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Mapless Adventures

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About Me

Nicole L

Nicole L

Hiya! I'm a 35 year-old native Arizonan, who started traveling around the US and Mexico as a child, and haven't stopped. I've been to 23 countries in a wide range of travel styles, writing about my personal experiences and sharing travel guides and tips (including teaching abroad in Thailand), with a little history thrown in. Hope you enjoy!

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  • Scuba Diving
    Travel,  United States Virgin Islands

    What Life Was Like Post Two Hurricanes

    February 18, 2018 / No Comments

    I honestly have struggled putting words to paper. I've attempted multiple times and it's just been so difficult. Finding the right words, finding the initiative to write, finding the motivation. Every ounce of energy and focus it takes me to write a blog post had been depleted since Irma and Maria.

    Read More
    Nicole | Mapless Adventures

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    July 19, 2019
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    Royal Caribbean Day 6: Barbados

    December 12, 2018
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    How to Spend 5 Days in Pai, Thailand

    March 18, 2019
  • Hurricane damage
    Caribbean,  United States Virgin Islands

    Life After Hurricane Irma

    December 30, 2017 / No Comments

    It took 3 hours of hard labor and some neighborly support to finally clear our drive. However, it didn’t really matter. The island was still under a 24 hour curfew, for good reason, of course. We were just annihilated by Hurricane Irma about 15 hours prior, so the day afterwards wasn’t much fun. We were safe, little damage to our apartment itself, and thankfully we still have phone service (which was a rarity and quite frankly didn’t really matter since only about 1/8th of the island had it- if that). It took about 36 hours before we risked leaving the comfort of our apartment. Though none of us wanted to…

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    Nicole | Mapless Adventures

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    Royal Caribbean Day 4: Antigua

    December 3, 2018
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    Royal Caribbean Day 6: Barbados

    December 12, 2018
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    Royal Caribbean Day 5: St. Lucia

    December 7, 2018
  • United States Virgin Islands

    What It’s Like Experiencing Hurricane Irma

    October 22, 2017 / No Comments

    September 6th, 2017 will be a day I’ll never forget. Something I never could have prepared myself for or every something I ever thought I’d experience happened, Hurricane Irma. I mean, I have heard of major storms and I have seen the aftermath of things like Sandy and Katrina and most recently, Harvey. But experiencing Hurricane Irma was something I was NOT prepared for nor was I ready. I’m a desert girl raised in Arizona. The worst storms I experienced growing up was a haboob or a bad monsoon. Sometimes the occasional thunderstorms when visiting family in Minnesota/Iowa or the occasional snow storms during college and graduate school, but those…

    Read More
    Nicole | Mapless Adventures

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    My Family Visits the USVIs

    May 13, 2017
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    Life After Hurricane Irma

    December 30, 2017
    Scuba Diving

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    February 18, 2018
  • Friends,  Travel,  United States Virgin Islands

    Friends Trip to the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

    August 6, 2017 / No Comments

    This mapless adventure details the start of my summer break and vacation with my best friend;showing her the island I called home for 10 months, taking her to a new country (passport stamp included), and exploring the beautiful city/some of the island of Puerto Rico... 2 Friends, 12 Days, 3 Countries, and many Mapless Adventures!

    Read More
    Nicole | Mapless Adventures
  • Family,  United States Virgin Islands

    My Family Visits the USVIs

    May 13, 2017 / No Comments

    I have waited for this week to come since my family booked their flights nearly 3 months prior. It's hard to live so far away from family at times but one of the best part is being able to show them a new part of me and a new country. This wasn't just a normal family trip however. This was my younger brother's FIRST EVER time off the continental United States, and it would be his FIRST time receiving a PASSPORT STAMP.

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    Parents in Laos

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    April 30, 2020
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    June 30, 2020
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    My Parents Visit Lampang, Thailand

    June 16, 2020
  • Career,  United States Virgin Islands

    Living the Island Life: St. Thomas, USVI

    September 20, 2016 / No Comments

    I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone. I’ve traveled. I’ve lived away from family. I’ve lived in another country. I’ve experienced many firsts. OR so I thought. My life in St. Thomas, USVI has been more of a life experience than I EVER  EXPECTED. I knew it would be different and truth be told, it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with this beautiful, cultural-filled, island-life, country in the Caribbean. But, boy, was I in a complete culture shock when my “work-social” life began to emerge. If you know me outside of this blog, then you know that for the last 4 years, I haven’t really EVER worked…

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    Something about “Starting Fresh”

