Vacation Preparation Tip - Get Stepping
Costa Rica
The trip to Costa Rica included a ton of walking. Walking at the hotel, walking at a nature preserve, walking, walking, walking. On more than a few days we ended up as tired as these white-faced capuchin monkeys.
I'm going to skip the simple "wear the correct shoes" tip and go to something more specific: start walking, and make sure you are in shape for any excursions. Park a little further from the store or office, take a few laps in the local mall, get outside and take a stroll on a hot day.
My tracker shows that I am pretty consistent at about 3 miles per day, every day. But the week of July 4th shows 9393 per day, or just a bit under 5 miles per day. Costa Rica was warm (not hot) and the intensity minutes show the impact of the heat. Compare that with the week ending 7/18 where most of my steps were indoor and air conditioned.
Excursions Disclose Intensity
The terms vary, but most excursions will tell you if it is easy, moderate, or strenuous. Most will tell you if the excursion has accessibility challenges. River cruises pose special challenges with on-boarding, off-boarding, lack of elevators, and uneven road surfaces. You can't kiss the Blarney stone if you cannot navigate a tight spiral staircase.
Choose wisely to avoid physical burn out early in a trip. When I graph my results, I often see low stats after a heavy week of waking, or a heavy intensity week.
We did get some rain - which is typical, but planning ahead made it a non-issue.
Pro Tips:
- Pick your excursions to match your physical ability
- Try to improve your mobility several weeks before a trip
- Alternate active days with less active days (sea days on a cruise as an example)
Last tip: Avoid monkeys. Monkeys bad. Monkeys muss hair. Monkeys fling poo.
Just ask Dorothy, traveler from Kansas.
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