Galapagos Islands - Day 5!

We started off with an early morning pranayama and meditation practice at Semilla Verde. Love watching these yogis transformation after these seated practices. Powerful stuff!

A quick breakfast at Semilla Verde and we were off to Tortuga Bay for some hiking, hanging out at the beach, and kayaking.

When we arrived at Tortuga Bay we hiked through this beautiful forest to get to the beach. The trees were all white and silver and it looked like they had been blanketed in ice. It was really beautiful!

The beach was really nice at Tortuga Bay. We hung out and snapped some pictures and chilled for a bit. Lots of black Iguanas on the beach and a few sea lions swimming nearby.

Kayaking was a blast!

We teamed up in 2 person Sea Kayaks. It was quite an adventure and a pretty solid workout. Lucky for me I had a strong and light partner in Amber Calderaro. She did most of the work in our kayak.

Robert guided us close to the Mangroves in the bay, where we were able to see some white tipped sharks. They are about 5 feet long, with white tips on their Dorsal fins. Pretty cool to see them swimming right under you, only a few feet away.

While we were kayaking we also saw several sea turtles. They kept popping up, to check us out, and we kept trying to anticipate where they would surface next to get a good look at them. It was a fun little game of cat and mouse. Sometimes they would pop up only a few feet away from your kayak.

After kayaking, we headed back to Semilla Verde for some down time.

Before dinner, we did a challenging asana practice, and explored some writing exercises -- brainstorming, creating a purpose statement, and creating a list of things we wanted to let go of and leave behind on the island. Our writing before dinner was partially to support the cleansing ritual that I had planned for the group after dinner at the bonfire.

After another great dinner at Semilla Verde, we headed back to the yoga studio for a meditation and then a silent walk through the forest to the bonfire. Robert, our host, led each person, one at a time, and in small groups, through the forest, to the location of the bonfire. Once arriving at the bonfire, I saged everyone, and then each person approached the fire and dropped a piece of paper in with something written on it that had come up during our writing exercises and that they were ready to let go of. A powerful experience!

What are you ready to let go of? What are you ready to leave behind?

Once everyone arrived at the bonfire and completed their part in the ritual, we sat silently, looking up at the stars, and watched the fire burn. It was a really special night. Some of us stayed at the fire for a long time: reflecting, contemplating, dreaming. A nice end to another really wonderful day on our retreat.