Kaliyoga Retreat, Las Alpujarras mountains of Spain

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Kaliyoga Retreat, Spain

These last two and a bit days at the Kaliyoga Retreat have been surprisingly full and rewarding. I found this wonderful place through a volunteer exchange program, which means in return for a few hours work each day I receive free accommodation and food. This suits me well as I'm completely broke but desperately wanting to stay longer in Spain in order to learn the language and absorb this culture I have fallen in love with!!

On Day 1 we learnt the redistribution business. Big pile of rocks gets redistributed into long line of rocks. Big pile of gravel gets redistributed onto driveway! It was tough work, causing me feel all the more sympathy for those poor concentration camp victims (Sorry, I had only just watched Schindlers List recently). But looking back at the end of the day, I and the other two volunteers (Gerrard, a Kiwi meditation instructor who has tried his hand at a great many things; and Jo, an American former Narcotics agent and Yoga-enthusiast) felt great pride at our achievement - a previously scrappy yard had been converted to a beautiful drive and entrance. At night we took a short drive to the local mountain town of Orgiva to pick up a few things and enjoy some Cervesa, Tapas and Pizza. On return we watched a movie and chatted well into the night, myself mostly just listening as the retreat founder Jonji (who is a gentle man with a love of good conversation) introduced me to many new spiritual avenues (Ley lines, EFT, NLP...), at which five years ago I would have rolled my eyes and scorned! Coming from a person of such experience and wisdom, however, I was rapped and eager to learn more.

Day 2. Today we started building an extension to the Yoga Shala - two additional rooms made using straw bale construction, a method I had never even heard of before coming to Spain. As an architect it has always bugged me that I can design a kickass $10m building but have never built anything even as big as a chicken coup! And to use such an environmentally friendly and cost effective method is an absolute dream. The extension is quite small and we are building it without foundations in order to keep it temporary and avoid planning permissions, so the building should be complete in perhaps a month and it is my plan to stay here until completion. In la noche we visited a blues night at an old converted barn, which was frequented solely by the extensive ageing ex-pat community here in Las Alpujarras. I don't blame them for wanting to spend their retirement here, but if I were them (and perhaps hopefully one day I might be!) I would like to engage the local culture and people more.

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Photos

Kaliyoga Retreat
Las Alpujarras, Spain

Kaliyoga Retreat
The new driveway and entrance

Kaliyoga Retreat
New straw bale extension to the Yoga Shala

Kaliyoga Retreat
Las Alpujarras, Spain