With great excitement I flew out to Spain, hot sunshine was waiting for me...
On the Sat whilst Paul met everyone at Malaga, Fi and I set up camp at our two casitas (holiday cottages).

Setting up the geodesic dome was a friend of Fi's called Nikki the DOME. It was amazing to watch this structure grow.

The dome took about 3hrs to construct including the grass and matting for the floor.

The aim of this week for me was to enjoy and explore our yoga, alongside introducing this region of southern Spain, Las Alpujarras. Only two of the group were regular students so on arrival I was busy putting names to faces whilst the group had already bonded on their journey.

After the Sunday to settle in on the Monday after our sunrise session of chanting and yoga we went up to the villages of Pampaneira to shop and explore before heading up to Capileria to walk down the river for a picnic and waterfall experience.

The walk up the river was an adventure, it was worth it to be cleansed by the cool mountain waterfall, the Rt Rev Paul conducting proceedings!

On our return from up in the mountains we realised it had been windy down in the valley! Thankfully Nikki returned to reassemble and properly secure the dome for the rest of the week. Only damage was two broken staves which were replaced using some hazelnut from Paul and Fi's land.

On Tuesday we stayed close to our base, two lots of yoga and a sun session by the pool in the afternoon. In the cooler late afternoon we walked over to the land of Julio and Uma where they showed us round their amazing garden full of medicinal herbs. For 20 years they have worked the land and out of necessity for the health of their family they have developed a great knowledge of the healing power of plants. I was fascinated as I used to be a research chemist for a drug company and I have always marvelled at how nature has provided all the answers. Western medicine has decided to refine, concentrate and enhance the active ingredients to create drugs but always accompanied with side effects. Julio is self taught and has a passion for his subject, as we walked around the garden he would introduce each plant with 'aah, this is a most important plant'. He dries plants from the hillside and his garden to sell in the markets and Uma extracts essential oils and makes perfume, soaps and creams. I was moved by the simple beauty and power of this couple, they were tapping into something very special in their garden.

On Wed after some yoga we traveled to the coast to Neja which is famous for its caves. The chambers are massive and sometimes is a venue used for concerts. The formations of rock were like columns as the ceiling and floors had joined together. The structures often reminded me of coral reefs.

After lunch we went down to the beach for an afternoon of swimming and sunbathing.

Thursday started with chanting and yoga before we headed off to the Alhambra Palace in Granada. Always a moving experience to wander round this Moorish masterpiece.

The view from the top of the battlements are spectacular with the sprawling city of Granada in the plain below. The old Arab quarter -Albycin is the background to this photo. After a stroll around this delightful arab quarter and a delicious meal we headed back to Orgiva.

So the end of the week came around very quickly. Everyone responded well to the yoga and by Friday we had built quite a momentum. The stillness at the end of the session was so powerful that nobody wanted to break it. There was a great difference in the chanting by the end of the week which for me represented how we had all changed.
Paul dropped us of in the Landrover and Fi led a lovely walk and picnic in the mountains above O Sel Ling, the Buddhist retreat centre.

After a short meditation and a browse in the small library it was time to head back to our casitas to pack and prepare for our final meal.
There was so much laughter and fun during the week and it a great pleasure to be a part of it.

A final thanks to Paul and Fi who made everything possible over in Spain, delicious food, excellent local knowledge, our transport and always ready with a smile.

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