Day off - laughing, galloping and overcoming fears

- January 20, 2020

After 10 days of intensive yoga teacher training, we have another day off and this time I'm venturing outside of our little paradise, facing my fears and going on the 'combo tour': horseback riding, climbing a giant tree and rappelling down a waterfall. Let's do this! What convinced me was definitely my peers also going: I can share this adventure with great people I've grown to know well in just a week!
So off we go on our horses: I ask for an 'easy' horse and get Falcon, little did I know that, yes he is very sweet and gentle, but he also LOVES to gallop! Very fast and without stopping! As much as I tried to make him slow down, nope I didn't manage. Luckily there are fences separating the fields in sections and to my relief he didn't jump over the fences but stopped and waited, phew!

So there we are galloping across the fields, greeting beautiful Costa Rican cows on the way, our 6 horses just loving it, until at some point we slow down and turn into the forest. A few steps into it, we stop and arrive at THE TREE, and oh, what a tree!! Another guide is there waiting for us with climbing gear, gets us all harnessed and up we go, one at a time. What a climb! We are actually going up from INSIDE the tree! It is a ficus tree also called 'strangler fig' tree that grows around an existing tree that eventually dies, leaving a vertical 'tunnel' surrounded by the roots. Climbing up requires quite some flexibility and arm strength, and I'm thinking 'why don't I do more push-ups on a regular basis?! this is when it would be useful!' Luckily Julio our guide is already on the top platform and definitely helping me up climb with the rope.

Once arrived at the top, wow, we are over 33 meters high! and what is the way down? Rappelling down in the emptiness on the other side! It took me a while to get my courage up to 'jump' out into the void. Thanks to our guides Julio and Luis I felt really safe and securely harnessed and attached. Arwen went first, she is a natural at this and goes climbing and rappelling a lot, so I had a good example to follow! as well as Challis, Crystal and Taylor, just going for it.

Once back on our horses, we hike with them through the lush forest jungle, climbing higher and higher. It starts raining. We hear the howler monkeys howling all around, it is an impressive sound all around us. Our guide says 'estan agradeciendo la lluvia': they are rejoicing and greeting the rain! it had been so dry the past days/weeks. I have to admit this makes me emotional to see how animals are so in tune with nature.

By now the rain is now pouring down, but it's Costa Rica, it's normal, so we just continue our way as normal and at some point up in the forest, we get off the horses and continue by foot until the top of a big waterfall. Oh no, what am I doing here?! there is no backing down and I will have to rappel down this wall! Luckily again great safety measures and practicing the technique before 'jumping' down, here we go! I'm paired with Taylor to rappel down, side by side, what an empowering moment to realize we are doing something together that we are afraid of, yet doing it nonetheless and realizing we can do it! And we are witness of each other in this moment. Thank you Taylor for sharing this unforgettable moment! and thank you to Challis, Arwen and Crystal for encouraging and capturing really cool pictures!

Walking back to the path through the river in this lush Costa Rican forest jungle, back to our sweet horses. Another beautiful path through the jungle brings us back right in front of our home, Ojo del Mar. Having deppened connection with each other, with nature, the rain, the horses, our guides and our inner strength, we are back different then when we left.