DAYS 26-28

daily insight:

reflection seems like a luxury these days to most people. taking time out to reflect, get perspective, meditate on where you are in the moment is essential to balance. this is why vacation is so important, and travel too. to really get  away and give yourself the gift of a time-out. life is only going to move faster so we must make pockets in our days, weeks, years for slowing down and soaking up.as the days begin to slip away and we count down this last week here i savor the moments of reflection.

the play by play:

day 26

it's domingo (sunday) here in town and that always brings everyone out of the woodworks. it's a fun vibe around even though the water gets crazy crowded. got to the break super early and used bob's really nice camera to catch some shots of tellef in the water. i met a really nice kid from panama in the water today. he was just up for the weekend with his friend and nephew and i had a great time surfing the inside with them. they were learning too and it was cool to not be the least experience person in the water (which is almost always the case). on my walk back to the car tellef got some shots of my post surf. after a day of fun in the sun and meeting new friends it was back to the casa for r & r. earliest bedtime yet -8:30! we plan to hit the surf before the sun's up to try and beat the crowd.

day 27

woke up before sunrise -4:30am. yikes. but felt rested and ready to rock. we got there and the conditions were not great so we decided to head back to the house and wait until the tide changed and perhaps swell comes up. it was so early i decided this would be a great time for some meditation and asana practice. later that afternoon tellef decided he needed to rest his back from surfing so i went swimming and journaling on the beach. i just can't resist spending as much time outside as possible, it's just so beautiful here. when i got back from my mini adventure tellef and i decided a bigger adventure was called for. walking always helps his sore back and i love a hike whenever i can get one, so hiking we went! the trail we took was the one we would have taken with intertubes and float down but the river wasn't quite high enough. so we just did the trail to the river and back. such an awe inspiring hike, we went up and down and up and down through the hills for 3 hours. the weather was on our side, there was a nice breeze blowing and a bit of cloud cover so we didn't melt away. in the mountains behind pavones an ancient tribe called the guayami reside and we got a look at their reservation as our trail meandered through it. once we made it to the river we crossed over a questionable bridge. we wanted to go further because we heard there was a waterfall not too much further. however, two things stopped us. one, there wasn't much daylight left and two, FIRE ANTS!!! they got me, tellef was wearing socks so he caught them in time before they chewed up his ankles. oh man those are nasty little suckers. i quickly crossed the bridge back over. on our way back we saw two toucans! but still only sounds of monkeys and not a sloth in sight. we made it home before dark and before a major storm rolled in! sleeping to the sound of pouring rain and thunder tonight.

day 28

another dawn patrol morning, i could get use to this. this morning i just watched tellef and a few other early risers in the water and then headed up the hill to yoga at pavones yoga center and had my last class of the trip with indira the owner. i will miss her amazing assists. totally inspires me to give more loving assits in every class. feeling revived and so at ease all at once (oh the power of yoga) i headed down to meet up with tellef in the water. he had already been surfing since 5:45am and i thought for sure either his back or his hunger would bring him in soon but i could tell he still had quite a bit more in him so i paddled out to join in the fun. the waves were moving fast today which makes it a challenge to catch. but catch i did and i felt proud of myself today. i had a moment of reflection on how i was surfing at the start of this trip and how i am surfing now. a moment of perspective on how far i have come even when the fear was rising or the embarassment trying to push me out. it's nice to have a moment of clarity to truly appreciate the now. i surfed for 3 hours and tellef totaled 6 hours in the water. that guy is gonna need a back massage later and i know i am the one who will be doing it. he is only slightly crippled after a mid-day nap and enough in him to go for a sunset walk on the beach. tonight was especially brilliant. so much light bouncing off the beautiful ocean and shore and nature put on its show as it does so well here. one week from now we'll be in the air and on our way home!

hasta luego