I recently took a solo tour of a medieval fortress in Cartagena, Colombia.
The fortress is 130 feet high and used to be protected by 200 soldiers. It’s huge.
My tour guide and I walked all over the fortress for an hour midday when the sun was beating down and it was over 90 degrees.
We ducked into tunnels, climbed up narrow stairs, and left no stone unturned.
My guide – Alfonso – was basically yelling the entire tour because he was so passionate about Cartagena’s history and wanted to make sure I understood his English.
This man is electric. He is very high energy.
As we were wrapping up the tour, he casually mentioned he is 80 years old.
My eyes opened wide in disbelief. I was completely stunned.
He then said he has 4 kids and his wife passed away 4 years ago.
I told him I’m really sorry to hear that.
He then yelled, “I have a girlfriend now!”
I ended up getting Alfonso on the phone a couple days after our tour to ask him some questions.
Here’s the summary of what I learned:
- He has a light breakfast of bread, or fruit, or some yucca and cheese.
- He has solid lunch of tripe soup (beef / pork / potatoes), or he has some coconut rice, veggies, and fish. He mentioned he eats a lot of fruits and veggies.
- He’s very active. My guess is he walks 15,000+ steps a day doing tours up to 5 days a week. He also swims outside his house 3-4x a week early in the morning.
- He lives in a house with his children since his wife passed away.
- He has 2 jobs. He manages a car wash near his home as a hobby.
- He has a very positive outlook on life and is grateful for his health
- He gets 8 hours of sleep a night
…and now here’s the part I think is most interesting.
He said he oftentimes doesn’t have dinner, or has something light.
“Oh no no no, I won’t be able to sleep if I eat too much at night!”
To sum it up, he’s very active, stays social & engaged with work / family, doesn’t eat much food, and gets a solid 8 hours of sleep a night.
Not revolutionary, but that’s the point. It’s a great reminder of the basics for longevity.
I’m grateful to Alfonso for sharing his wisdom with me so that I could share it with you.
If you have any thoughts to share, leave a comment below!
Inspiring Mark! Thank you for all you give to us and the world. I’ve emailed you many times; I’m the “old” guy, just turned 63 who continues to be bent on fitness because of people like yourself. So thank you! I imagine you as another version of Alfonso one day!
Thanks again!
Robert
PS: I love my air fryer that you recommended we try.
Glad that airfryer is working out well and thanks for the kudos, Robert. Grateful to share my passion with you and others.
Great article! Being engaged, and interested in life and people is as important as our sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Thanks for sharing such an inspiring story!
Absolutely! It’s all integrated.
Hey Mark, I loved this article. I have spent a lot of time in Peru (my wife is from there, and made films there), so met a lot of Alfonsos. Like my inlaws. 80-plus. They get up early, eat their main meal at noon, light dinners, working and walking in the mountains constantly. They don’t wear tech gear or have gym memberships or follow diets or any of that stuff. When we have parties, it’s always dancing, for hours. from age 8 to 98. They are lots healthier than nearly any American their age. I appreciate you always calling out bullshit and reminding us of the basics.
Thanks for sharing, Mitch. It is amazing how cultural habits and beliefs can yield amazing longevity.
Inspiring to read about my “compatriot”. I am 85 and likewise walk 15,000 steps daily, workout in the gym 3 times weekly, play tennis and climb our local iconic mountain (the Grouse Grind in Vancouver) twice weekly. I am passionate about encouraging fitness and have a website at Over50andfit.ca