New Year’s Yoga Retreat in Nosara, Costa Rica

It’s Monday and I’m depressed. VERY depressed. More depressed than I’ve been in a long time.

But my depression has nothing to do with the fact that today is Monday. I love Mondays.

The reason I’m depressed is that I’m not in COSTA RICA right now. FYI, I WAS in Costa Rica last week, but today I am not. No, today I am back in the winter wilderness, wearing my parka and toque for pyjamas and trying to glimpse a sliver of sunlight through the blanket of clouds. Bah-humbug.

Thankfully, I know what will lift my spirits. GETTING ON A PLANE BACK TO COSTA RICA. But since that’s not currently possible, I guess I’ll just have to write about Costa Rica. Perhaps that will lift my spirits. Fingers crossed.

Darryl and I left for Costa Rica just after Christmas. The trip was actually an amazing yoga retreat organized by my friend Tamika and taught by my friend and yoga teacher Mindy. The retreat took place in Nosara, Costa Rica, which is a small village along the Pacific coast.

When we arrived at the airport in Liberia, we were welcomed by a tropical breeze, pretty birds and about a billion Costa Rican taxi drivers yelling at us in Spanish. We quickly found our meek shuttle driver waiting patiently at the back of the crowd, holding a sign that read “Jungle Love Yoga Retreat”. He didn’t speak a word of English but thankfully the dude had good vibes.

As I munched on plantain chips during the 2 hour drive to Nosara, I noticed many strange things. Firstly, the “rules of the road” are really more like “suggestions of the road” in Costa Rica. It’s kinda like, “Hey, here’s a stop sign; stop if you feel like it.” There are also a trillion people on motorcycles with no helmets, holding dogs, small children, and even babies. Despite the crazy driving, I didn’t see any accidents.

It’s also legal to drink and drive in Costa Rica. I didn’t know this until our driver stopped at a gas station and suggested we all buy “cervezas” for the trip. Since drinking and driving is a big no no in Canada, it was a little weird to be in a car with everybody chugging beer. I was extremely thankful that the driver chose an orange soda to drink instead. Especially because of all the cows, dogs, and babies by the side of the road.

When we arrived in Nosara, I was BEYOND excited. The little village radiated with happiness. There were surfers, yogis and healthy-looking people everywhere. The temperature was perfect (HOT), the air was breezy, and the sounds of the jungle enticed us. We were led to our new home, the “Casa Bonita”, which was a clean, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom villa with a full kitchen and a little porch. The beach was a 10 minute walk away.

Since it is illegal to build right on the coastline in Costa Rica, the beaches are beautifully preserved. We soon discovered that Nosara is a surfing hotspot and headquarters for many blissfully happy dogs.

We spent the rest of our first day resting, but wasted no time as the first yoga class was scheduled for 6:30 am the next morning. Thanks to Mindy, each and every yoga class was vigorous and transformative, and I can’t tell you how cool it is to have a highly ACTIVE vacation as opposed to just sitting around eating chips. In fact, on the one day we didn’t do yoga (New Years Day), I felt very “off”.

Most days our schedule consisted of 2 yoga classes (morning and late afternoon) and two meals (breakfast and dinner). The rest of the time we spent surfing, suntanning, or playing on the beach. We also met up with the other retreat participants each and every morning at 6am for fresh Costa Rican coffee. I really enjoyed the sense of community we created during this time.

Two meals per day were included with the retreat at the quaint outdoor restaurant, the “Cafe de Paris”. Every morning we were overloaded with fresh fruit, freshly baked bread and homemade papaya jam as well as an additional breakfast dish of our choice. In the evenings we chose whatever we wanted from the dinner menu which consisted of many different meals including the most delicious guacamole and best tortilla chips I’ve ever eaten in my life.

But my favorite thing about Costa Rica was surprisingly not the food (food is usually my favorite thing about everything) but how IN HARMONY I felt with the cycles of Nature. Since there were very few lights and streetlights, I naturally felt like going to sleep as soon as it was dark, around 9pm. And as soon as the monkeys started howling at 5:30am, I sprung out of bed with a smile. Although I admit to being an early riser at home, everyone on the retreat acclimated to Nature’s schedule. We even fell asleep early on New Years Eve!

I also got a taste of going with the flow of Nature during my surfing lesson. I’d never surfed before in my life so I figured it was about time. I was actually pretty proud of myself for even trying to surf since 3 years ago, there’s no way in hell I would even attempt it. But I did.

I only stood up twice on the surfboard, but I loved every minute of it. My favorite part was the feeling of being carried by the water. Again it reminded me to live in harmony with nature and LET GRACE LEAD THE WAY.

On our last day in Costa Rica we went horseback riding which turned out to be my favorite experience of the entire trip. The horseback ride was led by a local named Eduardo, who again did not speak much English but was unbelievably vibrant and very happy. He led us on a 5 hour ride through the jungle with a few entertaining pit stops along the way. I learned A LOT from Eduardo.

For instance, did you know that coffee beans grow inside little fruits that look like cherries??? I sure didn’t. Until Eduardo showed us his coffee bean crop and let us taste the fruit. It tasted like cherries dipped in coffee!!

I also didn’t know that it was possible to catch a 6-foot long iguana from the treetops, hold it in a death-grip, and use it to scare tourists. Thanks Eduardo.

Eduardo also arranged for us to stop at his mother’s house in the middle of the jungle for lunch. The food she made was DEE-LICIOUS!! She cooked us rice & beans, tortillas, salad, starfruit juice, and fresh coffee from the coffee plant in her yard. Like, HELLO?! When have you ever had coffee that fresh???!

All in all, our trip to Costa Rica was a huge hit. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend it. Darryl and I are already planning our next trip back to Nosara. My depression is lifting just thinking about it.

Pura Vida, mi amigo!

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If you’re interested in attending a yoga retreat in Nosara, I encourage you to book it through my good friend Tamika at Devatree, as she’ll take care of every detail.  Tell her KB sent you and I’ll give you a free 15 minute phone session upon the completion of your trip. Namaste!