The Pampas area I visited consists mostly of wetlands with a main river and its tributaries winding through it. The vegetation varies from grasslands dotted with trees to dense stands of reeds to pockets of forested areas. The river courses are lined with trees, some of them standing well into the river. In some places, sheltered from the main current, the river surface is covered in an assortment of water plants. It’s an incredibly beautiful area and it supports an abundance of animals.

There were 7 of us in my group plus our guide, and we spent 3 days in the Pampas. Even with the extreme heat and humidity, the dust, and the blasted mosquitoes, we had an incredible time. Our guide was great, our camp was in the trees right on the river, and we filled our days with activities like cruising up and down the river on our canoe, tromping through swampy reed beds, having sundowners at the nearby river-bar (standing on stilts in the river shallows), playing football on the mini-pampas soccer field (where I must’ve sweated out at least my own body weight), and going on night cruises under the stars. I could go on and on about the variety of wildlife we saw: mammals, reptiles, birds (hundreds of species of), amphibians, insects etc, etc. But there was one animal which I was able to interact with and this is something I will never forget.

The pink river dolphin is a strange animal. For starters, it’s pink! It’s dorsal and pectoral fins are tiny and its spine is particularly flexible. It has evolved this way for more manoeuvrability in amongst the aquatic vegetation and tree trunks standing in the river. As the water is very murky, it navigates solely by sonar.
Its head curves down sharply to its snout which is long and thin – almost beak like. They are pretty big, maybe 2 to 2,5m long.

As we travelled down the river in our canoe, we could occasionally see their pink backs rising out of the water as they surfaced for air. Their blow holes opened and we could clearly hear the sharp exhale and intake of breath.

On one of the days we went to a wide part of the river where some areas were sheltered from the main current by stands of vegetation growing in the water – an area favoured by the dolphins.

Here we had an opportunity to swim with them. I was very keen on this idea and was in the water very soon after we stopped. I swam towards an area where I could see many of them rising. It was damn scary, considering I was sharing the water with caiman (alligator type reptiles), piranhas, and anacondas, whilst also having minor concerns about certain micro-organisms swimming up my urethra.

Also, the water was so full of silt, it was coffee colour. I couldn’t see my hand 10cm under the water. In these circumstances try to imagine the shock and adrenaline surge running through my body when a dolphin came up and bit my foot!!!!!!!!! DAMN!!! I´ve never had such a fright before. It took all my will power not to frantically propeller my arms and speed-swim back to the boat and jump back on. But I gathered my balls and swam further out.

Another one took a playful nibble at my ankle. It was still nerve-wracking, because I never knew when to expect them and where they were coming from. I got used to it though and they started rising up next to me, sometimes brushing past me. I can’t find the words to say how awestruck I was. They were playful and mischievous and would sometimes frighten the crap out of me with synchronised movements. At one point, 3 came past me at the same time, 2 past my head, splashing me in the face with their tail fins at the same time, while the other one swam under me, brushing my foot with its dorsal fin. One came by and gave me a soft slap in the ear with its tail fin. It was unbelievable!

I stayed and swam with them as long as I could. I went back to the camp very happy.

Latest updates on MensLifestyle include a look at ten of the top American Muscle Cars from the late 60’s and early 70’s. Also, Tayne Ruddock, our travelling madman has new travel adventures from South America and new movie reviews are out.

Check out all of this and more on MensLifestyle.

Ten Classic Muscle Cars

Off the Gringo Trail in Peru

A Different Bicycle Experience in Peru

The Fastest Way to Build Muscle

Movies

Home | Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies| Cars

It is common for people who have completed alcohol rehab, and remained sober for a year or two, to begin to wonder why they are continuing to attend various groups and meetings. It’s a good question. While some people may need, or prefer, to continue their participation, others can safely occupy themselves with other activities. The question is, which are you?

The answer is easy, though the change process may not be. Generally, those who can kick the 12 Step Habit are those who have something other than alcohol to build their lives around. As obvious as that may sound to many of you, it isn’t a given.

