What does ‘Green’ mean to you?

WordPress has introduced a new blog challenge called WordPrompts designed to encourage hobby bloggers to publish one post per month surrounding a theme. The WordPrompt for April is ‘green’. As a happy WordPress-er I couldn’t be happier to participate in this challenge. I’ve had blogs before in the past which never amounted to anything, so I’m glad that I’ve managed to be more or less consistent on this platform for the past five years. When I found WordPress, the rest became history. WordPress feels like home. I began travel blogging in Jamaica long before it became trendy to do so, and unlike most Jamaican ‘travel bloggers’ I actually blog. I enjoy writing as my means of self-expression. I don’t travel just to make content. I travel and write because I genuinely love both activities. These are my main source of happiness. As I write this post now, I feel my mood significantly improve. I get lost in my own little world and forget all my troubles when I write and when I’m outdoors. The trees, mountains, rivers and beach make me happy.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle31 Comments

2021: Mid-Year Mark

The ability to reflect on the past and use it to plan for the future is one of the abilities which sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. I reflect at the close of every chapter of my life, be it relationships, leaving an old job, ending an academic year and certainly, at the mid point of every year. I’ve been sharing mid-year reviews since 2018 to summarize what I’ve been up to so far and where I’ve reached in my goals. Read on for a few life updates and what to expect from Adventures from Elle for the rest of 2021.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle34 Comments

Is Blogging Still Relevant in 2022?

I often get curious looks and quizzical expressions whenever it comes up in conversation that I run a local travel blog, but the braver of the lot will sometimes ask “Isn’t blogging dead?” or some variation of this question. People watch more than they read these days, and a common saying exists in Jamaica that if you want to hide something from a Jamaican, you should put it in writing. The vlogging world has picked up a lot of traction thanks to the YouTube platform, and it’s actually quite lucrative with many vloggers and YouTubers making six figure incomes and giving up traditional jobs, due to advertisements, sponsored posts and affiliate marketing. A popular YouTuber will easily garner 10,000 views within 24 hours of releasing a new video, while it may take months for a blog article to gain the same kind of response. Thus, the question is valid. Is blogging still relevant in 2022?

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle53 Comments

2020 Year In Review

What a year! 2020 was not what we were expecting, and I still find it hard to wrap my mind around the one million deaths and counting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, my relatives and friends all ended 2020 alive and healthy, and the few who were infected recovered nicely. For me, 2020 was a year filled with many disappointments and challenges, but it was also a year of immense personal growth and a modest amount of blog growth too. Today I take a look back on the year that was in terms of personal life, adventures, blog growth, milestones and 2020’s top posts.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle26 Comments

What’s Elle Up To?

I decided to do this check-in post for my consistent readers who may be wondering where I am and how I’m doing. I’m alive and well, just busy, so I haven’t posted all month. I’ve been posting consistently on my blog’s new Instagram account though which is inching closer to its first thousand followers and I’m happy about that. If you use Instagram, and aren’t already following, please go follow right now!

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle23 Comments

2020: Mid-Year Mark

Mid-year posts have become a trend for me two years in a row, and by the title of this post you can guess I’m writing a third. I began Adventures from Elle on December 28, 2016 and I wrote end of year recaps for 2017, 2018 and 2019, slightly changing the format each year. I try to be as candid as possible without belabouring the not-so-glamorous parts of my year. Mid-year recaps, however, keep me accountable on what has been good or bad about the year so far, allow me to identify what I’d like to improve on or accomplish before the year ends and gives insight on the adventures I have my eye set on for the rest of the year so you have an idea what posts to expect from me.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle22 Comments

2019 Year In Review

2019 had its challenges but it has been the best year of my life yet. I accomplished everything I wanted to, and then some. I pushed myself and had a lot of “wow, can’t believe I did that” moments. It was an amazing year of growth, risk-taking and change. Adventures from Elle turns three today too and 2019 has also been my blog’s best year ever, tripling last year’s views and engagement. 🎉 I’m all for reflecting at the end of the year so read on for a succinct recap of our 2019.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle33 Comments

10 Things I’ve Learnt in 3 Years of Blogging

December 2019 will mark three full years since I began Adventures from Elle: my baby, my sanity and one of my favourite hobbies. It’s also one of my proudest and most prized “possessions”. I don’t get to write much less travel as often as I’d like but I’ve managed to churn out over 100 articles as a full-time medical student (now doctor) and I’m pretty proud of that. My blog hasn’t had a dry spell of longer than two months either.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle58 Comments

Why I Won’t Swim With Dolphins in Jamaica.. Or Anywhere

Dolphins are the number three top tourist attraction in Jamaica. Swimming with dolphins is a bucket list item for many and these adorable smiling ads make it easy to see why. Regarded as some of Earth’s most intelligent animals, dolphins are as smart as apes with brains surprisingly similar to that of humans. They are very social mammals living in matrilineal groups that hunt and play together with as many as 1,000 members. Each pod has its own language, every individual has a name and survival and nurturing skills are taught. Their language is highly complex and to date has scarcely been deciphered by humans. They can swim 100 miles in a day and have been recorded to dive to 1,000 feet. Their hearing is better than adult humans and their sense of touch and sight is well-developed. Their biggest threat though? Man.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle67 Comments

2017 Year In Review

2017 has been quite a year for me, laced with ups and equally as many downs. I felt as if the weeks kept passing and my mind was always playing catchup. A lot of what has happened to me or what I actually did and accomplished this year still hasn’t fully sunk in yet. The fact that 2018, a brand new year, is here in 4 days hasn’t really sunk in either.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle6 Comments