Life is Short.. Live it Your Way.

The image you see above is the brilliant manifesto by our friends at Holstee clothing. This might as well be my personal manifesto that I never took the time to think of, if that makes sense. Everything in this manifesto is how I strive to live my life, so thanks for the reminder Holstee friends. If you're like most every other human with a pulse and a healthy sense of curiosity, you've probably felt lost in your life before. Then you find yourself, then lose yourself again. What is this cycle all about?

I don't know! But it's a great question that I've vowed not to ask myself anymore.

I don't have all of the answers for why things happen in my own life and I feel ok saying that you shouldn't have all of the answers to the mysteries in your life. Let's remember that life truly is simple, it was never meant to be complicated... but we human beings complicate life and blame it on... life itself. Let's not confuse simplicity and ease. Life is not always easy, nor should it be. How would we grow and evolve as human beings without challenges and the 'life is so damn hard' moments? The difficult moments are usually our most telling times as we learn more about ourselves in the never ending pursuit of 'finding ourselves.' More often than not, our actions and emotions are products of our minds. The mind is a tricky bastard, don't let it control you, dictate you or demoralize you. Remember, life is short! Why live your whole life trapped in the complexities created by the mind?

Yesterday, an Argentine lady jumped off of a 23-story building and came crashing down on top of a taxi, without the driver in it. The building she chose to end her life off of is called the Panamericano. It is known for its roof-top bar with a great view over Avenida 9 de Julio in Buenos Aires, one of the best views in the city. She must have been caught up in her mind and lost all hope and then decided to make life shorter than it already is. Yet, fortunately for her family, she survived. Yes, she survived the fall, probably thanks to the taxi cab saving her life. Who knew taxis provided such life-saving services? Ok, all jokes aside, this is a miracle. Anyone hopping from higher than 10 stories is usually applying for their one way ticket to their respective after-life destinations. This Argentine lady is going to wake up in her hospital bed with 2 broken hips, internal bleeding but is expected to survive. Hopefully, she'll reward the angels looking over her.. and the taxi that was below her by living her life her way this time.

What if you came face to face with death? Picture death as a person smiling at you and daring to grab your hand, kiss you, and pull you to the other side. In reality, isn't that what death is? Death is our best friend, reminding us to not take life for granted. The beauty of our friend death is that it is staring us in the face each moment of every day, whether we know it or not. Any one of these moments could be our last... Now, is it so hard to live your life?

Author note: This post is not intended to inject fear in any of my readers and I apologize in advance if it has. It is intended as a friendly reminder to take a deep breath, smile, and live YOUR life!

Turn the Calendar, Turn the Page, Turn Yourself

Turning pages from 2010 to 2011

Looking back on my 2010 Resolution and Goals with my feet kicked up after a long day on bicycle, it's time to reflect people. How was your 2010? What's in store for 2011? New Year's is my second favorite holiday behind Thanksgiving. The new year represents the turning of a chapter in our lives dictated by the calendar, no better time to reflect. Thanksgiving is a holiday that should be actualized on a daily basis but the fact that we make a point to touch our gratitude pulse on one day is special.

In my personal reflection, I realize that I only fully achieved 40% of the resolutions and goals I set out for. Upon further analysis of the goals that I did not achieve or those that are in progress (60%), all of them have lead to something different. Different is ok, although it may not be what I set out for, something good came in an alternative form. For example, instead of the the pursuit of Spanish literature, I've followed my language passion into learning another language... Portuguese. Brazilian beauty intrigued me into learning its language. That's just one example but in my refl

ection it's interesting seeing how much life has changed in the last 365 days.

The year started in the bitter cold of the rocky mountains passing days at Monarch Ski Area then hitting the Golden coast for a road trip with my 2 hermanos (one from anotha motha). Then came a summer time of mountain biking and working 6-7 days a week to save money for a return to South America, one of the successful resolutions! Then came the migration south in September. Colombia was my home for 6 weeks and the perfect transition to my life here today, in Buenos Aires. One whole revolution around the sun and I find myself back in the southern hemisphere, this is the place for me now.

So now it's time for resolutions and goals in 2011, let's turn another page. This year will be one to remember, I can feel it!

1. Grow Biking BA into top 5 tour companies in Buenos Aires with 2 locations and a fleet of 100 bicycles.

2. Learn Portuguese- At least the basics of the language to where I can hold a 10 minute conversation with my fellow Brazilian friends in their language.

