My 40 Before 40 Bucket List

Last year, I began a new decade of life and I couldn’t be more excited. Why? At 30, I’m now able to live life on my own terms and I’m looking forward to all the blessings that will come with this. Halfway through my third decade, I made a 30 before 30 bucket list and while my success rate was only 47%, I’m not mad about it. Since publishing that list, my goals and priorities had shifted, and I accomplished other goals not mentioned. It was still exciting to revisit it on my 30th birthday, so with that said, here’s my 40 before 40 bucket list.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle24 Comments

How to Monetize Your Travel Blog in 2026

I started travel blogging in 2016, and at the time, I genuinely had no idea that people made a full-time living from blogging. For me, travel blogging began as a hobby and an online diary — a place to document trips, memories and a growing epiphany I wanted to share with others: travel is possible on almost any budget. I wasn’t chasing brand deals, income reports, or viral growth. I was simply writing. Fast forward to 2026, and while travel blogging has changed dramatically, that core belief hasn’t. What has changed is that I’ve learned how to monetize my platform in a way that supports the work — without compromising my voice or values. No, I’m not a full-time travel blogger or content creator because I have a full-time career in medicine, but I do earn a small income from my passion project. Since I get the question fairly often, I wrote this article to break down how travel bloggers can monetize in 2026, how I personally do it on Adventures from Elle, and how I try to strike a balance between income and authenticity.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle15 Comments

2025 Year in Review

Today, Adventures from Elle turns NINE years old! It’s been nine years of intentionally exploring and documenting Jamaica on the Internet for the world to see, and now I have written about travels in eight countries and counting too. Adventures from Elle has been with me through many milestones, triumphs and sorrows. I’ve had pauses in writing for weeks at a time, but I’ve never given up on my passion. My current writing streak is 26 consecutive Fridays, so let’s see if I’ll eventually beat my longest writing streak of 81 weeks. In today’s bonus post, let’s talk about the year that was and my 2026 goals.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle32 Comments

Bent, Not Broken: Hurricane Melissa

I write this article with a heavy heart. My beautiful Jamaica suffered a hurricane on October 28 with maximum sustained winds of 185mph (298kmh), the most intense Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfall in history. The confirmed death toll in Jamaica so far from Hurricane Melissa is 32, and we fear it may climb as search and rescue operations continue, and connectivity is restored. Thousands of people have lost everything– their homes, furniture, clothes, cars, everything. Five hospitals have been severely damaged, as well as dozens of schools, businesses, churches, roads and other vital infrastructure. The current estimated damage is US$7 billion, one-third of Jamaica’s GDP.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle29 Comments
Girl lying on bench in forest

Welcoming A New Decade: 10 Lessons Learnt In My 20s

It’s my 30th birthday! It may be an unpopular opinion but I’m actually excited for this milestone because I view ageing as a blessing, including all the quirks and more importantly, the lessons which come with it. I’ve been blessed to learn and grow so much in my 20s. Also, this blog has played an integral role in my growth and development as I started it at age 21! It saw me through loss, breakups and grief, but also through successes like graduations, home ownership and now as a happy newlywed wife. My twenties were filled with ups and downs but I’m leaving them better than I started. Cheers to 30, and here are the most important lessons I learnt in my 20s.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle37 Comments

How Seafood From Norway Became Jamaica’s National Dish

Norway and Jamaica may seem like an unlikely culinary pair—one a warm, tropical island in the Caribbean, the other a cold, fjord-laced Nordic country. However, our countries have shared a strong bond for centuries, tied together by one key ingredient: saltfish, also known as salted cod. What began as a colonial-era trade has evolved into a rich cultural and culinary tradition, with Norwegian saltfish playing a foundational role in some of Jamaica’s most beloved dishes, including the Jamaican National Dish of ackee and saltfish. Last year, I was invited to a media event which celebrated our tasteful exchange and highlighted seafood from Norway in a grand way at the Rok Hotel in Downtown Kingston. Here’s a brief recap of the event and the story of how seafood from Norway became half of Jamaica’s national dish.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle20 Comments

Catalyst Campus: Jamaica’s Premier Hub for Coworking & Innovation

In today’s rapidly evolving global economy, innovation and entrepreneurship are the engines driving growth, job creation and competitiveness. Recognizing this, the Novamed Consulting Group has added Catalyst Campus to their dynamic portfolio. Catalyst Campus is Kingston‘s premier coworking space and innovation hub. I had the pleasure of attending their soft launch last month, so read on to learn everything about this new innovative arena.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle14 Comments

2025: Mid-Year Mark

The last time I wrote a mid-year mark article was 2021, can you believe it?! Perhaps that’s testimony to how busy the last four years of my life has been. I have some free time on my hands now though as I’ve closed the chapter on residency, and am undergoing a period of transition. With that said, I thought it fitting to resume personal blog entries and revive this mid-year series.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle23 Comments

Highlights of Jamaica’s Inaugural Dragon Boat Festival

From May 31 to June 1, 2025, the Grand Excelsior Port Royal Hotel (formerly Morgan’s Harbour) played host to an exhilarating and historic event: Jamaica’s inaugural Dragon Boat Festival. Under a sky veiled by Saharan dust with heat shimmering off the Kingston Harbour, the world’s seventh largest natural harbour, locals and foreigners alike gathered in Port Royal to witness and celebrate the country’s entry into a centuries-old global tradition. It’s always exciting when new events are added to Jamaica’s cultural calendar, so I made the trip to Port Royal to catch a few hours on day 2 of the festival. Here are the history and highlights of this inaugural staging.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle10 Comments

Black, Caribbean & Free: Lessons From Africa

When Kenisha from Global Moves reached out to me to share her story about the joy of visiting Africa as a Jamaican of African descent, I was ecstatic. After all, I dream of visiting Africa one day and imagine it would stir a deep sense of connection, pride, and homecoming. I believe that walking on the same soil as my ancestors, and witnessing the vibrant cultures, languages, music, and traditions that have shaped Caribbean identity, would evoke powerful emotions and feel more like a spiritual journey than another trip. Until that fateful day, stories like this one satiate my wanderlust. Here is Kenisha’s story.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle28 Comments