Turns out, it rains a lot in the rainforest. The rain is welcome after living with the Nicaragua dry season since November. My hair is curly again and my skin no longer itches from being so dry. My clothes, however, always feel the slightest bit damp, as does my yoga mat when I roll it out for my morning practice. The rainforest here is so lush that I can easily walk from my bungalow to reception and get only a few drops of water on me.
Last night was a symphony of a storm, with the wind blowing and the rain pounding on the roof all night long. I lay in my soft bed, grateful for a leak-proof roof and saying prayers for those with less protection.
The lifestyle here in Puerto Viejo and surrounding playas is rife creativity, health, and vitality. Raw, organic, vegan, and macrobiotic restaurants abound as do artists and artisans making beauty. There is amazing woodwork throughout the hotel, with scorpions, faces, and forest leaves burned into the cedro, or cedar, tables, posts, and beds.
Maybe it’s the constant growth happening in the jungle that ignites the creative fire in people who choose to call this place home, or maybe it’s the omnipresence of nature in so many forms – from pristine beaches to undeveloped forest. Whatever it is, energy feeds energy – the fire of shakti keeps shiva dancing and the drummers drumming.