Italy

Italy 31 Aug - 3 Oct 2017

After 10 days in Poland visiting my family and chilling out in the mountains (Beskid Zywiecki) I went to Italy for a month. 

Initially spent some time on Amalfi Coast going to my favourite hidden beach of Tordigliano. It's in Vico Equense between Sorrento and Positano. An half an hour climb down/up in the nature with a wonderful sea view and fantastic turquoise  water is the best award after going down the cliff. Once you reach the beach the cliffs are so high that it's hard to see the end of them. The beach is mainly accessible by boasts and locals who know the trail. Outside of the season (May/June-Sept/Oct) it becomes the nudist beach. It's a very nice place for couples who want to have some intimacy...The sun comes quite late around midday and goes around 6pm. It's nice to stay there after the sun is gone behind the cliffs. The water is warm and the gentle breeze of the wind and shade create a nice temperature. When the sun is on, it's quite hot and basically the access to the sea makes such a difference so one can refresh him/herself. 

I organise the yoga sailing retreats every year in Sept 11-18. This time for the first 2 we had a storm. Therefore we had to wait in the harbour for the better weather conditions. 

The place where the boat stays is the most beautiful spot in Naples / Castel Dell'Ovo. The area near is very safe and stunning. We had some time wondering around before we took off for sailing. 

We went to Procida, Ischia and Ventotenne during the remained 5 days of yoga sailing retreat. We had such a chilled and relaxing time. Doing some yoga, swimming, sunbathing, sightseeing and eating. 

When we arrived in the harbour of Castle Dell'Ovo I've spent on the boat 1 more week, in a meantime I bought 15 pairs of discounted shoes. Naples is such a great place to buy a very nice and cheap clothes and shoes so I did. I think I'm going to be sorted out for the next few years with the shoes purchase😉

I was waiting for my parents to come over for a week at the end of Sept. We had such a great time to hike the most beautiful trail in the world with the view of Amalfi Coast - the Path of Gods (Sentiero Degli Dei). It took us 6 hours to climb down from Bomerano to Positano. The trail was not easy, very rocky and stony, not really recommended for people with vertigo. However my mom suffers from vertigo and she managed to climb from 700m hight all the way down to the Amalfi coast. My dad was just after his heart surgery 4 months earlier and he managed it so well without any problems. 

The worst was where it came to climbing down 1500 stairs to reach Positano. It heart our knees. My mom was so despaired to finish that stairs nightmare that she ran down to avoid the legs shacking affect. She hit the rode which led to Positano one hour before me and my dad. I was running down bare feet and my dad was taking it easy step by step walking down laterally to avoid the meniscus pain in his knees. 

At the end we walked by the road for another half an hour to reach the Positano beach. My mom and I jumped into the sea to regenerate the body. After that we felt like we were reborn. It was nice and refreshing. The tiredness and pain were gone. 

The path of Gods is a totally must thing to do when you come to Amalfi coast and you don't have any physical disabilities. 

I've done lots of trails in a very high mountains up to 5000m: in South America - Bolivia, Cuba; Central America - Guatemala (volcanos), India (Himalayas). Those were really stunning and special but the one in South Italy - The Path of Gods had the best panoramic view throughout the whole journey. It was the most beautiful view ever!!!!

Then we went for sailing to Procida on my friend's boat. We spent there over the weekend. It was the end of Sept and the beginning of Oct and the weather was great, clear and warm. 

Procida is such a beautiful island with a picturesque ancient colourful town which you could seen from the anchored boat in the background. With the outstanding sunrise and sunset you can jump in to the cristal transparent water and follow the colourful fish. 

Before leaving Amalfi coast we came back to Vico Equense and from there went to Piano di Sorrento. There is the most stunning view of Sorrentine coast from the restaurant's terrace. The service at the restaurant is awful but the view is incredible. There are some bunches where one can sit if you don't want to have such a bad experience at the restaurant. On top of the high tourist prices the food is disgusting. Even cappuccino is terrible. So totally not recommend place for the food but definitely the best place for the view. 

There is a 10min walk down the cave to the beach. The beach is private but there is a free sea access from a little pierre with a few stairs into the cristal clean water. The water in that bay is very calm and warm, ideal for swim.

