closing down for the winter

Four days since I arrived and I have a feeling I'm not going to want to leave this place at the end of the week. The group of fellow workers I have landed amongst include two French, two German, one New Zealander, two Americans and three fellow Brits - lovely all! So far we have taken down the staff tents, done lots of gardening, and begun the packing away that signals the end of the season here at Kalikalos. The yurt is staying up for a few more days and is coming in useful for sleeping in, and impromptu 'quiet time' or massage sessions. The ducks have still been unsuccessful at flying - despite the best attempts of helpful humans to assist them in their aerial endeavours...
The food here has been excellent and I only wish I had signed up for MORE shifts in the kitchen as it is such fun working alongside the people here to create something with love. Lunch today was much appreciated after some physical work in the garden, digging and raking.
Tonight we are being treated to a meal at our sister centre Anilios, where we worked this morning on the land, creating a large raised bed for growing vegetables, knocking down a wall in the main house to create a bigger room, and various other little jobs that needed doing.
Tomorrow is 'Taverna Night' and we will probably eat in the village of Kissos so we can walk home afterwards. Whether the meal will be as tasty as we could create in the kitchen here remains to be seen, but it will be nice to be 'out and about' sampling the local vegetarian Greek dishes. Bean stew perhaps?
Off to Anilio, kalispera!
Catherine, Brighton UK

The Ducks at Kalikalos

We have two ducks at Kalikalos.  Their names are Snowy and Wooly. Snowy is the smaller one who we think is female and Wooly is the larger one who we think is male. The are about two months old but they have been expanding at a rapid pace and they already look like adult ducks. They have not made quack noises as yet but they do make little squeeky noises when they get fed or let out of their enclosure as you see in the photo with me as babysitter. They have a little bath in their pen which they enjoy floating around in and preening their feathers.

 The ducks are beautiful to watch and instill a sense of presence in me when I'm with them. They are peaceful, sweet, gentle and have beautiful white feathers. The white feathers capture a gorgeous creamy light and the feathers make a gentle rustling noise when they are preened.
 I would like to take them home hidden under both arms through the airport customs. 

Jeanette, Leeds, England

Kalikalos 2010 Photos

I finally managed to set up my photoalbum with some Kalikalos pics and put it online.
You can view at the "public selection" here:

http://fotoalbum.web.de/gast/shako/Holiday_at_Kalikalos

Password is "kalikalos"




Shako Berkhardt, Berlin

Tango nights at Kalikalos

  
  We were having fun during all the summer with improvised tango classes after dinner. Almost every week I had the chance to share some basic steps for all the new "tangueros" joining me. It was great fun for me to do this. In this pictures I am with Mandy, burning the patio's floor of Kaliklalos. 

                                                                 
                                                                   Hernan from Argentina. 

Writting in the rain at Kalikalos

on saturday 11th september it rained all day ..what better way to spend the afternoon than gathering in a tiny circle with a few candles and open our hearts to the sound of rain pelting onto the round tent space. this is used for all sorts of activities from yoga in the early morning to the morning sharing circles and more. despite of and thanks to the rain ,we wrote and wrote and  finally we entered a poetry field  and were inspired by the sufi poet rumi, mary oliver, rainer maria rilke and other kindred spirits of the past .

let me share with you what came to us

          and in this silence there is so much
          and when i open the door i will only see the light
          and i will say welcome home
          shine into every corner and spear nothing
          and when the rain falls
          i will say welcome
          your tears and mine are of the same sort
         and when i kneel down on the earth
         she will s say' welcome my child, you have returned at last'
         and so one by one all will fall into its rightful place
         and no one and no thing will be spared
         only gratitude will remain
         for this being alive in a space of no return and nothing

        and here is another voice

        can  i rest?
        let it be
        let it go
        is there anything at all that can be known?
        or is it gone and already lost
        the moment it is seen
       am i feeling this tired
       because i keep holding on
       to fleeting times and worries of the past
       i am feeling so light
       as a leaf in the wind
       moving this pen\
       on a white paper sheet
       some writing appears
       it is very sweet

       and here one example of a poem which brought together all our voice:s, a group poem:

       i will only see the light,
       your hand,that so round
       is moving this pen,
       writing appears....
       is there anything at all that can be known
       i learned about tone and falsetto
       and only gratitude remains

       and then it got dark and the rain would not stop pelting, thunder and lightening, the elemts roaring in the
       greek mountains, we felt softened and at one for that tiny moment in time and the bell for the evening
       meal summoned us around  the tables  for the evening meal and other business.
       i knew again how much i love to create these 'soul writing spaces' like hardly any other because they are 
      a reminder that we are one  and that all that which is so much talked and theorised about is  true
      indeed if given time and made space for.

      bettina peterseil from kalikalos in the pelion mountains
         

.

