Costa Rican Philanthropic Travel Adventure with Marni Battista

If you are truly serious about
transforming your life
and finding self-love and confidence,
then it’s time to make changes,
be bold, and do something
completely outside the box.

A One of a Kind, Multisport
Community Service Retreat in Costa Rica!

Join Dating With Dignity’s certified professional life coach and dating expert, Marni Battista MA.Ed, for a transformative Costa Rican Philanthropic Travel Adventure designed to be the week that changes your life forever.

This one-of-a-kind travel and community service retreat combines Marni’s universally acclaimed and proven-effective coaching strategies with Costa Rica’s stunning landscape, an opportunity to give back and help empower Costa Rican women in their community, and outdoor adventures you won't soon forget. Dating With Dignity and Play It Forward Adventures blend all these experiences to offer the perfect setting, far from your every day responsibilities, to focus on taking the steps to create lasting change for yourself – and others.

Adventure Travel With the Very Best

Anyone can take you to Costa Rica, but no one can combine an adventure travel vacation with community service, opportunities for soulful awakening and transformative change like Dating With Dignity and Play It Forward Adventures.

Life coach Marni Battista and travel expert Jodi Nelson believe in the profound rewards of traveling the world actively, engaging in heartfelt, philanthropic action, exposing yourself to a different culture and landscape, as well as developing a life-long practice to connect to self and spirit.

This 7-day journey is a perfect balance of quality time connecting with other travelers, taking time for self, activities to suit your athletic ability, and opportunities to recharge and nurture – an combination of experiences that is virtually impossible to achieve when you vacation normally.

This exclusive trip includes authentic accommodations, fresh local cuisine, incredible leaders, and, of course, a variety of thoughtful and exhilarating activities all woven together in an incredibly rewarding journey. With everything taken care of, all you need to do is bring your sense of adventure, an open mind and heart, and the willingness to look deeply within.

Community Service Project

Play It Forward's Community Service project provides opportunities for travelers to engage in one of the most important steps in the Dating With Dignity 10-Step Method to Manifesting Love – Create A Life You Love. During service, you’ll stay in hand-built cabins on a tropical macadamia and flower plantation surrounded by pristine virgin rainforest in northern Costa Rica (www.fincalaanita.org).  

This location is unique because it is situated in the valley between three volcanoes in a zone where tropical rainforest adjoins cloud forest, creating a haven for hundreds of species of tropical birds, huge indigo fluorescent morpho butterflies, communities of monkey troops patrolling the strands of dense jungle, and jungle cats, some of which are on the verge of extinction.  Views of the surrounding volcanoes are impressive, with cloud blankets covering the tops of the volcanoes like soft cotton blankets.

Through the community service project on Day 6, you will feel deep satisfaction, connection and love as you help to empower women and promote progress in Colonia Libertad, a small village in rural Costa Rica.  For one entire day, we will work side by side with the woman of Colonia Libertad to help them plant a garden in their community, prepare a meal in a local community kitchen, and then celebrate the spirit of community and fellowship in a local yoga class.

Each participant will learn from their labor and commitment not only that service is fun and educational, but that they are making a difference in the lives of others.  The value of experiencing this authentic cultural exchange and becoming a part of daily life in this small village, is priceless, and will ensure that this travel adventure and cultural experience is unparalleled.

"Create The Life You Love" Life Coaching Immersion Program

Intricately woven throughout the itinerary are opportunities to move through the Dating With Dignity 10-Step Method to Manifesting Love of self and others. As part of this immersion approach, you will complete an in-depth Life Review Questionnaire prior to departure to identify in which 3-5 areas you would like to receive coaching throughout the week.  Prior to departure, you will then receive a one hour phone coaching session to set goals, develop strategies and identify specific action you may choose to take throughout the journey.

During the trip, you will not only participate in group coaching exercises, guided meditations, visualizations and experiential activities but also meet with Marni for 30-minutes in a one on one session. Each morning during breakfast Marni will also conduct 5-10 minute check-in processes with each participant to stay on track and focus throughout the day. Once you arrive home, you will complete with Marni during a final debrief, lasting for 60 minutes via phone.

Here's what will happen once you complete this 7-day retreat!

You will:

Each day of this adventure has been carefully designed to offer you a truly life-changing experience.

In addition to daily experiential exercises designed to help you identify and connect to your most authentic self, you will also have time for journaling exercises, an opportunity to share within an intimate group setting, physical activities such as yoga, meditations, and guided visualization to strengthen the mind-body connection, and strategies to help you create a new vision for your life.

You will leave this retreat with a vision for your life, action plans to guide you through 2010 and beyond, as well as a set of tools to ensure you are able to connect to spirit and self love the rest of your life. What's more, Costa Rica is a paradise for wildlife lovers and naturists. You will travel through wildlife-rich ecosystems, spot elusive jungle creatures, be welcomed into the community of local Costa Rican women and experience swaying palm trees, the jungle canopy and gold-sand beaches.  Come evening you will participate in group coaching to help you deepen your connection to self, break through barriers, and strengthen the bond you have with others.  

This life-changing adventure is a safe way to explore your boundaries, create community and fall in love with yourself, so that you can ultimately find someone truly remarkable to love.

