Paradise Found, Nicaragua – January 2020

I have settled into my new paradise. It’s my paradise as there’s everything I could want here; a beautiful yoga space, baby turtles and the ocean.

I have settled in a tiny little lodge called Surfing Turtle Lodge, near the town of Penoloya in Nicaragua.

Yoga

I have been volunteering here teaching yoga to the guests that come and go. The classes haven’t been very busy, ranging from 2 to 10 students mostly. And mainly beginners. But that’s ok. I would struggle to be here a long time as it wouldn’t be expanding my teaching abilities. To be honest, I’m just thrilled to be back in my happy place; on a mat in front of willing students.

The spot where I get to teach is nothing short of stunning. It’s right next to the ocean on a platform that overlooks the entire beach. I have found myself up there every day in the early morning to do my own practice as well. It’s probably the reason that my self-practice has become far more of a habit now than ever before.

It’s also delightful to not need music for class. Instead, we just listen to the rolling waves as they fill the silence. It is nothing short of an idyllic paradise.

Turtles

Much to my delight, there is a conservation project that they run here at Surfing Turtle. You see, Nicaragua is a poor country, and people here need to do what they can to make money. Some of those people steal baby turtle eggs and sell them. Or even fully grown turtles laying eggs on the beach and sell them for their shell. Terrible, I know.

So the program they run here consists of tracking the beach each day to look for new nests and eggs that have been laid overnight. They collect the eggs and rebury them in an enclosed shelter until they hatch.

When they do hatch, much to my delight, we release them back into the ocean at sunset. They have to put them a certain way up the beach so that they can take note of the sand and space they’re in because every female will come back to the same beach to lay their own eggs.

Day-to-day

So, with all that said, this is what my day consists of in paradise here.

I wake up around 7 am to do my own practice by the ocean as the sun comes up. I have a little breakfast and talk to guests and gage who wants to come to stretch their bodies. By the time we finish, I get into my swimming gear and say hello to the ocean. The afternoon is spent relaxing by the water, reading or writing (and more often than not, napping).

Then when sunset starts to come around, we check for baby turtles and let them go into the ocean, wishing them well on their journeys into the unknown. As the evening comes around, we play cards, talk and a few times I’ve done a cheeky fire show for everyone here which everyone loves.

Paradise

So why would I ever leave? Well, I only have about another three weeks here in paradise Surfing Turtle Lodge before I head to Costa Rica. I’m going to a festival there to expand my skills and mind for a week.

If you missed any other blog posts, you can read them all here.