Practicing How to Stay Healthy On The Road part II

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It is always difficult to stick to your healthy food scheme and giving the body what it needs when transporting yourself from A to B (to C etc.). The longer the ride the harder it gets. However, traveling by air is by far the most challenging in terms of staying healthy, alert and over all good; we are not even allowed to bring our own water for heaven’s sake! Even though I dislike long train rides too, at least I have the possibility to bring my own food. A 10 hour airfare is always a gamble for a vegetarian/vegan and even more so if you eat gluten-free, organic AND non-GMO! They hardly ever get it right. I have yet to figure out how to be able to eat during long flight hours, for now I’m blessing my food as hard as I can to not get sick. Flying between Costa Rica and Europe means transiting in The States, obviously a problem for the food aware person! All food is based on chemicals and sugar. Whilst a “snack” with British Airways from London means a vegan salad containing hummus, chickpeas, falafel and greens (!). They also had fresh lemon for my hot water, hurray!

Oatmeal, brown sugar, raisins and hot water lemon.

Before even getting to the airport I started my day with oatmeal and hot cinnamon tea (not in the picture), which improve digestion and help me stay grounded. At Dallas airport, I found a classic American burger/fajitas restaurant where I asked for vegan food and ended up analyzing their special allergy menu for a good 15 minutes! The result? Black bean burger (without bread), rice and broccoli (instead of fries) and hot water lemon on the side!

Vegan and gluten-free meal at Dallas Aiport

In conclusion, traveling by air is still a pain food-wise but hopefully they’re getting there soon enough. Airports around the world usually have snack stores with a variety of healthier snack options such as organic raw granola bars, nut mixes and fruit. In most restaurants you can ask about ordering off the menu and they’re cool about it and, as previously stated, mint (tea) is the herb easiest to find no matter where you are. What is more, they did allow me to carry my own water bottle through security, which is a great resource and helps in staying hydrated. Next time I’ll bring my thermos ;) 

Bonus tip: in the carry on bring a small bottle of olive, avocado oil or the like to rub on nails, hands, lips and other dry areas. I also like to carry some essential peppermint oil in case I get motion sick.

For more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling check out my previous posts:

How to Stay Healthy and Balanced while Traveling

Practicing How To Stay Healthy on the Road

What are your experiences with airplane food? Good or bad? Do you have any tips? Share in the comments below! 

Pura Vida

San Francisco in Two Days

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My favorite type of traveling these days is the visit friends-kind. A few years ago, I slowly started leaving the traditional way of backpacker traveling. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still always on a low budget and I've learnt heaps of stuff I still bring with me everywhere I go. That subject requires a separate post though.

I truly enjoy reading up on a country, learning its history and its most interesting geographical spots and investigate its art scene. Sometimes, however, it is tiring. When visiting friends they take you around and show you their favorite places in their (current) hometown, they know where to go and how to get there and usually I don’t even bother to google the place. Call me lazy, but I like just letting go of everything for a while. The absolute best part though, is of course to get to spend time with my beloved friends and at the same time see yet new parts of the world. So, that is what brought me to San Francisco for a couple days; to visit my dear sister and friend Lucy. Two days isn’t a long time and if you’re anything like me (and most of my friends haha) food is the main attraction on a go-visit-friend-trip. San Francisco is an ideal place for foodjunkies such as myself, besides being some kind of hippie haven (which obviously means that you’ll be most likely to find me in the bay area a couple more times)!

I’ve posted all of the delicious food we had on instagram so go there to check it out! What I want to share with you travelers is the Food Market in the Ferry Building- which is a must visit when in SF! There was an entire shop with different kinds of mushrooms for instance. And the gluten free Mariposa bakery. And all sorts of organic, vegan, vegetarian, whole food, veggies and locally produced food. I also had my very first Vietnamese food; lemongrass tofu and veggies and it is now my favorite Asian dish so far.

Another must-see is the Haight-Ashbury street that became famous during the 60’s and the bohemian hippie era. Simply because a lot of hippies moved there due to cheap accommodation. Today, the area is filled with lovely stores such as vintage, smoke shops, herb shops, thrift stores, crystal shops and tie-dyed clothing. Needless to say, I love it!

Tie-dye store Haight-Ashbury

Tie-dye store Haight-Ashbury

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Haight.Ashbury

Haight.Ashbury

Oh and for those who wonder: there are actually buses and they're cheap! So I simply took the bus Reno-San Francisco.

Back in Reno now, snow in the mountains and -2 degrees Celsius. Next week I’m heading to Costa Rica and probably warmer weather.  

What stories do you wanna hear from my travels? =) Please contribute in the comments below this post! 

Love & Light

Highlights of 2013

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According to the linear time made up by humans, the year of 2013 is coming to an end. As many do around this time of year, I am going to sum up some of the amazing experiences I’ve had during 2013. It has been a tumultuous year in many ways and my within-journeys deriving from my travels around the world have been great and profound. My intentions for 2014 are to continue deeper into my spiritual journey, wherever in the world it may take me.

