03.25.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica, Guatemala at 7:56 pm by Administrator
I have been making lots of friends along the way.
First, Peter and Trish from Denver on the ferry to Mal Pais in Costa Rica. We ended up caravanning on a dirt road for 20 miles and I so appreciate their recommendation of El Rey Patricio where I stayed. Peter and Trish, if you´re out there, email me at allison_haynes@hotmail.com!
Next were Grettel and Greg who taught me to surf.
Here in Guatemala, I had a connection with Rosa Maria Botran, who has been my guardian angel here. She lives in Guatemala City and had her driver Jorge pick me up and take me to Antigua. There I stayed with a Guatemalan family – Elsa, Manuel, Claudia, and Jocelyn, and made many friends doing yoga, venturing out to neighboring pueblos, and watching the sunset from the roof tops. Susan from Rhode Island, Beth from Wisconsin, Trish from Vancouver, Mary Lou, Brunell and Lydia from NY. I also met Debra from Athens, Georgia, a psychologist and yoga instuctor and we had many conversations about finding our life purpose.
Here in El Remate, in only 1 week I have met so many people I can hardly keep the names straight. Anne and her husband Dr. Enrique run Project Ix-Canaan. The women of the project, specifically Doña Juana, but another 20+ women. Elita another volunteer who is delightful and helping me with translation with the women´s group.
Gabriella from Trinidad and her daughter Jude manage the bungalow where I am staying. She is also giving me spanish lessons. Guatemaltecos include Humberto, the driver who makes sure I get on the right bus when I go to town, Alicia, Reina, Alfonso, and Paulo at El Gringo Perdido (the lost gringo) where I stayed the first few nights, Amicar, Estella and Erwin who played guitar and sang one night at an improptu song fest at their bungalow. I went to town with Estella and Amicar yesterday and we went to the markets, bank, supermarkets, and ate ceviche on the lake. They are Guatemaltecos, but lived in San Diego so we speak mostly spanish but if I don´t understand we can use Spanglish.
At Tikal I met Julia and Damon from San Francisco. Julia is a life coach, and Damon a reasearch physicist. I am meeting interesting people all along the way. No time to get lonely, although I do miss all my friends and wish I could share this amazing experience with you!
Love,
Allison
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03.07.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica, Guatemala at 12:29 am by Administrator
There are lots of lessons in life when you are traveling.
1) Life is easier without expectations. When you don´t have any expectations, whatever happens is great.
2) You can trust most people, but always consider their perspective. Especially touts will tell you anything to get you to buy… that´s how I ended up the wrong ferry. It ended up fine, but it was a tough drive. You can read about it in Arrival in Costa Rica.
3) I realize that I often cut things too short time wise… that´s another reason I got on the wrong ferry. I arrived at 2:25pm for a 2:30 ferry…. not enough time to do research. So I´m trying to be betterabout giving myself time.
4) Trust my intuition. I almost always can tell if a situation is good or not. Something will just feel right if I am aware… I picked my hotels that way and was spot on. Restaurants and people too. I´ve met some fabulous people – Trish and Peter on the ferry, Greg and Grettel my surf instructors, Mario – my spanish instructor. And the family I´m living with are terrific also.
5) I miss David. It´s more fun travelling together than solo. I´m doing fine, and having fun, but two heads are better than one.
More to come I´m sure!
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Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica at 12:12 am by Administrator
Well, it´s harder than it looks, but lots of fun. I took a lesson from Grettel, a cool surfer tica (costa rican gal). She and her husband Greg, from Ventura, CA, live in a shack in Santa Theresita, but surf every day and live a very modest happy life.
The first day I made it to my knees. The second day I managed to stand up. The third day I did about the same, and the fourth day I actually rode a wave (for a few seconds). The water is beautiful. No wet suit and I didn´t even get cold. We surfed for a couple hours in the morning and evening while the sun went down.
Lots of life lessons in learning something new. Patience, humility, letting go and just having fun without expecting to be good at it from the start. I am no surf chick, but I can say that I did it! I can check that one off my bucket list!
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Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica at 12:03 am by Administrator
I can´t believe it´s been 10 days since I left home. I would have written soon but the past couple of days here in Antigua (Guatemala) have been busy with Spanish classes… more about that in another post… Anyway, I´m delinquent in updating you all on my arrival in Costa Rica. Here you go!
I arrived in San Jose Costa Rica Tuesday night about midnight. Thankfully I had arranged to be picked up and taken to the guest house. It would have been a nightmare to find it. That was a great suggestion from David. I slept well after a long day of travel.
The next day I rented a car, and was planning to drive to Manuel Antonio national park. But the headline of the newspaper said that the park is closed due to ¨fecal contamination¨…. so I certainly wasn´t going there. My other thought was to go to Playa Hermosa to a yoga spa, but then I heard it´s in a very busy area. So I decided to go somewhere else. I drove to Punta Arenas and took a ferry to Naranjo on my way to Mal Pais. It´s on the Nicoya pennisula. I met a nice couple Peter and Trish on the ferry, and we agreed to caravan.
I am so thankful to them. It turned out there are two ferries, and we took the wrong one and had to drive about 20 miles on a rough dirt road… It was rough enough that about 5 miles into it they offered me a beer. I gladly accepted and that made the road a little less bumpy.
