Las Xanas: Trail of the Nymphs…not for the faint of heart

One of my favorite quotes to share on a Hiking & Yoga Retreat is from Ellen Degeneres. She explained, in her most serious voice, ” You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven today and we don’t know where the hell she is!”

Last week, Rocky and I spent a fabulous week hiking in the Quirós Valley, about an hour and a half from where we live. This was our sixth time since 2017 to host the Spain Hiking & Yoga Retreat at Hotel Fuentes de Lucia. The hotel is located in the tiny village of Faedo which currently boasts 6 residents.

Owners, Judy and Juan Carlos bought a 700 year old farm house about a dozen years ago and converted it into a hotel, keeping all of the charm, stone walls, nooks and original wood beams but upgrading the plumbing, electricity and adding all of the comforts of a modern hotel. In addition, they created a beautiful yoga space with windows facing the valley so that as you do your practice, you can take in the natural beauty of the rural countryside. I never tire of this view!  More about the hotel

Hosting a retreat starts a year or longer in advance when guests are first encouraged to make a commitment. This year we welcomed a large group of Dana Keegan’s Y12SR (Yoga for 12 step recovery) students to the retreat as well as a few others who were quickly absorbed into the group.

Most adults in the Recovery Community have faced challenges in their path to recovery and have learned how to lean into their tools and their Higher Power to meet each new obstacle. Not unlike other yogis, those in recovery, learn the value of not attaching to any expectations but to stay open and curious about what they will encounter. They also put the good of their community ahead of their own interests, supporting each other in big and little ways whenever possible.

These life habits not only make those who follow them kinder, more understanding humans, but it makes them great travelers as well. Practicing yoga together, walking side by side on hikes and sharing meals with this year’s retreat group was inspiring and has left me savoring the many memories we created.

We started with a half hour of silent hiking each day to help us breathe in the beauty of the mountains, forests and rural settings we were exploring. During this quiet time, when I wasn’t distracted by a mossy old farm gate, ancient rock wall or a cute cow, my thoughts wandered to goals…mine and those of our retreat guests.

One woman who had knee surgery some time ago, worried that she would not be able to manage the 6-9 mile daily hikes in spite of the training she put in before the retreat. She admitted that she lost her nerve and almost dropped out of the retreat several times before it even started. During the week though, each time she was given a choice of a moderate or more challenging route, she chose to do the tougher climb. By the end of the retreat, she had proven to herself she could do anything she decided to do. Each summit she reached, her huge smile and her hiking pole waving in the air, was all we needed to see how much these personal accomplishments meant to her.

More than one guest confessed to me while we hiked that they had also worried whether they would be able to manage the hikes. Each had a different reason: they felt out-of shape; they had not trained on many hills; or they felt too old or slow. Not one person gave up though. Sometimes advanced practice looks like taking the more moderate route when you are tired instead of moving into depletion.

Of course, I had my own concerns going into this retreat. It was at this same retreat last August that I discovered I had AFib. I struggled with each step we hiked that week and then started a six month journey back to health. Every step I took this past week was a reinforcement of how far I’d come. My heart felt strong and going up each incline proved that my hiking days were far from over. The relief had me doing a little happy dance!  Click here if you missed my broken heart blog

Each of us took one step in front of the other on this retreat. Sometimes the steps became a walking meditation, especially when the incline seemed to go on forever and ever. “Where is the summit,” we wondered, “Surely it is just around this next bend?” and then we kept going. The pride of accomplishing a daily hiking goal more than made up for the often breathless, sweaty struggle to get to the end.

For another guest, eating Spanish food was the biggest challenge. She normally doesn’t like beans or many veggies and definitely doesn’t like fish or meat. Never once did she complain about the food though, even when she chose to make a meal of just bread, rice and dessert. She never demanded special treatment but took care of her own needs with an abundance of grace and humor. With the encouragement of her friends, she even tried four new foods while she was on retreat and surprised herself by liking them. Another personal goal achieved!

A few of our guests were new to yoga. Practicing yoga is not a requirement for attending any of our retreats. One guy showed up enthusiastically for every class in spite of it being his first time ever to try yoga. He not only left his ego at the door, which is difficult to do, but this sweet guy asked for guidance and alignment cues to make sure he was getting the most out of every practice.

Another guy traveling with his wife, admitted that he didn’t really like yoga but knew at some level that it was good for him and decided to attend as many classes as possible. His wife faced her own fear: a fear of heights. Before we hiked Las Xanas, the Trail of the Nymphs, she shed nervous tears anticipating the difficult trail. She was proud and confident by the end, that she had safely accomplished her goal and had not given in to her fear.

In our adult lives, we often lose sight of personal goals. We are no longer trying to pass a test or a grade in school or even graduate. In addition to introducing you to another country or culture, retreats can be a way to reset your intentions and to re-evaluate what is working in your life and what could use some tweaking. Setting aside a week during which someone else makes you delicious food, cleans up the kitchen and even makes your bed so that you can focus on hiking, doing yoga, sitting in mediation, taking naps and absorbing beauty is often the best medicine for our busy lives.

At closing circle on the final night of our retreat, my heart was bursting open with all of the personal triumphs our guests shared from their week. Our youngest guest had no trouble with the hiking. In fact, she and another super hiker were often so far ahead of the rest of us that we would lose site of them till the end.  That said, she reflected on the fact that this was her first solo international retreat without her mom. Considering some people wait decades to travel on their own, I was really inspired by her courage and hope this is just the beginning of a life of adventure for her.

Our oldest guest at 79, had her own powerful insights, it seems. When it was her turn to speak, she got everyone’s attention by saying, “I like to drink. And I thought that you couldn’t have fun if you didn’t drink. I learned this week that I was wrong. You have all showed me how much fun you can have without drinking alcohol. This realization is going to help me to understand a member of my own family better going forward. And for this, I thank you.”

Next year Rocky and I will return to Chamonix in the French Alps in June. When you sign up for a Jeni’s Global Yoga Trips retreat, you get more than a week of  inspiring hikes and yummy food. You get my encouragement from the minute you sign up to start counting your daily steps. One step in front of the other, gradually increasing your steps so that when you arrive on retreat you can enjoy the ups and downs of every hike. Guaranteed you will have days between now and then when you don’t want to get off the couch. You’ll also start to notice how much easier it gets as you take each step.

If you sign up with a friend or partner, you instantly become walking and traveling buddies, keeping each other accountable on your journey to prepare for the alpine adventure. Do you have to be comfortable hiking 7-10 miles per day right now? Not at all. Not even by next month. You have a year to prepare. Curious about the Chamonix Retreat?

Take Ellen Degeneres’ advice and start walking five miles every day. Or even one mile to begin your journey. Start now and you won’t have to wait until you are 96 to experience the thrill of looking at Mont Blanc or staying in a chalet overlooking the mountains in Les Houches, France. Who knows where this path will take you? It begins with just one step in front of the other.

Hiking the Gran Balcon Nord outside of Chamonix June 2022

From the author: 

Goals don’t have to include daily hiking! We have room in two other retreats you may enjoy.

Consider joing us for more snorkel time and swimming with giant sea turtles in the Galapagos. I want the last room!

Or maybe you love pasta and walking but don’t like the idea of heights? Eat pasta and walk in Puglia!

Curious about Y12SR (Yoga for 12 Step Recovery)? I highly recommend Dana Keegan as a yoga teacher for anyone. Her practice is encouraging, inspiring and accessible. If you live in Federal Way or Tacoma, you can attend her classes in person at Three Trees Yoga. If you are in the Recovery Community, check out her online Y12SR classes. Join Dana Keegan