I just got back from a 1-week yoga retreat led by Amba Stapleton at Nosara Yoga Institute. Nosara Yoga offers mostly yoga teacher training, so the idea of attending a yoga retreat from people who teach teachers how to teach yoga made this an enticing opportunity. I am a yoga "newbie," however, the retreat gave me yoga basics that I can now do at home.

I stayed in a lovely cabina that was minutes walking distance from the yoga studio, the magnificent Pacific Ocean, and the town of Nosara. I ate at a number of restaurants in Nosara, including the Cafe de Paris. In addition to a kitchen, private bath and two bedrooms, the cabina included wi-fi.

English is widely spoken, and US dollars are accepted virtually everywhere.

I didn't have time to do any excursions, but doing yoga in the beautiful jungle, surrounded by green everywhere you look, is an amazing experience. I expect to go back again next year!