By the time we got to Santa Theresita (just north of Mal Pais) it was past dark. Peter and Trish had a recommendation for a surf camp, and also bungalows on the beach. I opted for the bungalows. I ended up in a wonderful place called El Rey Padricio. You can see what it was like on their website. www.elreypatricio.com n $25 a night for a room with a view. Amazing.
Run by a wonderful family Luz, Emiliano, their children Atos and Malinche and the dogs Mamba and Choco… Choco was my guardian. He slept in my room and watched over me. It was wonderful. I stayed there 5 nights while I learned to surf…. I´ll write about that next!
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02.23.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Making a Difference, Uncategorized at 8:36 pm by Administrator
I’m getting ready to leave tomorrow for Costa Rica and Guatemala.
It’s very exciting and also a little scary. But I trust that the universe will take care of me and that everything will work out. It sure seems that way. I don’t have a lot of plans in place, but here’s what I do know.
I land in San Jose, Costa Rica tomorrow night. I’m renting a car so that I have freedom and flexibility to move around. I’ll stay in San Jose that night, then plan to head out to the coast. I want to learn to surf.
I went to do yoga the other day, and asked the instructor about Costa Rica. It turns out the studio is doing a yoga retreat in CR the week after I’m there – with a one day overlap. I took a look at the website for Vida Asana and it looks fabulous. So I’m going to drive out there and see if I can negotiate a good rate as an independent traveler. That’s how I like to think of myself – a traveler, not a tourist. If that doesn’t work I’ll try somewhere else. The good news is, the waves are gentle at Playa Hermosa, and I’ll get to do some yoga and maybe even see a few of my yogi friends!
After that I fly to Guatemala City. I will be in Guatemala for 6 weeks doing service work. What that will be is yet to unfold. But again, I am trusting it will all work out. I’m also planning to attend a language school to improve my Spanish. Many of the schools have you study in the morning, and set you up as a volunteer in the afternoon. I hope to work with women, teaching life skills, self reliance, and helping create a better life for themselves and their families. It’s not that I am “better off” than they are, in fact, I believe their simple lives may hold many lessons for me to learn. It is something that calls to my heart – to give back, make a difference, and serve others.
I have a lot of contacts in Guatemala, so something is bound to work out. In particular, another life coach there is picking me up at the airport and taking me to Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala and a world heritage site. I’ll spend a few days there and work out my next step. As it turns out Rosa, who is picking me up, her brother started the Presidential Commission on the Front Against Hunger in Guatemala – which has now expanded beyond Guatemala to other Latin American Countries. Given my love of The Hunger Project, I expect there will be some way I can make an impact or connection there.
As Oprah says, that’s what I know for sure. I am letting go of my need to control it, and just letting it unfold as it should. It’s a real lesson for life. It’s fun. And I can’t wait to see where it takes me!
I’ll keep you posted! But not too often so don’t worry about me! :)
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Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Making a Difference at 7:58 pm by Administrator
I have the best of intentions not to take too much. I want to travel light. I’m trying to fit everything into one of those carry-on size wheel aboard suitcases. That was fine until I made contact with another coach in Guatemala. Her brother started the Presidential Commission to end hunger in Guatemala. Now I may be rubbing elbows with a different crowd so I need to bring at least one nice outfit. It’s changed my packing priorities.
I have decided not to take my computer. This is an opportunity to unplug. To be with myself, and to listen to my own internal guidance. That said, I’ll check email periodically (maybe once a week) and will update this blog so that you know that I’m safe, but for the most part I’m planning to just let go of my need to control everything and just enjoy the journey. It is very freeing, a little nerve-wracking, but mostly peaceful. I say that now I as I type away in my office with all my electronic gadgets within arms reach. We’ll see how well I do not stopping at the internet cafes as I walk along the avenue to an from my guest house.
At any rate, I’m almost finished getting ready. Only a few more things outstanding. If they don’t get done, oh well. It’s not like I’m leaving for 6 months. I’ll be back in the blink of an eye!
See you then!
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02.21.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Making a Difference at 2:11 am by Administrator
My intentions for this adventure:
I trust God and the Universe to take care of me.
I know that I will have a fabulous trip.
I know that everything is going to be okay, both here at home and for me.
I am making a difference.
I will make wonderful new friends.
I am coming home a changed woman, with a vision for the future and commitment to accomplish it.
I am having fun.
I love my life.
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02.18.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Making a Difference at 11:37 am by Administrator
My decision came after much soul searching about what path to take. With the economy the way it is, finding a job seemed daunting. My coaching business is going well, but it’s also impacted by the economy.
Most importantly though, I coach people to chase their dreams and follow their heart. And my biggest dream is to make a difference. I want to work with women, inspiring their self reliance so that they may lead empowered lives and lift themselves out of poverty.
If I want to talk the talk, I need to walk the walk. That means I chase my dreams.
I’m heading to Costa Rica and Guatemala. I’ll be there for 2 months. I plan to work work indigenous people in Guatemala and learn more about the Mayan cuture. I’m working out the details, and it’s looking good (More on that next).
My friends think it’s great. My husband is proud of me. I am excited and a little scared, now that it is getting so close to becoming a reality. I know I am on the right path. And I am allowing my intuition to guide me to the right experiences and know that no matter what happens, it will be an adventure!
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