#10   It's a Wrap

Travel Update:

I'm back in California.

A few days ago, Costa Rica announced its first case of Corona Virus.  The prospect of being infected in CR didn't worry me so much as the thought that Costa Rica might begin instituting Draconian restrictions on air passengers arriving & leaving the country. 

I've cleared U.S. Customs & Immigration, and made my way back to Sun City... where I have sitting tenants in my house until 3/28 (!)  So I've retrieved my car and headed to Northern California...  hoping to visit some dear friends who I often wish I could see more often.

 

Avoiding crowds.  Awash in hand sanitizer...

I plan to 'self-isolate' at Sun City when I return at month end. 

#9  The Cloud Forest

Say "Costa Rican Cloud Forest" and most people think of the famous Monteverde Reserve.
But there's another Cloud Forest reserve in the same general vicinity.  The St. Elena Reserve.  My 'Lonely Planet' guidebook advises that St. Elena is less visited than Monteverde, but equally spectacular... maybe even more so because it is at a higher elevation (5500ft.)

Surprisingly, none of the mountains in Costa Rica's north-central 'spine' are especially high.  The loftiest peaks are found elsewhere in the country; and only 7 of them are higher than 3000 meters.

But one doesn't go to the Cloud Forest reserves for 'peak' experiences.  One goes to see dense, lush, native jungle... and the animals that live there.  I saw only birds, as most of CR's animals are nocturnal.

The lush jungle at St. Elena Reserve is nurtured by an almost constant cloud cover. It wasn't truly raining when I hiked there. But the condensation of the fog on the giant green leaves was so constant that accumulated water drops would eventually cause the leaves to bend downwards, sending a shower to the jungle flora beneath.

I'm no botanist, and I know the names of few jungle plants, but I was nonetheless impressed by the variety and the density of the understory... and the overstory. Unique in all the world, I was told.
Unique, certainly.  Yet strangely familiar to me.  Many sections of the trail reminded me of walks I've taken in the Santa Cruz Mountains on a foggy day.

#8   Arenal Volcano

Following the "Foresight" retreat, I shared a 2-hour shuttle to Liberia Airport with most of the other departing retreat participants. They got on planes.  I went to the Hertz counter, rented an AWD SUV, and drove east toward the mountainous 'spine' of northern Costa Rica. Part of the drive was on the "carretera", the Panamerica Highway that runs the length of the country, from Nicaragua to Panama. It's not like the U.S. Interstates, as the speed limits can be as low as 40 km/hr... and the lanes occasionally narrow to just 1 in each direction.  But it's reasonably well maintained and sign-posted, and it has no stop signs or traffic lights.

Leaving the carretera, the roads quickly degrade. Pot-holed paving quickly gives way to unpaved roads. Curves and verges can be treacherous.  But I managed to reach the Arenal region in the course of an afternoon.  Arenal has a famous volcano, now protected as a National Park.

I stayed at the Arenal Lodge, on the 2,000-acre site of a defunct macademia nut plantation.  At the guard-gated entrance to the Lodge, one makes an impossibly steep, impossibly twisty 1st-gear drive for 2 km up the side of the mountain... eventually arriving at this most remarkable family-run Lodge.

Surrounding the Lodge are number of trails that lead deep into the mountaintop jungle. It's quiet.  Filled with lush landscape and colorful birds. At this time of year, blooms are few, but beautiful.

Dinner at the Lodge can be enjoyed watching the light of day disappear over the distant Arenal Volcano.  IMO?  This is a far more 'real' and majestic side of  Costa Rica than can be found on the beachy, tourist-centric Nicoya Peninsula.

#7  "Foresight 2020" Retreat

"Foresight 2020" was splendid, sacred. The mountaintop venue was remote, surrounded in all directions by miles of wild jungle. AHKi Retreat was thoughtfully designed to harmonize with the site, the surroundings, and even the movement of the celestial bodies. Contrary to my expectations, it wasn't 'bohemian' at all. It was a mix of Asian-luxe and Costa Rican artisanal. Beautiful. Soothing. Serene. A retreat for the body, mind, and spirit.

Only one retreat at a time is hosted on site.  Our group of twelve was enfolded in a private nirvana. Our vegetarian meals were eaten together, following a secular blessing.  Breakfast was always taken in silence.

I awoke early each morning to watch the sun rise.  I went off site only once during the week to walk the gorgeous, miles-long beach adjoining the tiny fishing village of Garza.

The group would typically gather in the open-sided rooftop shala for sunsets.

Every one of the retreat participants was on a spiritual journey.  The yoga and the meditations were pure and purposeful.  The results?  Individually profound.  And collectively?  By week's end we had created a wonderfully open, trusting, respectful... and grateful community.

#6  "Resonance" Retreat

Finally.  Post #6.  I've been taking a posting hiatus. And for good reason. I've been happily distracted by Costa Rica's charms.  "Distracted?"  Wait a minute.  Isn't it more important for me to be focused my Costa Rica experience than it is to be focused on my Blog updates?  Right. That's what I figure...

So at this point?  I'll admit that I've lost interest in this Blog.  I will post some more photos.  But they won't be accompanied by much narrative.

With regard to my "Resonance" retreat at the Bodhi Tree?  Sensational... but hardly sacred.
The Bodhi Tree is more resort than retreat.  A beachfront playground catering mostly to middle-aged women who are escaping cold winter weather... and their husbands.  Yes, there is daily yoga. But there is also a jungle-juice cocktail bar and live music 3 nights each week.  And for those other 4 nights? There are Tuk Tuk taxis to shuttle bored yogis to Nosara's night spots. At the Bodhi Tree, multiple retreat groups are coming and going all the time. It's busy and buzz-y.  Yet it was the perfect venue for the jazzy type of yoga retreat envisioned by Wenachee, WA yoga instructor Bridget Shea.

As such, "Resonance" turned out to be W-A-Y different from my 2nd yoga week, "Foresight 2020" at the remote moutaintop AHKi retreat.  This retreat was consciously organized and led with great spirit and sacred grace by Eugene, OR yoga instructor Julia Siporin.  See Post #7.

And... if one picture is worth a thousand words?  How about TWO pictures?
The last photos of Posts #6 & #7 show Bridget ("OMG!") & Julia ("Ohmmm..."), respectively.