3. Learn Capoeira- This Brazilian art is like a mixture of martial arts and break dancing requiring incredible core strength and flexibility. It has a great history behind it too. Read about it by clicking the link above. Also, to see a good video of capoeira, check out this video. Every time I see people performing capoeira live, it intrigues me to the point of wanting to jump in. Only if I knew how...

4. Write more- I'm aware that I lose motivation for writing at times but I love it when I'm actually putting the pen to the paper. So I must find what will I do to make it a habit and be continuously motivated to write while balancing the rest of my activities.

5. Visit 5 places I've never seen- This includes the Salta/Jujuy region of Northern Argentina and others on the list are Uruguay and Bolivia.

That's it! Yes, this year I'm only going with 5 resolutions. I laid out 10 last year and realized that I need to keep it simple for 2011. It's time to simplify and focus on what I enjoy doing on a daily basis, being active. Biking, 5 vs. 5 games of futbol, learning capoeira and samba all will bring me enough joy for one year.

Living 2011 as if world really will end in 2012

The Mayan calendar predicted that the world as we know it will no longer be in 2012. I'm not 100% convinced of this, however I will use it as an opportunity to propose that we all live 2011 as if the Mayan Calendar is correct. Within legal and moral judgement of course. But what's wrong with living each day of this year as its the last May 5th, June 17th, September 28th, etc. that you'll live. We all might show a little more humility, love and passion in our daily life. So take it or leave it, to those who wish to approach 2011 this way, I can't wait to see how your life will be this time next year.

I sincerely hope 2010 dealt you as many ups as it did downs. To living yet another year through our ups and downs with grace, love, health and felicidad.

What is La Pura Vida?

image from change.org

A slow steady realization settled in and I thought to myself, "Hmm self, it has be a while since I've written a blog on La Pura Vida blog. The self always responds in silence as a mirror of reality. With no excuses to lean on, I search for more meaning of why blogs are even beneficial. They help us upload and share information with others in our own pursuit of education, reasoning, happiness or whatever it may be. La Pura Vida, perhaps.

Pondering back to why I ever started La Pura Vida blog in the first place, I recall I was sitting at a dining table in my first week of Buenos Aires, 3 years ago to the day, using what little Spanish I had known at the time to name my new blog, translated 'the pure life'. The pure life wasn't so much about living free of sins but about exploring a pure life yet to be fully understood. La pura vida, like much in life, is very subjective and is open to interpretation. The intention of this blog was to show my personal life and pursuit of living la pura vida. It consitutes of living healthy, physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. They're all interdependent. By living healthy in all of these facets, I mean living without toxins-negativity and trying to be something that I'm not. La Pura Vida is living a well-balanced, simple life. We all like to make life complex sometimes and we must remind ourselves to simplify everything and remember what's really important to our well-being.

Personally, these are the elements that constitute my own pura vida- healthy foods (fruits, veggies, yerba mate, etc), yoga, cardio exercise, meditation, writing, reading, learning new languages and cleaning. Cleaning? Yes, ever since I left home at 18, I've been a product of my ''neatness counts'' Dad and can't stand being in a dirty place. Without clutter, dirty dishes, etc. it's much easier to focus on the other elements.

Some of the readers on this blog have asked me where I get my views or philosophy on life from. Here is a list of my favorite blogs or websites:

www.thefourhourworkweek.com/blog

www.zenhabits.net

www.realage.com

And that's it, those are a few of my favorite online sources that inspire my pursuit of the pura vida.

My favorite authors are:

Deepak Chopra

Eckhart Tolle

Tim Ferriss

Edward Abbey

Del Carnegie

Many of my views and inspiration for travels and writing this blog come from these sources. However, my greatest source for new inspiration is from you, anyone who reads this blog. What is your own personal pursuit of la pura vida?

BIKING BUENOS AIRES

The main reason I wanted to move back to South America, Buenos Aires specifically, was to help my good buddy Chilly Willy Whittle get his bike tour company in high gear. One of my favorite things to do when visiting a foreign city is explore it via bicycle. With each pedal, you get to see the many different lives on the streets. One corner you may see kids kicking around a futbol, the next corner you're greeted by drummers performing for a few pesos. Three blocks later, the smell of carne or empanadas may activate the appetite. It's interesting, fun and absolutely liberating exploring foreign lands by the pedal.

This is an opportunity to follow a passion and put to test our creativity, innovation and determination. It's truly exciting. If you or anyone you know has plans in the near to far future of visiting Buenos Aires, please let them experience the city the most fulfilling way...
http://www.bikingbuenosaires.com/.