Pears, Sun and Swimming

Well, woke up today to a beautiful sunrise over the Aegean Sea. It was only 7.00am , but the air was warm and it was completely silent. I could not resist standing for a few minutes to watch the sun rise!

However, I was preparing breakfast, and with 25 hungry people about to wake up and want some food after their Tai Chi Shibashi, I went to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea before cooking.

Breakfast was fresh fruit, with greek yoghurt! I am not sure how the Greeks do it, but their yoghurt is amazing! It is always nice to sit outside and have breakfast with the staff, guests and workshop participants! This week we have Satsang with Gaia and Venu.  After breakfast we had the staff attunement and meeting where we decided to harvest our pears. The centre here has 2 big peae trees which have been dropping pears for a couple of weeks. It required a team of people - one to climb the ladder and shake the tree, and two to run around under catching the pears with blankets!

We harvested quite a few pears this way and were able to enjoy them for lunch!

After lunch we all piled into our wee micras, or walked down to the beach and enjoyed a refreshing swim and time to sunbathe!

Then tonight some people went to spiritual dancing and music, before we all head down to the local Taverna in Kissos for dinner.

Once again I feel so lucky to be here at Kalikalos, with great people, beautiful scenery and enjoying living in lovely community!

Pizza Night at Kalikalos

For 2 weeks now I have wanted to make pizza in the woodfire oven here at Kalikalos. Eventually on Thursday night I found a group of people who were keen to try and cook pizza. We came home early from the beach in order to get started !
Since none of us had ever cooked using an oven like this before, we had to refer to YouTube in order to find out how it worked!

To start, a couple of hours before you want to cook in the oven, you need to build a good fire in the oven so that the stones get hot enough to cook the pizza on! After the fire has burnt down, you push the hot embers aside and then the bottom of the oven is hot enough to cook on (this is a simplified version)! We made our own pizza dough and then put on a range of toppings including local olives, tomatoes and goats cheese (which was made by a man down the road just 3 days ago)!

When the pizzas were ready to be cooked we carried them over to the oven, and then had to figure out how to get them in the oven. This proved harder then first thought ...someone had to hold a torch so that we could see what we were doing while someone had to try and slide the pizza in! What we did not realize prior to this, was that the base of the oven was quite uneven, which made it quite difficult to slide the pizza into the oven and remove it once cooked. A couple of times it looked like our nice toppings would slide into the oven without the pizza base, and we only just rescued it in time! However, after 4 hours, we had a fine selection of pizzas, in various shapes and sizes, but all tasted amazing!

There is something about eating food that has been cooked outside, and it was great to cook with such a nice group of people! Coming from New Zealand, it was pretty magic to be able to sit outside, under a kiwifruit vine, drinking local Retsina and eating our pizza!

Jessica Zanetti
New Zealand

A month as a staff at Kalikalos

The past month I have been a staff member at Kalikalos in Kissos and it has been a fantastic experience.  Not only is the place wonderful, situated in the Pilion with warm weather and clear blue local beaches, it also has a lovely atmosphere created by the constantly shifting groups of people and the community feeling that it creates.  Within the community there is a sense of learning, understanding and achievement in overcoming the obstacles that arise when people come together.  We spend some quality time working, doing various jobs such as preparing meals, cleaning and gardening, both staff and guests and it definitely has broaden my understanding on working as an individual and as member of a group often on the same task.  


The past 3 weeks have been dedicated to the family experience workshops and the atmosphere has been very different having all the children around.  It has been a great experience, full of fun activities such as Kalikalos talent show, a puppet show and trips to the beach.  


The work has been relaxed and each member of staff can up to an extent work what suits them and it never feels forced which results in a great working atmosphere and a more positive will to work.  The community is also very understanding and there has been a sense of team work between staff and guests, for example the kids did some signs and instructions needed around the place as an art project.  I was also very pleased to see that when I arranged a community meeting about an issue that was very dear to me that there was a very good attendance and interest shown.


