PATCHWORK SPAIN RETREAT
Join us for 8 days & 7 nights near Valencia Spain.

Retreat to Spain for a week of Creative Writing & Yoga for women with: Patricia Lee Lewis and Puja Sue Flamm Includes: 5 days, 4 nights at Albergue Betania in the mountains, 3 days, 3 nights at Els Arenals on the Mediterranean coast, transportation from the mountain top to the beach, an outing day to visit and write at Sagunto Castle, all meals, single or double accommodations, all written materials, all writing instruction & yoga sessions, individual manuscript critique. Costs: $1995 for single or double accommodations, most with private baths (first come, first serve). There is an alum discount of $100 for anyone who has been on a retreat with Patricia and Puja in the past. We require a $500 non-refundable deposit to hold space. Balance due May 1, 2011. We can only accept 12 women for this very special, small retreat! Special Discount of $200 if you sign up by May 1st. (does not include transportation to or from Spain or local transportation except as provided above. Also not included are tips for house or hotel staff or individual outings.) How to get there: Our mountain retreat site is just outside of the small traditional Spanish town of Segart, approximately 25 miles from the city of Valencia.  We suggest flying into Valencia (International Airport of Manises) and making your way by train from the Valencia Nord station to Puzol. There's a metro right at the airport that will take you to the train station. From the Puzol train station, we will organize shuttles to take everyone to Alberge Betania. When you sign up, we'll send you specific details, but you can check train schedules here: Train in Spain. Spain has a rich history and glorious opportunities to see, visit, do and eat. Why not extend your visit a few days? Contact their tourist board for more information at www.spain.info. You can search all airline prices at www.kayak.com. You can even set a fare alert there and take advantage of a sale. Click here to view our Refund Policy Request Registration Form

ABOUT OUR RETREATS

This will be our first year offering a creative writing and yoga retreat in Spain. Participants will include people with a wide range of writing experience, from very little to professional. We are always enriched by the diversity. While we will offer a daily schedule of suggested activities, all sessions are optional: your time is your own. Writing Practice. Each morning and several evenings, you will have opportunity to write in an encouraging, confidential and inspiring setting in response to exercises Patricia suggests. You will be invited to share what you have just written, and to respond to the writing of others with what is fresh, what you like, what you remember. (We use the method developed by Amherst Writers & Artists which is described in detail at Our Writing Method) As time permits, Patricia will offer individual consultations on (short) manuscripts written prior to the retreat or on any writing problems you wish to discuss. Yoga Practice. Puja will offer yoga sessions in the early morning and some afternoons, indoors or out of doors or on the beach, as weather permits. The practice of yoga, the joining of body and mind, can open pathways for your writing into the feelings, memories, stories and images embedded in the tissues. We will encourage you to use your yoga practice to develop a deeper relationship with your body as well as to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of practice. The sessions are, of course, completely optional.

Combining Yoga & Writing The practice of yoga, the joining of body and mind, can open pathways into the feelings, memories, stories and images embedded in the tissues. Writing workshops during the retreat are designed to help you shift your awareness and write from those deeper levels of consciousness. Through Hatha Yoga, we will get in touch with our kinesthetic sense of self. We will use special meditation techniques to slow the mind and create a sense of the sacred. No writing or yoga experience is required - only a sense of adventure. Beginning and experienced writers will find a supportive, encouraging context in which to write from their deepest selves. We will write in response to exercises offered by Patricia Lee Lewis, MFA. In a small group, writers will be invited to read their work aloud, and the group will offer simple affirmations of what is done well and what stays in the memory.

ACCOMMODATIONS

IN THE MOUNTAINS Albergue Betania, our mountain top retreat, holds a very quiet and meditative energy wonderful for inner connection and reflection. Everyone will have a single room and most will have private bathrooms as well (first come, first served).  If you would like to share your room, it can be arranged.  The accommodations are comfortable and inviting. The center is run by the wonderful Sister Angeles and the place has a very friendly family feeling. The views are varied and spectacular reaching through the soft pines past rock outcroppings and down to the Mediterranean Sea. AT THE BEACH For our final three nights, we will stay at Els Arenals, a 4-star hotel is right next to the Mediterranean Sea.   With it’s blue green waters the sea is lovely for swimming or simply walking along her shores. The hotel also has some lovely patios for quiet reading and refection and a pool to cool off in. There are beautiful views from many of the rooms. All have private baths and most have a private balcony or a small terrace.  We cannot reserve particular rooms here, but all are wonderful and luxurious. At both locations, the food will be plentiful and wonderful. You will have the ability to sample different types of Spanish fare. The abundance of local fresh fruits and vegetables will include the familiar as well as unusual and delicious local varieties. There will be many special Spanish dishes that are sure to satisfy all. Things to do. For the first part of the retreat, we ascend a steep hill from Puzol into the wild pine covered mountainside of the Valencia Province redolent of wild rosemary. Once settled into our rooms, there are many walking trails to explore and it is common to see horseback riders across the mountain riding up a near or far trail. There are underground caves in a nearby town called Valley of the Sun, one of which holds the biggest underground lake in Europe.  If you wish, you can take a boat ride and walk into caves filled with stalactites and interesting rock formations.  On lazy days, your time can be easily passed surrounded by the mountains and enjoying the simplicity and beauty of nature. On the day we move to the sea, Puja will lead our group on a visit to the ruins of Sagunto Castle and the surrounding area, including a Roman "Circus" or amphitheater.  While at the ruins, Patricia will convene a writing circle in this evocative and  inspiring setting.  Later, we will dine on tapas at a nearby restaurant before heading to our beach location. The energy of the sea is all pervading on the Mediterranean Coast.  From our hotel, there is easy walking access through the grass-covered dunes to the quiet beach of Almarda. Topless sunbathing is common on this beach, though completely optional. Also within walking distance is the town of Canet with its boardwalk and kiosks selling local wears and international products. The boardwalk is fun to explore, lined with restaurants, ice cream shops and stores. History.The area was settled by advanced and powerful pre-Roman Iberians, attracted to the Mediterranean port. When the Romans arrived, Sagunto received a Roman Circus and Theater, which we will visit.  We will also visit the ruins of Sagunto Castle, built and occupied in turn by Iberians, Romans and Moors, each contributing their own styles and expansions.

