Explore, Create, Inquire, Seek, Share, Learn

Yesterday morning and this evening a clan of howler monkeys swung from trunk to branch, defying gravity, high above our yoga platform. Syncopation – leaves and switches brush against the roof, distracting practice, challenging my dedication to that moment of yoga. What’s more important, though? Monkeys or Vrikshasana?

Tree Pose: Yoga Journal

Earlier today a few of us explored Santa Teresa, a nearby beach town. ATVs, motorbikes, cars, and delivery trucks share the dusty roads with surfers, locals, and dogs. Beach town dogs seek scraps and attention, leash-less. Do they all live somewhere indoors? Are they fed regularly or do they rely on scavenging?

Santa Teresa has Surf Shops, restaurants, tiendas, farmacias. There’s a vast, sunlit beach – white sand, turquoise waves. Not too crowded on a Wednesday, though no one seems to be rushing off to an office job. More roaming beach dogs sniff and paw, hoping for treats. They wander up to the seaside open-air restaurant and bar, uninterested in small talk. No one here hurries through lunches and beers.

Air becomes liquid, skin sticky, sweat won’t evaporate. Each air conditioned store beckons. Celeste suggests the shop owners charge customers by the minute for the time indoors. Purchases are made each time someone enters to escape the heat. Sweltering temps are good business.

There’s land for sale, and homes, and constant development. The owner of Cabuya Lodge has projects in progress, with more ideas growing. How does this family man have the time and energy to do everything? Every staff member at Cabuya has been helpful, anticipating our needs, assisting with logistics. Each meal is fresh, healthy, and nourishing – nurturing. The grounds are exquisite and natural, in the jungle, of the jungle.

Cabuya Lodge, Costa Rica – paradise in the jungle.

Sonia’s guidance and teachings enrich our days – yoga, hiking, touring, yoga, resting, experiencing time together, away from familiar routines and ruts. What will I carry home from this week, and what can I leave behind? What are we learning, and which seeds planted will emerge first, next, later?

Thank you, Sonia, for being the grounding element to this whirlwind journey. Thank you, Sonia, for being the hub around which we dance.