    July 23, 2014
  • Career,  Travel,  United States Virgin Islands

    The Beginning of My Island Life

    September 1, 2016 / No Comments

    It’s hard to start this post because since landing on St. Thomas last Friday, it’s been completely overwhelming. People always say “it’s island time” and until you are immersed into the culture and lifestyle that doesn’t mean anything. “Island Time” has a whole new meaning to me, and I’ve only been here for a week. I’m positive that is going to change again and again as I continue to become immersed in the daily living of St. Thomas. For those who don’t know, St. Thomas is 1 of 4 islands which form the U.S. Virgin Islands (along with St. Croix, St. John, and Water Island), an unincorporated territory of the…

    Read More
    Nicole | Mapless Adventures

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    Living the Island Life: St. Thomas, USVI

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About Me

Nicole L

Nicole L

Hiya! I'm a 35 year-old native Arizonan, who started traveling around the US and Mexico as a child, and haven't stopped. I've been to 23 countries in a wide range of travel styles, writing about my personal experiences and sharing travel guides and tips (including teaching abroad in Thailand), with a little history thrown in. Hope you enjoy!

View Full Profile →

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No Map. No Plan. Just Life. | Stories, Guides and Tips from a Solo-Female Traveler exploring the world through Mapless Adventures

Nicole | Travel Blogger
Next little town along lake Atitlan included a lot Next little town along lake Atitlan included a lot of hammock life and cat life!
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#sanpedro #sanpedrodelalaguna #sanpedroguatemala #lakeatitlan #lakeatitlanguatemala #guatemalaadventures #travelguatemala #travellife #hammocklife #hostelsublime #guatemala #exploreguatemala #maplessadventures
Midday stroll from our hostel to the town center o Midday stroll from our hostel to the town center of Santa Cruz de la laguna. It was hot and sweaty and a massive hill but we sucked it up and ended at a really cute cafe with a view.
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#santacruzdelalaguna #lakeatitlan #guatemalaadventures #lakeatitlanguatemala #guatemala #traveladventures #travellife #traveling #lakelife #maplessadventures #middaystroll #exploreguatemala #travelguatemala
In order to move between the towns on Lake Atitlan In order to move between the towns on Lake Atitlan, you have to take boats. It’s GTQ 25, or roughly $4 USD. It’s truly a special lake and I can’t wait to spend two weeks living on the lake learning Spanish!
•••
#lakeatitlán #lakeatitlanguatemala #guatemalaadventures #guatemalatravels #guatemala #sanpedrodelalaguna #lagodeatitlán #boattravel #travellife #travelling #transportation #maplessadventures #traveladventures
Free Cerveza anyone? Made the move from the city t Free Cerveza anyone? Made the move from the city to the lake and boy oh boy is this lake stunning! Got dropped off directly at our hostel which is called Free Cerveza. They host family dinners every night and if you join you get two free hours of beer before dinner and usually includes some type of bar games like beer pong, trivia, bags, and more! It was a prefect and relaxing couple of days!
•••
#lakeatitlan #lakeatitlanguatemala #guatemala #guatemalaadventures #lakelife #travellife #traveling #freecerveza #freecervezahostel #santacruzdelalaguna #maplessadventures #traveladventures #traveler #summertimeadventures
The reality and aftermath of Volcán Acatenago hik The reality and aftermath of Volcán Acatenago hike. It’s roughly 3:30pm, I’ve eaten, showered, had a quick beer and now laying down to go to sleep. My body has officially shut down at this point and all I wanted/needed was this bed!
•••
#exhausted #travellife #realtravel #traveling #hikeacatenango #hostellife #hostelworld #traveladventures #maplessadventures
Waking up in pitch black with nothing but the near Waking up in pitch black with nothing but the nearly full moon shining at 3:45am to complete another 2.17miles with what felt like another 900+ feet of elevation gain ending at 13,045ft above sea level for sunrise is an experience unlike anything else.
•
In the wise words of my dad: “It is better to be DFL then to DNF”
•
If you don’t know what that mean, then I’ll explain. I WAS DEAD F***ING LAST in the group that made it to the summit with less than 5 minutes until sunrise! I made it at least though it wasn’t pretty and I honestly cannot move my legs (48 hours later)! WORTH IT THOUGH
•••
#acatenango #volcánacatenango #volcánacatenago🌋 #sunrise #sunrisehike #volcanosummit #hiking #guatemala #guatemalavolcano #guatemalaadventures #traveladventures #maplessadventures #travellife #traveling #traveler
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