Spring Workcamp at Kalikalos

The first two weeks of month-long Spring workcamp at Kalikalos ended yesterday. When we arrived here on 6 May, we found a vertible jungle of growth on the 1 acre estate, with weeds up to our hips and the little 9-room hotel we rent full of cobwebs accumulated from 7 months without use.

Nine enthousiastic workcampers went right to work, first setting up the yurt which we use for meetings and 1-1 healing sessions as well as serving as our "Blue Saloon" for intimate overnights. Our fleet of three red micras had to be uncovered, jump started, and one by one driven down to Volos to Apostoli's Nissan garage for new batteries, tyres and other bits and pieces.

Once the yurt was up Roger Doudna and Rolf Iversen went to work on re-erecting the 7m diameter reciprocal framed roundhouse which is stored over the winter. This is a tricky job getting all the pieces fitted together so that the canvas sections provide a waterproof space for workshops.

Sally Collings took on the job of digging the vegetable beds and Louise Williams immediately went to work on the estate grounds clearing the roses and hydranges of weeds and in general turning the jungle into something reasonably resembling a hotel grounds.  Jeffrey Andrioni and Adelheid Hansen were our jack and jills of all trades helping out wherever needed, and Ruhanna helped to produce some incredibly delicious Indian meals. Jeffrey's wry humour keep us all in a good mood even tho the weather during the first 4 days of the workcamp resembled Scotland more than Greece.

By the second week most of us were down on the beach at Ag. Ioannis in the afternoons, and the transformation of the estate was progressing rapidly. In the final four days the team leveled a space on the upper terrace allowing Rolf to build the new "shoebox" sanctuary which we blessed with a meditation on Thursday. That night we celebrated our fortnight's accomplishments with a meal out at the local Ag Dimitrious taverna.

Now the group has shrunk to just four of us for the last two weeks of the camp as we turn out attention to planting the vegie beds, spring housecleaning and readying the rooms for workshop participants who arrive on June 3 for the first retreat of the season: THE SPIRIT OF SELF ENQUIRY. There are still places available on this, and most of the other retreats and workshops of the 2011 season. Visit the Kalikalos programme page for details and to book.