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Amazon Appreciation

In Peru, I stayed at a lodge on the Yarapa River in the Amazon Basin. We traveled everywhere by boat and saw small villages of approximately 100 people. Seeing the way some of the people lived made me both jealous of the simplicity of their life and so grateful for the technology and convenience life in the United State provides (which while making life easier, often makes it far less simple).

Everyday I watched women washing clothes by hand, one garment at a time, in the river. Instead of mowing the lawn, men cut the grass with machetes. Road workers swept up debris with a straw broom. At night, I checked my bed for scorpions and tarantulas and before putting on a pair of shoes I turned them upside down and banged on them.

I can’t help but wonder, would you rather have a simple life or an easy life?
Amazon Appreciation2017-10-25T14:26:05-04:00

Travel and Exercise

This time of year a lot of us will take long car, train or plane rides. When you travel you don’t have to forgo exercise. You can stretch in the airport or at the gas station. Stop along the way to take a short stroll and see what you’ve been passing by at 65-miles-per-hour.

Before I left Peru, lots of people asked if I would do Pilates and keep my core engaged while traveling. “Of course,” I told them. And I usually do. Unfortunately, in Peru I often found myself sick from the altitude, motion, or food. The last thing I was thinking about was whether or not my core was engaged. Sometimes life just doesn’t work out the way we planned, in which case, we have to try not to get too discouraged.

I will say, though, that for a 10 hour car ride, I was very grateful for a strong kegel. I guess I wasn’t completely disengaged.
The picture above is of the plane we took to see the Nasca Lines. It […]
Travel and Exercise2017-10-25T14:24:26-04:00

Machu Picchu

I spent the past three weeks traveling in Peru. The first week we hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu–a place as magical and mystical as everyone says and pictures attempt to show. The stone city rivals the pyramids. Machu Picchu may not be the engineering feat the pyramids were, but resting high on the peaks of the Andes where misty clouds glide in and out, it certainly feels more relatable. People lived here; they didn’t just get buried here.

Getting to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail was a challenge, but made the arrival even better. Camping in the Andes for three nights provided some of the best views I’ve ever gone to sleep with. I haven’t stayed in any hotel that provides views of snow capped mountains and waterfalls with brooks so loud you can’t hear anything but water cascading down rocks. Until morning. Somehow roosters overtake the sound of water.

It is a journey I would recommend.
Machu Picchu2017-10-25T14:26:05-04:00

NO SHAMPOO: ONE WHOLE YEAR

As of tomorrow I will have gone one whole year without using shampoo:

Exceptions:

  • When I traveled to China and my boyfriend was concerned about me traveling overseas with a plastic baggie of baking soda.
  • When I went to New Orleans to visit my sister for the weekend.
  • When I went away with my family for a week and forgot baking soda.

So there have been a handful of times where I’ve used it, but I can’t say I miss it at all. And the truth is, my hair is less oily and greasy, so when I do travel, I need to use shampoo rarely–once every three or four days maybe. And I think I only need to use it that frequently because I work out and sweat around my hairline.

Woman with shampoo in hair

They say habits take five years to make permanent, but I’m confident I’ve said my final bye-bye to shampoo suds for the time being. When I think of it what I’ll miss most of all is making funny hairdo and Mohawks with a sudsy head, but, truthfully, I haven’t done that since I […]

NO SHAMPOO: ONE WHOLE YEAR2017-10-25T14:26:05-04:00

Stay Healthy on Vacation

Right about now the count down is on for summer vacation. People are getting geared up for trips and time off work. Unfortunately, with vacation often comes a loss of schedule and difficulty keeping up with your fitness routine. Here are some tips for traveling and staying healthy:

  • When booking a hotel see if they have a fitness center or pool. Then remember your swimsuit or workout clothes.
  • Dinner share. So you want to try everything on the menu? Share an appetizer and a dinner with your travel companion. Then you get to taste a little of everything without feeling super-stuffed.
  • Walk from tourist site to tourist site instead of taking a cab or bus.
  • Pack a handy fitness tool that is easy to travel with like a flex band. You can pull it out and do exercises in your hotel room.
  • Pack a couple of healthy snacks like fruit or granola bars and eat them on the plane or in the car instead of plane food (which you rarely get anymore anyway) or fast food.
  • Take stairs instead of elevators when available–in the parking garage, the airport, the hotel.
Stay Healthy on Vacation2017-10-25T16:07:50-04:00
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