Healthy Obsessions: Polynesian Voyaging

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I’ve recently had to work on several projects that required I study up on how polynesians navigated the Pacific Ocean thousands of years ago. Being from Easter Island (also part of Polynesia), my ancestors were these same ancient voyagers who trekked across miles of open ocean to settle new islands. The general understanding is that the ancient polynesians sailed using double hulled sailing canoes.  The hulls were made out of wood (usually from giant fallen Koa trees) and the sails were fashioned out of the bark of plants like the paper mulberry bush.

Lele from cliff kapono on Vimeo.

Most recently, there has been a navigational renaissance throughout the nations of the Pacific.  The Polynesian Voyaging Society and their ship the Hokulea were one of the first to start the rescue of ancient knowledge.  The Hokulea has logged numerous sails across throughout the polynesian triangle and now is planning an around-the-world sail in 2014.  In addition, there are at least seven other vessels that have been built and are reviving the ancient practice of wayfinding using currents, winds, waves, and the night sky.  A big backer to this renaissance has been Dieter Paulmann and the Okeanos Foundation as they try to spread a message of caring for the ocean and our natural environment.

Sorry for the lecture, but polynesian navigations is a topic that keeps fascinating me.  I’ve stumbled across a documentary called Our Blue Canoe about these seven canoes and the message they are trying to spread. As of August 2013 it is still in production, but here is a trailer of what they have so far:

If you want to learn more about Okeanos, Hokulea, or Our Blue Canoe, there is a ton of information on their websites.

Posted in: Culture, Film, Islands, videos we like \ Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Moving on

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MovingOn-2There’s been a mass exodus out of Minnesota going on lately. A disturbing number of our close family and friends have moved (or are about to move) out of state this year. Helping all of them pack up their trucks and move out makes me nostalgic for past moves of our own. I’m worried I’m catching a bit of a moving bug. We tend to get antsy after 2-3 years and decide we need to move, you know, just to keep life interesting, and we are quickly approaching that timeline here in Minnesota. But then I remember how fun it really is (i.e. not that much fun) and I can’t help but be happy we don’t have any immediate moving plans of our own.

Here’s a glimpse into our move back to Minnesota from New York. If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s making sure we’ve filled every teeny tiny space in a moving truck. I can’t stand unused space forcing you to leave behind something you love. And this, I realize now, is probably why we have way too much stuff.

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P.S. Most people seem to be smarter than this, but if you are the type to shrug off advice and forge ahead with thoughts of “I can do anything!”, I’m warning you, as a fellow stubborn overachiever: Don’t move in the winter. We had 3-foot snow banks to welcome us home to Minnesota and carrying boxes and furniture along a skinny little path in the freezing cold is not exactly a good time. Although we sure tried to pretend it was fun (ok it was a little….you gotta find the adventure and humor in crazy situations like these). But let me tell you, nobody wants to help you with that. You will, most definitely, be all on your own. But, then again, if you gotta move, you gotta move, and you can do anything! So just do it! You will survive, just like we did.

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This state sure won’t be the same without those who’ve left, but we wish you all the very best in your new adventures!

Posted in: home, Love, our travels, Ruminations, Travel \ Tagged: , , , ,

Hitting Restart

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We just returned from a trip to the boundary waters canoe area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota. Five days, four nights. Paddling canoes, portaging, or carrying our canoes and gear from lake to lake, seeking out the best campsites, swimming, eating, sleeping. Resetting ourselves back to a simple life. A life where all that matters is moving our bodies, obtaining water, setting up and taking down shelter, and cooking food. The basics. No cell service, no distractions. When we simplify our life to that degree all of the nonsense sloughs off, all the desires, all the “I needs” that are really “I wants,” all the things in our life: the TV’s, the computers, the cars, the houses, that cute dress, those perfect shoes. It all just falls away so suddenly we don’t even realize it happened.

When we emerge from the woods, jump back in our car and find ourselves home again with all of our stuff, there’s this distance we feel from it all, this sense of excess when we see all the things we’ve accumulated around us and we wonder why it all seemed so important before. It’s like hitting a reset button. It gives us a chance to reevaluate. Do we really need all this? Is this what works for us? Do we really need that car, that house? Do I really need to turn on the TV or the computer? I hesitate to pick up my phone and check in with the world because I know how fast that restart can be undone. But eventually I do, I have to, and eventually our simplified ways, our desire for less falls further and further into the background of our daily lives. Once again, we find ourselves back where we began. And that’s when we know it’s time for another restart. This is exactly how we feel every time we return from Easter Island and lately our challenge has been to find ways to keep that feeling alive in our household for as long as possible. But, still, the best way to return to the basics and regain perspective is to just get away from it all whenever we can.

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And when we do, we have nothing better to do than to watch the world in all its glory and relish every sunset and every sunrise, every transition from dawn to day to dusk to starlight, the sound of silence, the softness of the wind against our skin, the calls of the wildlife, the creaks of the trees, the sounds of all the beings all around us. And for those moments I can really feel, with every cell in my body, just how wondrous this life is.

Posted in: our travels, Ruminations, Travel \ Tagged: , ,

Free Healthy Meals in Flight

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So, you’re done packing for the 6 hour flight leaving early tomorrow morning. Suddenly it hits you, you are going to get hungry on that flight.  You can’t bear the thought of, once again, subsisting off of ginger ale and peanuts. The food options at the airport are over priced, over greased, and sometimes just plane (#typopun) disappointing.

We run into this issue all the time. Nothing seems ideal, and unlike other bourgeois frequent flier solutions, we fly economy, and rarely get bumped to business or first class (where the food is a little less stale). Solution? Ellie found Silicone Collapsible Lunch Boxes that, with a little bit of prep, are a great tool for eating healthy and cheap on long flights.

We have something similar to the Smart Planet EC-34 that sells on Amazon for about $15. It comes with its own spork-knife thing, and collapses down small to fit into your carry-on when you are done scarfing your face.

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The biggest hurdle is trying to find good eats to put into it. I dislike making my own bag lunch (especially when I have to do it in the mornings before work) but I’ve found that our local co-op grocery store has a bunch of fresh pasta salads, sandwiches, and even sushi that will fit nicely into these dishes. Find something that doesn’t have to be refrigerated for long (give yourself about 4 hours between pulling it out of the fridge and opening it inflight).  Having non-animal protein in there like beans or other legumes will help with this and will fill you up!

The only downside to all of this comes when you take a bite out of your tasty california roll and realize the guy next to you got the stale “cheese and meat” plate from the food cart.  Be nice.  Pack an extra roll. It’s good to make friends at 30,000 feet.

We will try and post some of our favorite recipes for inflight meals, but until then, does anyone have any good ideas?

Posted in: Eats, our travels, tips & tricks, Travel, we make \ Tagged: , , , , ,