ABOUT THE STAFF

Patricia Lee Lewis lives and works at Patchwork Farm Retreat in western Massachusetts. She shares the world with trees and stones, chickadees, writers and bears, and leads weekend writing retreats and weekly workshops in her mountain cottage at Patchwork Farm, throughout the United States, and yoga and writing retreats at sacred sites around the world - Guatemala, Mexico, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Costa Rica. Patricia holds an MFA degree in Creative Writing from Vermont College, and completed her undergraduate degree at Smith College, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1970. She is affiliated with Amherst Writers & Artists, and leads national training workshops in the AWA method for workshop leaders on the east and west coasts. Patricia's poetry, fiction and feature articles have appeared in journals & anthologies, The Los Angeles Times, Hampshire Life, and The Boston Sunday Globe. Her poems have most recently appeared in The Berkshire Review, Vol. 11, and Crossing Paths: An Anthology of Poems by Women, Mad River Press. She was supported by a grant from the Chester Cultural Council under the auspices of the Massachusetts Cultural Council to perform her poems to a full house to benefit the Miniature Theatre of Chester. Her poem "Two Hundred Wings" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in Poetry, and her book of poems, A Kind of Yellow, won first prize in Writer's Digest's International Self-Published Book Competition in 2005. Copies of the book are available at the shop. Patricia has spent much of her life as an advocate: for women, for civil rights, for peace, for a healthy environment, for small farms and rural communities, for the arts. Born and raised in Texas, she moved north years ago with her children. She has been a business owner, tree farmer, director of several organizations, including women's centers, community economic development corporations, district congressional offices, and served as an elected county commissioner for four years. In 1985, when she joined Pat Schneider's Amherst Writers & Artists writing workshop, she finally found the courage to write for others to read. Patricia is responsible for the writing program at all retreats and serves as retreat coordinator.

Puja Sue Flamm (Susana) lives in Spain with her husband and their 10 year old daughter. She has been teaching yoga for almost 30 years and is a 500 RYT Teacher Trainer, Yoga Therapist, and a Certified Massage Therapist. Sue took her first meditation class in Transcendental Meditation at age 11, her first hatha yoga class at age 16 and has continued her study and practice throughout her rich and diverse life.   Originally certified in Kripalu Yoga she went on to study Iyengar, Ashtanga and Anusara yoga styles. Sue currently specializes in Restorative Yoga, Pre and Post Natal Yoga and Teacher Training. Puja uses Yoga, Buddhist Meditation techniques, visualizations, informed hands on assists and her compassionate loving presence to guide her students to a deeper connection with the body, physical alignment, understanding of the mind and connecting to spirit. Her teaching encourages physical opening, strengthening of the muscular and organ systems, bridging interconnections within, deep relaxation and the cultivation of loving kindness. Sue has taken Pat Schneider’s AWA course and has facilitated writers. She loves to write and has facilitated writing circles with Patricia Lewis in their past retreats together. Puja also loves chanting, ritual and being in the presence of transformation. She speaks English and Spanish fluently. Find out more about Puja Sue at: www.pujayoga.net

TESTIMONIALS

I believed for 20 years that my failure to write in a way that felt whole stemmed from my lack of commitment. Now I know that it was simply a lack of basic skills that stopped me. After one short week with Patricia, I now have those skills. Adrienne J., NYC Adult summer camp! Plenty of time to socialize, do outdoor activities with like-minded people combined with just the right place for inspiration and creativity. Paradise! Jeanne B., Northampton, MA Location, leadership, participants…all combine to create and permit an experience of writing and reflection that challenges, renews, and validates oneself as a writer. Each person seems to discover new ways of creativity and self expression. The daily yoga stretches the body as well as the spirit. Kathleen S. H., Barrington, RI Although the approach to writing is gentle and supportive, it is nevertheless rigorous. I was challenged by every single writing exercise and will carry the tools back to my writing life at home. The feedback given is not general, unsubstantiated praise, but rather very concrete, thoughtful responses about what is working in your writing. You are left with a strong motivation to keep writing – the biggest gift any writer can receive. Nina R., Norfolk, England It’s an amazing experience to find and begin to trust one’s voice in the company of such a wonderful chorus of writerse. Becky J., Northampton, MA "It has been an unforgettable experience - wonderful in all aspects. Especially the people." Jill J., Cumbria, England "It was one of the few experiences that I got more than what I bargained for in more ways than one." Katia A., Cyprus, Greece

E-mail your registration inquiries Request Registration Form or call (413) 527-5819

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