Goodbye ecuador.
After almost a month in Ecuador exploring five different locations, sadly, it was time to say goodbye. I did not expect to fall in love with Ecuador, but that is exactly what happened. From the Amazon, to the beach, to the big city; Ecuador is full of natural beauty, kind people, and endless adventures. Do me a favor and add it to your list of places to visit. And write to me when you do. Thanks! Colombia has always been intriguing to me, but when I googled “is Colombia dangerous to visit?” the CDC recommends “reconsidering travel” (3 on a scale of 4). As a solo female backpacker, extra precaution is necessary. And whatever you do, tell Betty it’s safe there (love you mom). After many hours of research, I thought an organized yoga retreat would be the perfect way to see the country in a safe way. I found an 8-day yoga and wellness retreat in Palomino, Colombia. The organization picks you up from the airport and drops you off. Done. I booked it without hesitation. I flew from Quito early in the morning (wake up call was 3:45am) to make it to Santa Marta airport by 3pm. Another long day of travel…par for the course. Made it with little issue and arrived, exhausted I may add, at the retreat location by 6:30pm. I was excited to get to know the other retreaters and do so much yoga. That’s all I really ever wanna do if I’m being honest. Yoga. Everyday. All day.
Retreat life.
I started my yoga journey on January 1, 2020. A friend of mine introduced me to Yoga with Adriene, if you haven’t heard of her and you are new to yoga, check her out. She is wonderful. Gentle, kind, easy to follow, and a great place to learn about the art of yoga. Adriene posts free yoga classes on youtube with a daily and monthly schedule to follow (check it out: https://yogawithadriene.com/), with January being the most common. If you know me, you know I LOVE new year’s resolutions. So as you may have guessed, I made my 2020 resolution to do yoga every single day for a year. I missed three days, which I made up with double classes on a different day. Again, I take resolutions very seriously. What I didn’t know was how much I would fall in love yoga and how it would undoubtedly change my life. It helped my back pain, it helped with work stress, it made me feel at peace, it gave me a new challenge to focus my energy on, and it brought me back to my dance days in expressing art with my body. All that being said…my life will never be the same. So here I am three years later, embarking on my first yoga retreat. What is a yoga retreat you might ask? Let me tell you. The one I selected (as there are MANY different types/versions) was several hours of yoga (morning and evening) and different wellness experiences like tarot reading, astrology workshops, Temazcal ceremonies, rainforest specific medicinal rituals, group hypnosis, and scheduled free time. This gave me the time and space to reflect and really think about my future. The very first day everyone wrote down on a piece of paper things they wanted to get out of the experience and things that were holding us back…distractions or insecurities if you will. I wrote down that I wanted growth and to experience newness that ultimately will lead me to joy. Foreshadow: I got all that and more.
The backdrop to the retreat was perfect. Nestled right on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Palomino is a quaint beach town with rows of eco-friendly resorts, and one street of shops, restaurants, bars and hostels. That’s it. There is no bank or ATM, no taxis (well there are motor taxis if you have courage to ride on the back of a strangers bike – not for me, thanks), and no stop lights. What Palomino does have is charm, sun, white beaches with strong waves for surfing and cautious swimming, joyful tourists, beautiful handcrafting artists, and mosquitoes for days. We stayed in beautiful cabanas with outdoor showers and composting toilets (look it up if you don’t know what that means). We ate fresh fruit and veggies from the grounds’ gardens and all vegetarian/vegan meals made by Juanita and her kitchen staff. I think if I had someone cooking like that for me all the time I could be vegetarian no problem! Most days we fasted during the day with a hearty breakfast, tea/coffee during the day and healthy dinner. That’s one way to lose weight. My gut thanked me. We started our days early and ended our nights after dinner. I felt so rejuvenated. It was just what I needed after a month of lots of moving around and late nights out and about. I could really get used to this life.
Growth in new experiences.
