Hurricanes and Flight Delays

Due to Hurricane Arthur causing havoc with flights in the Northeast, were stuck in NYC until Saturday night. As expected with a storm so close, the weather has been miserable with plenty of malicious-looking clouds and rain, rain and more rain. Still, we had a comfortable bed, warm sheets, and nowhere to go until Monday.

Then miraculously, Saturday was bright and shining, with the sky a brilliantly beautiful shade of blue.

As a further silver lining, we're were fortuitously stuck in NYC for the 4th of July celebrations, so hooray, fireworks!

As for the last month, my workouts have been based around what's available. Food choices have been similarly made.

It feels good to have access to a reliable grocery store and kitchen as I'm finally able to organise my meals, and a fitness plan for the week that I now have a higher chance of completing (and without having to shoot low due to uncertainty).

So my week looks something like this:

• Sunday (done)!: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; spinal yoga flow (30) 
• Monday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; lunar flow (30)
• Tuesday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells + body-weight finisher; relaxing flow (20); 
• Wednesday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; Hatha yoga flow (20)
• Thursday: bodyweight workout; Forrest yoga flow (45)
• Friday: run; post-run flow (20); Taichi + Wushu (maybe)
• Saturday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; Firefly flow (60)

Phew, ambitious much?

Meal-wise, I've got the following planned:

• Kombu ginger chicken soup 
• Turkey vegetable meatballs
• Cassoulet with lots of vegetables
• Eggplant dirty rice 
• Cauliflower chickpea curry 

Looking forward to a productive week ahead. 

Cuiaba

We're waiting at Brasilia airport for the next flight to Porto Alegre for the next World Cup match for Australia. So far Brazil has been wonderful, with plenty of very friendly people despite/because-of (?) the language barrier. Everyone is helpful and happy to answer our silly questions in broken Portuguese/English. Strangely enough, they always ask if we’re ‘Japonaise’. Maybe most of the Asians they see are Japanese?

Better photos from M’s camera will be coming after the trip, but I thought I’d share a few snaps from our first few days in Brazil.

The first meal I had on Brazilian soil was breakfast at Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport. A sweet and mostly healthy acai bowl with a side of bananas. Many of our other meals have been buffets with plenty of rice, beans and meat (delicious), or breakfast biscuits (definitely less so). One eats what’s around I suppose, although that probably doesn’t explain my newly formed Coke Zero habit. 

Onto what we did: the highlight so far has been the Australia v. Chile match of course. The atmosphere was incredible, with cheering fans and waves of excitement, with only the oppressive heat and sometimes splash of beer putting a very mild damper on things. It’s a pity about the result, but WE SAW AN AUSTRALIAN GOAL!!!! Hooray! Fingers crossed for a few more in the next two matches. 

Before the match though, we went on a very long walk around Cuiaba city. Rest stops in a park right in the centre of the city was needed.

The day following the game was dedicated to resting, and napping but the day after we tackled the Parque Nacional Chapada dos Guimareas. The weather was warm, but mostly tolerable, and with the help of a guide, we went on a 7km or so hike to see five waterfalls and a cave, complete with dips as needed to cool off. Seeing nature trumps seeing the city pretty much anywhere in my opinion. Food options in nature are lacking though, with unfortunately biscuits being the order of the day. 

Onto city #2! 

Super-long layovers

Red-eye flights and long layovers (14 hours) do not mix. 

Finally on our much-awaited holiday to Brazil, we kicked things off with the dreaded red-eye flight from the west coast to New York. During boarding, it seemed like there were at least 18 babies on board, which didn't exactly bode well for sleep. 

Still, we napped intermittently before waking up to this beautiful sight.

After arriving in JFK ahead of schedule, we settled in for a long layover. Seeing as I'd promised to myself that I would make sure that I did some yoga every day (for my sanity and health), I ended up doing a hip-opening flow in the airport lounge.

Strange looks aside, it was a wonderful way to get all the kinks out after a rough night's sleep in a flying tin can. It also highlighted how tight my hips actually are, and that I should incorporate more hip-openers into my flows!

Our layover was happily distracted by an invite for lunch, from a friend I hadn't seen in over 5 years. I'd moved to the US during that time, and he'd moved all over the world spending time in Alaska, Hawaii, Thailand, Nepal and Israel. He definitely trumps me in the world-traveller stakes. 

Now it's back to the airport to kill a few more hours before another overnight flight to Sao Paulo, followed by another 12 hour layover. Here's hoping for a smooth ride and a decent night's rest.