I arrived in Mancora, Peru after 3 days travelling; flights from the UK to Philadelphia connecting to San Francisco and a 10 hour sleepover in the airport; then to Houston and Lima. An overnight in Lima and finally an 18 hour coach ride from Lima to Mancora on the north west coast. I paid  extra to travel VIP on the coach and enjoyed the comfort of the top deck reclining seats. When I got off the bus in Mancora I noticed that the downstairs seats looked pretty good too. A week later I was talking to a guest at the small spa resort where i am working. They had also travelled VIP; in fact the VIP wide leather seats are DOWNSTAIRS not upstairs. I had paid extra to travel 2nd class!! Actually it was worth the extra $18 because now, every time I think about it, I have a quiet laugh to myself.

I'm at Samana Chakra (www.samanachakra.com), a small,quiet beachside spa resort 10 minutes walk from Mancora. I am the resident yoga teacher here until October 20th. I teach 7 classes a week. Guests stay in one of the spacious white painted bungalows with palm-leaf thatched roofs. I have a comfortable room and bathroom which is large enough to accommodate a double bed, shelves for clothing etc and still have space for my yoga practice. And I have a mosquito net to protect my desirable body from the little biters (it's the mosquitoes that desire my body by the way!) Sometimes I do yoga practice in my room and sometimes in the beautiful yoga studio -glass fronted with views of the ocean. It's a great joy to have the time to have a solid yoga practice and to be able to teach regularly and develop my yoga teaching skills. The resort itself is right on the beach. It's a surfing sea, and surfing is the main attraction around here. But it's also great fun just to go in the sea, dive through or over the waves, and then catch a wave back to shore.

It's pretty quiet around here; there's just the reassuring rolling-in of the waves and the gusting sea breeze. It's 10 minutes' walk to the village with its cafes, restaurants, its outdoor fish, fruit and vegetable market and the motor bike rickshaws which for 1 Sol will save me the walk back. The sun always shines and it never rains at this time of year. It's winter here which means it's around 20-25˚C.; the sun is fierce although the wind makes it seem cooler.  After the 6.30 sunset I usually wear a sweater.

The wind off the sea makes it ideal for kite surfing. I intend to try surfing and kite surfing in a few weeks time. At the moment i am being gentle with my back as I had a flare up of lower back /hip pain. When I arrived here I was concerned that i might not be in such great physical shape to be teaching yoga. But magically, here, miles away from any major centre of population, lives Maria. And she is quite an amazing healer. She does some unnamed kind of manipulation and in one treatment my back/hip/piriformis problems were 90% improved. Fixed at the last minute. Just as in India when my 3 months of dental treatment ended with the final, final fixing of my crown on my very, very last day in Rishikesh. Divine Mother always provides the solution, but sometimes seems to rescue me only just in the nick of time. I think there's a trust and faith lesson here.

Although i knew it was right for me to be here I nevertheless felt a little anxious about teaching the yoga classes as my yoga teaching has been limited in the last 12 months. All those old insecurities surfacing again– you know – Will I be OK? , Am I good enough? Especially as the guests and visitors here tend to be younger, active and have even included some yoga teachers (there is a group of 8 yogis here from Canada right now). However i am on a steep learning curve. I have learned a lot from Johanna the co director of Samana Chakra. She is an Ananda yoga teacher with a lot of teaching experience. I am also really glad that I did the Yoga Intensive at the Expanding Light last year as it has opened options for me which I wouldn't otherwise have had. In my classes last week I worked through yoga for the chakras, finishing with Ajna / 3rd eye chakra yesterday. And with the benefit of good preparation, meditation and prayer it seems to be going well. There's been some good feedback and, at the end of some classes there's even been a ripple of applause!! So I think people like the Ananda style of yoga. And – what a blessing – there's even a harmonium here so I'm hoping to lead some Kirtan and chanting sessions.

Samana Chakra affords me the opportunity to recharge my batteries; the climate and sea air are bracing, the resort attracts guests who are a joy to be with, the staff are kind and serviceful ; and Peruvians in general are so beautifully devotional – where else would you find a security man who brings a book to work (La Biblia!), or see trucks inscribed with “Viene Jesu”? I have the blessing of time. On my best days I get up at 5am, energise, do yoga and meditate till 8 and then take breakfast. 4 days a week i offer a variety of 1 hour morning classes including energisation and chanting. Then I prepare for the afternoon class. I might walk into Mancora after lunch for the internet and to buy a few things, return to Samana Chakra and have an hour or more yoga practice, then teach a yoga class from 5 till 6.30pm, when there is a beautiful sunset. I eat dinner watching the evening sky change through hues of oranges, pinks and purples till the darkening night steals away with the last of the colour. I am usually in bed between 9 and 10 pm. And with each day that passes, with Energisation, with Yoga and meditation, I feel more alive and more vibrant.

I am truly grateful to have the opportunity of spending time here; of being in a place of tranquillity where it becomes easier to feel God's presence – in the “wisdom falling from His nature's hand”; in the power of the sea, the wind and the sun, or in the perfection of a flower; or in His children - in a smiling “Buenos Dias”, in the laughter of children, and in the lovely people I am blessed to meet.

Until we meet again

May God and the Masters bless you

with love

Stan