There are good reasons why 12 Step programs work for a small minority of alcoholics. The primary one is that they insist that you maintain your alcohol focused life. This allows you to stop drinking without upsetting the balance in your life and the lives of those around you. Roles may shift – bartenders become transformed into sponsors, for example, and drinking buddies into AA pals – but you, and alcohol, remain the designated “problem” and you can still escape other problems through your continuing focus on “working your program.” Family members and employers may no longer complain about your absences and you, along with the rest of us, are safer on the roads and highways, but little else has changed in your life in any fundamental way.

That brings us back to the question of you giving up your 12 Step affiliation. Is it possible? Is it desirable? Is it smart?

You will, of course, have to make that decision for yourself. The risks of giving up your routine are that you will slip back into your old drinking habits. The problem with any change is that we tend to create vacuums when we fail to replace old habits with better ones. Your 12 Step habit is less destructive than your drinking behaviors and the key to ending your 12 Step dependence is to replace it with even more productive and rewarding activities. If you do that then there is little risk of you relapsing to either drinking or endless recovery.

Successful change is a product of consideration, research, planning, and action. You probably found that moving from a “drinking focused life” to a “talking about drinking focused life” was not as big a change as you expected. But removing the alcohol entirely as your central focus will be a considerably bigger adjustment. This shift will create a major void which you would be well advised to fill gradually as you wean yourself away from the routines which have gotten you through the past months or years. This is not a time for abrupt departures from current habits.

As you begin to move towards other activities you can expect to encounter opposition. Family members who had an investment in your drinking and later in your recovery may resist yet another change – especially one that threatens the status quo that 12 Step recovery generally supports. Your meeting buddies will, if they notice at all, feel threatened by a possibility – that you needn’t be recovering forever – they have been comfortable ignoring or rejecting.

You can minimize these reactions by moving gradually. Instead of going to three meetings a week, try substituting a visit to the gym for one. You’re easing out, not dropping out, and you are substituting one healthy activity for another. As you become more comfortable with your new involvements so will those around you. This is real change, not merely the substitution of one alcohol based activity for another. Give yourself, and those around you, time to adjust.

Real recovery means extinguishing a set of behaviors and developing a more rewarding life. It’s the best insurance you can get against a return to the bad old days. Yes, you will be tempted occasionally, but having a life which has no room for alcohol is the best way to keep it locked out.

Edward Wilson has developed alternative alcohol recovery and moderation programs since 1990. He is the co-founder and clinical director of Your Empowering Solutions, Inc. in southern California. http://www.non12step.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edward_Wilson

Home | Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies| Cars

Home | Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies| Cars

The body building industry has millions of practitioners all over the world and each of them has a claim to know the fastest way to build muscle. We are of course talking about building muscle without the use of steroids. That is to say we are talking about natural body building.

Whilst there are many ways to build muscle the most important thing one needs to understand is how muscle is built in the first place.

The process of building muscle is in fact quite simple and is a well trodden road. Muscles grow in response to being placed under extreme stress by picking up heavy weights. By picking up heavy weights small tears appear in the muscle fibers The body then sets about rebuilding these tears. The body builds stronger muscle fibers just in case you are crazy enough to try picking up those heavy weights again. This is all part of the bodies defense mechanism. It thinks it is under attack so it builds stronger muscles to try and survive.

Now we know the basic process of how the body builds muscle we needs to apply a few general guidelines in order to achieve the fastest way to build muscle.

Firstly we want to apply the greatest stress to the muscles in the shortest possible time. The most optimum way to do this is to pick up the heaviest weight possible for the fewest repetitions. Thus the goal is to get to the point where you cannot pick up the weights more than 5 to 7 times. If you do loads of repetitions then you will get to stage of self defeating as the body will then start to break down muscle for energy to support your efforts.

The next important thing is to never exercise more than one hour otherwise again you will cause your body to change to a state where it will break down muscle for energy, thus giving you no muscle gains for your efforts.

You must eat properly. The ideal is to eat loads of proteins such as chicken, fish and meat with good complex carbohydrates. You need to eat at least five to six times per day. You need your sleep so your body can recover from all the stress you just put it under.

By following these simple guide lines you will have found the fastest way to build muscle.