On 3rd of Oct my parents took a flight to Poland 🇵🇱 and I went back to the UK 🇬🇧. I stayed in London for a couple of days, lead few yoga/aerial yoga/pilates classes and flew to Montenegro.

Italy - Amalfi Coast - The Path of the Gods

Italy - Naples - Sorrentinian - Amalfi coat -  Gods Path - Capri

21-26 June

Only a few days trip ended up being a quite productive and intense one. I arrived at Naples on Wednesday evening by British Airways (40£ flight tickets). A quite good value for flights to Naples from London. I met at the Gatwick airport my Brazilian friend Juliano. He used to come to my yoga classes at Third Space Tower Bridge while he was still employed as a lawyer at the  corporates companies in London. Last year he helped me out with Edinburgh Fringe to promote my aerial dance production  "Escape" LCP Dance Theatre. This year we met up in Brazil at the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro (Feb) and now we traveled together to Italy. He stayed with us (A and I) at Vico Equense for a couple of days. During that time we dragged him to the most beautiful beach on the world - Tordigliano. 

Tordigliano (Vico  Equense) - is facing the Gallipoli islands and is only accessible by the boat or by hike secretly known by locals. Antonio (A) knows the most hidden places on Amalfi coast. The bay is surrounded by the huge rocks reaching up to the sky. The sea is cristal transparent with beautiful fish and corals. You can swim and sunbath naked especially out of the pick season when there is nobody. We swam and sunbathed that day and recharged the batteries for the following day. We were ready to do something the 4 hour hike of Gods Path - Sentiero degli Dei. There are a few different routs and we choose the one from Santa Maria del Castello (Vico Equense) recommended by A all the way down to Positano. After 1.30 hour walk with a mind blowing view from the 800m high Rocky Mountains we split.  Juliano and I carried on all the way down to Positano for the next 2 and half hour  while A came back to the starting point at Santa Maria del Castello, picked up the car and drove down to Positano to pick us up. Juliano and I took 1500 stairs to go down to Positano from the moment we left the red trail. After crossing the colourful and picturesque centre of Positano we hit the beach. I jumped into the water to release my calf muscles which were in the agony stage. I was dying from the pain. Half an hour swim regenerated my body and a quick half an hour sunbath put me back on my feet. We met up with A and went to Amalfi. In Amalfi the catwalk was meant to start in hour and half. After wondering around the centre and having Yummy ice creams we decided to hit the road and go back to Vico. We were exhausted but happy after having done an enriching long walk of Golds Path and sightseeing two most visited places in the world Positano and Amalfi. 

The next day the award was waiting for us. My dearest friend Roberto invited us to spend a weekend on his boat to sail to Capri. We took the train (Circumvesuviana) from Vico to Naples (1h/2€) and walked from Naples station for three quarters of hour to the harbour - Ovo Castel to board. In total we were 8 on the boat. As soon as we arrived on the boat 11am we took off and sailed to Capri . It took us a few hours (5) sailing with the wind on our favour, at least at some point...We ended up in one of my favourite islands in South Italy. Capri is a number one destination for tourists in Italy, and this makes it a less attractive. Especially out of season Capri is a great place to be. Juliano and I went for a couple of hours swim and some hiking all the way up. As we reached the top of the hill we were about to cross the road to see the sunset by Vesuvius on the other side of Capri facing the Napolitanian bay. As we both were in bathing costumes we were stoped by the police. We were told to come back from where we came from. Also that we should wear some shoes and shirts as we weren't allowed to walk in the middle of Capri in the swimming costumes. Italians can be very prudent and narrow minded. When asked where we swam from I answered from Naples. I don't think the policemen realised I was joking. However they indicated us the way to Naples. It would have probably taken us at least a week to swim from Capri to Naples. If anybody heard of the swimming competition Capri- Naples please get in touch by comments. We eventually came back by feet and swam to the boat for a dinner. The company of people who we didn't know before was very good. We all went on pretty well during the sailing weekend adventure. The next day after swimming and underwater filming we sailed back to Naples. We finalised our trip some delicious chocolate, pistachio, and nuts Italian Ice creams (I ate 4 cons). 

