Travel Archives | Page 2 of 3 | Essential You Yoga

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

When I returned from my first visit to Nicaragua, I connected with all my new friends via facebook. Facebook is a strong networking tool, and I like to use it as a way to keep in touch with interesting people I encounter in my travels in the hopes that we’ll connect again in the future. So there I was, back in Austin, posting info about all the fun yoga things that happen in Austin. Whoo, and there are a lot! Austin is a city that supports a strong and healthy yoga community.

One day, I received a short note from the owner of the yoga studio I’d visited here in Nicaragua mentioning that I made him wish he were in the States, what with all the fun yoga happenings occurring in Austin. I responded that my desire was to return to Nicaragua and explore the side of life available here. That’s when he made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Continue reading “An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse”

Life on the Island of Ometepe

As promised, while on la isla, I took lots of photos. Life on the Island of Ometepe is much more tranquillo and laid back then life in Granada. One of the first differences I noticed is that Ometepe and many of the towns I traveled through to get there are much more Sandinista than conservative Granada. This is evidenced by the familiar negro y rojo of the Sandinista flag tagging telephone poles, park benches, casas, and tiendas.

Continue reading “Life on the Island of Ometepe”

Getting Sick and Getting Better

I found myself in need of medical care while on the island of Ometepe. Going to the doctor is never an enjoyable experience in the best of times. Especially for this girl, who’s first stop when sick is Web MD and my collection of teas and essential oils. Language barriers and a lack of complete trust in Western medicine as well as wariness of local doctors made it more difficult here in Nicaragua.

First, a moment for some brief Nicaraguan history. Continue reading “Getting Sick and Getting Better”

Viaje al Bosque

Have I mentioned that it’s rainy season here in Nicaragua? It was easy to forget while in Granada.

Before coming to Central America, I pictured rainy season here to mirror the punctual thunderstorms of south Florida’s hurricane season – rain that pounds down, obliterating the horizon for 20 minutes a day before clearing up. In Granada and here in Ometepe, the rain is more infrequent than those daily storms but tends to stick around for longer.

Continue reading “Viaje al Bosque”

Una Oportunidad para el Silencio

When we want to dive into a deeper, more meditative practice of yoga and listening to the mind, our modern lives require that we consciously create that space. That might mean creating an area for meditation in your home – a room or corner dedicated to deep thought or introspection. It might mean that you find a group of people meeting regularly at your local yoga studio, zen buddha center, or something similar, and show up for class. Or, it might mean that you take a length of time to retreat, to an organized event like a 10 Vipassana Meditation Center, or simply to the wilderness. In my life, I have always, always, always found a deep heart connection simply by surrounding myself with trees. I have sweet memories from my childhood when I would trek off to the small woods behind my elementary school and spend hours taking in the loamy scent of decaying leaves and swampy mud and stare up at the tree tops and the sky beyond, feeling connected to all those trees growing tall over my head with roots intertwining under the earth beneath me. One of my favorite hiding spots as a young girl was a tremendous pine tree with boughs that spread out wide but a quiet, clear space in the center. I would soften enter that tree and stay under it’s cool, green protection for hours, and would seek it out specifically when I was upset about something. I always found that quiet space with the scent of time cooling and calming. That said, I find myself ready now to move on from Granada and towards the wilderness. As I prepare to make this change, I”m also finding my practice move away from a strongly physical practice and more towards a yin yoga, Kundalini yoga, pranayama, and meditative practice.

Granada has been the perfect place to transition to life in Central America. Being the wealthiest city in Nicaragua, it offers many niceties to extranjeros such as opportunities for western food, a lively and active Calzada where the cerveza flows and the conversation raps all night, and opportunities to escape the oppressive heat in cool blue pools. Continue reading “Una Oportunidad para el Silencio”

Un Dulce for your Ears

I’ve written before about the sounds of Nicaragua. The constant barrage of cars beeping, horse hooves clopping, vendors calling and dogs barking are as much a part of the fabric of Nicaragua as the volcanoes that loom over every horizon and the natural lakes that bring the cool breezes at night. One of my favorite things about getting to know a new culture has been an exposure to new varieties of music. I love that you don’t need language to appreciate music. It transcends culture and time. It’s also very incestuous – one style of music pulling inspiration from and incorporating others, and it’s fun to follow this evolution across history and culture. I’ve found quite a few favorites since I started exploring latin music, from the soulful sounds of romantic salsa music to the beats of Calle 13. This caught my eyes and ears this week. Enjoy!

El diario de un borracho

Transitions

It is so common, in yoga and in life, to fly through transitions. I find it a very human reaction to be so focused on what is to come next that one neglects to consider the process of getting from here to there. As Steven Tyler said, “Life’s a journey not a destination.”

It’s easier to focus on the transitions in Nicaragua because they take longer. When you’re on foot and on a bus, your transition differs greatly than when you’re in a car of your own speeding from destination to destination. I traveled this weekend to Esteli in Northern Nicaragua. Below are some notes from the ride…

Romantic Latin music plays, accompanied by video, from the front of the bus. Vendors carrying plastic bags of tomatoes and green peppers squeeze up and down the central aisle to sing-song calls of “Tomate, tomate, tomate! Chiltoma, chiltoma, chiltoma!” No need to travel all the way to el mercado for tonight’s meal. The aire here is cooler , three hours North of Granada. “Fresco, no frio,” I’m told when I mention the coolness to fellow travelers. Fresh, not cold.

Continue reading “Transitions”

Monos and Movies

Once upon a time, the majestic mountain Mombacho exploded raining down ash and earth into the surrounding lake. Earth took root, as earth will do, and formed 365 isletas en el lago. As the name isleta implies, the islands are small – sometimes only large enough for a single house.

Continue reading “Monos and Movies”

Hormigas

The word of the day is ants.

Ants biting your toes when you’re barefoot in the kitchen. Large wood ants walking industriously by with their very large bits of leaves or feathers or wood. Ants swarming the purple-frosted cupcakes I bought for my friend to welcome her to town. Ants crawling on my arm as I try in vain to practice yoga at home. Ants following me when I leave my home, each itch I feel invariably being a small black ant inching its slow way across my shoulder, neck, back.

Rainy season is in full force here in Granada, as well it should be. It comes with many benefits. Continue reading “Hormigas”

Splish Splash

What a whirlwind weekend!

Saturday afternoon, my sister and I set off for la pescina. A day at the pool seemed like a grand idea, as it was hot and humid and not even noon yet. In order to get to the pool, it’s necessary to walk down La Calzada. La Calzada is the main street where people congregate. It’s lined with bars, restaurants, tour groups, and shops. All of the restaurants have a smattering of tables in the streets in order to both take advantage of the cool breeze and promote their tasty food. This outdoor seating makes for a social atmosphere, as tourists, locals, and street kids all congregate together. This also means that a walk down La Calzada can take anwhere from 15-30 minutes, as you run into person after familiar person.

Por ejamplo, on Friday night, my sister and I left the house to grab a couple of ice cream cones and a liter of Tona when my sister heard some voices calling my name. Continue reading “Splish Splash”