Galapagos Islands - Day 6!

On Thursday of our retreat we had a day off from excursions. I led the group in a late yoga class that started at 7:30am. The turtles were all hanging out in the turtle pond and we got to watch them during class, right outside the window of the yoga studio.

We had a late breakfast at 9am and then the day was free until the afternoon and evening.
Most of the students went to town after breakfast and continued exploring on their own. I hung back and stayed at Semilla Verde. I needed a few hours to just wander around the property and be alone. This was the first chance I had to walk the paths on the property and explore a little and the turtles were everywhere.

Walking down one path, I came around a corner, moved a leaf out of the way, that had grown across the path, and came face to face with one of the biggest turtles I'd ever seen. He was huge! He didn't retreat inside his shell either, or hiss at me, as they usually do. He just stood there and looked at me. So, I decided to sit down and hang out with him for a little while. I tried to reassure him that I wasn't a threat. I talked to him a little. He just stared at me. After a while I stopped talking with him and just sat down and we sat there together for a long time. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was a really special moment.

I decided to yield the right of way to this giant turtle and, when it was time for me to move on, I ventured off the path and circled around him, picking up the path behind where he had stopped.
I took some pictures of some of the other turtles that I saw during my exploration and then headed to my room for a yoga nidra meditation/nap.

I decided to skip lunch after my meditation and instead went to the yoga studio to take my time and do a full 2hr practice. I had been squeezing in short practices early in the morning all week and my body really wanted to hold some deep stretches and open up.

I led the group in an afternoon yoga nidra guided meditation and then my student Rosa Chen and I did a photo shoot with one of the turtles that was eating the grass near the yoga studio. I'm excited to see the pictures we got during the shoot. I haven't had a chance to look through them yet.

We got a little dressed up for dinner at the Palms Hotel. The dinner was great and it was a really fun evening out. The food was pretty incredible over all on the retreat, whether is was at Semilla Verde or at other places we went.

One more day and then our adventure would be coming to a close. We had done so much! It started off so slowly but the last couple of days had just flown.

Breathe into every moment! Before you know it, they are gone.