To see our latest blog on our latest biking experiences in Bogota, click here!

We leave Bogota tomorrow for Buenos Aires with our vision in mind and on paper in the form of a business plan. As much as we've learned just putting together the business plan, we've only hit the tip the iceberg. Let the lessons, challenges and rewards begin.. See you in Buenos Aires!

Caribbean Waters Part II/ Santa Marta

Santa Marta, Colombia

Where has the time gone? I sit here on our balcony looking out to the crystal Caribbean blue reflect the sun to my eyes. Seven days have passed here in this beach community that has been a major time trap. We don't return to Bogota for another three days. Ten days in Santa Marta is like one long dream that you never want to end. Why does it have to end?? "This too shall pass," the Buddha once said, such a painful reminder in some cases yet a healthy reminder in others.

Gilles, the Dutch owner of our apartment, told us he moved here seven years ago and has never left. Now he sits in his office two blocks from the beach and hires a bunch of Juans to bring the tourists to him so he can rent out his apartments. We had a great time negotiating with Gilles. All of our negotiations up to this point have been taking place in Español, which has been very frustrating to Jason, the wheel n deal kind of business man who thrives on getting the best deal for his friends every time. He's the best guy to travel with, always making things exciting. Anyways, once the opportunity to negotiate in English presented itself with our Dutch friend Gilles, Jason jumped on it and brought Gilles down in price $20/usd per night. The result, we stayed the final 8 nights of our stay in Santa Marta in a roomy flat that can fit 12 people. For the six of us, we each spent $10/night and had plenty of space and a nice hammock on our balcony, full kitchen, dining room, 2 bathrooms, laundry... todo! Oh have I mentioned the advantages of travelling the Caribbean coast in low season? See previous post here.

So the last seven days have been that dream one doesn't want to end. My ears have been plugged since I left the island in Cartagena. I never knew swimmers ear could be such a pain in the ass. I am now being labeled as the grandpa of the trip. "Robin! Listen to me.." they say. "What? What did you say? I can't hear you," I reply like a frustrated old man. All remedies have been tried. Over the counter medicines, shaking the ear and jumping, and even the ol' plug the nose and blow trick. None have been a successful remedy, so for now I accept my temporary deafness and tune into my other senses. My eyes and taste buds have been the most delighted by this beautiful beach community. My skin has even felt the bathwater of the sea here for hours on end. This place has been amazing and has provided some of the best sunsets one could ask for...

This place called Santa Marta has also shown us things we don't expect to see, like babies being bathed in public.....

...or more people on the beach at night than during the day as a regularity.

The locals also wouldn't expect to see one gringo pushing off another for a backflip

BJ's patented backflip w/ a little help from Jason

This is a place where I was even lucky enough to capture lightning crash at night marking the beginning of just another daily/nightly warm shower...

This is a place where the Sierra Nevada Mountains loom over the coast. The eastern edge of the city starts the ascent into the lush green mountains. The roads are no car's best friend yet the people are friendly enough to gringos to make them want to stay in this paradise. Our time here in Santa Marta was not just consumed by loafing on the beaches, only 80% of it was. Give us a break, we did take day trips to Parque Tayrona and ancient Minca waterfalls. Yet, laziness did get the best of us here in Santa Marta.

A side note: It's known as the honeymoon location of Colombia and it lived up to its reputation. We so happened to be here during the Colombian Valentine's Day. In one day, I counted forty six different couples taking their long walks on the beach, que lindo!

However, people really must not see too many gringos in this area since they often approached us as if we were celebrities as did this beautiful Colombian nena...

With every step in this bath water, with every yummy bite of the Caribbean fish & rice meals, with every damn stinking lazy moment in this hammock of the balcony, with every beautiful Colombian woman walking by, with every jaw-dropping sunset and with every breath of Caribbean coastal air, I am most grateful to experience this paradise... Santa Marta, you're the dream I never want to wake up to...

Caribbean Waters Part I

Seventy minutes of flight and the warm, humid air coats our Gringo skin. Those who were battling allergies in Bogota are now cured quickly by the Caribbean climate. It feels as if we´re in a complete different country. The Spanish here is mucho más rapido and the temperature gives us warm greetings. The only similarity between the coast and Bogotá is that it rains like clockwork every afternoon. Its simply a choice between a cold shower in the high city of Bogotá or a warm shower on the coast. For now, we´ll switch it up and spend some time in the warm showers. Break out the flip flops, swimming suits, sunscreen, insect repellent and the shades. We're livin' this one Caribbean style...

