Traveling, as we’ve often said, seems to attract synchros, and our recent trip to Costa Rica was no exception. One that startled and surprised us took place in Santa Elena, a small village in the Monte Verde cloud forest. Trish had been considering using the village as a site in her next novel in the Esperanza series. We were paying attention to details in the village, so much attention that we nearly missed a synchro that stood out in bold letters.
On our third day in town Trish suddenly stopped in the middle of the street. We were a block from our hotel. She stared in silence for a moment, then hurried across the street as an SUV raced our way.
“Did you see it?” she asked. “How could we have missed it?”
“Missed what?”
“Go back and take a look at the sign right next to the market.” I stepped out into the street, and there it was. I’d missed it, too. In large letters above a shop were the words: SOUVENIRS – ESPERANZA.
Then there’s the fog that rolls in like clockwork every afternoon, eerily reminiscent of the fog in Esperanza.
***
Another synchro involved yoga. We were at the counter in the market next to the Esperanza shop when a woman in line next to us said hello. I noticed she was wearing a black t-shirt that said Namaste.
I turned to Trish and said, “She’s wearing your t-shirt.” Trish has one just like it.
The woman smiled, then turned and said, “Does yours have wings?” Her shirt had angel wings painted on the back.
We started talking and it turned out she and her husband owned a yoga studio 2 km away. I mentioned  I was a yoga teacher and she invited me to the studio. I went later in the afternoon and practiced on my own. It was a beautiful studio in the cloud forest. Before I left, she offered me a chance to teach classes there in exchange for a small house where we could stay while visiting. Wow!
We might take her up on the offer. Like attracts like.
***
During our week away, I read two novels, Siren’s Song, by Kent Holloway, and Pirate Latitudes, by Michael Crichton. Siren’s Song is a tale about a secretive outfit called ENIGMA  that  hunts mythological sea monsters that have come to life complete with hi-tech implants. I would go back and forth between books, which got somewhat confusing when the pirates encountered a sea monster, the mythical kraken. It was as if the two sea tales temporarily merged.  More like attracts like.
***
Finally, as authors of two synchronicity books and this synchro blog, I can’t overlook our golden scarab story. As many of you know, the golden scarab was at the heart of the most famous tale of synchronicity told by Carl Jung, who recognized the importance of meaningful coincidence and was even encouraged by Albert Einstein to pursue his idea. (Einstein, according to Jung, said synchronicity was fully compatible with the new discoveries in physics.)
One of his Jung’s clients was resistant to psychotherapy and the notion of transpersonal realities. During the analysis of one of her dreams that featured a golden scarab, Jung related the mythical meaning of the scarab beetle, but to no avail. They’d reached an impasse, when Jung heard a sound of something striking the window. He walked over and found a shiny rose chafer beetle, the nearest analogy to a golden scarab that was found in his region. He caught the beetle, showed it to his client, and the synchronicity was the turning point in the therapy for the woman.
So one day in Costa Rica, while taking an early morning walk through a rain forest, we came upon a butterfly sanctuary. While looking at a rack holding a variety of cocoons and chrysalises, a man who worked there showed us several dead beetles that he had collected and saved. Two of them were golden scarabs. I arranged them on a palm leaf as if they were holding a meeting.
mike is so right about travel weaving its magic – love the stories here – and the esperanza shop and butterfly – how incredible! then, the beetles! the all of them! wonderful wonderful synchro stories!
Great post, travel weaves its magic!
It’s funny how the ESPERANZA sign also has the blue butterfly,similar to the one on the cover of “7 Secrets…”
…and your next synchro book is about death…or transformation/hope,I should say.
All that is missing is a hummingbird.
We walked past that building at least a half dozen times before we noticed the sign. Interesting that you mention hummingbirds, Darren, because there were many, many of them around us in Costa Rica. My challenge was to photograph one without the feeder in the photo – and get the little bird in focus. But I finally got a couple of good shots.
I found this link at the Reality Sandwich site,which has a picture of a hummingbird,is held in Costa Rica,and mentions yoga.
https://www.pachamama.com/sacred-music-ritual.asp
thanks for the link, daz!
That’s the morpho butterfly that’s common in the area. Cool name, huh?
Speaking of the Morpho butterfly.I came across this electronic Morpho butterfly in a jar at ThinkGeek.
https://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/e70c/
Here’s the article about the new novel at Crichton’s official website: https://www.michaelcrichton.com/books-micro.html
Glad to see Chrichton is still publishing from the other side. Hopefully, he’s working on his politics over there. He left the world with a mindset somewhere in the realm of Dick Cheney’s worldview.
funny, this is the second time today i came across this story. perhaps the universe is telling me to believe the signs.
Looks like a confirmation, new soul!
Very cool post. 🙂
Excellent synchros! The Esperanza market sighting is almost exactly like what happened last year when my friend Jaimee spotted a small restaurant in Berkeley called the Sophia Cafe, coinciding with an upcoming scene in my Indiana Jones story where Indy and Sophia dine at a fancy restaurant. I was so thrilled by the synchronicity that I put the name of the real cafe into my story. Then Jaimee and I celebrated by having lunch there when I visited California a month later. 🙂
I also read ‘Pirate Latitudes,’ and look forward to Crichton’s very last novel which is being completed by another writer working from his notes, due to be released next year. It will be interesting to try to discern where M.C. left off and the new text begins.
EDIT: According to Wikipedia, the novel is called ‘Micro’, written by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston, will be published November 22, 2011.
Cool synchro, Whip! I didn’t realize Crichton had left notes on another novel. Wow, what’s this one going to be about? It’s like the guy is writing from the afterterlife.
– Trish
Crichton had 1/3 of the novel completed at the time of his death. The rest of the story was outlined in extensive notes and reference material, which Preston utilized to finish the book.
https://www.michaelcrichton.com/books-micro-press.html
Interesting! When is it coming out?
11-22-11
Symmetry is the poetry of the universe. 🙂
Nice one, whip!
Scarabs…..highly revered symbols of good fortune and eternity in Egypt.
Wonderful post. That yoga studio looks amazing! And the beetles – they’re so pretty. I do think you may have found your spot to visit again – it holds all your secrets.
This area is the one I told you about, nancy.
Remarkable……….seems like a very good “go ahead” from the universe here! The golden scarabs seem especially auspicious somehow.
They’re cute little beetles, aren’t they?