We are embarking on a 1 week Yoga retreat in Costa Rica with our daughter, Ruth. We departed from home about 3 hours ago and only 1 mishap so far.
We left plenty early to drive to Ft. Lauderdale and get to our reserved parking. Only 1 problem. Our GPS took us to the wrong place. We were LOST in Ft. Lauderdale. After a number of miscues, we finally found our way to our destination and arrived with a little time to spare.
As planned, we were met at the airport and transported to our hotel which was just outside the airport. Here is Granny on the bus ready for the short airport-hotel excursion.
Because it was so difficult for me to move about, we decided to just hang around the hotel for the rest of the day. Ruth and the NJ contingent weren't scheduled to arrive until about 11pm. I was just about to call it a day when I decided to take a look and see if Ruth had arrived. Sure enough, just as I got to the lobby, Ruth was walking in.
Breakfast the next morning was scheduled for 6am and the bus was leaving at 6:30. So, I returned to the room for my beauty sleep. Needless to say, it didn't work.
At 6 the next morning, we were having our breakfast and at 6:30 Ruth was rounding up the troops and we were ready to leave for what turned out to be a 4 hour trip to La Cusinga.
For the most part, the bus trip to La Cusinga was uneventful. We made one stop where we walked across a bridge that was spanning a river full of crocodiles. First we were told that we had to wade across the river and avoid the crocs. Then they decided that might be too bloody and we might lose a few of the group so we used the bridge instead. I'm glad we did. These little guys don't look to friendly and they certainly look hungry.
This is our room at La Cusinga. It's a bit of a trek from the dining and gathering areas. But it's worth it.
This IS a YOGA retreat. Everybody except Granny and me practice yoga. Most are students in one of Ruth's classes. The yoga area is quite a trek down the side of the "mountain" but I've managed to get down there a couple of times so far. The first time was for the intial yoga gathering where Ruth gave some basic instruction on breathing. Even that I found difficult. Although I've been breathing for MANY years, still found it hard to do properly.
The second time I ventured down to the yoga hall, Ruth and a handful of others were balancing on a slack line. Needless to say, Granny and I did NOT try that. Here is a picture of a well balanced Ruth.
A kayak trip was scheduled for Sunday morning, but it was raining too hard and the trip was postponed. It wasn't postponed until everybody was up at 5am. It seems we operate on YST - Yoga Standard Time. It was raining again this morning so Granny and I thought the kayak trip would be postponed again. Ruth came by at 5:30 to say that it was on but it would have taken too much time for us to get ready so we stayed at the resort. This gave me a chance to take some pictures of the beautiful flowers. Below are three pictures of a bromeliad in different stages of bloom. It's really very beautiful. And then there was the magnificent yellow hibiscus. Amazing!
There's been a lot of rain. I guess that should be expected in the jungle.
But with the rain you get the rainbow!
We were told there was a family of monkeys active in the trees near the reception center. So we decided to take a look. The monkeys are somewhat difficult to see as they are quite high in the trees and they sort of blend in with their surroundings. However, I was able to get pictures of a couple of them. Handsome creatures aren't they?
Last night we went down the road to a restaurant for dinner. The original plan was to swim and enjoy the beach and then have dinner. However, the weather didn't cooperate and it was raining. It was a beautiful spot and we DID enjoy the dinner. A few hardy souls walked out towards the little island and one even went for a swim. Granny and I stayed back and enjoyed the view and the sunset.
