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.
While at the resort we had breakfast after yoga across the street. Every morning we had large fruit platters and big pictures of fresh juice. Then it was eggs or cereal, yogurt and toast with homemade bread lightly toasted. Fresh jams courtesy of a local woman who sold some later.
Our dinners were at a Mediterranean restaurant across in the other direction, our meals were begun with starters, a couple different appetizers and then the main course. It was most always seafood, with an exception for the 3 teen agers, and those who couldn't eat fish everyday. The kids found the head and eyes a little startling. Oh but it was good. I had Ceviche, several times.
I put the patch on Saturday or Sunday, i think before my roomy showed up. That would be Sue, who was very encouraging of my quit. I had recently done some serious practice trial on not smoking but emotionally this was better timing for me. I had been thinking of possibly going to massage school and getting out of the painting business. So when a chance to get a massage came up i signed up for my first ever professional massage. She also did energy work with acupressure. Her name was Cordula and she was German like Dagmar. Dagmar owned the yoga studio. I told her my shoulder bothered me sometimes and my profession and interest in massage. Okay obviously it felt like heaven. And then we talked and she told me she felt something not right with my heart. And that at first she thought it was the muscles on the right from work, until she did the left side. She recommended i get it checked out stay away from people who bring me down and heal myself before i can help anyone else. Well that was a big ass old Sober bomb right there in paradise. The choice got a lot more personal. http://www.flickr.com/... And it is a choice. I read that Carr book on my last run before Costa Rica. I believe we went to Tortuga the next day stopping in a couple of places to snorkel along the way. The fish were spectacular. I swam with Karin and on the way back that current was so strong it scared me.
I did have some trouble sleeping there it was bright and lit up with solar lights. One night i got up and went swimming down to the pool. Middle of the night, so i slip my top off. I see a flashlight swinging along coming closer, oh boy here comes the pool cop. He asks me a question i couldn't understand. I managed to let him in know i was in room ten plus three. http://www.flickr.com/... One day we went for a hike and had a man named Daniel lead us on an excursion up river. We went to two different waterfall and saw the property he used to own . I picked some Seville oranges and brought them out to mix with the orange fleshed limes and sugar packets. Yummy. The oranges were so sour you couldn't eat them.
Well Friday dawned all to fast and that was our last day together. My day was packed so full from am yoga, followed by a beach walk with Cindy and daughter to a long anticipated zipline ride, with Katie's kids. Then back to gentle yoga, supper... on the beach. After supper we walked to town for gelato all together.http://www.flickr.com/... I was drawn to Chico's and managed to pull us in where we danced our feet off for a short while. Followed by a walk home and late night swim. I think it was one of the best days of my life. So the water has not been so smooth sailing since I've gotten home. Accident, adversity, life don't have to derail us, we can break our old patterns that don't serve us.http://www.flickr.com/... And use three comma's if we want to. Monday will be one hundred forty nine days. And i wanted to share one thing i saw yesterday at the Smartfest in Sandwich. GUS soda http://www.flickr.com/...
2:50 PM PT: Quick update, this is a where i quit, and open thread diary