At the end Antonio, Juliano and I didn't make it for the last train (Circumvesuviana) to Vico. We missed the last train from Naples at 21:41. We took the cab (55€/1h) from Naples Piazza Garibaldi and drove back home in Vico. The 70 year old driver didn't seem to see well the road at night and also he kept increasing the price during the drive. Antonio as a proper Napolitanian had an argument with the driver and told him off for taking advantage of us. 

Anyway we've finally got back to Vico, ordered a meter of pizza and went to sleep (I didn't have any until the next day for lunch).

The next day on Monday we were ready to leave. Antonio and Juliano took me to the airport so I could fly back to London while, Juliano was staying for a couple of days in Pompei. He was planning on staying in Italy for at least a month while sorting out his papers to become the Italian citizen. I'm on the plain now (by Monarch airlines 40£) catching up with writing and not having any more stories to tell you for now. See you in a bit...during the next travelling adventure;)

Montenegro

Montenegro 5-9 Oct 2017

One of my students offered me to stay at her propriety in Montenegro so I could check it out for the yoga and aerial yoga retreats. 

I took my friend who I organise retreats with in Spain. I loved that place in Montenegro in Mirista (Villa Mirista , Žanjica, C. Gora - 21 Recenzije gostiju).

https://www.booking.com/hotel/me/villa-mirista.html

The location is stunning, very remote with a fantastic sea view, walking distance to the beach. A 4 double bedrooms house which can host up to 8 people if they are friends or couples because of the matrimonial beds. Otherwise up to 4pp if they want to have some private rooms. The yoga and aerial yoga can be practiced on the roof terrace with a stunning view. There is also the ground floor terrace with the same view which can be used for yoga practice. 

There are a couple of beautiful beaches: Mirista and Žanjica - 10min walking distance from the propriety. There is no sand, the stones make the sea clean and transparent. The water is incredible for swimming and snorkelling with a lot of fish and corals. There are a little islands with the old stone buildings such a little church or a castle. They are accessible either by the boats or by swim if you are e good swimmer. There are some good restaurants (Selo) in the area with the reasonable prices. There is only one local market with some basic food like beverages, bread, milk. If you want to do some food shopping it's recommended to do it on the way from the Tivat airport to Mirista. Our taxi driver charges 15€ one way from the airport to the propriety and there is a chance to do some shopping. 

20min drive from the propriety is Unesco Haritage - Kotor - the beautiful ancient town with the hiking opportunity up to the pick of the mountain where you can reach the church. 

There is also another location which is much more modern - Porto Montenegro in Tivat, 30min away from the propriety on the way to Kotor. It's a very new harbour with ferries and yachts base, some excellent restaurants and cafes. It has a different vibe compering to the ancient town of Kotor. There is a very good Italian restaurant with affordable prices - "Al post giusto" with a great fresh food and excellent service. 

Tivat in Montenegro is only 2h flight from London and if you book in advance with easy jet the return flight ticket is approx 120£. 

We are going to organise the yoga/aerial yoga retreat somewhere in April at the beginning of the season. Please check out: www.jawafyogadance.com for updates.

Spain - Andalusia

Spain 11-16 Oct

I flew from London after two days since I've returned from Montenegro. I flew from Southend airport in London to the Malaga's airport Cuesta del Sol. I hired the car (Panda) and drove to Fuente del Conde. It took me an hour to drive from the coast of Malaga to the most beautiful mountains in South Spain (Andalusia). 

Likely I had the GPS on my phone so I could easily navigate. The road was great, most of which was a motorway. When I arrived it felt like paradise. The silence and the warmth were significant. My pilates student - Shaks was waiting at her propriety to welcome me. 

https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8163829

The house is stunning. An old Spanish house from Andalusia completely refurbished and well furnished. A very simple and comfortable 4 double bedroom house with 3 bathrooms, 3 leaving rooms, three outdoors terraces and pool area with such a well equipped kitchen. We went for an evening walk by sunrise to admire the high mountains landscape. We ate some almonds from the almonds trees. There are two types: one is very bitter suitable for marcapn and another is sweet, great for eating on spot. The trees without any almonds on for sure were with the sweet almonds, while the ones full of fruit where the bitter ones. 

