Our lives have fallen into a wonderful pattern, here. We wake to a cacophony of rainforest noises in the morning, drink coffee and eat a breakfast that consists of produce either grown or made right here at Fina Luna Nueva: delicious breads, jams, kafir, kombucha, farm fresh eggs, chaya and yucca pancakes and platters of fresh fruits. We eat overlooking the forest on one side and the lovely pool on the other. We take our coffee with us up to the terrace, where we hold a 2 hour writing workshop each morning, trying not to be too distracted by the hummingbirds zipping between the flowers and the parrots screeching overhead. On Day 4, our writing workshop explored story and plot; we explored several ways to structure a novel and short story, looked critically at famous first lines, and wrote opening paragraphs to fit our own novel ideas. On Day 5, our workshop focused on character and dialogue.
Once the writing workshops are done, we have tough decisions to make! Do we swim? Hike into the rainforest? Laze in a hammock? Do we write, talk about our writing, read a book? Should we meet in the hot tub before lunch? Afternoons are quiet writing time for some of us, while others choose tours. Today (Day 5) a group of us did the Sacred Seeds Tour here at Finca Luna Nueva. The farm has the biggest collection of medicinal rainforest plants in Central America and learning about them all was fascinating.
We have dinner together in the restaurant each evening, before returning to our writing for a period of time after. Yesterday, all of us took a night hike into the rainforest with Ishmael, the wonderful nature guide here at Luna Nueva. We saw so many incredible things. Highlights includes a woolly opossum high up in the trees, and a sloth feeding upside down. We also saw birds asleep with their heads tucked into their wings, and multiple frogs and snakes. So much fodder for our writing!
Late this afternoon, following a few hours of writing, we took a trip to the hot springs, something I always include in the package every year. Eco Thermales is an unforgettable place, and after sampling the various hot and cold pools beneath a canopy of trees, we had a lovely dinner there, before returning to the lodge.
Eco Thermales Hot Springs
