Costa Rica Annual Retreat
RESTORE & EXPLORE: Montezuma, Nicoya Peninsula
Jan 14 - 21, 2010
| Jan 14-21, 2010 | Restore and Explore: Costa Rica Retreat | Costa Rica SpiritQuest Retreats | Pacific Coast |
Join us for a transformational retreat. Relax and renew in Costa Rica!
Costa Rica has made peace with itself, its neighbors and the natural world. We've traveled widely and offered retreats in Italy, Portugal, Barbados, Thailand, Ireland, and throughout North America. We are committed to Costa Rica for our annual retreat due to Spirit Quest. Sabrina and her group, who host our programs, share our passion for the natural world. They support our mission to preserve the rain forest and to provide life-transforming opportunities to individuals and groups.
For the long-term, we are developing plans for like-minded people to settle in Costa Rica in an intentional community during winter months and during retirement. Your energy and commitment are just what we are looking for. Others join us to renew their yoga journey in a land of wonders. Some come to experience their first yoga retreat, to learn more about the physical, energetic, psycho-emotional and spiritual benefits of yoga, meditation and bodywork. Some simply come to enjoy a healthy experience of nature and community.
Our schedule below is an overview. We give people lots of options and freedom to make this a journey of a lifetime. You may join us for additional experiences, besides those listed below. After breakfast each day, for example, we will practice Nada Yoga, the yoga of sound or vibration. Tuning in by toning, or chanting vowels, for periods of time allows the mind to settle and the senses to awaken to the rich beauty of the natural world. Then, a meditative walk in the tropical forest is an adventure of being alive to the hidden currents that underlie the surface features we see around us. Suddenly the world is experienced as if seen for the first time to the awakened senses.
We offer Kripalu yoga, gentle and moderate. We can make available a more vigorous yoga, if you wish for more strengthening. We lead Yoga Nidra, a practice of duality awareness that focuses attention toward the world of opposites, in order to go beyond into open awareness of our True Nature. Yin Yoga and bodywork in the Thai and Shiatsu tradition will help you gain a new awareness of the energy body and to increase and maintain a healthy range of motion in the joints.
Our share circles offer speaking with presence, and place to practice meeting, joining and belonging in a new way. In speaking powerfully we bring ourselves fully into the world around us. We explore what it means to listen deeply and to engage in conversations that are alive with possibility, that live in every moment. Dialog that uplifts and enlivens us, that makes us new again, making us more than what we were when we entered the conversation.
ITINERARY
Arrival Day - Day 1 : January 14, 2010
Schedule your flight for an early afternoon arrival on Jan 14, 2010, in San Jose, or let us help you with your plans. There will be a shuttle bus waiting and a driver displaying a sign with our logos at the airport for a 4:00pm departure leaving to Hotel Costa Verde Inn which will be our first destination. A taxi at earlier or later arrival times can take you to the Hotel for $20 USD. Hotel Costa Verde is a comfortable B & B in the hills of Escazu, a suburb of San Jose. It's an ideal location to meet our group, relax and learn a little bit about Costa Rica's Central Valley.
Day 2 : January 15 Travel to Montezuma (Los Mangos)
Our journey to Costa Rica's Gold Coast starts at 7:00am, the bus will take us from the central highlands through tropical mountains and lowlands to our main retreat location, Hotel Los Mangos, in Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula; arriving around 11:00am where a delicious lunch awaits.
Day 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 : January 16-20
Each day is unique, except for the consistent company of a mindful community and seriously fun events in the sun, sand, sea and tropical trails, where Costa Rica constantly surprises. We begin our day with a walk on the beach or meditation. Then yoga and breakfast. During the midday people have choices for alone time or gather for local hikes, swimming, eco-touring, bodywork, beach or pool-side resting. Wherever you go, there are wildlife and flowers, birds and plants of stunning diversity.
Two special trips are planned:
January 17 Hike to Cabo Blanco National Park
January 19 Turtle Island Tour
DAILY SCHEDULE
07:00 a.m. - 08:00 a.m. Coffee, tea, fruit
08:00 a.m. - 09:15 a.m. Yoga
09:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Breakfast
10:30 a.m. - 04:00 p.m. Free time (except 1/17 Hike & 1/19 Turtle Island)
04:00 p.m. - 05:30 p.m. Yoga/bodywork/Qigong
05:30 p.m. - 06:30 p.m. Sunset on the beach
06:30 p.m. - 08:00 p.m. Dinner
08:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Sharing circle, chanting, drumming, dancing, eco-chat, &/or free time
Day 8 : January 21 Departure
After breakfast, we will have free time to pack, explore, hike and swim in preparation for our noon return to San Jose. On the way, the road climbs into the clouds and returns to the central plateau. We will arrive at San Jose Airport at 4:00pm, where we will share our warm regards and hopes of staying connected for years to come.
Flight Recommendations
Arrival: January 14 afternoon to rest and prepare for next day.
Departure: We recommend a late departure around 6:30pm or later. (You have to be in the airport 3 hours before your flight leaves.)
TRIP EXTENSIONS EXTRA AND AVAILABLE.
Included
1 Night accommodation (Jan 14) in San Jose at Hotel Costa Verde Inn (B, L)
6 Nights accommodation (Jan 15-21) in Montezuma at Hotel Los Mangos (B, D)
2 fresh vegetarian, fish or chicken meals a day. Lunch is an opportunity to explore the local eateries or pack a lunch with a partner or pal for a picnic on a tropical trail, at the beach or pool-side.
All Transportation
All Accommodation
Airport Transfers
Touring the local tropical beaches and parks
Ecological insights & study (Eco-chats, rainforest conservation strategies, etc.)
Daily Yoga or Qigong in the Yoga Shala or on the swim pool deck at Hotel Los Mangos
Costa Rican Taxes
Not Included
Lunch
Airfares
$26.00usd departure airport tax
Extra Activities
Transportation out of schedule
Accommodation before or after the retreat
Alcohol Beverage
Tips
Extra Activities:
Canopy Tour
Hiking and guided tours not included with the group
Massages and Aromatherapy treatments
Surfing Lessons and horseback rides
Rafting and Kayaking rental and lessons
Binocular rental available.
Cancellation policy
100% Refund if cancelled before December 01, 2009.
An administrative charge of $100 will be deducted from the refund.
No refund after December 01, 2009.