Memorial Week

Since I had Memorial Day off from work, I decided to take a couple extra days and go somewhere!

After a few hours in the air (and a great sunrise view of the city),

The City & The Headlands

I was here:

West Bay

I am not going to bore you with stories of lazing around on the beach, reading, or overeating. Instead, let's talk about the ways you can attempt to stay fit while on vacation. I feel a little list coming on!

Beach Running: I tried to go every day, but there were a few obstacles. First, it was HOT and HUMID. I kept going earlier and earlier but once the sun was up (around 6 am) it was pretty much scorching by then. Also, running in sand is hard. According to this article, running in sand is 1.6 times harder than running on solid ground. So I am going to take that to mean that when I ran 2 miles, it was really 3.2. That way it sounds like I really did something! No really though, you supposedly expend 1.6 x more energy. Coupled with the heat, I would say it's closer to 2 times more!

Swimming: It was so nice to go for a few laps in the clear water (see photo above -- that was my lap pool) every morning after my run.

Diving: According to this website, you burn more calories diving than you do walking fast!  It states that I burned about 200 calories in a half of hour! Also, if you are interesting in scuba diving, I wrote a post a while back about my favorite places to go diving.

Sunset walk

Kayaking: Coupled with the swimming, this made me have some tired arms at the end of the day! I always say I am like a T-rex: strong legs, weak arms. I need to work on that!

Walking: Where we stayed was about 2 miles from "town" although we did have plenty of restaurants and bars nearby. We walked to town every day and if we could, we also walked back. This was also on the beach, so I wonder if walking in sand is also 1.6 times harder? I am going to go with Yes.

Carrying Water:  We really take tap water for granted! When you can't drink the water, you spend a lot of time buying and lugging around big bottles of water. I drink so much that I buy it a gallon at a time, and that weighs about 8 lbs, so I got a bit of a workout every time I bought a bottle (and especially if I had to carry it from town)!

Dancing in the Sand: This a great way to burn some calories and to have fun, but it also gives you really sore calves the next day! I suggest the Samba. Along with this song. It will really get your blood pumping. By the way, there is actually a specific dance to this song; you can kind of see it here. It is pretty fun! Las Manos Arriba!

What's your vacation strategy? Do you just give up trying to be active or do you make time somehow? Do you plan vacations around activities or activities around vacations?

Lovely News

I have to be honest with you all. 

I have been hiding something from you. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, I am a doubting Thomas. I don't really believe that something good is going to happen until it actually happens. This is especially true when it is something that I have absolutely no control over. I mean, I doubt no matter what, while at the same time hoping that plans will go through, but still keeping that low expectation in my mind so I won't be disappointed later on. I know that is no way to be, since it limits my getting super excited over anything because there is always a seed of..."will it really happen?" in my mind.

Also, I feel like if I say it out loud and then it doesn't happen, I look like a flake, or like someone who doesn't follow through, even if it wasn't my fault that the thing didn't happen. So I just keep my mouth shut until things are in place. 

I am a planner, so when I know for sure something is happening, I like to do everything I can to make it go smoothly and be perfect, but if there is a chance it won't happen, I am kind of at loose ends, not knowing if I should start buying stuff/moving stuff/working on things/organizing things/making plans or if I should just sit back and wait. Which I am NOT good at.

Anyway, this time the waiting has paid off. Mr Lovely, who recently decided to go back to school, applied for some research projects with different schools around the country and he got accepted for one in Santa Cruz, which is about 60 miles away from San Francisco. The project is for 10 weeks and it starts in a week! I am excited because as you may or may not know, he lives near Boston and we only see each other once in a while, so this will be some much needed time spent together. Also, what better place to spend a summer than on the beach!?

Lighthouse Point Park

We had a heck of a time finding an apartment. We wanted something furnished. Since it is only 10 weeks, it doesn't really makes sense for me to move all my furniture etc down there (my storage is about 200 miles away), load it and unload it, just to load it up and move it back in a couple of months. However, you may be surprised, but apparently we are not the only ones looking for a furnished, short term rental near the beach for the summer.  So we went with plan B, which is to get an unfurnished place. I have the essentials already, like kitchen stuff, linens, some small appliances and bedding. Our next adventure is a trip to the thrift store for (hopefully) a couple of ugly cheap pieces of furniture which we will have Salvation Army pick up at the end of the summer.

Something like THIS maybe? (source)

Or this? (source)

So right now my car is jam packed full of odds and ends. Our move in date is set for June 3. We are ready for a new adventure! Bring it on!

Have you ever been to Santa Cruz? Do you have any tips on buying used furniture?

Beach Trends

As you know, I recently spent some time on the beach, during spring break. So, I am here to tell you what this year's beach trends are going to be, based on what I saw.

{1} The Bandeau Bikini Top: These were EVERYWHERE. Small boobs, big boobs, on men. Okay, that part is not true. But. This was the top du jour! I even saw many a (brave) girl playing paddle ball, corn hole and even...running (yes!) in this top. It's the new sports bra! Personally, I have tried it on before and I think it looks horrible on me. You need to have medium sized boobs to pull this off, in my opinion.

{2} But Without the Matching Bottoms: Now you can keep all your old separates and wear them together, whether they match or not. I especially like it when one is striped and the other is floral. But hey, this is your chance to finally use all those pieces you never thought you would be able to use again!

{3} The Not Annoying at All Whistling Nerf Football: What's more annoying than a bunch of college guys throwing footballs on a crowded beach? College guys throwing footballs that MAKE NOISE. Yes, college guys have found a new way to be annoying. I guess they are smarter than we though.

