Joyful Heart Yoga and Eco Tours in Costa Rica

Hola, amigos. Come to Costa Rica with us! We always have a fabulous time, whether we're in the rainforest, on the beach, or breathing in the pure prana of the country during our yoga classes.  For more information send e-mail to sandy@joyfulheartyoga.com.     

Heaven on Earth! Join us for an incredible retreat that will warm your body and soothe your soul! We have two wonderful week-long retreats planned. Choose either one or double your pleasure by staying for both!

Week 1: Jungle Paradise, January 17 - 24, 2009

note: male looking for roommate & female looking for roommate

Only 3 rooms left!

We'll spend our first night in Costa Rica at the charming Corteza Amarilla Spa & Art Lodge. A boutique hotel in Santa Anna, just 15 minutes from the airport. The owner of the hotel is a glass artisan who created most of the beautiful tables, lamps, and mosaic countertops in the hotel. The outdoor dining area is not only beautiful, but boasts of having one of the top chefs in Costa Rica, renowned for his gourmet fusion food.
	The next day we'll go to Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in the jungle near Golfito. Just getting there is an adventure in itself! We'll drive to the airport to take a small plane (18 seats) to Puerto Jimenez. We'll be driven to a dock where we'll hop on a boat and take a 20-minute ride on the Gulfo Dulce -- enjoying being the only souls in sight traveling on the sparkling blue waters surrounded by lush green mountains. Finally we'll arrive at our jungle home where we'll stay for the next 5 nights. There are no cars here, no town: the only sounds are from the gentle waves, the birds, and the monkeys. We'll enjoy two daily yoga classes; swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking in warm clear water, hiking through rainforest; being surrounded by exotic plants and exotic creatures; eating delicious meals made from fresh-caught fish and fresh-picked fruits and vegetables; and the unforgettable happy hour with tropical drinks, music, and dancing! It's a Joyful Heart experience indeed!
We won't want to leave, so they'll have to drag us out of there, but all is not lost. We'll have real treat waiting for us on the other side. Xandari Plantation Hotel in Alejuela awaits us. The cool mountain breezes will refresh us from this bright, airy, modern hotel with large rooms and large patios overlooking the city of Alejuela. Stroll through the beautiful gardens and make your way down to a secluded waterfall, or get a relaxing spa treatment. (I highly recommend the reflexology and facial combination!)  The next day you can fly back home, or better yet, stay with us and let the good times roll!

Price: $2,195 per person, double occupancy. Price includes, 7 night's accommodations, twice daily yoga classes at Nicuesa, all ground transportation in Costa Rica, bilingual guide, domestic flight inside Costa Rica, unlimited hiking and kayaking at Nicuesa, most meals (7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 5 dinners). 

Price does not include airfare to Costa Rica (we will try to get a group rate), 1 lunch and 2 dinners. 

A deposit of $500 is needed immediately to hold your space. 

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Week 2: Magical Mountains, January 24 - 31, 2009

	We'll start the week at Villa Blanca, an adorable hotel tucked into the cloud forest in the San Ramon. This is a green, fertile agricultural area. You'll have your own little cabin complete with fireplace (nights and mornings are cool here). Only 1 1/2 hours from the airport, we'll be well situated for our trip to Arenal the next day. Get up early and walk through the forest to see how different the plants and birds are as compared to the rainforest. Yoga is in a lovely chapel with hand-painted tiles on the ceiling.
The next day we go to Arenal, only 2 hours from San Ramon. Arenal is usually warm in the day and cool at night. The mysterious Arenal volcano is a perfect cone, and is still active. You will likely hear it rumbling from time to time. On this day we will visit the magnificent La Fortuna waterfall. We can get there either by horseback or car. The waterfall is located in a beautiful cool, green canyon and you can swim in the natural pool created by the fall. You will love it! We will stay at Arenal Lodge for 3 nights, a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of the town, with excellent views of the volcano. You will see an amazing variety of colorful birds and creatures from your breakfast table, as well as from the roadside. It's very common to see monkeys, toucans, and oro pendulums in the trees and coatis and other exotic mammals on the ground. We will have yoga in an open-air room with a tile floor -- so bring your mats. On our second day we'll take a leisurely 3-hour walk through the rainforest, where we will get to see it as the animals do -- from all levels, from the ground to the treetop canopy -- thanks to a series of suspension bridges. Our guide will explain the fascinating natural history of this particular forest as we go along. In the evening we will visit Eco Termales, a small family-run property with beautiful natural hot spring pools carved out of the rainforest. We can soak in the healing waters with a fruity drink, and later we'll be treated to a typical Costa Rican dinner. The next day will be free. There are many activities available, including a slow boat ride through Cano Negro wildlife refuge (an excellent opportunity to see many species of birds, caimans, howler and white-faced monkey, bats, and more). For the adventurous, there's zip lining, white-water rafting, waterfall rappelling, etc. There's also a wonderful spa in the area, shopping for coffee and souvenirs in La Fortuna town, and of course, hanging out at the hotel is another option: there's a pool, jacuzzi, and steam room as well as walking trails.
Click for videos!!	Monteverde is next on the list, and this will be our first time going there as a group. This is a lovely, peaceful town, high in the mountains that was started by Quakers. This area is famous for its extremely high biodiversity. The four life zones found in Monteverde are home to more than 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, 500 species of butterflies, 120 reptile and amphibian species, 2,500 plant species (among them 420 different types of orchids and 200 fern species), 500 species of trees and thousands of insects. Some of the best-known birds are: the Quetzal, the Bell Bird, the Black Guan, the Mot-Mot, the Orange-Bellied Trogon, and the Bare-Neck Umbrella Bird.  Monteverde is hard to get to, and we have two interesting options. Instead of the main road, we will all take a boat. After the boat ride you can opt to take either a horse or car into Monteverde. For 2 nights we will stay at the El Establo hotel, in the heart of Monteverde village, close to both the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and the St. Elena reserve. The rooms are spacious and offer great views. We'll visit the Cloud Forest Reserve, and there's a zip line and tarzan swing tour right on the hotel property, so be sure to try it during our free time -- it's a must do in Costa Rica -- we've had people of all ages do it and love it!
On our last day we'll head back to Corteza Amarilla, the lovely hotel we started with on Week 1. We'll enjoy the delicious food and lovely ambiance, and the next day we'll go back to the U.S. with lots of fond memories in our heads and beautiful photos in our cameras!

Price to come...

Comments from previous trips: 

Sandy,  Thank you so much for putting together this trip ...  It was truly pura vida, in all senses of the phrase.  I'm still buzzing from all the new places, experiences, & people.  Warren has proclaimed that it may have been the greatest experience of his life.  And, personally, I don't know how I could have made it without the yoga.  This body is not used to kayaking or hiking for hours, but the yoga stretched all my parts back out and let me keep going and going and enjoying and enjoying..  I loved the whole trip. ... Ann Hallmark

"I want to thank you for the most amazing week of my entire life. ... It was incredible.  Everything you planned turned out so well, and all the hard work you put into it truly blossomed during the week. I don't think there is any trip on earth that such a wide age range of people could have the same great time except this one."                                                                         -- Freddy Hall