There was morning Vinyasa yoga, which I loved so very much and evening Yin or Nidra yoga, led by the wonderful teacher Julie from Switzerland (check her out at https://www.alifealiveyoga.com/). We had free time during the day to walk the beach, head into the tiny town and shop (bracelets are $2 and hats are $10), sunbathe, write blogs (I think this is mostly just me) reflect with journal entries, take siestas, horseback ride, eat tacos, facetime with your nephews (this might just be me too), whatever your heart desired. There was a free day where several of us hiked to Quebrada Valencia waterfall and spent the afternoon basking in the fresh water falls and sunshine. Each evening we had a different activity. I learned so much about the art of astrology. What my rising sun is (what that even means), what is in each of my houses and what the significance is. For those interested in astrology, I am a Pisces, my rising sun is a Capricorn and my planet is Saturn. I am still learning about what all this actually means. We also participated in Temazcal, or a sweat lodge (similar to a sauna but more intense: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temazcal). This was a challenge, but so beautiful. I learned what I already knew – mind over matter. For about 3 hours you sit in heat and sweat more in that time than probably in a month. The ceremony leader shared part of his world with us and I am so lucky to have experienced it with him and everyone at the retreat. Megan, the other retreat leader (check her out at https://www.holisticsoulproject.com/), led us through several group hypnosis sessions. I have such a hard time calming my mind. Her soothing voice took me to a different place by breathing, focusing, envisioning desires, and being present. What I learned is that I need more of this in my life. We had a tarot card reading workshop, which I have never had. But learning the basics, the different meanings, and how to decode was incredibly interesting. I don’t know if I will ever have a tarot reading, but I am open to learning about these things in the same way we learn about history in school. Bad example because history is the worst. But you get the point. All these activities gave me new tools for my toolbelt and lots of great photos (see photo album: https://thejenessentials.com/palomino-pics/).
Fire moon and family.
On the last day of the retreat there was a full moon, a fire moon (https://themoonismycalendar.com/articles/fire-moons) to be exact. We circled around a fire with the light of the moon and fire, individually celebrated what we wrote down in the beginning of the retreat and reflected on what we gained. We took turns throwing those pieces of paper in the fire. As we sat around the fire, I took a moment to admire every person that was with me that week. Each of us have different backgrounds, come from different countries, came expecting different things and for different reasons, and yet we were brought together in this beautiful and touching way. I had such a wonderful time getting to know everyone, sharing stories and many many laughs. I felt so connected to each person in a different way. This is really what made the retreat so special. Not the yoga, not the new experiences (I mean those were incredible don’t get me wrong) but the little family we became at the end of the eight days was what I will remember forever. I can’t imagine sharing those moments with any other people. I would call them out by name, but this blog post would be twice as long…so I will spare you. But if my people are reading this, I just want to say how much I appreciate your vulnerability, your uniqueness, your acceptance, and your beauty. You are all so wonderful and I am honored to have spent this wonderful week in Palomino with you. On a less sappy note, I am very excited to have people to visit in London, Austria, Vancouver, Switzerland, and none other than the beautiful state of Michigan (what are the odds there were four of us from Michigan). And you know you have a place to stay in Seattle…that is if I return there after my travels 😊.
The jen essentials for palomino.
- Yoga mat (ok I will be honest, you don’t really need this because they are provided for you, but if you are like me, you have a travel mat and are particular about your mats)
- Sandals (it’s all sand, so don’t even try to wear tennis shoes)
- A desire to learn (and bring a pen and paper to take notes)
- Bug spray (by the looks of my ankles you would think I didn’t use any – those mosquitoes are resilient)
- A mind for mediation (it is important to know how to shut your mind off)
- Cash (as mentioned above, no ATMs and most places do not take credit cards)
- WhatsApp (this is how you communicate with people from all over the world)
- Bikini (I shouldn’t even have to mention this…)
- Pedicure (mine was to be desired, so I am just setting you up for success here)
- New friends (this experience would not have been the same without them)
Wrap it up jen.
The bar has been set for my first yoga retreat. It is high. I want to thank Julie and Megan for putting on such a lovely week and for the entire group for sharing such a memorable week with me. On the morning of our last day after a sweaty yoga session, we sat in a circle for a few last words. I immediately started crying (I have my grandma Super to thank for my emotions). Don’t worry…they were tears of JOY. I could hardly speak, but I was able to convey how grateful I was to have shared these new experiences with everyone and how connected our new little family was. I plan to do another retreat at some point in Southeast Asia in May to continue to learn and grow in yoga. I know it won’t be the same, but it will be great in its own way.
Next up: Cartagena, Colombia based on a traveling friend’s recommendation (thanks Amy!).
Signing off for now,
Jennifer