Kosrea, Micronesia

I went on a wellness/yoga retreat in Micronesia recently and it was quite wonderful. I've never been on a trip like this and I'm sad I didn't do it sooner. It was full of great people and unique experiences.

I was the only guy with seven women and this is where I really fit in. I love the company of women and especially the energy of the women I was there with. All of them were surfers and divers and sailors and all around adventurous ladies.

We went on a few hikes and got to discover all kinds of new plants. One of the hikes was a nature hike up to some ruins and the guide stopped at all kinds of different plants to tell us about them. One was a vine where you could chop it down and drink the water out of it (we did), another bled red sap when you cut it. It looked like it was bleeding. Another was a fern that grew baby ferns right off the tip of its leaf. There were also some Giant Tree Ferns! There were many others, but those were the highlights for me. We walked about many ruins while we were there as well. I was surprised at how much of their history has been lost. The history was always spoken, but with each conquering a little was lost and now they don't seem to know much about their past. It was kind of sad to hear.

The Kosrean people were so kind and nice. They were very friendly people and always willing to have a conversation with you. We went to a local festival where they celebrated their independence. The people sang and played games and ate. Each town has it's own color so they dress in these colors and have small competitions with the other towns. Hearing them sing was so nice. In the video from my last blog post the second set of singing was from the festival we went to (the first singing was from their church).

We also did quite a bit of diving. We did both Scuba and freediving. We saw lots of great coral, and sharks and unique fish, it was great. Kara the lady who put this on has done a lot of diving and she showed me some pretty cool micro creatures and how to find them in the future. The reefs around the island are also experiencing an influx in a creature called Crown of Thorns. These are invasive in the area and are killing the coral. We 'disposed' of a lot of these crazy looking creatures. We had a bottle of vinegar attached to a syringe and we injected them with it. I personally didn't feel right about killing them (killing is not in my blood), so I tried a couple, then didn't do it anymore. Either way, it was a unique experience that I will never forget.

We went to an aquaculture farm where they are growing clams and I learned the importance of clams to the environment. They are such cool creatures! Plus I've never seen such big clams!

We also surfed a little, but I can't talk about this in a public forum....soooo.....yeah....

We did a traditional Sakau ceremony which was quite an experience! Watching them make it, you would never want to drink it, but it really just tastes like earth. They take the Kava and smash it with a rock, then they take the fibers of eucalyptus and add rain water to squeeze it all together and create a drink. It makes you feel kind of tingly and mellow. Good times...

I absolutely loved each of the women I was there with for different reasons. From one person I learned to always be who you are and never hide it. From another person I learned that when you are down, you should take the time you need to get back at it. From another I learned that daylight should not be wasted! From another I learned so much about the Pacific Ocean and some of its people. From another I 're-learned' that all it takes is a beautiful smile to brighten someones day. One reminded me of my plans to live on a boat and not to forget about the path to get there. I also learned a lot about myself and how I treat relationships. I look forward to being a better person to my future girlfriends due to this.

The trip totally got me hooked on yoga again. It was almost a month ago and I have been going to yoga every day again and I am loving it! Through this I am meeting new friends and seeing lots of old friends as well. I'm happy to have this in my life again.

Here is a link to Kara, the amazing lady who put on the retreat: https://www.karaocean.com/

The group!

Lots of fun plants on the hikes. This one was used as a walking stick for a while. We also decided it could be used for shade or wiping your butt because there was so much material to work with!