Costa Rica Adventure and Yoga Trip
Recently staff, members and friends of AEON ventured to Costa Rica for adventure and yoga. It quickly became much more than that. It became an adventure we will not soon forget!
Whitewater rafting, sunrise and sunset yoga, zip lining, rappelling, tarzan swing, surfing, bird and monkey watching are just a few activities we packed into 6 days. And did I mention the food was AMAZING! Many of us tackled fears and experienced first time adventures. However, we all became great friends in such a short time.
Take a look at the itinerary of the trip...
June 9: Welcome to Costa Rica! Upon arrival to Juan Santamaria International Airport, we boarded a chartered flight and made our way to Quepos airport. We were able to experience Costa Rica like never experienced before. This was indeed be the memory of a life-time. We saw the natural wonders of the country ALL from the sky. With the outstanding views, it was the ideal way of seeing the beautiful volcanoes, rivers, rain forests, ocean and countryside of Costa Rica. Ground transportation was provided with a short 10min drive (we soon learned everything is just “10 minutes”) to Villa El Cantico in Manuel Antonio.
Villa El Cantico is a newly built, 7 bedroom luxury private home in Manuel Antonio. This exclusive home has a stunning ocean view of Manuel Antonio National Park and is surrounded by a tropical forest with beautiful birds, monkeys, and other exotic wildlife. It is a short scenic 10min walk to the small snorkeling beach or 25min walk to the main beach. Daily maid service and private chef are included. (Overnight Villa El Cantico; PM Yoga)
June 10: Our trip started with a morning pickup at Pacifico Colonial, where our minibus picked us up and took us to the river, passing through the towns of Naranjito & Villanueva. Once there, guides geared us up and started our descent maneuvering the class II-IV rapids of the mighty Naranjo River and we experienced some of the most breathtaking scenery in all of Costa Rica.
Only 30 minutes away into the mountains from the Manuel Antonio / Quepos area, the Naranjo River offers an exhilarating, exploding section of white water. This river is the natural southern border of Manuel Antonio National Park. The section we ran goes from the town of Villanueva in the mountains to the Llamarón Bridge on the road from Quepos to Dominical. On these 6 miles of whitewater we rode rapids like “La Piñata”, “El Cesar” & “Robin Hood”. On the second half of our run the river opened up on the Pacific flatlands and gave us the opportunity to enjoy the view and see many species of birds like the Ringed King Fisher and the White Ibis.
The afternoon was free to relax after a thrill packed morning. A rejuvenation yoga session ended our day and the evening was free to enjoy Villa El Cantico and the town and restaruants of Manuel Antonio. (Overnight Villa Cantico; PM Yoga; L,D)
June 11: We woke up to the beautiful views of Manuel Antonio. Today we began with a morning yoga session before breakfast on the balcony overlooking the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. We quickly realized Yoga practice brings great joy and peace of mind to all who do it with devotion. No matter what practice level you are at, you will have a great yoga experience in the tropics! We rejuvenated our body and mind by joining in this special experience.
After yoga the day was ours to explore the small town of Manuel Antonio. This is a town that will definitely give you a taste of what this country is all about, with a downtown market, great nightlife, beautiful pottery stores and a great foreign influence reflected in the villas and rentals that cater to everyone's needs from adventure to beach bums. Many activities were available to choose from. Some decided to try out surfing for the first time and others chose to relax on the beach or poolside. An onsite concierge was available to help book any additional excursions. (Overnight Villa El Cantico; AM/PM Yoga)
June 12: Today we created your own adventure! We relaxed pool side at Villa El Cantico or enjoyed Manuel Antonio Beach.
Today we chose to visit Manuel Antonio National Park, which has 3 beautiful white sand beaches. Manuel Antonio is the most visited National Park in Costa Rica. There are more than one hundred mammal species and one hundred and eighty species of birds here.
Some chose to relax in the afternoon with a hot stone massage and body wrap. Other took part in other activities.
Excursions that were available....FUN IN THE SUN!! Schedule an ATV, jungle kayak, surfing, waterfall expedition, deep sea fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding or just nap in a hammock on the beach or by the pool!
Our private Chef, Renzo, was amazing! We were all ready to take him home with us. He prepared the most amazing fresh seafood meals! (Overnight Villa El Cantico; AM/PM Yoga; B,L,D)
June 13: After a morning of yoga and leisure at Villa El Cantico our mid morning consisted of a 5 hour Safari Canopy Tour. We were able to traverse from tree to tree and platform to platform using pulleys on horizontal cables, sailing through the treetops of the tropical rainforest canopy, and over the trails far below. Our canopy course consisted or 18 platforms, 10 zip lines, 2 rappel lines, 1 suspension bridge, 1 Tarzan swing, and entrance to butterfly farm and serpentrium.
Our last evening will consisted of gentle yoga with guided meditation followed by a traditional Costa Rican dinner as we reflected with our new friends on our amazing adventure! (Overnight Villa El Cantico; AM/PM Yoga B,L,D)
June 14: In the morning, we took a private chartered flight from Quepos to Juan Santamaria International Airport (San Jose) to meet our connecting flight home.
We came back relaxed and ready for the next adventure....maybe Hawaii??? Overall everyone had an amazing time!
Be sure to let us know if you might be interested in joining our next adventure! Contact us at adventure@aeonhealth.com.
