New Year's in Nicaragua

One year and 7 days ago I started this blog. It was my New Year’s resolution for 2014. I started out with gusto writing a blog a day Monday through Friday. It was timing-consuming and a lot of work. By May, I backed off to writing 3 times a week and come summer vacation, I wrote only when I felt like I had something to say. I started to write more regularly again in the fall, but usually only twice a week. Now I am writing my first blog of 2015 having spent the first week of the new year enjoying the warm sunshine and beaches in Nicaragua.

I went there to take surfing lessons and to take part in a New York-based Yoga retreat. We met some lovely people. The place where we stayed is called Equilibrio. It is best described as a retreat. It is not a hotel or a resort but an oasis in the jungle. Not Costa Rica style jungle, the trees there are much smaller, but it is overgrown with trees everywhere you look. Equilibrio is the brainchild of James Womack, a native New Jersey-ite and his Argentinian wife Gabriela Prado. Together they conceived and created this place that fits so well into its natural surroundings while at the same time providing all the comforts of a 5-star resort.

Each lodging called a casita, has its own private grounds fenced in with dried fronds and bamboo. The lodging itself is spacious, clean and comfortable. The bedroom area is in the front. The walls are about 3 feet high and the rest is screening. The cone-shaped roof is almost 25 feet at the apex, giving the room even more feeling of spaciousness. You can lie in your bed and look up listening to strong wind moving through the trees outside the screening and the various chirping of birds. If you are lucky and the moon is full, it lights up the jungle and you may have to wear a mask to keep out the light when it’s time to sleep.

In the back of the casita is a small fridge, a counter and walk-in closet with a mirror and a huge bathroom. There are two round, screened windows and a wooden plank door with a sliding bolt. It leads out back where a stone path leads you to the outdoor shower.

Also on the grounds is a space for yoga that is covered but open-air. It can be enclosed with a curtain at night if the bugs are bad. There is also a sweat lodge that you crawl into and sit around the steaming rocks. A short walk from there is the eating area which is right by the river. It is circular-ish and has the same roof construction as the casitas. If you look up to the very peak of the roof from inside, you can see a disco ball attached to a cable and a winch. Yes, it lowers to the ground and you can swing from it.

The owners will accommodate your every wish if they can. They arrange for transportation, help you find things to do, take you to the beach by small outboard motor boat, adjust mealtimes to suit your schedule, make food according to your tastes, and of course, they offer daily yoga practice. The grounds are secure and although they give you keys for your place – your entrance gate and your front door has a lock – they are not necessary. Nothing has gone missing in their ten years in business.

If you are looking for a place of peace and tranquility in a warm climate, I highly recommend Equilibrio and Nicaragua. Namaste and Happy New Year!