Annual Retreat

I’ve been missing! But I’m back! Well, for a few days at least.

So what have I been up to? Well it’s summer for me and I’m fortunate enough not to work for most of the summer so I like to adventure, explore and relax and that’s why I don’t write much during this time.

But I just wanted to tell you about the importance of ‘retreating’ or going on a ‘retreat’ and also share with you the beautiful island of Mallorca,which is such a misunderstood island.

I’m not 100% adventure, everyone needs to crash at least once a year, and I go on an annual ‘retreat’ where there is no routine or structure. I have done this for a few years now. I’ve had my little summer trek earlier in summer but that’s not a retreat as you are not alone, you meet lots of people and you are not resting, it’s hard work, especially when you overpack your rucksack! But I’ve come to realise that the reason I like my caminos, my treks and my active holidays are that I’m in my comfort zone. My body and mind are active. Yes, I’m in nature, but my day is still ruled by structure. Get up, breakfast, walk, lunch, washing, plan and prepare for next day, dinner, bed. If I’m honest with myself, I can’t really cope with the absence of structure and having nothing to do because I don’t know how to be still, I start to become restless quite quickly. My whole working day is spent sorting out problems and reacting to various situations quickly and efficiently, bringing up children you do the same, so it becomes habit and if you are not careful you end up being in a constant state of alertness and almost anticipatory anxiousness ready to take on the next challenge. That is why it is so important to ‘retreat’. Spend some time in a place where there is no structure, no plan, you can be still, just a week of nothingness, to think, be with yourself in the present moment, and chill. I make myself do it. I feel so restless on day one, but I soon adjust.

It’s a well know fact that I don’t like being in the UK, even though I’m British born and bred. I spend very little of my summer or any holiday there. I love my Yorkshire, but other than that I dislike the culture, values and I can’t wait to get out of there. I’ve already spent four weeks out of the county since June. I’m now one day back from Mallorca and I just can’t bear it. Not being due back at work until the end of August, I’m already fully intending to jet off again in around a week for another little week of walking or adventure. I’ll go anywhere I can find a cheapish flight to, but I do gravitate towards Italy or Spain as that’s where I’m happiest and where I feel comfortable and at ‘home’ even though it’s not home.

So the ‘retreat’. What is it, where is it, and what do I do? Well, the dictionary definition of to retreat is, ‘to withdraw from enemy forces’. I suppose it is in a way but I am also acutely aware that the ‘enemy’ is myself, and the pressure I place on me! A better description might be ‘an act of moving back or withdrawing to a period or place of seclusion for the purposes of prayer, meditation, rest and relaxation.’ Yes, that is almost it, apart from the fact that there is no praying on my retreat, but there is definitely thinking, rest and relaxation.

Where do I go? Well, I disappear into the countryside and mountains of Mallorca and I plan nothing. I rest, relax, exercise, eat, read and immerse myself in the local culture. That’s about it. I get up early, don’t go to bed awfully late, and do whatever I fancy each day I get up. I don’t go on my phone except for that once a day check in on my parents, and I don’t watch TV or listen to the news.

So, who else goes on this retreat…………….well no-one really! It’s not one of those organised retreats for women or anything like that it’s just a lovely villa out in the mountains, near the old town of Pollenca which I have rented for a number of years now from a lovely Mallorcan family, Guillermo and his daughter Maria. There are no neighbours, just the jingle of goat bells, sheep bells, crickets, frogs in the pond and the backdrop of the mountains. It is gorgeous and every year I arrive, I feel like I’ve come home, and every year I leave, it just confirms the fact that I won’t retire in the UK! I can’t tell you exactly where it is or it will get booked up and I won’t be able to get a reservation next time!😂 I don’t want to over publicise it!

The retreat was slightly hampered this year by the very late addition of a son to the booking. However, he’s had a bit of a tough year at Uni, was in need of his own little retreat and we do get along well. The ground rules were laid i.e. pretend I’m not there and look after yourself unless you want to do what I’m doing! So off we went, and that is the purpose of this post; to advise everyone to have an annual retreat. It can be anywhere, at any time, but just ensure you completely withdraw from your everyday life and just have an unstructured rest and relax.

Why do I go to Mallorca? I believe Mallorca is one of the most underrated and misunderstood destinations ever. You might be thinking “Why on earth does she ‘retreat’ to Mallorca?” as images of Magaluf spring to mind. Yes, the good old British have given Mallorca and Magaluf its reputation as the Mediterranean’s lively, brash, party capital. Statistics say that in the summer 50% of Magaluf will be aged 18 to 25 years of age. And having driven through as fast as allowable, I can confirm most will be semi-naked, drunk and British. No, I don’t go there. I avoid the south coast completely. Mallorca has a mountain range that runs from the south west port of Andratx, right up to the top of the north coast at Formentor. That mountain range, and the towns and villages within it, are gorgeous. There is a path, the GR221 which takes 8 days to walk which goes the full length of the mountain range. I walked it in May 2022 and it is beautiful. If the idea of Mallorca appeals but the notion of a ‘retreat’ doesn’t, I recommend doing the walk as you will see all the best parts of Mallorca.

I base myself just outside Pollenca (not to mistaken with livelier Port de Pollenca). Pollenca is in the north east corner of the mountains. It is a beautiful little old town surrounded by farms and mountains. So what did I do and why do I love it here?