Overall the experience has been very pleasant, widened my horizon and I have learnt a lot from the few difficulties that I have faced during my stay.  Open mind and positivity is all that is needed to enjoy the stay at Kalikalos.


Tinna 

Earth Awareness Day at Kalikalos

Here is a photo of our third week in this summer session of the Kalikalos Family Experience, each one so totally different from the last, as new people come and those who have completed their time depart. The community here at Kalikalos is a kaleidescope of constantly changing colours and patterns, yet always maintaining its circular shape as we meet in a circle each morning to attune together and create our daily rhythms. Workshop, lunch, beach & swimming, evening jobs such as tending the garden, feeding the baby ducklings, preparing dinner, then all meeting up for a wonderful meal every night under the stars in a perfect climate, 1500 feet up the verdant mountains overlooking the azure blue Aegean sea. Could it be more perfect?

The picture shows Ida from Cameroon with her French husband Gilles and children, Joahhan and Ilse, who all live in Paris; Serena Gaia, an Italian professor of Humanities from the |University of Puerto Rico; and my own kids, Anya, Rose and Michael from Forres. This week we also have the serene and sensitive Giacomo from Italy, Kathy from Omega Institute in NY, Lilian from Norway, Tinna from Iceland, partner Callum from Scotland, Hernan from Argentina, Patch from Glasgow, and of course founder Jock who calls himself a new-age Gypsy. You get the picture! An international holistic summer school inspired by Findhorn principles, in the land of the Heroes & Gods of Greek mythology. We have created our own myths from our life stories and inhabited them with Argonauts, dragons fairies and angels, constructed puppets of super powered creatures and turned them into improvised plays. We sang, danced, laughed and performed a hilarious show at the end of our first fortnight and look forward to the magnificent life size marionette show this final week.

Suffering a slipped disc and sciatica, I came here three weeks ago in a wheelchair with packs of morphine and am leaving at the end of this week, walking, dancing even, and drug free—a testament to the healing power of Pelion, the mountain where the healer Chiron the Centaur brought up Achilles in safety.  As I have healed myself in the sunshine, healthy food and hearty company, we send our invocation for the world to be healed itself. May the healing power of the community we have formed here radiate outwards as in the paintings we made of the planet on Earth Awareness day—pictures of the globe surrounded by love, flowers and healing prayers.

It has been a beautiful time for my own family to bond together in an idyllic setting with the friends they made last year, our own Achilles and others who Facebook each other all year and then arrange meetings in different countries until we meet again and swim, sing and dance together in our family experience, a family ever greater and wider than the smaller ones we were born into. As Rose said, “I don’t feel I come from any country, I just come from Planet Earth.”

Family experience weeks in Kalikalos and its sister community Anilio, will run though the school holidays next summer. Travel here is getting easier ever year as Ryanair and Monarch Air are now serving Volos, and the journey itself is an adventure.  You are welcome to join us!  

Dorota Owen, Forres  

kalikalos for kids!

hey this is rose here! im 14 and this is my second year coming to kalikalos and staying as a community and guest, i love it so much that i beg my mum to come every year. You make lots of new friends and keep old ones too, so every year you come back sometimes its the same or new people and its great catching up and seeing everyone and also meeting new friends. during the day we go down to the beach, its so great! the sea, sun & sand just looks like a holiday from heaven! and then after a relaxing swim in the sea or ice cream from the bar, its a car journey up the mountains and home again. the view from the building is gorgeous! the sunrise and sunset is like no other in greece, for we are very high up! its a great place to learn about community and service, the kids all get to help out and cook and wash up sometimes gardening too! the food is brilliant too, very healthy and nutricious. Every Tuesday its taverna night! one of my favourite nights! because every body gets dressed up and goes to the taverna to have an evening meal, usually the kids sit on a table and have yummy chips and meat! then we split from the adults (doing there usual chatting and dinner gossiping) and go for a run around or a place of our own to chat. we also have puppet making and art time and there are a few computers (if you donate some money) to catch up with friends and check your facebook! so over all im having a great time and i recomend it to just about everyone and anyone! over and out!

Gaia and Amorous Resources

Hi everyone!

This is Serena, a.k.a. Gaia, writing from Kalikalos, a holistic community in Kissos, on Mount Pelion, Greece.

This is a stop in my journey for two main reasons: wanting to become acquainted with the mythologies of my childhood, and wanting to bring the ideas and practices of poly-amory, multiple loves, to people and communities already attuned to holistic styles of living.

