After about 3 months of motherhood I decided that I had earned a sporty relax holiday with friends…..and so I booked the trip. Finally it was the 26th of May. My SUP & Yoga trip to Portugal was about to begin.
A suitcase full of sportswear, and of course a great book. I was soooo looking forward to being active, chatting with friends and eating healthy. Ehm, just let’s forget the Burger King visit immediately after our arrival in Lisbon…..oops. And…..the crisps, cheese and chocolate from the supermarket. Really really, the rest of the week I definitely had quite healthy and great food.
With four good friends on a holiday!! Caar, who had organised this entire trip through her SUP’sUP (www.supsup.nl), and Roos, Siets and me! It is always a bit exciting to see if you get along with the other travel companions. It couldn’t be better, with 14 men, well actually 13 women + cowboy Alex.
We stayed at a beautiful accommodation called Vida Pura (www.vida-pura.com). An “eco retreat” hidden in a valley near Odeceixe. Roos, Siets and I arrived exactly at midnight. So it was great to wake up and realize that we had landed in a little paradise.
Throughout the week the food was made by Hayley, an English “retreat chef”, who cooked phenomenal (www.hayleynorth.co.uk). She spoiled us. Vida Pura cultivates almost all products itself in a bio-dynamic way. The whole complex is organised in such a way that it is as self-sufficient as possible. Food, food, food, I can’t get enough of it. And certainly not on vacation. My appetite triples, even when the temperature is high and you normally eat less. When I think back to the different superfood breakfasts, I can still make my mouth water.
Food, food…..ehhh weren’t we supposed to be active this week? Haha, yes! We came to paddle on a SUP (Stand Up Paddling) board and a daily portion of yoga. We made two different and both beautiful river tours, from the beach inland until the creek became too narrow to continue. The third SUP tour was on a large lake and to put the icing on the cake we did a tour along the caves near Lagos. This last tour was at sea, which was fortunately calm. It was very special to paddle between the rocks and to even paddle through the caves.
Our SUP instructor Badger (yes his real name) put us to work every day. Goodness me, it is pretty heavy to pump up a SUP board, but secretly it is also a great warming up. Double sweet, if you are on your board afterwards. In the beginning you are still a bit wobbly, but over time you get more and more self-confidence and you can even sort of jump around on your board haha.
A year before I was standing on the same beach, check my other blog about Portugal!
Are you considering to book this holiday yourself, but do you think…mewh…yoga, that is not a thing for me? First of all, yoga is not compulsory, secondly…..the yoga should be compulsory haha. Okay I am exaggerating, I always thought that yoga used to be something for the spiritual people among us. However, I became hooked since the pregnancy yoga classes in London. It is a nice way to activate all muscles in your body and at the same time it is a moment for yourself to relax. Especially when you’re on a yoga deck, in the middle of nature, with a view on a flowering valley, birds singing, a stork passing by and a yoga teacher who says in gently Portuguese English: “Breathe in to prepare, breathe out for uhm. No effort is ever wasted. We have arrived”.
With many thanks to Caroline and Marloes for organising, Badger and Catharina for their professional classes and the ladies & Alex for their great company!
Normally all the photos I post are mine and I promised to tell if otherwise. So, in this blog the photos belong to several people of the group. I was too scared to use my brand new phone on the water or around (or I was just too lazy).
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