After we came back home I jumped into the pool to refresh. The water was freezing cold but the experience of jumping from the desert Sahara heat in to such a fresh water was amazing. 

We had some dinner prepared by the host on the outdoor terrace. Eating in the light of candles with the stars above our heads made the whole experience quite unique. 

The propriety has a very positive energy and it feels home. I came over to check out if it's suitable for hosting the yoga retreats. I found out that it's even suitable for the aerial yoga retreats. It has the steel structure which creates the shade and it could easily be adopted for the aerial yoga platform. I might run some aerial yoga retreats over there in a winter, spring and the autumn time. 

The location of the propriety is quite remote, thought with the easy road access. The best is to hire a car, I wouldn't recommend the public transport as it takes ages to get there from and to the airport of Málaga. However there is a chance of using a public transport to Loja (1h/6€ bus) and then taxi (30min/25€) to Fuente del Conde. To hire the car for a week is approx 150£ including the insurance. There is a catch at the airport of paying only 15£ per week of a car hire and then adding 135£ for the car insurance. At the end also you need to pay for the fuel. So it doesn't end up that cheap. 

The additional attraction of this remote beautiful private propriety in Andalusia is the location. It's located away from the main stream tourism but not far away from the main tourist destinations in Spain. By car it's only 1hour away from Granada, and Seville and 1.5 hour away from Cordoba. Those locations are the "must to see" in Europe and there are easily reachable from the Casa Ana in Fuente del Conde where I stayed. 

I've managed to visit Granada with a stunning little Spanish houses built up on the rocks. The narrow little streets with some Arabic/Islamic markets, where vendors were selling lots of Far East spices, incredible variety of tees and dry fruits (2-5€/100g). The beautiful cathedral and the University area were worthy to be seen.  

I left for the next time the most famous sightseeing site of Alhambra. My phone died at the begat of my visit in Granada and I forgot the cable to charge my phone. I was wondering around the city randomly and I ended up in the most characteristic places of Granada but I didn't reach Alhambra. 

On the way back I was struggling to get back on the right motorway home. After a couple of tries I decided to buy another cable to charge my iPhone. I've managed to do it just in time before the darkness hit me. The day light in the Autumn in October is from 8am to 7.30pm. Once I've got my GPS sorted out I was more relaxed about going back home instead of sleeping in the middle of the mountains. It gets quite cold in the night during this time of the year (October) up to 8 cel degrees. 

There are other little towns very picturesque which are near by the propriety and worthy to visit such as:  Loja and Iznajar. My favourite is Iznajar with the long stairs walk up to the top of this ancient town of Andalusia - Iznajar. The best time is the sunrise and the view over the huge lake is unforgettable. It's that impressive that it could easily be one of a few wonders of the world. I walked across the town of Iznajar watching the church, library and the tiny very well kept and clean Andalusian houses with so many flowers at the window and courtyards. The town is magic. I drove down to the lake which size was slightly reduced as it shrank because of the dry season. I ended up by the sailing centre quite late around 8pm. It took me at least 20min walk along the beach from the car park to reach the lake. The water was cold at the bottom  and shore were very muddy and unpleasant. The gentle sound of the water and the colours of dissolving sunset were beautiful. I saw some people camping by the lake and having some bump fire. It felt romantic. We tent to travel to a different continents in search of such a lovely nature and we have it all in Europe. 

The nice walks with Shaks in the area of  her propriety, learning about plants: olives, capers, pepper, almonds, having healthy fresh meals with a lot of traditional Spanish queso (cheese), swimming in the pool and sunbathing - all that made my 5 days stay unique and made me happy. Having her company was just right, we enjoyed our silence and talks. Thank you Shaks for having me!

We closed the propriety and drove to the airport of Malaga. I took Shaks to the airport and I went to return the car. I ended up having such a challenge to find the rental car agency (Marbelsol). After missing the exit from the airport I had to repeat the same track of the motorway we did before for half an hour. Likely I returned the car on time and head to the Malaga's airport Cuesta del Sol.  I took off from Malaga with Easy Jet to London Southend - the smallest and emptiest airport I have ever seen.