Here's a quick report from part one, an introduction to the relation between Gaia, the concept of a living planet, and amorous resources, resources of love that we can share amorously if we learn a little bit about what poly people do.

We had scheduled this intro for the Wednesday morning slot, on August 4, 2010, during the Family Experience Week, for participants in two campuses, Kalikalos, where I am staying, and Anilio, a nearby village in the same area. 

It was announced the previous evening at a wonderful taverna dinner, where people responded with a certain enthusiasm. Parallel activities for children and teen-agers were arranged, even though we also opened the option for their participation too. 

The next day almost the whole community showed up. We had prepared the Round House, a pretty summer building made of pine, canvas, and bamboo. Over twenty people showed up, everyone with their own dosage of curiosity and enthusiasm.

The conversation went very smoothly, with everyone responding eagerly. "When people mention Gaia, what comes up for you? What comes up when you hear polyamory? And, last but not least, the million dollar question: jealousy?" The presentation unfolded from the diverse responses the group generated. And at the end it was decided to offer another session, with bioenergetic exercises that help people experience 'compersion,' in little increments. It was amazing how quickly this group got the idea of what compersion is. It was a new word for them, initially proposed as 'the opposite of jealousy.' They came up with a parallel definition that compares it to the Buddhist concept of Maddhitta, or the joy of rejoicing in someone else's joy. 

Individual coaching sessions were also offered, and one was scheduled right after the meeting. It was a joy to share my knowledge and experience with this brave woman from the UK, a gift to listen to her story and empathize with her situation and predicament. Often, the internalized idea that monogamy is superior is the real obstacle to the unfolding of a happy and free amorous life. I do hope that obstacle was at least temporarily removed from her mind, at least for the time being . . . . so that her path of personal and spiritual growth can naturally unfold.

So this group really gave me a sense of wider possibility: I do feel that it is my mission on this planet to open up all kinds of holistic communities to the ideas and practices of poly love styles. One of my two purposes for being here in Greece is now very tangible and real. As for the other one, well . . . it was so magical to mention Gea, or Gaia, on the very land where this concept was created, in times so ancient that it is sometimes difficult to find their traces on the land that hosted them about three thousand years ago. Greece has been colonized and culturally reorganized various times since, by the Orthodox Christians, the Ottoman Turks, and more. 

Still . . . there was one participant in the group who is originally from Greece. She often functions as an interpreter for the English-speaking group with local people. When I mentioned the Titans, or first generation of Greek deities, that were not people but forces of nature that one would interpret, second, and revere rather than control, it was clear that she knew what I was talking about. She even gave us the name of Gea spelled and prononuced in Greek! I wish I could reproduce it here, but it will have to be for some other time, since I'm too ignorant to remember the letters of the Greek alphabet she used!

In any event, it was great to see that what I came up with in relation to Greek mythology made sense to a person who was educated in modern Greece. It must be real then, and not just a fantasy of yours truly. The day unfolded with people silently metabolizing the new ideas. Facilitator extraordinaire Dorota Owen showed great enthusiasm. One could observe the afterglow on people's faces at dinner. 

And on this note, my blog entry will come to a conclusion. I definitely will come back to Kalikalos for more summers and more groups. I also highly recommend these vacations. The cool air of a mid-mountain village, a nice residence, a cozy holistic community, access to fabulous beaches, moderate prices and the option of offering services, a sense of family, and healthy vegetarian food. What else could one expect from a vacation in Greece?!

For anyone reading this blog, and interested in knowing more about polyamory and holism, I recommend my latest book, Gaia and the New Politics of Love. Discount buy here.

For those interested in my life as Gaia, the experiment that lead to the Gaian awareness I have today, I recommend Eros: A Journey of Multiple Loves. Discount buy here.

Fianally, for those interested in fabulous holistic vacations in Greece, I recommend the Kalikalos Blog, http://kalikalos.blogspot.com, and Website http://www.kalikalos.com. Make sure you stay up to date on what's coming up and what they are doing!

Namaste,

Gaia,

a.k.a. Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio, PhD
author of Gaia and the New Politics of Love, a Silver Winner for the 2010 Nautilus Award in Cosmology and New Science, and of
Eros: A Journey of Multiple Loves, a Lambda finalist for Bisexuality in 2007

blog from Tracy

I arrived here at the Kalikalos Centre in Greece 23rd July to take part in a dynamic governance (sociocracy) training event with Emile Van Dantzig. So I found myself in a small community of people of all ages in the hills of Pilion a very short walk from the beautiful traditional village of Kissos. Immediately on arrival, I was welcomed and had a sense of connection with the place and the people.

