SLOW SUNDAY & CARROT CAKE

This morning I woke up to Chick barking at the door, she had seen Penny, Mikey’s new rescue dog positioned outside, in downward dog, tail wagging, ready to play with her new sister.
Half asleep, I opened the door to let the two of them have their morning chats, got back under the duvet, and was then joined by them both, Chick leaping and Penny clambering on to the rug that hangs on the end of my bed. Feeling the warm sun filter through the curtains, I began to slowly come to life, stroking the pups with my feet and watching the sunrise over the mountain.

It is a beautiful day today, the sun is shining intensely over the jungle and I feel really bloody great. What a joy. After a moment of sleepiness from being jolted awake by Chick’s bark this morning, I soon felt alive and well. Luckily for me, I had a big fat solid nights sleep, belly full from my homemade raw carrot cake (more on that later) and content, snuggled with my family as we watched tv in my bed at around 7:30pm, I was dozing in and out of Las Azules which is a great show, highly recommend (I did not fall asleep because of the show lol), I then ended up fast asleep around 8:30pm.

I decided I wanted to prioritise wellness this morning, I wanted my Sunday to be about allowing myself the luxury of self-care. I started my day as usual with a matcha latte, this morning I used both some of yesterdays freshly made coconut milk, made last night by Mikey, and some of the hazelnut milk I made the day before, all whisked into my mixture of matcha and a little boiling water. I took my mug and sat on my yoga mat up on the top deck.
I did a gentle stretch flow followed by a meditation. It has been a while since I meditated and I really noticed the difference in mental state after I slowly blinked open my eyes after about 15 or 20 minutes of being still, letting my breath flow however it pleased, and repeating the mantra I was given in my induction into Transcendental Meditation a few years ago.

I watched the birds in the trees and sipped the last of my matcha latte, most of which was sweet and syrupy, as the agave I splashed into my mug had separated from the liquid and settled to the base, the last little gulp served as a sweet lil boost to get me up off the mat.
Mikey and I decided to go for a run/walk with Chick and Penny, taking our usual route in the hilly jungle that surrounds us, but in reverse to switch up the scenery. It was getting hotter by the minute, so we packed a portable water bottle for the dogs and made our way at about 6:45am.

It was a beautiful and peaceful walk, with intermittent runs to get our sweat on. Running here in the humidity causes sweat to drip down my forehead, bubble on my nose and upper lip, and run down my neck and back, it feels SO FUCKING GOOD. Upon returning to our casa I took off all my clothes and jumped naked into the pool, splished and splashed and then lay out in the sun, drying in my birthday suit, the way the good Lord intended.

Once dried and having felt enough sun on my face I hopped into the shower, washed my hair, face and body and then began a skincare process that I rarely ever do, cleansed, moisturised with face AND eye cream, put on some of my fragrance and deodorant and felt like a freakin goddess. Like meditation, I forget how great it feels to do these acts of self-care, especially when you do it consciously and connected to the moment, I was repeating to myself “I GET to moisturise my face, I GET to use this lovely eye cream, I deserve this little moment, how bloody lovely”.

I felt really good with my decisions this morning, clean, sunned, energised from my work out and meditating and then deliciously satisfied after my breakfast I made. I mixed eggs, bananas from the market, coconut milk made fresh yesterday, and a mixture of coconut and banana flour. The lil pancakes did not want to stick together very well, I made a few attempts that flopped and broke, splattering on my clean white trousers, so after a few fails, I just made them into little bitesized ones that then didn’t fall into pieces or break. Felt satisifed. Gobbled them down with some yoghurt. All of this before 9am?!

On a Sunday in London I would probably be hungover, burnt out or just feeling a bit flat, so I would try to stay in bed as long as possible, drag my bones to the park to walk Chicks, probably eat a bunch of junk and then watch some crap reality tv to take my mind of the feeling of bleurghh I had.
I really notice the difference the connection and closeness to nature has on my mental wellbeing, and that of course that is the case, it is scientifically proven and literally one of the first few things we get taught to help ourselves feel better - get enough sleep, drink enough water, exercise and eat well. Easier said than done, depending on your headspace, environment and of course, privilege.
It is a HUGE privilege to be able to have this much time for myself, access to fresh, locally grown food, a healthy body to move and the ability to enjoy such a self-indulgent Sunday. A day without any responsibilities or requirements other than myself and my dog. No emails to reply to, no work to do, no children to look after, no one to be accountable to but me, what a treat - JUICY AND DELICIOUS FREEDOM!

I count my blessings more and more as I begin to settle into the flow of myself back here in the jungle. Having spent a lot of evenings in London drinking alcohol, dancing, partying, hosting, chatting away with friends and being in the hustle and bustle that is one of the most metropolitan cities in the world, it is a MEGA different energy to home here. I love London, I love the scene, my friendships, the ability to have everything you desire often at the tap of a screen, sweaty queer bars, bumping into friends from old in the tube on your way to work. It is a stark difference to living in the jungle, a drive away from any small convenience stores, anything you want or crave is something you have to do yourself. I am learning patience, the process of things, the beauty that comes from being a little more isolated from the constant movement and quick gratification of city living.

I was craving carrot cake for the last week, if I was in London I would have it within 15 to 20 minutes having chosen from a plethora of phenomenal bakeries on my phone, all without moving a muscle on my sofa. Here it is obviously very different. One of the closest place to get a ready made carrot cake near where I live would be a 35 minute drive up the mountain into San Isidro, or, a 38 minute drive down the mountain and along the coast to Uvita.
Realistically it would be a bit mental to drive for a carrot cake, I don’t need to get in the car and waste diesel to satisfy a craving. So I decided I would wait until there is a greater need to travel to a town, maybe when we do our big shop or if there is an errand that needs running.

I looked through the ingredients needed, realised that I had a fair few of them already on the shelf, and so, when we needed to go to our local convenience store about a 8 minute drive away to get some more eggs, fresh coconuts to make milk with and some things for the cleaning cupboard, I grabbed myself some locally grown carrots, dates and some walnuts.

I made the most delicious raw carrot cakes yesterday afternoon, they were DIVINE and tasted a fuck tonne better than the store bought one from the supermarket a drive away, probably because of the fact that I made them myself, I was the making of the whole process. It also felt a lot like self-love because I was giving myself the thing that I craved, whilst using my hands and making something, as well as being mindful about the ingredients. I hand chopped all of the ingredients for about 10 or 15 minutes as we don’t have a food processor here, and then improvised on the frosting using yoghurt, cashew cream and coconut sugar because we had it, instead of cream cheese - trying again to be mindful to waste as little as possible, use as little plastic as possible and generally be conscientious about what I consume here.
This country is so beautiful I don’t want to pollute it with a tub of cream cheese that I might only use for the carrot cakes and then forget about and ultimately throw in the bin - I know what I am like.

Making banana pancakes this morning was the same feeling, homemade, slowly, all from scratch, using local ingredients, like the nut milks Mikey and I made, that too, takes time! I love the learning of slowing down, taking my time and enjoying the process, its sort of becoming a bit of a mantra for me in life.

So, I am reminded again today to be grateful for this life I live, to use what I have, be resourceful, minimise waste, use local ingredients and be conscious of my impact.

Frankie x