{4} Sandcastle Shaped Buckets: Is it just me or have toys gotten way better since I was younger? These are awesome. Why didn't they have them when I was a kid? You don't have to shape the castle with your hands anymore, which always results in a castle shaped like a mound? Sweet! I may run to Target and buy some of these for myself right now.

This is what my castle building skill consists of.

This is what I could make if I had those buckets.

source

{5} Stand Up Paddleboards: These were everywhere. Old folks are doing it. Young folks are doing it. Where I was, the ocean was calm enough that you could do it right off the beach. And I can see why. It's a fun, relaxing way to get exercise and as a bonus, you can see into the water really well when you are 5 feet above it, rather than being in a kayak right at the water level.

Photo Credits: {1}, {2}, {3}, {4}, {5},

So get out ye old swimsuits and get ye to Target to buy the new stuff before heading out to the beach this year, lest ye be behind the times. 

What do you think about bandeau tops? How are your sandcastle making skills? What is your favorite on the beach sport to play?

Jericoacoara - Land of Sand

I found my new favorite place! It was hard to get to, but in the end, it was totally worth it! To get here, I had to take a bus for 2 hours, wait for another 2 hours, take another bus for 8 hours, wait for another 2 hours, take a bus for 5 hours, get off and then on to another "bus" (this one is 4 wheel drive, open sided with bench seats and the luggage goes on the top) for an additional hour.

After all that, I arrive in a town with all sand roads, no sidewalks, barely 2 small markets and no stress. This town is, as the locals say, TRANQUILO, tranquil, layed back and beautiful. The beach stretches some 30 km the town one way and I dont know how many the other way... I was going to stay here for two or three days and then...Chris finally met back up with me AND we both loved it so much we ended up staying about a week. We met some great people, hung out at the beach, relaxed at the hostel with our books, chatted with the owners of the pousada, hiked up sand dunes, rode horses, watched MANY sunsets.... it was great.
Then we decided to get back to the real world...but first we wanted to go to a Park called Lençois Marahenses, which is full of sand dunes and lakes. But to get there, we had to...take a 4x4 for about 2 hours, a van for about 3 hours, a bus for about 4 hours...to the town of Tutoia, where we spent the night. Then the next day, we took another 4x4 to a small town where we spent the night, then the next day another two hours to Barrerinhas, where you can do a jeep tour to the dunes. Whew!

The jeep tour was great! We went in the afternoon to be able to see the sunset, but it was kind of cloudy. However, we did swim in a few warm fresh water lakes and hike over some beautiful white dunes...
Next we went to the big city of Sao Luis, where we walked around the colonial center, met a bunch of people and got to see the locals practicing for the Bumba do Moi festival by dancing around in cool feather costumes...It was very cool!

So, next stop, Brasilia and then the Pantanal!

sol, araya, ondas!!!

That pretty much sums up our last few days. Sol = sun, Araya = sand and Ondas = waves. We are currently in a nice little town called Saquarema, where we are staying with a nice guy named Jose, who runs a small guesthouse only 100 M from the beach. Mira is with us now and has been for the last week and a half. She is leaving tomorrow, sadly. However, our trip with her has been very fun and we are going to be sad to see her go.

First we went to a town called, fittingly enough since Mira is here for her Spring Break, Paraty. It is a nice little colonial town which sits right on the ocean and is surrounded by, as the Lonely Planet states, some 300 beaches. We went to a nice one called Trinidad. Next we headed out to one of the islands, Ilha Grande, which boasts as having the most beautiful beach in Brazil. Ilha Grande is great; it doesn't have any cars and really only consists of one town and maybe a dozen beaches. We were there for a holiday, Tiradentes Day, so it was a little bit crowded, but not too much so. I think the normal population of the island is about 1200 people.

Next, we headed to Rio, which was very beautiful and a great time, but SOOO expensive, so we only stayed a few days there before heading here, to Saquarema, where we have been relaxing and soaking up the sun ever since.

Next stop, I dont know where....we leave tomorrow, but there are so many good places I have not yet been able to decide where I am going to go!

I am still slacking about putting photos on the internet, but Chris has been keeping up with it pretty well...You can see his photos here.

Me Gusta El Mar!

Since my last post, CK and I spent some time in Mendoza, drinking more wine, enjoying the Mendocino life. We went on a wine tour, which is not what I was used to. We only got to taste two types of wine at each place, however, the tour was interesting. It was all in Spanish, so I only understood half of it, but I still feel like I learned something. We stayed in perhaps the worst hostel ever while there. It was so dirty and nasty; I didnt even take a shower for a couple of days because I was so disgusted by the shower. Also, they were supposed to have breakfast included, and there was none. They were supposed to have internet access and there was none. They totally falsly advertised and were so dirty to boot! The worst thing is, it was the wine festival and so we ended up having to stay there regardless. However, in spite of this, our stay was very nice.

After Mendoza, we went to Buenos Aires to apply for our visa to Brazil. S had done this earlier in the year and had had a really bad time of it. He had to stand in line for 6 hours or something. We went early on Monday, thinking we would have the same experience. However, we were in and out in about 15 minutes, leaving us a whole extra day to hang out in the city. We had even brought lunch, thinking we would be stranded in line and not able to leave to get food! It was a welcome surprise.

From Buenos Aires we came to Mar Del Plata, where we are now. It is a beach town about 5 hours south of the city, where all the city dwellers come for the summer months of January and February. However, since we are here in March, it is still warm, but not very busy, which is perfect. So, we are back at the beach again. In Argentina this time though. Yeah, I know, we just cant get enough of Argentina, really. We actually like it so much, we decided to find an apartment in Buenos Aries again. I will take a Spanish class, and we will sit at the cafes and watch all the beautiful people go by.