I finally settled into vacation mode and spent less time here. 😊 Now it’s departure day. Checkout is 11 am so I had to pack up and put on my long pants, but I still have two hours to kill before the taxi to the airport.
My daily routine here:
6:50 am My watch alarm goes off.
7:05 am I haul myself out of bed, put on yoga clothes, wander over to the restaurant to grab a cup of coffee, go to yoga platform and set up my mat and props, sit on my mat and drink coffee and watch the waves roll in.
7:30-8:45 am Morning yoga class.
8:45 am A healthy breakfast, including a yummy freshly made juice.
9:30-5:45 Read by the pool, nap, walk on the beach, go somewhere else for lunch, etc. There was also an “eco-tour” place across the street that had daily excursions. On Monday afternoon I went kayaking on an estuary.
We pulled over at one point and visited an iguana reserve. Apparently they get hunted? This dude has set aside a piece of land where they can be safe. He was kind of a nut - chatting away nonstop at us even though it must have been obvious that none of us had good Spanish. He called the iguanas and they started crawling furiously toward us from all directions. It was a little creepy actually! Here he is with one of his favorites.
We saw a lot of different birds while we were kayaking (no good photos though) and finished up by drinking coconut water out of a coconut with a straw.
On Wednesday I did a snorkeling excursion. We were to take a boat to an island off of Ixtapa, snorkel there, have lunch and then return. I’m so naive, it was a 45 minute boat ride so I was assuming it would be a large, “nice” boat and we’d have a relaxing lil boat trip. Nope, it was a largish skiff with an outboard motor. Choppy and noisy and no life vests to be seen anywhere (that’s how I knew I was in Mexico and not the US, lol). We did see a whale both on the way there and returning. And the snorkeling was surprisingly good, much better than I expected. Lots of colorful fish.
Anyway back to the schedule.
5:45 - ~6:30 Evening yoga, finishing a couple of minutes before sunset so we could sit up and watch the sun go down.
Maybe a little twilight beach stroll after that.
Then a yummy healthy dinner at 7 pm, and early to bed.
Here is the interior of my bungalow. Yep, thatched roof and “airy” walls made of woven branches, so not a lot of privacy. I hated the mosquito net at first but quickly realized I needed to use it to protect against the stray biting gnat. Haven’t seen any mosquitoes here…
Me in my rustic shower…
It’s felt a little weird (and guilt provoking) to be here during the chaos going on in Minneapolis. Our dear yoga instructor was good about acknowledging that.
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18 comments
So awesome that you got to see whales
I also caught a little glimpse of one from the yoga platform on the last day. 😊
Never feel guilty about missing chaos. God or karma sends you where you should be. You earned this retreat.
Kayaking would be fun. I am amazed at all the iguanas and how big!
I love snorkeling. The boat would have been a little nerve wracking though.
Your schedule was great for sunrises and sunsets.
Hugs!!
The boat trip was a bit nerve wracking on the way there. On the way back I seemed to be able to relax, maybe because we had arrived safely on the first leg! 😂
I have a friend (bio prof) that spent a year in Honduras teaching the locals how to raise iguanas (farm them) in order to protect the natural population.
How interesting! I think this guy is self taught. 😊
Missing a riot ?
Protests and observation/documentation does not = riot.
Looks and sounds like a balanced, restorative week. Did you find yourself missing any familiar comforts from home during the trip?
The bed was extra firm. I was happy to get back to my cushy mattress, with HWD’s soft snoring to replace the sound of the surf. 😂
By the looks of things, you had quite the eclectic and picturesque time.🤗
And who wouldn't like an island full of iguanas? 🐊
An island full of iguanas is more like a nightmare for me? Spotting one up in a tree is fun, being swarmed by thirty of them is kind of alarming. It was a unique experience though.
Looks like a good and relaxing time
I was glad I arranged my trip to go to Mexico City first (crowded and noisy) followed by the relaxing retreat.
Yoga and broccoli before 9am?!! Well, no vacation is perfect.
I'm glad you had a restful trip and got away from the cold for a while.
I actually slept pretty poorly all week but the naps compensated somewhat. 😊
Also, you’ll notice I had three times as much fruit and yogurt as broccoli - I’m not totally insane. 😉
@smartasswoman Whew!
Amazing trip!! Glad you got to enjoy it. Nothing like a great change of scenery where you can relax and self indulge.
Thanks! Now I’m back home where it’s 3 degrees so I’m appreciating it even more in retrospect.
Sounds wonderful, well except for the using an alarm part. 😀 But I get it, and would do the same in a similar situation - wouldn't want to miss those early AM events.
One of the nekkie resorts I went to only had outdoor showers. I mean WHY NOT? But it still felt a bit extra naughty to be showering in public. Hope you got a wee taste of that in your airy walls shower. 😁
It did feel a teensy bit naughty even though I don’t think any one could see through the woven branches 😊
Kayaking! Thanks for the reminder. I need to go more; I love being that close to the water. The only better place is "in" the water. Lol. It sounds like a very refreshing week, and I'm glad you took a break from here to enjoy it. The snorkeling sounds like fun as well. I can't wait to get into a better position to be able to travel a bit more. Safe travels home.
Thanks. I enjoyed it a lot but don’t know if I’ll return, as I felt it was somewhat expensive for what we got. And the final settling up of the bill left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Yoga teacher told us that tips had to be in cash and said that they ranged from 3400-3600 pesos. Went to check out and they were recommending 10,000 peso tip! I just said “I was told 3600 and was what I kept set aside, I don’t have any more cash “. 🤷♀️
You've got a good routine going. I'm all for good routines.
And I take my hat off to the Iguana Man.
I don’t think I will continue this routine back home. 😊
Where were you? It reminds me of Guam
Oops I see it now. Mexico! Nice! No guilt! I’m happy for you!
A little town north of Ixtapa, Mexico. 😊