30 day writing challenge
A new beginning.
I have slid away from blogging lately. It is very time consuming and hardly anyone read blogs anymore. Having said that, listening to podcasts with people I admire such as Tim Ferriss, Chris Brogan and Seth Godin, they all do a daily writing session and the two latter by blogging. So I have decided to give this ago by doing a personal challenge of writing for 30 days in a row. Not sure all will result in blog posts but I shall write some way or another.
Day 1.
Right now I am suffering in too many ways. Here is the list of what it wrong in my life at present.
- I can’t run. My body aches after too much driving in Brazil, and too much sitting, without any running. On top of that my, carrying a too heavy camera on the same shoulder all the time, both in Brazil as well as the Big Month section between Jaen and Tumbes at the end of October got my neck and shoulder tight.
- I am spending too little time with my two daughters and feeling more and more guilt that I have not been able to teach them Swedish.
- There are too few bookings the coming months and this affects the economy of both the company and myself.
The blogging may become somewhat therapeutic, so here are some ideas I have for reducing the suffering.
1. How to deal with the body ache and lack of training.
I have started several things that should get me back in shape to start running again.
First I am doing Yoga every day. Just a relatively short Sun Salute repeated twice. I have a Yoga app on my phone.
Today I also found recommended a good Qigong exercise to do on the Sub 3h Marathon group on Facebook.
I am also subscribing to Headspace meditation program and have start a pain management meditation cycle. On Day 7 already in the program.
Today I did two short runs taking it very easy and walking some shorter stretches 2x 1.5 km.
I have also added a short strength routine for strengthening the hip. I do some squats, clams, leg lifts and bridges.
Too keep track of all, I use Google calendar app, where you can schedule repetitive tasks to create new habits.
2. More time with my daughters.
My wife and I came back from Colombia last night, and today I only saw my daughters very briefly, but I plan to get up early to spend time with them before they go to school – and give them an hour or so in the afternoon.
Tomorrow, I will get up at 5 AM and work more efficiently in the morning and get my morning routine sorted. If this means too much lack of sleep I shall do two-three 20 min naps during the day. A guided nap app is Pzizz. Absolutely fantastic for napping.
3. More Kolibri Expeditions/7 Wonders Birding sales to improve the company finances
We need to improve sales. There are too many up and downs. For December there are no Peru bookings at all. The programs we have scheduled around Christmas and or New Year have not sold. What is so special with Christmas anyway. I would just want to go away and flee from all that shopping craziness. If anyone reading this agrees here are the trips you can sign up for. I’ll give a 10% discount as a reader of this blog.
Dec 22-31 North Peru getaway (10 days) featuring White-winged Guan and Marvelous Spatuletail
If that is too long and you hate the idea of being away for Christmas Eve, here is the alternative shorter tour.
Dec 26-30. Short North Peru tour starting in Jaen. Arrive in the afternoon of the 25th or early morning of the 26th.
Dec 31-Jan 3. Scarlet-banded Barbet and Cordillera Azul Antbird.
Jan 3-8. Iquitos – White sand forest and canopy walkway. This trip does have two confirmed bookings, and may just fill up with two more interested.
The other thing that could get more attention is our intent to use word of mouth to spread the word of the concept of running our most popular 5 day trips weekly. You shall certainly hear more about this. Meanwhile, just check out my Facebook post from the other day…
It reads….
BIRDING PERU – ANYTIME!
Here is the idea: We offer our most popular birding destinations in Peru all year around. Three short tours of five days which run every Monday to Friday. You can sign up anytime to the most iconic Peruvian Bird Species (Marvelous Spatuletail, Condor, Cock of the Rock, Inca Tern, etc), the BEST Biodiversity Hotspots (Manu road, Abra Malaga and Abra Patricia) and Classic Peru Bucket list items (Machu Picchu, Ceviche, Pisco Sour and if you wish Guinea-Pig).
The Birding Peru – Anytime programs are perfect for:
* Anyone having limited amount of time and money.
* For non birding spouses and friends. Perfect length. Short trips both serve as introduction to birding and are not overwhelming, even if it is birdwatching most of the time.
* For Bird Photographers.
* For serious birders doing all three trips for maximum diversity in two-three weeks.
Here are the three tours:
Check the calendar in Kolibri Expeditions website to learn more or message me on Whatsapp +51988555938 for more info.
Photo by Richard Pasquarella on Unsplash
Gunnar Engblom is a Swedish birder who lives in Peru since 1998, where he operates birdwatching and nature tours for Kolibri Expeditions. He is also a dedicated 3:04 marathon runner (Nov 2016), soon to resume training for Lima Marathon in May 2020. Currently, injured but working on rehab. In 2016, Gunnar additionally re-launched his rock’n’roll singer career with his band Guran Guran, and in 2018 they released a new single and another one in 2019.