During my travels I’ve learnt a lot of new things, for example that sometimes the problem is the solution, it depends from where you’re looking at it. In general I think that there are more solutions than problems and during my journey I’ve always chosen carefully.
Surf is a wonderful sport but you have to realize in time that it always exposes your skin to the sun and the sunscreens we use are not always the best ones. I personally use natural products containing argyle that protect the skin very well, but I guess that, even in this case, you have to find a balance (e.g. when I spend many hours at sea, I then try to avoid sunbathing on the beach).
I always do my best to limit my exposure to the sun.
Spending so many hours at sea, with tropical temperatures also leads to the loss of mineral salts: eating well and drinking a lot are the secrets to face this type of conditions. Very often the eyes too can be irritated or tired for the glowing of light on the sea. After a long session it’s very important to rest in the shade or indoors. At first, I didn’t mind those things, also because in Italy we don’t use particularly high s.p.f., so when I arrived to California I remember I used a low protection sunscreen that didn’t give me any problem in the beginning. But then, as I was surfing every day, after a few months I felt my skin irritated and very dry.
Adaptation is a very important factor while travelling, very often we tend to follow our habits like a fixed formula, but when you’re on the road you have to be open minded and understand soon what habits need to be changed and what don’t.
Body and mind care go together. When we take good care of our body, also our mind benefits from it.
When I started to train as an athlete -i.e. following a constant and repeated workout regime- I began to know my body better. Overcoming your limits and getting to your physical stress point is important to improve your performance every time, but knowing when is the right moment to rest is also fundamental. I believe that only by taking care of ourselves we can understand our inclinations and what we really want to do.
Self-care is the baseline to make our dreams come true.