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| Beautiful Ibiza |
Life has taken a few new turns and flipped 180
° in the last couple of weeks; I went from having quiet days in Devon to silent nights in Islay and then finally flew back to England where the riddim changed again... R and his mates held their first event 'Moonlight' on the rooftop of an abandoned building in the middle of Birmingham; it was pure magic that was created that night amongst friends and family. A day later, as the sparkles were fading from our eyes we boarded a plane to... Ibiza.
And now we're finally settled in our new home! After all the commotion of the last few weeks, I sat still and closed my eyes; the shrill song of crickets permeated my eardrums and the odd interlude of birdsong added a sweet contrast to the harsh, dry morning. It's August now, a notoriously hot month in Ibiza; at 10am, the sun is already beating down on the pine trees and the dust particles from the roads are steadily rising. Our stark white villa and the few others that can be seen scattered around the red, earthy landscape glow like diamonds in a baron land. The turquoise pool in front of me adds to the mirage as do the beautiful tanned boys and girls that are intermittently draped around the poolside in teeny weeny bikini bottoms with bare nipples, it is all pretty surreal; DJ's, clubs, villa's, beaches, blue blue seas, breathtaking skylines and the most stunning selection of people as though each one has been carefully selected for a beach holiday shoot. I marvel at the sights; gorgeous girls parading their clubs logo down the beach to the beats of their resident DJ's, big hunky lads in tiny shorts strutting along Bora Bora beach with their guns blazing, eyes bulging and faces full of glitter; stray rastas blissed out with grins on their faces and celebrity couples sipping on cocktails at 'Cafe del Mar'.
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| Happy happy days |
But aside from the flash and the grime of the party scene, I'm also discovering another side to Ibiza life. One evening, soon after I'd arrived a few of us lay on the rooftop watching the milky way and the vast expanse of stars in the night sky; when all the lights are off in the middle of the country side the view of the sky is so crystal clear. The wise words of Alan Watts dubbed over a spacey backing track sounded through the speakers; the perfect soundtrack as we all lay, humbled by the grandiosity of the universe that engulfed us. With each shooting star I saw, I repeated the affirmation that I'd been meditating on; I trust that I will find a routine that is creative, fun and fulfulling. I went to sleep that night with stars in my eyes.
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| N's birthday breakfast |
The next day I decided to join my housemate L on a run. I wanted to get out of the villa, shake off the session and attempt to understand the geography of our surroundings. 10 of us share this beautiful villa that is situated in a remote spot between two lovely towns, Santa Gertrudis and Sant Matteu in North Ibiza. There is not a lot when it comes to surrounding infrastructure besides a few other villas that only hold aesthetic value. We tied our laces and started off, leaving a trail of dust behind us. We ran along the rows of pine trees that offered some much needed shade from the searing heat of the midday sun. As we curled around the windy roads we passed the idyllic little church that sits gracefully next to the other simple, rustic buildings that make up this pueblito (mini town). There were two little restaurants dotted along the side of the road and outside one in capital letters was written 'YOGA' - an unmistakable sign. I jogged through the dark, wooden door frame, red faced and out of breath to try my luck and potentially land a very convenient teaching gig. The owner listened to L and I blurt out all the Spanish we could think of in an attempt to get me a job. He listened to what we had to say, displaying no sign of amusement and then explained that they did not need any yoga teachers but perhaps they needed a waitress. He told me to return the next day to speak to his wife so I jogged on with their business card in hand, feeling hopeful that something new was on the horizon.
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| A beautiful visit from J! |
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| Ibiza famalam |
The next day I went to speak to the owners wife... I'd debated going because I was feeling slightly anxious about my Spanish interview skills and had not yet been to sleep after my first all nighter at DC10. But R gave me a pep talk and after a lot of reassuring self-talk I decided to man up, change into some new clothes and walk there to build up some energy, it was only around the corner after all... I lead us down a beautiful road lined with pine trees just like the one we'd been down the other day. But after about 20 minutes we were still walking and there was no little church in sight... another 20 minutes passed and the heat began to do funny things to my brain. I sat down in the middle of the road, like a cross little girl waiting to be given an ice cream and carried the rest of the way. It was too hot to keep going and my confidence regarding my directional skills had veered off at the last bend. R sat down with me, positive as always and we talked it out until I was ready to carry on; we had to get out of the middle of the road at some point. Sweat was dripping down my face and as I stood up my dress stuck to my body, that shower I'd just had felt like it was so long ago now. The dry landscape was losing its romantic appeal as the never ending road wiggled in front of us for miles with no sign of a church. R pulled his phone out and good ol' Google Maps saved the day; I'm all about nature walks but it must be said, technology is bloody great sometimes. 1 hour after leaving the house, we'd arrived at the restaurant 'down the road'... it seemed we had gone down the wrong road to begin with and my directional skills perhaps needed a bit of fine tuning but at least we'd had a nice walk?
