Activities
Our Activities
It is wonderful to be travelling and meet new people and discover beautiful places. But along the way we are of course also active and have our daily activities.
For us, the main activities are our daily meditation and yoga, running for Ella, and hiking and cycling for both of us.
Read more about our daily activities on this page, why we like them and why they are important to us. We write blogs about our activities in which we provide tips and recommendations and of course let others speak here as well.
Meditation
For many people, meditation may still sound like whimsical. To be perfectly honest, that's what it sounded like to us until a few years ago. However, when Geert suffered a burnout for the second time in 2018, he was tipped to follow a mindfulness course. He did that at the mindfulness factory in Utrecht and that helped enormously. Of course, there are differences between mindfulness and meditation, but there are more common grounds. And it's mostly about how you approach it. The most important things Geert has taken out of mindfulness are not judging so much, accepting life and things as they are and stopping the mental fights in his head. And mindfulness is thus a very accessible way to start meditation, and also to do yoga exercises. In the end Geert started meditating more and more in the recovery from the burnout, and sometimes Ella joined him. At the moment Geert does meditation almost every morning. Ella often does some meditation exercises at the beginning of a yoga session. Meditation provides us with awareness and mental peace.
Coming soon! Read more about this topic in the blogs about meditation, what it is and what it can mean for you.
We meditate almost every day; it brings us consciousness, mental calm, it gives energy and provides a positive life approach
Meditation
Yoga
In line with Geert's mindfulness course, we both started practicing yoga. At that time we lived in Abcoude in the Netherlands and there is a very nice yoga studio in the village. In the period from the second half of 2018 until the spring of 2020, we did several sessions per week at Pien's studio. We both had lessons from Pien herself, but also from Aggy, Ada and Lisette. At the moment we benefit from these lessons on a daily basis, we can put a lot into practice ourselves. But there are also good yoga classes to follow online. We usually do our yoga sessions in the morning immediately after getting up. Geert does them almost daily and for Ella it depends on how she can combine it with her running. For both of us, the combination of meditation and yoga in the morning ensures that you start the day mentally and physically fresh and energetic. And one of the most important aspects of yoga is that you practice it at your own level. Many people still think that they need to master all poses perfectly immediately. But that's not the case at all, it's about getting what's important to you out of it. On the road we try to follow yoga sessions every now and then when they are available to us. for example in Chiang Mai in Thailand we followed some sessions at Rose’s studio.
Read more about this topic, what it is and what it can mean for you in the blogs about yoga soon.
We practice yoga almost every day; it brings us mental peace, gives us energy and balance, it can be a good workout and it makes you physically more flexible and stronger
Yoga
Running (Ella’s story)
Unlike Geert, I have never been truly sporty. Geert tried to get me to play tennis. I followed lessons but it really wasn’t my thing. I once had a golf clinic through my employer and I liked it. After obtaining my golf course permit, we regularly played golf both in the Netherlands and abroad.
But when we decided at the end of 2019 to actually carry out our travel plan in 2020, I thought…, hmm…, I really need to start exercising to get in shape. So January 2020, I put on a pair of old sneakers, downloaded a running app and just went! Walk for a moment, run for a while..., that's how I started. The app told me exactly what to do and this at least three times a week, so I did it faithfully. After a few weeks Geert said: "if you want to persevere, you must invest in good running shoes".
We went to Runnersworld and I came home with my first running shoes. With my new shoes and the running app you could see me running through the fields around Abcoude three times a week. Since our traveling I have ran in so many beautiful places. Whether it's running by the sea or through the mountains it feels privileged every time. I normally run three of four times a week, 5 to 8 km and once a week a slow and longer endurance run. In addition to our hikes and/or bike rides. with Geert as my personal coach, with his broad knowledge and sports background.
Never thought of running in my life. But now I can’t live without running. It became an important part of my life, running makes me happy!
Running
II am not a runner, I am a person who loves to run!
Hiking (Geert’s story)
Of course, we all go for a walk sometimes. That's what we did at times in our previous lives. And yes, we also took a daily walk during the first corona lockdown when we were still in the Netherlands. But during our period in the Canary Islands we really discovered hiking completely. To be fair, Ella had already anticipated by buying good hiking shoes before departure. But since we were at La Gomera, I have totally embraced hiking. And in the form in which I now perform it, it even became a wonderful substitute for the running which I definitely miss. Since I have an artificial hip I do not run anymore. Ella, of course, does her running and doesn't always come along. But if it fits and she feels like it (not climbing too much), then she will definitely come with me. I now hike 3-4 times a week where I usually take hikes of about 4 hours. Once a week I go definitely all by myself and I'm gone all day. Then I deliberately walk alone and walk approx 25-30km, depending on whether there is a lot of climbing or descending to do. Along the way I look around a lot, take photos and sometimes meet new people/hikers. Walking/hiking gives me energy, I see the world in a different perspective, it makes me fresh in my head and I develop the weirdest ideas. Never thought hiking would be an important part of my life, it makes me happy!
Coming soon! Super interesting blogs about hiking on La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. With lots of great tips and recommendations!
Walking gives me energy, I see the world in a different way, it makes me fresh in my head, I get fitter and I develop the weirdest ideas
Hiking
Cycling
We are Dutch, so we cycle, anytime, anyplace, anywhere! That also applies to us. During weekends away we always looked at whether we could rent bikes. Maybe there is a white bike plan and we can cycle around the city for an apple and an egg (Dutch saying). It always worked. So we were on a bike on Broadway in New York (who didn't…), on Sanibel Island (where?), in Barcelona across the Ramblas, in Paris on the Champs Elysees and on Cape Cod we did a nice tour. All these places have one thing in common, it's flat. When we went through Europe in 2019 with the rented camper we had brought our own regular bikes. That works well until North Limburg in the Netherlands. After that, the landscape changes and the traditional Dutch bicycle with just a few gears no longer works so well. So when we knew we were going to travel with the camper we also wanted good bikes. And soon we were on the trail of electric bikes. For the seasoned cyclist who goes into the Alps a few times a year, perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind. But take it from us, if you travel with a camper and get to places where it gets really steep then our E-bikes are a godsend. In the summer of 2020 we invested well in good E-bikes. We both opted for an electric mountain bike from Cube, model Kathmandu (then you know enough). And we can safely say that it has been one of the best investments ever, besides the camper of course. The combination of the large camper and these bikes is ideal. Because the bikes end up taking us everywhere when we are somewhere with the camper. They have range and take us over the mountains, into the city and you even ride with them on the beach. Soon nice blogs about our bikes and our bike tours with nice tips and recommendations.
Cycling
These bikes take us everywhere, they have range and take us over the mountains, into the city and you even come with it on the beach
Activities Blog Posts
Shoe advice at Runnersworld
Get expert advice on the perfect running shoes for you. Read this blog and visit Runnersworld for top recommendations
Running in the Canary Islands
Running in the Canary Islands is great fun! Read in this blog about my running experiences on La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro
Hiking on La Gomera
During our more then 6 weeks on La Gomera we did a lot of hiking. Read in this blog about the great hiking possibilities on La Gomera