The Monastic Adega

Hey ho happy summer. While we've been running some lovely retreats this month, it's also been party time in this part of Portugal. Oleiros had its Feira do Pinhal 2012 extravaganza, where for 2 weeks 50,000 people come to our town of normally 4,000 to spend a few evenings with family and friends, shopping at the huge outdoor arts and crafts market, savouring the culinary delights of the local restaurants, listening to 2 stages of live music and watching the local firework company show off their world renowned displays.

And every village for miles also has its own 2 or 3 days of festas where the sounds of accordions resonate through the valleys into the wee hours of the mornings. It's a pity River and I have not been able to revel in this party season as much as the last few years, as we need good restorative sleep to look after, teach and massage our guests here.  Josh and Ellie spent the Feira do Pinhal sleeping over at friend's houses in town, so they were happy dancing til 6am and rising from the dead late in the afternoons.

In a few days all the annual kerfuffle will settle down and we'll return to the quieter rhythms of forest life. But I wanted to put this little season in context. Because at the same time we have also finally finished restoring the last of our stone houses, the Adega where one family in this valley used to make 4000 litrres of wine each year. It is now home to Chris and Anette from Denmark who will be living with us a while to deepen their practice of Suikido. They have worked really hard helping us turn the old Adega into a beautiful sublime monastic living space.

This tablet contains the 3 elements of Suikido. Sui meaning water, fluidity, formlessness. Ki - life force, vitality, spirit. Do - path, way, life practice. Chris found the stone nearby the Adega and painted the characters the other week. As you turn the corner and see the tablet at the base of the stone entrance steps, it looks like it could have always been there. For those who have visited Vale de Moses you'll know that the terraces down by the river and apple orchard have a timeless quality. The rest of the world feels a mighty long way away. The invitation to be still and reflect, resonates in a way that can only be described as "elemental", surrounded as you are by forest, water running over a small fall in the stream and hand carved out bedrock everywhere you look.

With water gravity fed and solar heated on its way from a very old Moorish water mine 200m above the valley, without electricity using only candles and olive oil burning lanterns, a small practice space in the cavernous bed rock basement and 2 futon bed platforms made with wood from the old wine vats.

A big thanks to all our lovely Yoga Helpers, Tammy, Evelyn, Rebecca and Xana who worked so hard in June clearing out the space ready for restoration, and to our neighbour João Antunes and his sons Jorge and Filipe for helping us lay the ochre pigment coloured practice floor and turn the old grape foot pressing tank into an outside shower that doubles as irrigation for the orchard.

So there we have it. After 4 years we have finally finished the restoration of all 4 houses at Vale de Moses. And somehow this last one hints towards the direction that life might be taking here. A little more monastic. Coincidentally (!), in September we hope to also be hosting for a few days 4 more "monks". Nick and Juliette from the UK and 2 Bangladeshi Buddhists on a study trip from a Sri Lankan orphanage where they work. It will be a pleasure to welcome them into our home in the forest.

"A monk (from Greek: μοναχός, monachos, "single, solitary"[1]) is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decided to dedicate his life to serve other living beings or to be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy." Wikipedia.

A few photos below from our guests here this month. More to be found on our Facebook page. Enjoy.

Memphis.

Wind in our Sails, by Memphis and River

I am feeling so full to bits, I could burst. We've started buiding our house. It's been a long long road to get here, but we got there, Thanks Be, and we've set sail. 4 weeks ago in fact. The wind is well and truly behind us and filling our sails, stretched as it were, to their limit for the purpose for which they were made. The ship we're on has set sail from the harbour and is already on the open waves. At a good few knots I'd say from the breeze in our faces. Yet funnily enough, we don't really know where we going. We just know its not the time to do anything else, to take any other diversion along the way. Just let the wind propel us forward for as long as it chooses to blow.

So much so in fact I haven't even had the time to post the blog that would have said I am now a fisherman. Proof. That's a carp I caught with Josh one night and ate for our tea.

I can't properly describe this feeling at the moment, so this blog entry is simply a video one, where you can all see and hear for yourselves what it is like for us here.

The clips below are just snapshots into minutes of our thoroughly enjoyable days. I hope you'll get the picture. But before you do, River is over my shoulder wanting to say a few words. Here you go babe...

Hello there.

We've had such an amazing time these last four weeks. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude is the wind blowing for me right now, here are a few of my high and low winds...

High winds... The crew that I am working with and all they mean to me. Memphis, my beloved in every way. Joshie, my strong young prince working so hard and being indispensible to Joao and Filipe on the only day we couldn't work with them. Ellie, reminding us that we are loved by baking a cake for us everyday. Joao, Filipe and Eugenia our neighbours, friends and teachers yet again. And the infamous Moses taking a nap in the clay mix bath at any opportunity!

Low winds... about the crew, absolutely none. But I do miss Slinky sometimes.

High Winds...I acutally, with my own two hands, built a substantial proportion of those walls!!!!!

Low winds...anytime I wasn't working on the house, it is an obsession. Am lovin it.

High Winds...Walking around the land with my wheelbarrow and crowbar climbing slopes and kicking down my favourte stones, or digging them out of the ground or even hacking a few out of the hillside. Then pushing said wheelbarrow uphill full of treasure. Yes me hearties, good stuff. Then seing Joao expertly put those stones in the wall, amazing.

Low winds...Bringing back said stones one day, and falling through the floor. Not as bad as it sounds, had already offloaded stones and only my right leg went through the floor. They say your life flashes before you but not with me. Too slow. One minute I was up, next down on my ass looking confused. What happened? Well funny.

High Wind...Michelley bringing us thousands of tiles. Great birthday present. Thanks hon.

Low wind... knowing I'm going to have to take all dem tiles down a steep rocky slope in a wheelbarrow!

High wind...buns of steel.

Low wind...the thighs are growing. Memphis says that's apprently a high wind!

High wind...Waking up one sunny but still cool morning climbing out of "the hole", as our neghbours fondly call our present little hideaway and putting on the corner stones with my Memphis, just me and he.

Low winds...None whatsoever. Joao said it was "tudo bem". All well.

4 weeks ago there were no walls there. Today they are up. Amazing. Awesome. Well happy.

Paz e amor

River

The Oscar for best supporting wall goes to...

Michelle's Terracotta Army...

Bouncey bouncey at the Oleiros Feira do Pinhal...

The walls are up. Praise be...

That's all folks!