Get your Guide on the 8 Things you Must do in order to Build Muscle Now
Rich Powers is a Body Building Enthusiast and webmaster of http://www.iBuildMuscle.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_Powers

Home | Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies| Cars

When John Lennon’s killer was found to have asked Lennon to sign a copy of the book earlier on the day of the murder, the book got a bad reputation, though the content cannot by any stretch of the imagination be linked to the murder.

The book explores the troubles of being a young man and as such most honest men will identify with the main character, Holden Caulfield. If you have not read it yet, check it out.

Home | Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies

These days it is possible to find policies that are flexible enough to meet your individual needs, even as they change over time. Some plans can be adapted to meet your changing circumstances, so make sure to ask your advisor the right questions.

There are several important things to remember when looking for life insurance:

• Will the future of your dependants be provided for should you die?
• If you should die or become disabled, would your children be able to complete their studies?
• Would your debt be settled if you died?
• If you are in an accident and become disabled, how would you be able to support your family?
• Will your retirement be catered for if you should become disabled?

Look for a life insurance policy that will cover you by providing for your family’s future should you pass on, lose your ability to earn a salary or incur costly expenses during recuperation from illness or an accident. You can even get a policy cover that will ensure your policy continues to be maintained should you be unable to make payments for a period of time due to unexpected misfortune like unemployment or illness.

Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies| Cars

Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies| Cars

A lot of people think that self-esteem is the same as self-confidence; however it is much more than just self-confidence.

‘Self-Confidence’ could be described as being an ingredient in the ‘Self-Esteem’ recipe.

The word ‘esteem’ shares it’s roots with the word ‘estimate’ meaning ‘to put a value on’.

We can conclude from this that ’self-esteem’, really means ‘the value we put on ourselves’. Hence, someone who has low self-esteem does not value themself very highly.

On the other hand, someone with high self-esteem has a deep rooted sense of self; they like (and sometimes love) themselves; they are in control of their internal state and they act with purpose.

The good news is that anyone can learn to have high self-esteem. It is not something that only the select few are born with.

How To Build Self Esteem

Accepting yourself as you are ‘warts and all’ is an excellent place to start to build your self-esteem. Although this may seem easier said than done, it is a vital ingredient in your step forward.Take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror, that’s you!, that’s the way you are, and accepting yourself for what you are will start you on the path to higher self-esteem.

The image you see in the mirror can bring to the fore feelings of frustration, as we look at ourself with an overly critical eye. Sometimes all we can see are the flaws and the things we would like to change. We don’t see all the great things about ourselves as we have hidden them away, even convincing ourselves they don’t exist.

Well, they do exist, so keep looking, take a deep breath and look at yourself as you are and not as you would like to be. Learn to love yourself as you are before you try to change anything.

I know the last sentence seems contradictory, why would we want to change something we just fell in love with? But, the fact of the matter is that too much energy can be wasted wishing you were something you are not and accepting yourself for what you are is the first step to take towards higher self-esteem.

Have you any idea the energy you must use to hide yourself away from the world. What if this energy were channelled toward more positive areas in your life.

The most crucial part of this exercise, is that you must acknowledge first that you are

fine the way you are.

Once you have discovered this self acceptance, you will find the courage and

incentive to delve deeper into personal relationships and a whole new journey will

begin.

The Author has recently developed a keen interest in self-improvement. He has undergone some quite fascinating changes in his life and does’nt feel the need to stop developing yet. He has started a Self-Improvement Blog at http://www.self-help-group.com and also posted more self-esteem articles at http://www.davewhitworth.com/self-esteem/

Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies| Cars

A day of pirating commenced with the 2nd installment of Pirates of the Caribbean. This was a warmer upper for watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3 at the cinema.

We sat in front of the television, beer in hand, chips on the lap, totally absorbed in Captain Jack Sparrow’s world. Its amazing what a couple of beers and some brash pirate talk can do to work you up a bit. By the time we had finished the DVD we were amped to go see the third chapter on the big screen.

Even though the movie has been on the circuit for a couple of weeks, the cinema was packed. Luckilly we planned ahead like good pirates and bought our tickets earlier that day. The movie was throughly enjoyable, and I’m sure that whenever people speak of pirates – for some time to come – they will be picturing the world of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Home | Health | Wealth | Adventure | Music & Movies