Raise your hand if you decided to shed a couple of extra pounds before summer this year? Most people tend to be fairly gung-ho about taking off the weight at the beginning of the year, but as the days starting passing interest in breaking a hard and nasty sweat tend to fizzle or the body just gets plain-out burned-out. Don’t let either happen to you! Stick to your goal by doing whatever you need to the healthy way. The answer could be something as easy as a change of scenery, so why not take a fitness vacation? Lifetimetv.com has a fantastic list of 10 activities including locations where interested parties can join a yoga retreat, cycle through vineyards, hike up hills, and paddle in Belize. Working out in the gym is good, but wouldn’t it be great to escape and lose weight? Perhaps I am the only one who thinks so.
Photo of the Day (12/25/06)
Here is one to Romania! It’s hard to believe they will be a part of the EU in no time…
I have never been but the mountains (Piatra Craiului) are supposed to be great. A few of my friends have gone there to hike and ski and loved it. Here is a photo of the countryside from Marek Wagner for the Czech travel mag Koktejl.
Romania and Bulgaria are the new hot places to travel in Europe. Adventure travelers fear that the EU membership will make them lose their edge. Real estate agents are buying property there like crazy because it’s still cheap but they know when those budget airlines start offloading (first students, bachelor party types, then families from Western Europe) by the thousands, it is officially over.
Andes Photo Gallery
Having spent over a year living in Chile way back when, I can attest that the Andes Mountains are a photographer’s dream. The scale of these towering peaks and gaping valleys are like nothing most of us know wen we think of mountains. This hemisphere’s largest mountain, Aconcagua, is in the Andes.
Indeed they are lovely, and so that is why I’d like to direct you to this nice little photo essay over at National Geographic that features a bunch of great pics of the Andes. Rather than hike these massive peaks, however, Henry von Wartenberg covered some 5,000 miles on his motorcycle, cruising along mountain passes through four countries in five weeks. From the salt flats and the altiplano to Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, the series here actually conjured up some vivid memories for me.
Google Earth and GPS
This is a pretty cool Google mashup for the biking crowd. It comes from a group taking part in a 24 hour mountain biking race in Moab. They were able to overlay the race route onto a Google Earth map to show off the various points of interest and trails along the way. Beware, there are lots of dirty photos here…I mean that in the literal sense. These guys did a lot of pedaling in the mud.
Biking Down South
I am actually headed there quite shortly, but have to admit that before planning my trip when I would think of Baja, I would think of driving into dusty beach towns with my buddies, buying cases of Corona for $5 and eating fish tacos on the beach as the tide comes up. Mark my words, watching the tide come up while eating fish tacos and drinking Coronas in Mexico is a fine way to pass an afternoon. But I will admit it’s not the most active way to spend a day. For that, you might consider riding mountain bikes in Baja. These guys do it and have a kick ass time cruising old mule trails and chomping tortillas in the shade. Key word there: shade. I warn you, it’s hot as hell down there, so fill up your water bottles. And after a good day of riding, THEN pick yourself up a case of Corona.