Yes, I am still a member of this family, and I am in Costa Rica with them! I've been busy with my yoga teacher training course, to say the least, while Matt and the girls have been doing school work in the mornings and venturing out to explore this beautiful place in the afternoons.
My days start by rising at 5:10am to walk across the village and up the hill to the studio for a daily yoga practice at 6:15-8:30am. Then, breakfast!! I've never looked forward to breakfast like I do now. Beautiful pineapple, mango, papaya and watermelon served with scrambled eggs, fresh baked bread (usually with local cacao rolled into the center), and homemade yogurt and granola. And fresh Costa Rican coffee! Breakfast seems like such a menial topic, but it fuels me and brings me joy every day.
After breakfast I usually do my required personal yoga and meditation practice (4 hrs per week) and review notes from class. I have a session at 11-1pm (usually philosophy of yoga or anatomy) then another session at 2-4pm (usually hands on workshops for learning how to teach). I come back down to spend time with Matt & the girls and have dinner with them. Then I go back up for an evening session at 7-9pm. Matt very kindly picks me up after my evening classes, then I come home, get organized for the next day, and crash! The routine is hard and the days are long. But every day I learn SO much, enjoy meaningful connections with the other 13 students and 5 teachers in my program, feel more connected to the community of Pavones, and fall more in love with yoga!
Yesterday I felt like a kid being told they are being taken to Disney World when my teacher, Indira, said "tomorrow there will be a change in routine". We were told that instead of our morning sessions we would be going on a hike at 6:30am. She tried to prepare us that it would be a 4 hour hike on rugged terrain on steep hills in the blazing sun. None of that took away any of my joy. A few weeks ago I couldn't imagine anything as simple as a hike or a change in routine making me feel so gleeful.
This morning I felt like a child (still) getting ready for my field trip. From the yoga studio, the hill continues up, but I hadn't been any higher, until now. We trekked with the early morning sun. You could see the rays shining through the leaves of the trees, down onto the path before us. The sounds of the jungle were like a symphony. I was really able to notice these details because the first 20 minutes of the walk were in silence.
Eventually you reach a point where there is no electricity, and then you are on an indigenous Indian reserve. We passed the odd home, a horse tied up on the side of the trail, dogs, and a few native people. A young woman walked on the path towards us carrying a brand new infant she was nursing, while holding the hand of her young daughter walking next to her. As we were about to pass each other, the little girl smiled at me and reached out her hand as though she wanted to give me a high five (but I'm pretty certain she wouldn't know what a 'high five' looks like). I put out my hand; she touched me and gave me a sweet smile.
We trekked on and on until we reached a very high point (maybe the top, I'm not sure) of the Rio Claro river (the same one where the girls play at the bottom). There were seven of us women on this hike (we split up into two groups/destinations). At this point we took off our shoes and socks and had a lovely time swimming in the river. At the deepest point it was still only waist high. We sat around in the water enjoying the sun, the freedom and the simple pleasures of the day (this is what Costa Rica teaches you).
There is a rope bridge (in the picture) that we would have crossed if we were continuing any further with our hike. If we had continued on, we would have eventually reached Panama. You can move freely between the two countries as long as you are on the Indian reserve. As much as I would have loved to come home and tell Matt I hiked to Panama today, it was time to turn back. I hopped up on the bridge to check it out, and the view up the river from it.
The trek back was strenuous but exhilarating. Although I had the sense I had climbed further up the hill to get there, there were quite a few very steep upward hills going back. Also by now the sun was in full force. By the time we reached the yoga studio (4 hours after we started the hike) we were literally dripping with sweat, but feeling so good. So good in fact that I continued the rest of the way down the hill to get a smoothie on the beach since there was still some time before our 1pm session (everyone else went and took a nap). This was an unusual opportunity for me to surprise Matt & the girls in the middle of the day and to take a dip in our pool. And after all that, I had to climb the hill again to get back! 5 hours in total of pretty intense hiking (my knees are not thanking me!).
I've learned more and done more in the past two weeks than I could have imagined. The highlight was leading the group in a 20 minute guided meditation and closing with my first "Namaste". I'm working hard, soaking up all that this opportunity has to offer, and feeling my head getting lighter and my heart getting fuller.
Only love...xo