During the opening circle of the whole community, which included our group, another group who were attending Liz Foster’s event “Loving your Shadow” and those staying here for community experience, we were asked by Jock,if we would like to share our talents with the group during our stay.

Reiki, Indian Head Massage, Language, guitar tutoring and magic were offered. I offered phobia cures and to lead a community Biodanza session for the whole group.

I received an overwhelming response from everyone that they would love to dance and also many spoke to me individually about their anxieties about expressing themselves freely in dance.

I felt excited and anxious. Excited at offering this wonderful way of expressing ourselves and coming together as a community group in the celebration of life and anxious as the group was large, over 25 people of all ages and abilities.
I sensed a need for fun, creativity, playfulness, coming together, sensitivity, with openness and engagement. I was taken to Spiti ton Kentavron (the House of the Centaur) which is the other centre here to see the wonderful open airy space for dance and movement. I plugged in my ipod and the music filled the space beautifully. I just needed to plan it now and I did!

For around two hours on Wednesday evening in the space at Spiti ton Kentavron we danced energetically, vibrantly, expressively, softly, responsively. Having the opportunity to offer this was wonderful for me. I observed moments between individually and the group that touched me deeply. During one dance which involved movement together with our hands. I observed two mothers with their daughters united in affective heart connections and it was as if there was a reverence radiating from their small group formation.

Another dance that touched me deeply was between a mother and her young daughter of just 7 years where with just one finger connecting them they moved together in absolute connection to the soft harmonies.
|These two centres are great places working together offering holistic community in a sustainable environment where people can express themselves creatively. The events that are delivered here are those which help us develop in ways that maybe we never imagined were possible….Thanks for this…..

I would recommend a stay here to anyone and maybe see some of you again next year ….I look forward to dancing through life with you all.

Much love Tracy
x

July 2010 in Kalikalos

Hi,
I am Jann from Stuttgart/Germany. I have spent almost two weeks now here as a staff orientee on Campus and I just want to let you know, what's going on here!

The first week here (July 2-9) there was a workshop about the mystery of intimitate relationships. It was a wonderful group with much good energy, and I really enjoyed the community including staff, community guests and participants. We went to all of the wonderful beaches around, cooked delicious meals, did some gardening, shared personal things in a daily circle.

I needed some days to arrive but now I have adapted to this place.

The second week (July 9-16) there is a workshop about experimental drawing and painting with very nice people from the U.K. They are a very creative group and I guess they really enjoy this place: the garden, the nourishing food, the great atmosphere here.

Anyone considering to decide if he/she will come to this place, I can recommand it.

There are yoga lessons in the roundhouse twice and a wonderful Facilitator in Residence, Sharon from the U.S.A. She teaches creative writings for everyone who wants to.

Jann from Stuttgart/ Germany

Hello all,

Well tomorrow will offically be the end of my second week at Kalikalos. It's been an amazing experience and am already planning my trip next year. This week the staff and I were invited to a "Being Dance" workshop held by our sister camp Anilio. We've also gotten our creative energy at full force with our new art table up. I've learned a lot about community this week, building open relationships, and being confident in myself. It will be sad to leave tomorrow but I will leave knowing that I gained more than a suntan out of my Greek holiday. Look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Amy Mo

Jackson, WY

Hello all,

The week is unfolding here at Kalikalos. I arrived at the center over a week ago and have been finding my niche. The sun is shining and the beaches are sparkling clear. We set to work last week to welcome the sacral massage workshop lead by Helen Rohlicek and Susan De Muynck of England. The staff and I got to be test bodies and quite enjoyed it!

Also in participation was Dr. Ian Tenant, a reporter from Resurgence magazine. Look for Ian's article about the Centres in the next few months.


This week we're hosting the Non Violent Communication (NVC) work shop already underway. The days are very busy here and very satisfying. We've all been working hard and enjoying long afternoons next to the Aegean Sea. Even after just one week the staff has built a very deep connection and a successful community. I look forward to the coming weeks!

-Amy Mo
Jackson Hole, WY

New Roundhouse is Up!