First of all I love the villa because I feel at home, safe in the middle of nowhere, and the family are lovely. I wake early here, to the sound of sheep bells and crickets. At around 6:30am to 7am I usually go for a run. Guillermo, who must now be in his 80’s is always outside. He lives in town but comes every morning really early to clean the pool and tend his orchards before it gets too hot. We have a little conversation in my very poor Spanish and off I trot, sometimes with running partner, sometimes on my own, depending on whether he’d surfaced in time. I know it sounds ironic but I actually relax and meditate while I’m running. I never listen to music while I run, which I know a lot of people do. I like to listen and look around me and take everything in, I find music a distraction. I stop and talk to animals which some people find a bit strange but try it, it’s fun and they are so perceptive and communicative. I had a much more meaningful conversation with a pig one morning than I did with my son. He had his little ears pricked up listening to me and every time I finished my sentence he replied with his grunts. I’ve no idea what he said but he was so cute.

So I did hill reps up the steps in town, jogs around the lanes in the mountains and one very steep run to the top of Puig de Maria, all 866 feet of it with my entrance to the summit and very near collapse, unknowingly at the time, expertly captured 35 seconds into the video.

After my little run I like to sit in the garden and have my morning coffee and breakfast by the pool. Often Guillermo has left me a little gift for my breakfast……..usually figs in August.

I love gardens and this one is just beautiful. So may pretty flowers that we don’t get at home due to the climate. There are butterfly/moth type creatures and a garden pond full of frogs which I can watch for hours. There are eagles and kites and so many other bird species. So I spend an awful lot of time either reading or taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the garden.

Then there is the pool! It’s beautiful. I love to swim but I have mentioned before that I have a bit of a phobia about putting my head under water. I have a son who is like a fish and his one task this week was to teach me how to dive. Now, I think we were a bit ambitious. But I did manage to swim a length with my face in the water (my delight at the end is evident), and I achieved probably the most un-straight pencil jump into the deep end ever seen. But it’s progress!

So mornings and early afternoons are spent reading, relaxing and floating about on a lilo.

What else do I like about Pollenca and Mallorca ………. oh yes ……………food!! Particularly the two ‘E’s – Ensaimada and Empanada both of which you will find in the Panderia or Pastisseria, which it does not take me long to find.

An Empanada is like a little savoury pie with golden crispy pastry, delicious! An Ensaimada I like to have outside my favourite café in the square on my way back from my run. That’s like a twirl of sweet pastry/bread type dough covered in icing sugar. Perfect with a café con leche! And I also found a chocolate Ensaimada this year….oh yes!

My other two favourite foods in Mallorca are seafood, shellfish in particular and I had the most delicious Spaghetti con Frutti de Mare. It had scallops, clams, razor clams, lobster, crab claws, squid and mussels in it.

The other dish that Mallorca is well known for is shoulder or lamb. And I love this too!!

And of course we all know I love ice cream and the best discovery this year was that the Heladeria now has Ensaimada flavour ice cream!!! But it also does one of my all time favourite flavours Pistachio so there was only one thing to do to solve the problem……………..DOUBLE SCOOP!

Now I know it’s meant to be a ‘retreat’ but in the evenings I do like a little party! And the good thing about Mediterranean countries are that they have the most spectacular festivals. We just don’t have them like this in the UK and further west. Political correctness and health and safety has just taken the fun out of everything. In the UK we are now dismantling statues, re-naming buildings, and attempting to erase the history of anyone who upset anyone. I find it so sad because history is history, it’s in the past and if we don’t continue to educate the next generations about the wrongs in history as well as the rights how do we ensure the wrongs don’t happen again? They are lessons to be learnt.

Anyway, rant over. My visit this year coincided with the Patrona festival. Possibly the most politically incorrect festival I have ever seen!! This would never even get through the planning stage in the UK. So what is it. It’s a big battle re-enacted in the town square of a battle which took place long ago, in 1550, between the Christians and the Moors (or Muslims). Can you just imagine the uproar at home if that was suggested! All the town takes part. You can decide whether you are a Christian or a Moor but if you are a Moor you have to black your face. Being from the UK it felt really strange to see as the whole thing would be deemed as racist but it was so refreshing to see that the world has not gone completely mad. Pollenca today has a Muslim population as well as a Catholic population and it was lovely to see them all coming together to party, with Muslims dressed as Christians, Christians dressed as Muslims, and everyone taking part in the spirit in which it is meant and not getting upset about it.

So what happens? Now this is the bit where health and safety has completely ‘gone out of the window’. Basically you get a big stick (the bigger the better, it seemed to be he who has the biggest stick wins), or a heavy wooden sword will do. The Moors come from one side of town, the Christians come from the other. Someone pretends to be Captain Joan Mas who led the Christians in 1550 and shouts ‘the Moors are here’ and basically what follows is a couple of hours of what can only be described as each side absolutely beating the ‘shit’ out of each other with big sticks. There are guns (very loud with blanks) and all sorts. It all concludes with a huge firework display at 11pm and then hundreds of drunk soldiers staggering around the town until the following morning, when sides taken are forgotten, and everyone is friends again. It was fantastic and I’m so glad I got to see it.

The festival was on the night of the supermoon, so the night concluded with my other favourite end of night pastime. Lying on my sunbed around the pool watching the stars and the moon. It is so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

The north of Mallorca also has some beautiful coves and beaches and my favourite is Cala Molins a short drive away. So if I do feel like re-entering civilisation I drive to this beach for a swim as it’s always quite busy and the sea is beautifully turquoise and clear.

So the week was over far too quickly. I always book a late afternoon flight home because on my last day I like to go the scenic way back to the airport, extending my ‘retreat’ as long as possible, and drive all through the mountains, past the lakes and reservoirs and stop at the small villages on the way for coffee. It truly is the most beautiful island if you know where to visit and I can’t imagine not having my annual Mallorca ‘retreat’.

I’ve really got Mallorca blues this week after only 24 hours of being back but feel so much better for shutting off from the world and everything in it for a while. I’ll just have to ease my blues by looking to see where I might go for my final week of summer adventures next week or the week after. Where will it be??