If you’re going on a vacation this summer and want to stay active while you’re away, plan ahead and find a few spots to explore before you leave home. No matter what activity you enjoy, you can find preplanned routes for just about every area of the country and across the globe. And unlike a hotel gym, it’ll give you another perspective of your destination.

For runners: Visit Run.com to map or find a route just about anywhere in the world. While most of the routes are in the US and Canada I did find one for the area I’ll be traveling in Ireland later this summer. Each one is rated for difficulty and scenery and often has markings for points of interest and water breaks included.

For bicyclists: Find a ride on Bicycling.com. Again, enter your location info and you’ll get a list of nearby trails. Aside from a map, you’ll see info on elevation, the split between downhill and uphill, and total distance.

For hikers: MapMyHike.com has a database of hikes logged in by users. You can get mapped trails for the area you’re traveling to, read user comments, calculate the number of calories you’ll burn and even track workouts in a log.

As I mentioned before, I recently was lucky enough to check out a new green holistic spa in the Dominican Republic—the Cygalle Healing Spa at Casa de Campo. One of the most amazing things about the spa and its treatments is the on site “Spa Pharmacy”. Products used during treatments are 100% natural, preservative free, and mixed just before a scrub or wrap is applied. Even better, ingredients are grown locally and responsibly (coffee beans, honey, coconut oil and more), which means that guests are getting the freshest products possible and there’s no shipping needed.

While I was there I got to see the Tropical Daydream Body Wrap being created. It included fresh papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, organic yogurt and coconut oil blended together. The high level of active ingredients and fresh enzymes in a live formula like this will do wonders for your skin and the smell of the mixture is amazing. While you won’t be able to mimic the posh treatments of the Cygalle Healing Spa at home, you can experiment with fresh homemade beauty blends at home. Try a recipe from Health.com.

I’m blogging from Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. Today we hiked the Stawamus Chief, a cliff-faced granite monolith over 2000 feet tall. Here are a few snapshots from the trails. See you Wednesday.

Last weekend I got to check out the brand new Cygalle Healing Spa at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic. One of the treatments I tried was the Crystal Chakra Aromatherapy. If you’re not familiar with chakras, we all have seven of these energy centers that reach from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. Each has a color and scent associated with it. They affect you physically, mentally and spiritually and when they’re imbalanced, you could feel it in your health or energy level.

During the meditation-like treatment the practitioner placed crystals along my chakra centers with an aromatherapy scent for each, which is supposed to heighten the experience. After the treatment your prana should be flowing freely and you should feel balanced and restored. Now maybe it was simply because my mind was wandering, but during the placement of the first few crystals I found myself thinking about something that had upset me recently and I think I let go of the anger at that moment. And I felt a few sudden quick pangs and tingling fingers, but I can’t be sure those feelings had anything to do with my chakras (I was lying on a massage table for 50 minutes). All skepticism aside, I’ve always been fascinated by stuff like chakras and the treatment was interesting, relaxing and smelled wonderful.

With friends and family all over the world, I always have reasons to travel by air. But honestly, I’m not the biggest fan. It’s stressful, crowded and tiring. However, if you have to fly, there are ways to make your trip smoother.

My cousin is a pilot for a major airline and his girlfriend is cabin crew (go figure). So I asked them for tips that’ll help you arrive more relaxed and refreshed. Here’s what they said:

Before Departure: Pack lightly and avoid checking a bag if possible. On average, this could save you 45 mins and obviously eliminates the risk of losing your much needed bathing suit for that beach holiday. Use a clear washbag. It’s easy for security to see your liquids so you can avoid having your bag searched and you don’t have to waste plastic Ziploc bags.

On Board: For long-haul trips, change into a comfy outfit in the air. Just before landing change back into your regular clothes (no need to run around the airport in your sweats). You might also want to take your shoes off because your feet swell during flights. Taking them off will improve your blood circulation and comfort. A sleeping mask and ear plugs are key if you want to get some shut eye during your flight. But it’s good to be active too. Try these on-board exercises from Ace Fitness.

Read the rest of this entry »