It is no secret that on arrival back into the UK I was less than enthusiastic. I found getting back into the humdrum of my daily rituals unusually stressful and monotonous. My head had filled with a cold and fogginess had worn deep into my brain. I longed for profound warmness on my skin, sea salt in my hair, sand in my toes and lusciously ripe, organic, fairly-priced fruits and veg to consume. I know a very tall order!
Only in the last week have I re-emerged sparkly and feeling chirpy once again. After all I had a fantastic time in Costa Rica, which helped me see some things a lot more clearly about what I want for my family, how I want to live and the space I want to do it in. How totally blessed am I?
On with the adventure….Part 1…
(This a long post so be sure to click on the orange link below if you have come across the article on the main page to get the fully extended version. The full photo album is at the bottom too.)
We arrived into San Jose on a very balmy Thursday afternoon. As soon as we came out of the airport the thick humidity and heat hung on my skin like a wet rag. We hired a 4 x 4. It proved to be essential for driving on the brutal roads there. However, we decided to forgo renting a SatNav as Claude does like to do things the good ol’ fashion way. (Hmmm is this foreshadowing something…)
Into to the heat we set off in our Suzuki to our guesthouse in San Jose. Immediately it became apparent that we shouldn’t have been so tight-fisted about getting a SatNav. None of the roads were sign-posted - no exaggeration. There was nothing to give any indication of where we were. Sweating bullets, feeling frustrated and slightly agitated, we eventually worked out where we were based on a few miniscule landmarks. Neither of us had ever navigated such tricky roads!
The first evening we used to pot around and explore. We were just staying for the night to help break up the 5-hour trek we had ahead of us to the Tinamaste Mountains.
Heaven then began shining kindly upon us with the amazing fresh ripe watermelons, cantaloupes, mangoes and bananas for mealtimes - quite possibly making up for the lack of road signs earlier on!
Friday we made our way to Eric Rivkin’s La Joya del Sol near the small village of San Salvador about an hour away from the big city San Isidro. Before going to Eric’s we stopped at his neighbor Beth’s house for a yoga party. Beth and her family settled in Costa Rica from the US about five years ago. Their large parcel of land was picturesque. (Click here to see her website and photos of her home.) The gathering was taking place on her yoga platform. A huge circular wooden raised area built into the edge of a cliff with panoramic views over the stunning valley. It was so breathtaking. I sat in her incredible structure and just breathed in its magnificent essence. This is the kind of studio that every yoga teacher dreams of. I think Samadhi could have been reached by just being present in that space!
After a lovely meeting of souls, deeksha-sharing and food, we headed to Eric’s. Prior to coming to Costa Rica we had never met Eric, so were in for a week of unknown experiences!
In the centre of Eric’s sizeable property was the Rancho. This is an open-air bamboo structure that serves as a community space (although it housed Eric’s tent until the last couple of days we were there) with a small kitchen area, large dining table and bamboo couch. As a group we spent a lot of time in this dwelling. Near the Rancho was the main shower and composting toilet, along with a variety of different edible garden spaces. Down the hill from the Rancho was another shower (a hose) and composting toilet, which sat next to the Bodega or workshop. Continuing on from the Bodega were three separate bamboo tent platforms. We stayed on the largest one, which had roll down screens.
Okay, the basics aside, we can get into the crunch of things! In essence with Eric’s enormous acreage he is trying to build a self-sufficient community with raw foodists. We decided to visit Eric mainly to get an authentic feel for living off the land. Being city folk and not having green fingers in the slightest, we thought it might be a good idea to get some dirt under our fingernails (which there was no shortage of!) and try connecting with the Earth more deeply.
Although officially on holiday, we did undertake some light work: watering the crops, maintenance works on the Rancho, preparing rainforest soil into compost, food prep, normal daily chores and Claude did some mule work. While none of the tasks were terribly hard they were slightly demanding. The heat was absolutely scorching and the terrain very steep. Combining those things with keeping a toddler engaged proved awkward on some occasions. Don’t get me wrong, Zenchai enjoyed his time there, but he wasn’t used to the heat. Being in someone else’s space and not knowing his boundaries made him slightly unsettled at times, which I think is totally understandable and normal.
Sleeping in the tent was a lot more pleasant than I thought it was going to be. Each night we went to bed about an hour or so after sunset and always woke within an hour of the sun rising. Being in synch with our circadian clock was so refreshing. While in slumber we could often hear the howler monkeys calling, the toads, insects and various bird songs. One night in particular both Claude and I heard something rummaging around our tent platform, but by the time we got the flashlight it was long gone.
We also did a very hot hike to one of Eric’s waterfalls. The water was just chilly enough to make you tingle.
