GUS (Gave Up Smoking) is a community support diary for Kossacks in the midst of quitting smoking. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are quitting or thinking of quitting (or want to support quitters), please - join us! We kindly ask that politics be left out.
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Well it is
I had dreamed of taking a tropical vacation for years. I looked into horseback riding excursions, and different things on the internet. So when my yoga teacher announced a retreat in Costa Rica i thought it would be a great trip. It was planned for the end of February into the first week of March. I hemmed and hawed thinking i couldn't afford it. Eventually i came to the conclusion i couldn't afford to not go. It gave me something big to look forward to.
I decided it would be a great time to quit smoking as i was quite sure i was the only closet smoker (at least where yoga was concerned). My first night in Costa Rica i had a taxi tour of downtown San Jose and bought a pack of funky local butts. And an Imperial to go with it. That would be the local beer. I stayed in a hotel the taxi took me to and planned to catch the cheap local bus to the ferry and on to the Nicoya Pennisula. Eventually i made my way to Montezuma arriving with blisters on my feet.
Our yoga retreat was held at Los Mangoes and we had two yoga sessions a day.
We started a mornings with a flow class so we could beat the heat. Class was in a beautiful outdoor studio that overlooked the ocean from its perch on the hill. The mats carried a whiff of eua de mold, but ce la vie the setting more than made up for it and we had us some mat cleaner. Besides yoga we had a pool also overlooking the ocean, and the ocean, hiking up water falls, also we planned on a trip to the Tortuga's for some snorkeling. Unfortunately red tide was here so we went in before it came and around it. I was also really looking forward to doing the zip line. I always wanted to try surfing but i chickened out. I don't bounce like i used to. 
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