Good morning Cartagena from our apt. balcony

Upon arrival to our rented flat in the Boca Grande peninsula of Cartagena, we are approached by 'Caribbean Salesmen.' "Oye chicos, coca, departamento, muy barrato, muy barrato.." The gringos have arrived and everyone there knew it. The advantage of travelling the coast during low season is the affordability of everything. We managed to score a really nice apartment/flat to comfortably accomodate all six of us with a balcony view, blender, fully equipped kitchen among other amenities for a price of $12/person/night! The disadvantage of being the only gringos in sight during this low season is that we are target for every salesmen... and there are tons of them. For now let's just call them Juan, for some reason most salesmen were named Juan or Carlos.

Our first full day, we decide to take advantage of our location, head 3 blocks north and walk the beach. The Juan's (all of them) were delighted to see us step foot on the sand. "Chicos, cerveza cervezas, snorkeling, gaseosas (sodas), muy barratos chicos.." Aaand here we go, every 30 feet we walk, we're approached by an average of 2.8 Juan's, they're aggressive and we're highly entertained. We finally find one guy who approaches us speaking broken English and his name is Johnny, he wins best salesman of the day this day for getting us to rent out his cabana and order a few cervezas from him. No need to go anywhere if you want to buy any food or beer or massages. They bring it all to you. Juan's salesman sister, Juana we'll call her loves to approach us offering masajes. They actually don't offer, they tell you, ''promocion, masaje, masaje, es una promocion," and start rubbing your shoulders or legs. Some Juanas are so aggressive, you have to show your mean gringo side and walk away or yell at them. It's an interesting game here, are we celebrities that are just so damn irresistible or are we just wearing $ on our skin in low season? We'd all like to think the former but the latter is the reality. Day 2, we take a boat ride to Playa Blanca on an island about 25 minutes from Cartagena...

The Island:

Playa Blanca

Nearly twenty five minutes of a choppy boat ride out from Cartagena, we (only us 6) are dropped off at Playa Blanca on an island. What was strange about this? They told us to get off and everyone else on the boat kept on going. We were rather confused but went with it. As we unload the boat, 30-40 Juans and Juanas come out of the trees of the beach and start approaching us. "All hail, the gringos are here." We were all upset that none of us took a video of this scene, it was like a movie. Masajes, beers, food, ceramics, fish, ceviche... todo barrato chicos. Barrato for those who don't know español means cheap. They say everything is cheap, however we like to negotiate. Whatever price they'd quote us on, we'd respond with "pfff, no, no gracias, too much money," even if it was dirt cheap. We became master negotiators.

Jason, Mike, BJ and Dora in negotiations with Juan Uno, Dos y Tres

We had successfully denied every massage offer until Jason decided he was going to give in and buy himself a massage. This opened up the can of Juanas, once Jason lied face down on the sand and committed himself to a massage, ten other Juanas came over and attacked Reed and I, we literally would have had to run away to get away from the attack of the masajes. Dora, BJ and Mike were swimming in the bathwater called the Caribbean meanwhile before we could say "No gracias Juanas," Reed, Jason and I were all lied face down receiving the best masajes ever. No happy ending included! But for the price of $15 USD, I had four Juanas giving me a massage for thirty minutes. Twenty minutes in, I was considering how I could live on this island forever, Juana paradise. After we were in a nice relaxed state, our yummy fish lunch was awaiting us at the next cabana over.

Jason opening up the can of Juanas

Best fish lunch I've ever tasted

The rest of the day was a breeze, for some reason all of the Juanas stopped bothering us and disappeared, perhaps their daily income from us gringos had been successfully earned, congrats Juana you won in the end. Regardless, we felt victorious agains Juans, maybe because they didn't offer masajes. The todo barrato that they offered just didn't seem as appealing. Three days in Cartagena and we were ready to move up the coast to Santa Marta where prices are even more affordable and the Juan/Juana mix isn't nearly as aggressive. Three hours on a bus up the coast to Santa Marta and round 2 of Caribbean Waters begins...

