Last night I landed in Philly after co-leading the Solar Vortex Yoga Retreat to St Lucia with my collaborator, Beth. I am tan, rested, and content.
Last year, Beth and I offered two retreats to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. The retreats were big experiences, rich in the wonder of their location, and always dynamic with the co-creative powers of the participants. I always ask participants to complete exit surveys so that I can offer what best serves. While there is a lot of interest in recreating that experience, a lot of participants also said they would like something fly in, fly out, as opposed to fly in and then travel 4-5 hours overland as was required to reach Lake Atitlan.
I went to searching. I love the Caribbean, having studied abroad in Cuba and visited the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, but given that it's a bit more accessible, it's also often more costly. Plus, there are a lot of mega resorts in the Caribbean that have questionable labor and environmental practices. It's important to me to cultivate a unique experience that's authentic and as respectful for all involved as possible.
After a ton of research, I found Balenbouche. A series of eco-cottages spread out on a sprawling estate with several undeveloped beaches, an organic cooperative farm that feeds guests and the community, and a rich history. The northeast of the US is serviced by direct flights that are often on sale. Perfect.
The retreat sold out with a wonderful mix of participants. Each retreat experience is distinct. While the Salute the Sun retreats to Guatemala offered participants the independence of access to San Marcos town, this retreat offered participants a more remote, contemplative experience in the St Lucian country-side.
We dined on Balenbouche's main house porch. The meals were vegan, sourced from the on-site organic cooperative farm. The meals were a lovely exploration into St Lucian cuisine, which was shaped by West African, East Indian, French, and British influence. We sampled sea moss smoothies, cassava bread, and drank locally grown coffee made creamy with home-made coconut milk.
The local organic farm cared for several cows, bulls, horses, and goats. As the retreat was full, Kevin and I stayed off site at an Airbnb. As we walked to and from Balenbouche, we were greeted by this guy. I loved him.
Uta, one of the Balenbouche's owners, installed lily ponds to make the property even more beautiful. A remarkable woman with a full and vast life, she home-schooled her two daughters on the estate. She wanted to entice them to return by choice as adults, and offered her lilies to lure them back. It worked! Her daughter, Verena, manages the property and Anitanja designs jewelry and cares for her young son nearby.
Uta is such a compelling figure, I can't imagine not relishing every minute with her!
In addition to the farm, there were kitchen gardens on site. As the tropics are so distinct from our home climate, I couldn't recognize everything. I did spot lots of squashes and pumpkins, some hot climate varieties new to me. There was also okra, cucumbers, peas, malabar spinach, various greens, and tons of fruiting trees like starfruit, avocado, mango, grapefruit, sour orange, calabash, and tamarind.
Our yoga barn shows it's age from the outside, but we all treasured the space. Outside, sugar cane grows. I fell in love with watching the sugar cane leaves during practice, noticing the rain drops during the tropical showers. During yin practice the sun set, leaving palm silhouettes against the night sky. We all marveled at the stars. So many! So little competing light! We found constellations and the creamy milky way.
One evening, I snagged votives from the main house for Yin.
In the morning, we sat for meditation or practiced walking meditations weaving past the lily ponds. Then, Jivamukti yoga practice. At sunset, yin practice to soften into the evening.
The estate was once a sugar mill. The island on a whole was under French and British control at various points. St Lucia gained independence in 1979. In the early 30s, a mysterious wrench was thrust in the controls of the mill, making the slowly decrepit industry defunct. The estate fell into loose ends until Uta went on site to build farming, cooperatives with the community, and ultimately open up to guests to make the site sustainable.
The property has trails to two beaches and a third that's harder to find (we never did but I also didn't seek it out!). This beach was not swimmable but wonderful to walk to, wade around, enjoy a book, or watch the sun rise or set.
The second beach was swimmable, but I'd advise entering the water in keens as it's rocky! Once past the rocks, the water was so refreshing! I often seek out the Pacific because I like cooler water. The Caribbean waters I experienced in Cuba were so warm! I loved the water in St Lucia, as it's the juncture of the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans. The water isn't too cold but it's also not too warm. I found myself staying in the water for so long simply because it felt so wonderful!
To get a better sense of the island, we took a few excursions. Sandy Beach in Viex Fort is close to the airport. It's my favorite type of beach vibe: two little cafes, a rental shop for paddle boards, public thatch huts for shade, and sprawling beach.
It made us sort of comatose. We set up camp and promptly napped.
We alternated the excursions with days devoted to simply being at Balenbouche. Many took advantage of getting body work or energy work done by local practitioners. Above, Uta hung a curtain in the yoga barn for privacy.
Off-site, at our Airbnb in a residential neighborhood, the owner showed us how to access a public beach. Recently, the surrounding land was bought by a French developer. We had permission to cross the land to access the beach, but it totally felt like trespassing!
The ocean at the end of the road.
We showed retreat participants the beach. These coves created awesome wave patterns. Some serious body surfing went down in that water!
On Wednesday we went on the peak excursion. First, hiking the Tet Paul trail where we saw Noni fruit growing on trees and ran our fingers through lemongrass. We took a group shot by Petit Piton, missing only Nancy who was nursing a cold. She stayed back with Uta to rest.
For lunch, we visited nearby Soufriere. Jah Lamb, a local Rastafarian, created a delicious and ample vegan lunch for us in his tiny restaurant.
Afterwards, we drove down to the public beach access by the Jalousie resort to enjoy Sugar Bay and the epic view of Gros Piton.
Snorkeling in the sweet sea light. At sunset we went to the New Jerusalem Hot Springs. As the light dimmed, it was hard to get a good shot. We hiked down to a quick creek crossing. Up the mountain a bit we stumbled upon a volcano heated hot bath that flowed into a lower mid-temperature bath and then onto a cool bath. The cool bath felt like an infinity pool over the towering waterfall. The springs were largely undeveloped. You soaked in the warm waters and watched the jungle around you.
Shabee drove us on these excursions. He also took several participants to Ladera resort so they could dine at the famous Dasheene restaurant. On Friday night, several other participants joined Shabee in Gros Islet for the weekly street party.
The menfolk AKA the Knights of the Solar Vortex! Refreshed and awaiting luggage when they returned to Philly.
I'm sure more photos will emerge as we only landed last night. Plus, one of our participants and my friend, Sue, is a professional photographer! I loved this shot of Malika and Giuliana taking an afternoon stroll through the grounds. It captures the atmosphere of our time at Balenbouche: warm, dreamy, enchanting.
If you're interested in joining a retreat, check the listings on my website. Also, know that the next big international retreat will be in Hoi An, Vietnam, next January! Enrollment opens in early March. Stay tuned on my site and blog for information.