Those of you who have been following this blog will know that last September our 7m diameter round group room was destroyed by a thunderstorm that dumped gallons of water on the canvas roof sections, which collapsed in the night breaking nearly all the members of the reciprocal framed structure.

As this is the main group room at the Kissos campus, this was a disastrous loss. The structure was built by Nigel Hilton and volunteers during the 2002 season at Anilio and had been moved in 2008 to the Kissos campus.

So the first priority for the May workcamp at Kissos was to rebuild a new Roundhouse. Ivor Fletcher from Oxfordshire came out for the entire May workcamp and designed the new structure. Working closely with Mark Taplin, Ivor built himself a workbench from old pallets and basically rebuilt the structure from scratch, making some necessary changes to pitch so that water would not accumulate in the canvas roof sections and ensure that the new Roundhouse would be immune to the problem that destroyed the original structure.

The photos above show the last stages of the work, with most of the camp helping to align the beams, and finally Ivor putting the cap in place.



The final photo shows Gina Lawrie's NVC group at work in the new roundhouse. Kudos to Ivor, Mark and all the team for their commitment to finishing the new roundhouse in record time and well within budget as well. Next May: we hope to bring Ivor back to construct a roundhouse for the Anilio campus where the postholes from 2002 are ready and waiting!

Jock Millenson, 2010 Kissos Coordinator

Workcamp Novice

It was a bit of a leap in the dark, but I had seen the Kalikalos brochure last year, and had thought then that a week or two working in the sunshine with congenial people would be just the thing for me. Due to pressure of work, I had to cancel my trip last year, and so when invited to come this year I jumped at the opportunity.

I had heard that the Pelion (or Pilio) was beautiful, but nothing prepared me for the scenery as Jock drove me up from Volos and over the mountains to the east of the peninsular where the two "campuses" that make up Kalikalos are situated, in two mountain villages, a couple of miles apart.

I went first to Anilio - a wonderfully rural setting on the edge of a village that straggles along the road, houses clinging to the hillsides, which are clothed in forests of chestnut. I arrived, as I so often seem to do when I go on holiday, on a cold wet evening when I needed all the clothes I had bought from England. The villages are quite high (500 metres or so) and so have a milder climate, with rain at times. Over the next few days it warmed up and we set to work to finish the jobs outstanding before the first group of workshop attendees appeared.

This meant building a shade out of timber and bamboo matting outside one of the buildings to give some more shade for when the heat of summer comes. We also worked to bring the group room into shape - which involved putting back in place the roof, walls and floor that had been stored away safely over the winter. The result was a beautiful space big enough for dancing and movement, and with one side open to the forest.

I've now moved to the other part of Kalikalos at the village of Kissos. This is on the edge of the village centre, and one is much more aware of the community around the centre. The same daily rhythms of breakfast, meeting, work, lunch, beach, work, dinner apply as at Anilio, with lots of delicious vegetarian wholefood cooking. I am sure I have lost weight on the trip, and feel a whole lot better than I did a week ago. This is a great place - I hope to be coming back again some day.

Rob

May 2010 2 week work camp

The first group arrived in the two centres last week to get the places organized for the workshops that start in June.

The places are closed over winter so all the gardens have to be replanted and rooms opened and cleaned out. The tents and yurt need to be put and the kitchen reorganized and cleaned.The big project going on here is rebuilding the roundhouse where most workshops will be held. Lots of cleaning and unpacking are needed.

Then there is the daily rhythms of cooking, buying food and cleaning up that must be done alongside getting the place ready.

All this is done by a group of people from various parts of the world who for the most part do not know each other. There is a mix of ages from 19 to sixty.

An important part of the daily rhythms is to have a morning sharing to keep us connected to each other and to our own inner emotions. Its a time for planning the day ahead and dealing with practicalities as well as clearing tensions.

We also gather for meals holding hands for a moment to be present to the group and the food and gratitude for being here.

Of course there are the rhythms of socializing. Most days include an afternoon at the beach and socializing over meals. I especially like it when the 2 houses get together for a meal which leads to guitar playing and singing. We also had an evening meal out at one of the lovely seaside retaurants.

This place is set in some spectacular mountain scenery that overlooks the ocean. The bus ride in was long and very winding but stunning in its beauty. The tiny village is quaint with its fountains and cobblestoned road and square. Roses are blooming everywhere amidst the greenery. The weather has been sunny and just hot enough to be comfortable.

I wait for the next week to unfold.

Sharyn and daughter Kylee from New Zealand