Envision 2013

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March 5 (Envision blog):
After waking up from a nice, uninterrupted nights sleep (in a BED!) back in Dominical, it feels like the festival was merely a dream. I know how Dorothy must've felt when she woke up back in Kansas, safe in her bed, after all her experiences in the zany world of Oz. We also traveled to a surreal place, met some interesting characters, and witnessed some unreal performances.
Envision was definitely a challenge for me. The days were hotter than Hell and I felt so lazy and tired all the time. It was almost unbearable sitting through some of the speakers presentations under a hot red tarp. I never woke up early enough to make it to yoga before the heat set in. There was a waterfall nearby but you had to hitch a ride out of the festival, and they were charging $6 per day to go to the beach. The only relief was the showers, that I only took one of, on the last day.
Working in the kitchen definitely distracted us from baking in the sun. We were pretty much thrown in with very little instruction. It impressed me how much initiative some people took, noticing what we were running out of and making more. After a couple days the recipes were out the window and whoever was prepping started putting their own spin on things, or adding more ingredients. By the end of the week we had practically reinvented the menu. It was fun having the flexibility to create dishes and nice to be accountable for making sure the line had everything they needed. The menu was pretty basic: fish or veggie tacos, banana chutney or salsa fresco, and chicken or veggie tamales with salad and rice. Everyday the salad and rice would take on a different look; not because the recipe had changed, but because that's how someone decided to prepare it. I wouldn't say that my cooking skills have improved with this experience but we got to work with some really interesting fruits and vegetables. The people running the cafe own a permaculture farm and brought an abundance of exotic produce. We worked with jackfruit, which is bigger than a watermelon with spikes on the outside. On the inside it resembled an alien egg sack: sticky and gooey with large seeds and yellow and white flesh. The yellow part tasted like banana laffy taffy. This other fruit that I can't think of the name tasted like lychee but had the look and consistency of raw calamari. I couldn't really handle the texture, but the flavor was good. We also made a really yummy hibiscus tea with lime juice. The citrus in Central America is really interesting because you can't tell an orange from a lime until you cut it open and taste the juice.
We were actually both working in the kitchen when the rain came. It started as a teasing drizzle off and on; and by the time the sun went down it was a full fledged storm, complete with thunder and lightning. The kitchen was very open, and all off our prep space was getting dumped on. The only area that stayed dry was a table in the middle that we used for our "line." Everything started pooling with water including a tray off raw fish and the tarp that served as our roof. I was obliviously chopping garlic when the tarp almost released all of the water onto my head. Kevin yelled at me to get out of the way right before it burst. It was such a disaster that all you could do was laugh at the situation. The storm wasn't letting up and after about 20 minutes the power went out. As if it couldn't get any worse! Now we were trying to prevent our kitchen from collapsing in the dark with sharp knives and salmonella all over. Lol I'm painting a really dramatic picture! It reminded me of being at Water World where they had the wrecked pirate ship to climb all over and water spraying everywhere (if anyone can remember that far back). That was my favorite attraction at the park, and our kitchen felt like that sinking ship. I was actually having a lot of fun until I realized if it was this bad here, I can't imagine what our cheap tents must be going through!
Kevin went to check on our things, which had also pooled with water. We had the rain flies on but the ground was so saturated we didn't stand a chance. Our sleeping tent wasn't so bad but our storage tent was a watery mess. His poor camera didn't make it out alive; he found it floating in the side pocket of the tent. Such a bummer! Now the only thing we have to document our trip is our iPads, which thankfully survived. They actually take better pictures than the camera but I don't like carrying them with us everywhere, or pulling them out in public.
The festival had turned into a disgusting, puddled, muddy mess. Of course that didn't stop the hippies! Most people seemed to fully embrace the mud and even played and wrestled in it. Hippies! I admire their positivity and perseverance, but can we just be honest with ourselves...this sucks! Our will wasn't strong enough to manifest the sun and the rain continued the following day. So much for drying everything out. Oh can I just add that Costa Rica hasn't seen rain in three months! Just our luck.
Ok moving on to something positive...these festivals aren't supposed to be easy. They're all about overcoming physical, mental and emotional feats. There are a lot of workshops designed to break down emotional barriers, free yourself from your fears or insecurities, and embrace the process of moving to a better state of mind. Figuring out what is preventing that is the most important part and more than likely, it's you. We're so quick to point blame and give other people or things power, but we are responsible for how we CHOSE to respond to things and we need to hold ourselves accountable. You can have anything you desire if you want it bad enough, that's the laws of attraction. What you put out into the universe is going to come back to you...so let's all be compassionate and practice good karma! That is all.
Aside from the four healing and yoga temples, there was a tea lounge, two large stages and a bar. There was a dj in the bar, live bands at the Sol stage and another dj, poi (fire dancers) and arial silks performers at the Luna stage. What's so cool is whatever type of performer inspired you at the festival, there's workshops and retreats with that focus all over Costa Rica. This is like the land of conservation and creativity; a magical place where humans try to live in harmony with nature. We could learn a lot from them. Pura Vida, the pure life, where you play harder than you work and have time to pursue your passions. Ok, I know, the festival has totally rubbed off on me! I really want to pursue some of the topics we touched on, it really opens your mind to another level of consciousness (and I'm not talking about drugs).
Through everything we endured, I can honestly say it was a good experience. Seriously. The vendors had amazing food designed to nourish our bodies, the jewelry sold out there was stunning and so unique. I had to try so hard to refrain from buying anything. I met a really cool chick that helped me polish of my wine and kept me company when Kevin was still at work. The music was so uplifting and fun, and I can't say enough about the performers. I'm really glad I didn't have to pay for the festival, and enjoyed working in the kitchen, but it was weird being on a schedule everyday. We basically had to compromise between which workshops we would do each day because we only had time for one or two before we had to be at work. I wish I could've done more, but I always have a slight sense of regret at festivals. I've learned not to have expectations because then there's no room for regret. I'm grateful for the lessons and wisdom, the challenge, the beautiful people we encountered, and the good vibes despite the circumstances. Oh, and that it was only five days! Ha!

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