Pachamama

Christian drove off with his blue pick up, his baby and the last of my colones. I picked up my bags and headed toward the welcome center sign. A middle aged man with flyaway gray hair approached me and introduced himself as Kuntu.he helped me with my bags and grabbed a walkie talkie. He radioed another guy and left me waiting again with my bags. A skinny man with long brown hair and teal eyes greeted me and took my heavy bags one in each hand. He put them in his red landrover and took me on a tour. We walked all around the grounds, sweat soaking through my clothes. I saw the beautiful meditation building called Osho hall. It has a white marble floor and a circular wooden ceiling and big doors that open onto a white patio. other than that most of the tour i was just day dreaming about a cold shower and a nap. We drove in the landrover about 3 minutes up the hill before he pulled over and got out my bags. He didn't look that strong but he tossed around my bags like they were pillows.

we started walking down a dirt path, then up a dirt path into a clearing with a bunch of cabins. they were labeled "tortuga" and i was going to "jaguar" so we continued down the dirt path, and continued, and came to a big clearing with tall grass and shrubs and 3 cabins placed high on the hill. the one on the right was Jaguar 60, thats my new home. i hiked up the hill with the smaller bag and opened the door. kind of ironic, to have a door when there is only one wall. the cabin is open, granted there is a 3 ft wall so people don't fall out but, its pretty much wide open to the outdoors. the other cabins in the Jaguar area are empty so its just me out there. As soon as the guy left I turned on the outdoor faucet and stood in the dirt next to the cabin as the refreshing water rinsed the dirt and grime off me. I unpacked half of my stuff onto a few shelves before collapsing onto the bed. I quickly untied the bug net and tucked it in around the mattress, not wanting any surprise spiders waiting for me later to cuddle.

I rested for a bit, enjoying the sounds of the jungle. I mustered the energy to return back to the village before dark in order to find a refrigerator to store my medicine in. The main areas was deserted and I first hopped a counter and put my medicine in the restaurant fridge before labeling it and putting it in the communal fridge. I then followed the tiki lights toward Osho hall. I arrived a bit early and got my red chair to sit for the meditation. People appeared at the doorways from all directions, as if they were materializing on the patio from various places in this jungle. Most people wore long loose light linen clothing and nearly everyone had long hair. A couple sang played the flute and guitar before turning out the lights. I enjoyed the flickering candles in the middle of the room for the few minutes before i fell asleep. I snoozed, at one point waking myself up by laughing, hopefully it sounded louder in my head than to anyone else. everytime someone coughed or sneezed it was like a shot going off. it was so silent with so many people, it was an interesting combination of energies. the hour felt extremely long despite my sleeping for the majority of it. a gong signaled the end and I put away my chair and walked outside.As I stepped out ont the patio I was stunned. The moon was a perfect crescent and ive never seen the stars so bright. My shadow shone on the white marble as I gazed at the lit up clouds and brilliant twinkling stars in every direction.

I had dinner on my mind so I wandered down to the main area. All the lights were out and I was frustrated that it didn’t look like anyone was planning to eat. I heard and half saw a mother and child and decided to eavesdrop. Apparently its not always pitch black. The lights came on a little while later and I had a delicious dinner of whole wheat or seed crackers, mashed potatoes and salad and onions as well as a black bean soup. I ate everything, aware of the price I was spending, in reality not that much but $7 is about $3500 colones ad I was used to spending no more than 2,000. Anyway a few people were around no one I particularly clicked with at first. Then I ended up getting into a hours long conversation with an Israeli guy named ayal. He was in his 30s id say and very blunt. His comments about traveling and business made me feel a bit naïve. He had been here for 2 weeks and I asked him how it was. He talked about how it is run as a business not at all like a commune. I had gotton a sense of that already from the prices of stuff. He explained that the residents take no part in the guests experience, that the master was never around or available. We talked about how expensive the workshops and body work are, all several hundred dollars, but he explained that people are wiling to pay so that’s what they charge.

He told me of a few other places in costa rica and I realized I did want to see the volcanos and hot springs and I could stand a few more days at the beach. On my walk home my flashlight flickered out suddenly. Stranded in utter darkness, my only companion was a nearby armadillo I had spotted with the last of my beams. I was stuck wondering what creatures were swarming around my legs and considering that if I fell and twisted an ankle, which could easily happen with all the roots and lack of any real path, no one would know. At that moment, I decided that 10 days here is plenty. I sat there huddled in my bug net as a grasshopper jumped around my head, mercifully on the other side of the net. Some little bugs do get in through the holes. 10 days felt like a lot. The toilets are a treacherous 5 minutes away over a hill. any midnight pee will happen off my porch. I just felt a bit jaited about how this place actually runs. And yea im a nature girl but, I really wouldn’t mind 4 walls, at least at night. I assured myself it would be better in the morning and fell asleep as the howler monkeys bellowed in the jungle