Sunset from our balcony in Cartagena

Simple Lessons in Bogota

View of Bogota from top of Monserrate Mountain

The lungs draw shorter amounts of air in every breath. Half way up the mountain of Monserrate, which peaks over Bogota at nearly 11,000ft high to the east of the city, our legs weaken with every step. To our side is Hector (Dora's padre) who has been made a weekly Sunday routine of this climb. He stands about 5'5 and is 73 years young. Hector's stride is pushing the pace and making the mid-20's Gringos look rather weak in our ascent to the top of Monseratte. Bogota itself is nestled in a valley at 8,500 feet. We were drawing for deeper breaths just on our walk to the bottom of the mountain. As we near the top, beads of sweat slide down the cheek with every step in the high Colombian air with the sound of Church bells in the distance. Sunday morning church music greets us as we arrive to the top of Monseratte. The rising sun feels much warmer at the top as we can now see much more to the east at approximately 7:15am. Gasping for air and soaking up the moment with my companions, I'm amazed to see Hector calmly smiling at all of us. Is this guy for real?

Hector (not tired) & I (tired)

At 73, he just gave us lesson number #1 in this blog post: Age is only a number. Hector gracefully ascended this mountain with a 'cruise-control' pace and showed us young guns that some get better with age.
We begin to follow his lead as he shows us a place to do some abdominal workouts on rock seats. The church music complemented by the morning bird's song is just better than 'Eye of the Tiger' at this time. We explore the top of Monseratte for a good hour or so before we make the quick descent down to Bogota. Hector's amazing factor goes up on our charts as quickly as he leads us down the mountain. He begins running down with us, bouncing from step to step with plenty of spring and pep. I catch up with him as we wait for the others. "Are you really 73 years old Hector?" I ask him in Spanish. He laughs and responds that he is with a big smile on his face. He then proceeds to explain how his body has yet to deteriorate at this age, living a very active lifestyle. But at 73? really? Well, Hector just became another mentor as he gladly tells me of how great he feels. He's never even taken a pill, all natural medicines for colds and the flu, leaving fruit and vegetable shakes as the remedy of choice. Gracias Hector for making us feel your age but at the same time showing us age is only a number.

The crew on the top of Monserrate with Sunday morning church in background

On to lesson #2... Driving in Bogota Colombia!

BJ has been our Chauffeur through the streets of Bogota until the question hit me somewhat unexpectedly, "Robin you wanna drive this time?" Hmm, driving in Bogota, Colombia. I feel pretty comfortable driving manual cars and after watching BJ maneuver his way through these streets, I feel hestitant, yet so tempted. "Sure, lets do this, " I say. Two blocks in, I feel the difference in the pace of traffic and obstructions. The rules of the road here are simple... No rules. Who needs lanes? Who cares for pedestrians? Nadie, just step on the gas and keep up with traffic. One must maintain aggressive on these roads or you're causing an accident. Fortunately, BJ is co-captain and giving me tips as far as how to most efficiently navigate through these streets. Several times we come within inches of being side swiped or side swiping another vehicle. The urban jungle of Bogota was my first lesson in driving internationally. If Los Angeles traffic isn't enough fun for you, come to South America for some excitement behind the wheel!


Lesson #3: The US has more influence than I even imagined...

After 30 minutes of receiving my international drivers lesson, Dora, BJ and I end up at her parents' house (Hector y Nelly). We are greeted by passion fruit licuados (shakes). The taste of the fresh pulp is simply perfect as we begin to pick Hector's brain some more. Dora had told me that he is fascinated with our country, the US of America. So I open the can of worms and ask where this fascination comes from. The history lesson begins. From Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt, Hector gives me the background on each of them and what made them so great as leaders and as people in general. Jefferson's brilliance, Lincoln's resilience and Roosevelt's work ethic. The world would not be what it was today without Benjamin Franklin, the Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King Jr.'s innovative and revolutionary vision. After 45 minutes, I again look at Hector in amazement and ask myself who is this guru? It just goes to show that you need not be citizen of a country to know its history inside and out, one day Hector may make his way to the country adores so much to see what the American Dream is all about. What really is the American dream all about anyways? It might just be based in the principles and hard work of the aforementioned people, those who have not only changed one country but also one world.
The rest of the day was consumed by more love from Aunt Tita as she decided to treat us to an after-dinner drink of 20 year old Colombian Brandy. She had been waiting for a special occasion for... well... 20 years I suppose. We felt very fortunate and almost undeserving of such a nice gesture. I've never been a fan of Brandy, but 20 year old Colombian Brandy from the hands of one of the nicest ladies one could know. Perfecto... Salud! Now off to the coast, we start in Cartagena....

Dora y Auntie Tita pouring the Brandy, Salud!