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| Road breaks |
The restaurant Can Cires was sweet; typically Spanish, quaint and rustic. As R and I waited for the owners wife, V to appear, a bright green parrot that was perched on the top of a chair looked at us with its beady red eyes incessantly repeating 'hola, hola, hola'. Bloody hell, what was I doing having a job interview after a session, I covered my head with my hands and took a deep breath. V came over to us and sat down; thankfully, she spoke English so half the pressure was off. I told her my story and she explained her vision. She wanted to bring the community together and create something different with the space but she needed someone to help create it. She showed us the beautiful, new outdoor yoga studio in the back garden with a view of the pine forests; a light breeze blew through and the cry of crickets began. We sat down on a wooden bench and began brainstorming ideas about holding yoga classes, workshops, talks... R mentioned that I loved to cook, the seed was planted and suddenly we were talking logistics of how to host an Indian themed dinner for 30 people... in one weeks time... what!? We left that restaurant 40 minutes later feeling completely baffled and overjoyed. That went better than expected, I thought. A creative opportunity to teach yoga, bring people together and hold creative events!? Yes. Manifestation: the process of giving energy to your dreams and turning them into your reality. It is a beautiful thing.
As we walked home I felt grateful; the heat didn't matter now, the nerves had gone and the calm was setting in. We walked passed a small opening in the pine trees and I held R's hand and lead him through the gap into a clearing in the forest. The floor was covered with a bouncy layer of dried pine needles. We lay down and looked up through the circle of blue sky above our heads. I could feel the special quality of this island, it is built on crystal rock after all... I get the feeling that it has the effect of amplifying your intentions and I was learning to just be patient and let it happen. I was no longer in the rat race and things flowed at a different pace now, it was OK to slow down. The branches of the trees swayed lightly in the breeze; after being vertical on the tarmac road in the heat of the day, surrendering to gravity brought a real sense of relief. I felt like I was looking down on us lying there in the dappled sunlight, surrounded by pine needles; it was like the closing scene of a movie...
After a while, we stood up and began wondering back. Around the last bend on a stone by the side of the road sat a little, old Spanish lady, Una Abuelita. Her face was worn and full of brown wrinkles from the Spanish sun. She wore a simple, blue dress and a pair of sandals and was sat in the shade with her hands on her knees just observing life. What a beautiful scene, I thought. So simple and symbolic of local life here that functions at its own pace and pays respect to the importance of stillness and rest. It was a nice contrast to the non-stop movement of the parties, the glitz and the glamour. There is so much magic to absorb every moment here. R and I have carefully created our space of stillness within the locomotion and we are now diving head first in to the deep blue waters of this Mediterranean paradise. Over the next few days we began to discover what was beneath the surface as we engaged in our first creative pursuit, a night in India. To get there was a wavy journey to say the least but I'll save that for next time...
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25KdkTipTJ0
The restaurant Can Cires was sweet; typically Spanish, quaint and rustic. As R and I waited for the owners wife, V to appear, a bright green parrot that was perched on the top of a chair looked at us with its beady red eyes incessantly repeating 'hola, hola, hola'. Bloody hell, what was I doing having a job interview after a session, I covered my head with my hands and took a deep breath. V came over to us and sat down; thankfully, she spoke English so half the pressure was off. I told her my story and she explained her vision. She wanted to bring the community together and create something different with the space but she needed someone to help create it. She showed us the beautiful, new outdoor yoga studio in the back garden with a view of the pine forests; a light breeze blew through and the cry of crickets began. We sat down on a wooden bench and began brainstorming ideas about holding yoga classes, workshops, talks... R mentioned that I loved to cook, the seed was planted and suddenly we were talking logistics of how to host an Indian themed dinner for 30 people... in one weeks time... what!? We left that restaurant 40 minutes later feeling completely baffled and overjoyed. That went better than expected, I thought. A creative opportunity to teach yoga, bring people together and hold creative events!? Yes. Manifestation: the process of giving energy to your dreams and turning them into your reality. It is a beautiful thing. 
As we walked home I felt grateful; the heat didn't matter now, the nerves had gone and the calm was setting in. We walked passed a small opening in the pine trees and I held R's hand and lead him through the gap into a clearing in the forest. The floor was covered with a bouncy layer of dried pine needles. We lay down and looked up through the circle of blue sky above our heads. I could feel the special quality of this island, it is built on crystal rock after all... I get the feeling that it has the effect of amplifying your intentions and I was learning to just be patient and let it happen. I was no longer in the rat race and things flowed at a different pace now, it was OK to slow down. The branches of the trees swayed lightly in the breeze; after being vertical on the tarmac road in the heat of the day, surrendering to gravity brought a real sense of relief. I felt like I was looking down on us lying there in the dappled sunlight, surrounded by pine needles; it was like the closing scene of a movie...
After a while, we stood up and began wondering back. Around the last bend on a stone by the side of the road sat a little, old Spanish lady, Una Abuelita. Her face was worn and full of brown wrinkles from the Spanish sun. She wore a simple, blue dress and a pair of sandals and was sat in the shade with her hands on her knees just observing life. What a beautiful scene, I thought. So simple and symbolic of local life here that functions at its own pace and pays respect to the importance of stillness and rest. It was a nice contrast to the non-stop movement of the parties, the glitz and the glamour. There is so much magic to absorb every moment here. R and I have carefully created our space of stillness within the locomotion and we are now diving head first in to the deep blue waters of this Mediterranean paradise. Over the next few days we began to discover what was beneath the surface as we engaged in our first creative pursuit, a night in India. To get there was a wavy journey to say the least but I'll save that for next time...