanttohavefun #visitvallarta #mexicoissafe #dontbescared #thatlittlegreendress #luckygirl #americanas 💭 I am not afraid of Crocs, I am not afraid of Crocs 💭 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• This is something I have to keep telling myself swimming in the fresh & salty waters of Banderas Bay! Crocodiles 🐊 swim in rivers & oceans here, but years of swimming with sharks in the tropical waters of Hawai’i have toughened me up for it....I think. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Stay tuned for a new blog post on exploring Punta Negra 🎶 Unda da Sea 🎶 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #puntanegra #undadasea #mermaid #inspire #crocodiles #divemexico #discoverpuertovallarta #puertovallarta #ilovepv #mydeztination #snorkel #travelbloggervibes #seahawks #rockoutwithyourhawkout Sometimes it’s not the journey, it’s the Deztination 👣 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #puntanegra #mydeztination #vallartaadventures #discoverpuertovallarta #redhat #shotongopro #mondays #discoveries #visitvallarta #visitpv

 

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