Accommodations and Trip Details:

Length: 7 days, 6 nights
Level of difficulty: 1-2 – appropriate for all levels of fitness
Meet/Depart: San Jose, Costa Rica
Accommodations: 4-Star and above

Itinerary of Dating With Dignity and Play it Forward Adventures Immersion Retreat

Day 1 April 4, 2010: We land in Costa Rica and are transferred to La Fortuna, the adventure capital of Central America, where we will begin our journey. As we begin the journey of transformation, travelers will gather to receive an orientation in the Energetic Self Perception Model which will provide the foundation for our epic journey together. Each student will take time to create an intention and vision for the 7-day retreat, expanding upon the goals and intentions set during the pre-trip meeting with Marni.

Day 2 April 5, 2010:We will gather for breakfast and begin the day with a brief morning mediation. Students will check-in with her Coach throughout breakfast. We will then begin the day with a canyoneering adventure, in the mountainous terrain near the Arenal Volcano. This canyoneering adventure combines rappelling, down-climbing and river tracing in a deep, tropical canyon. This "Lost Canyon" Adventure will be the experience of a lifetime as we have the opportunity to take in huge, breathtaking waterfalls, and go where very few have had the privilege to roam. After canyoneering we will kayak on Lake Arenal where we will enjoy a breathtaking view of the Arenal Volcano. We will also have the opportunity to observe different species of birds like the "Flycatcher", and the "Great Blue Heron." We may even see and hear Howler monkeys! Once we complete the days’ adventures, we will rest, reflect then gather for dinner. Before bed we will gather in community to begin identifying what specific patterns, ruts and behaviors have been preventing us from living the life we dream for ourselves. With this awareness each traveler will be empowered to begin taking responsibility for making significant change.

Day 3 April 6, 2010:We will begin our third day with a morning meditation, breakfast and check-in. Then, the group will engage in a relaxing, moderate-level guided bike ride near the base of Volcano Arenal and along Lake Arenal. Afterwards, we will take our experience to new heights as we zipline through nature! The ziplining tour gives you the opportunity to fly through a cable and have a unique experience of adventure and adrenaline. In addition, the tour offers five observation towers that exceed the cloud forest treetops, providing a panoramic view of nature's glory.

After the afternoon of adventure, we will take time to learn new skills to begin identifying and connecting to the magnificent authentic self within each traveler. Participants will engage in guided visualizations to connect to the spirit within, then create a practice to maintain this connection long after they return home. Day three will close with the Liquid Lava Hike. We will take a guided hike through lush rainforest close to the base of the Arenal Volcano, where we wait for sunset at the observation point. As it starts to get dark, we will be able to witness the amazing lava flow of Central America's most active volcano. We will then take time for silent meditation, hiking back to the hotel in silence. Maintaining this stillness, travelers will take time in their rooms to individually create an action plan to begin living their life by design, instead of by default.

Day 4 April 7, 2010:  After meditation, breakfast and check-in, we begin day four with a tour of Finca la Anita, a macadamia and flower plantation, and the surrounding community of Colonia Libertad. After lunch and a workshop designed to begin to identify relationship goals and an assignment to complete regarding values clarification, we will awaken our spirits through guided yoga on an outdoor yoga platform overlooking flower gardens and mystic volcanoes. We will then learn how to prepare local cuisine during a cooking class taught by women in their nearby community kitchen. Before retiring for the evening the group will meet to begin creating a list of negotiables and non-negotiables they require in a partner based on the vision they have created, and a new empowered view of their values, dreams and hopes.

Day 5 April 8, 2010: We will begin day five by morning meditation and setting an intention for our work within the Costa Rican community. We will leave a positive mark on La Fortuna as we join with the women of the community in a planting project that will improve the appearance of a community park. We will celebrate the end of our day, and adventure, with a celebratory closing ceremony of games, gratitude and presentation of any donation items we may want to leave behind.

Day 6 April 8, 2010: We will spend the majority of our final day in reflection on Playa Portero in the beautiful Bahia sel Sol Hotel. In addition to a final visioning exercise, we will reflect on how we will each realize the manifestation of our vision once we reintegrate back into our lives at home. Participants will engage in a life-changing experience and ritual in which we will let go of negative patterns of behavior and stand strong in the power of who each person as come to be throughout the journey. In addition, we will participate in a life-affirming ritual acknowledging the “I AM” we have come to love – ourselves.

Day 7 April 9, 2010: Depart Costa Rica!

About Marni Battista

As the founder of Dating With Dignity and a woman with more than 25 years of personal relationship and dating experience, Marni has dated, was married for 17 years, divorced, and then successfully dated again in the 21st century. In addition, she has received professional training in dating and relationship coaching, as well as training in the Core Energy Coaching Process from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC). Marni has also been extensively trained as a Facilitator by the Hoffman Institute, one of the world’s foremost organizations in personal development.

In addition Marni is also a guest expert contributor to fixmylove.com, and is working with sistasinthecity.com, girlfriendit.com and attractology.com to contribute to their sits as well. She is a published Ezine author and is going to be published in an anthology entitled: Robot Hearts: Twisted and True Tales of Seeking Love in the Digital Age.

Most important, as a divorcee for more than 5 years, Marni truly understands what it feels like to be lonely and sick of wasting time on dates with men that go nowhere. A woman who is not your mother, best friend, or therapist, Marni is the professional relationship and dating expert who will stand behind you to provide love, compassion, support and honest guidance as you embark on one of the most important, fulfilling adventures in your life.