What’s a yoga retreat on Fuerteventura about?

Organizing the Yoga Retreat on Fuerteventura in April 2021 from scratch means investing a lot of time and energy, believe me.

Once the landing page was set up, most of the persons I’m talking to show interest ‘tell me more about it’ or know a friend who could be interested… But then, there’s Covid, and there’s maybe also a fear from the unknown. A mystical touch going with the words yoga and retreat.

That’s why I take you behind the scenes in this article.

Hiking on Pico de Zarza, Fuerteventura

Mindset for taking action

She said to me two days ago ‘You’re crazy, who’s going to travel to Fuerteventura on Easter for a yoga retreat? you waste your energy’. It’s tempting to listen to her, she’s full-grown and reasonable, would make my life far simpler.

I needed a belief to counterbalance my crazyness… and I recalled ‘live in your zone of fire, you’re going to win’. It’s maybe American motivational quote worth 2 francs, as a Swiss friend would say, not more than a pack of chewing gums. But I truly experience every day that leaving the comfort zone, acting against habits, lethargy and the surrounding’s expectations, going for new challenges with enthusiasm opens new energy channels you wouldn’t have expected.

Travelling in Covid-19 times is a challenge, but it has several advantages, the 2 most important being for me:

• you feel like travelling 20 or more years ago, no mass tourism, many places are back to pristine again
• the travellers you meet are open-minded, unafraid people having taken the same risk as you. You’re good to make new friends.

Read more about travelling in Covid-19 times in this article I wrote in January.

Accommodation

Should be the easiest step, I’ve been living and teaching yoga for two months now at the Eco Retreat Finca Artis Tirma. Yoga classes are sheltered in a round room built into the mountain, toped by a pyramid-shaped roof made of coloured glass.

Each cottage is a piece of art, the landlord being an artist. The team makes you feel welcome, ready to share time with you. Still, you at any time can find your alone time, cottages have their own kitchen and terrace.

Drawback: There are only 6 cottages. They are open for bookings on various channels.

Good luck: Sharon’s cooking for us! (her photo is in the banner) A nice breakfast buffet after the morning yoga. Lunch is light, from the box, as often we’re on excursion. The evening is for a vegetarian menu. We’ll also discover small local restaurants.

The Finca is 3 km from the Beach. As a car is reserved for the retreat, we can take you at the beach and to the village any time.

Yoga

There are hundreds of yoga teachers on Fuerteventura, I’m told, it’s Easy! No, it’s not, most of them are in the north, more popular for surf and also night-life.

We’re in the south. I contacted several teachers, and stuck with Vicky. Choosing a yoga instructor is not about what style or which school. It is about the energy she’s radiating, her ideas about conducting a yoga retreat.

Right now (mid March 2021), the rules on Fuerteventura allow a maximum of 4 yogis per class (including teacher). Till Easter this can change, up or down. The guests will be the winners! If needed, we split the classes and various levels simultaneously will be standard. Vicky also gives classes on the beach (poses are adapted to the different grounding), why not practice during the excursions?, she also guides meditations and loves mantra!

The level and intensity of the classes will be defined once the group is together, adapted to everybody’s needs. Vicky is flexible and versatile, like myself, also she loves laughing, we’ll be a great team!

Excursions

With a new friend, full of explorers’ energy, we went for climbing a hill… I won’t take you there. We got lost, off road, sliding on rocks and gravel, we probably started on the wrong side of the mountain.

Much later I met Bernhard, German living for over 30 years on Fuerteventura and official guide, he will take us around, in a secure and profitable way. The group can be split in two effort levels.

The walks are planned to last 2 to 4 hours, giving options to split the group into more and less adventurous. There are also shorter walks of half an hour of course, or following your mood on the beach.

I discovered so many great places where I would like to take you to: walk on Cofete beach (the banner photo for Yoga and Fuerteventura), cliff walks next to our village Tarajalejo, up to the highest point Pico de Zarza, dune walks in the island’s north, sunset watching in La Pared, beach walks from El Cotillo….

Once the group is complete, we sit together with a drafted program and decide which options we go for.

Chi What?

The energy in the present moment: Chi Now. Every sunrise, our landlord Elvira goes to the beach, practising a flow of movements she created. You are free to join her, she will give you some basic instructions, from where you connect with the elements, with yourself, taking you to a meditational state. This video gives you an insight, however every day the session is different.

Being together in Covid-19 times

All participants to the retreat arriving on Fuerteventura by airplane are PCR tested negative. I will myself undergo a test, the day before the start of the retreat.

From there, mask is mandatory in all public places, distances will be kept during yoga practice and also in restaurants (most are open till 22h) and at the Finca. We will try to find a reasonable way between regulations (max. 4 people around 1 table) and normality (joining tables). Read more about travelling to Fuerteventura in this article from February.

The draft program will give you “free” time for yourself. However, as per my experience with retreats, and as I wrote in 5 reasons to go for a yoga retreat, everyone arrives with his own baggage of expectations, worries and stress. After a few common sessions, the energies are levelled and very soon the group finds its harmony. You make new friends, open you to new horizons, and feel less need for alone-time. 

Gran Tarajal, Fuerteventura, March 2021

Wrap up

I could continue writing about Katharina’s Ayurvedic massage, introduction to Reiki, chanting Mantra, Sharon’s Mediterranean cuisine, but finally let’s keep a little mystery about the Yoga Retreat on Fuerteventura in April 2021. I hope you now have an idea about the week ahead and life on Fuerteventura in Covid-19 times.

I organize the place, the hosts and activities in my zone of fire: yoga, mountains and sea. The participants’ presence and intentions will make the retreat alive, fill it with their worries and joy, sharing, caring, laughter, exploring, surprises, sometimes tiredness and at the end of the day well-being and simply a feeling of normal life.

Never forget: Strangers are friends you haven’t met yet.