Ok, so let’s sum up some extra good times!

 

1.    San José in February and March: This is festival time in Costa Rica and its capital. The classic Latin American Carnaval is being centered around Puntarenas, whereas the capital holds festivals like Transitarte. I especially enjoy these kinds of events, with street art and free concerts around Down Town San José and its city parks. The streets are buzzing with happy people and the bars are full even at daytime! Of course, February is also the month when the Moon Dance is held but that topic requires its own post. Some day I might tell you about it.

2.    Puerto Viejo January to May: The tiny village Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is the place in Costa Rica I call “home”. Sure, we have had our differences: humidity, unwanted animals in the house and cold- to mention a few. But it is impossible not to love this place. I get to wake up, in the jungle, to the sound of howler monkeys and have breakfast with hummingbirds and to do yoga while resting my eyes on the ocean waves rolling in to shore. Puerto Viejo is also the place to visit for a culinary experience and I’m sure you know that I love food! Organic, fresh from the garden, hand made chocolate, you name it Puerto got it!

I also had my sister staying with me for 4 whole months in this paradise, which is a true blessing! 

3.    The United States in May and June: I know some of you will smile reading this- having said I never wanted to go to the states. Of course, the reason it ends up on this list is the exact same reason I went there in the first place: visiting one of the most important persons in my life. What really made this trip special was to get to travel with my partner and him introducing me to his life in this culture that is so far away and yet so close to “my own” (what ever that is). Who would have known I’d go camping with a bunch of motorbikes in the Nevadan desert for instance? I love that life takes me to unexpected places.

Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco 

4.    Sweden in July: I went from north to south this year basically. I have never before been to Österlen in the south east of Sweden and its spectacular nature and breath taking sceneries stuck to my heart. Summer is when Sweden shines in all her glory. Such a beautiful country! Sometimes I find Sweden and Costa Rica very much alike. For instance, the fact that nature varies greatly from place to place within both the two (small) countries.

One of the finest memories from the Österlen trip is when mom and me went to Kivik and ate for hours at the raw food restaurant. (Again: food!)

Norrland (Photo Credit: Ola Danielsson)

Norrland, Sweden (Photo Credit: Ola Danielsson)

Yes, it's a rain deer

Ale Stenar at Österlen

5.    Festivals in August: For August there is no better place to be than Småland. Heaps of stuff is going on all over: festivals, markets, harvest parties and what not. This year, I packed a car and went to a music festival in the forest. Mundekulla is about song, dance and love, created by and through the people attending. It will always warm my heart to think about it and I hope I get the chance to return every year.

My partner in crime (at least when it comes to yoga) and I grabbed our mats and jumped on a train bounded for Copenhagen a weekend in late August. The Copenhagen Yoga Festival is an outdoor event where you can try a variety of yoga styles, listen to lectures, snack yummy raw food, meet people from all over the world and even go into the ocean if you want to! It was a great weekend with, maybe, the last hot sun rays of summer. 

Las Salvajes

So, there you have it: my Highlights of 2013 -list! Now, I’m curious about what you enjoyed most this year. Tell me all about it in the comments below :)

 

Happy New Years and Pura Vida

Lake Tahoe

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"There is no need to know where you are going.
There is no need to know why you are going.
All that is needed to be known is that you are going joyously,
because if you are going joyously you cannot go wrong.
If you are going dancing, singing, celebrating,
the direction does not matter, the road does not matter, the goal does not matter.
Every moment becomes paradise."

-Osho

 

Photo credit: Magie

The famous lake and beginning of summer.

View point and love.

All these wonderful views

I went and I go joyously and my moments are paradise. I dipped my toes in the freezing water and felt content in enjoying the beauty in togetherness.

We spent my birthday by and around the lake. Strange and funny things happened: we found ourselves travelling in time, being inside a movie with no title and feeling like disguised aliens.

 

Shopping for Bday cake

Found some lovely old cars

Memories like that are difficult to put words on. But they remain in our hearts.

Pura Vida

 

Devin & Magie

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Little boxes in the desert and blue lakes

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Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

Pyramid lake

Reversed warrior, nature and love

"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving."

Pura Vida

 

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27

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Yup, it is true. I am now in the country we love to hate and hate to love: USA.

This also means that I'm climbing the country-ladder with 27 countries on my list just a few weeks before I turn 27!  Bazinga!

30 countries before 30

means that I and some of my friends are trying to visit 30 countries before we turn 30. It seems doable.

Some of mine are listed in the Categories to the right --> 

3 more countries in 3 years, I'm thinking about keeping it simple for the last ones.

Anyone wanna contribute with their list?

Edit: obviously this is just a fun game. Traveling is not about collecting countries on a list.

 

It me took a while to get here from Costa Rica and I went through a lot of airports:

I found Art in Atlanta in terms of Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix

Sunset in Arizona

And so I landed in the state where you can gamble your life away: Nevada.

Following my heart

Pura Vida