Dance of Seagulls while walking along the beach

Often the day began with a guided meditation in the yoga studio led by different instructors who each brought their own styles to bear on the meditation sessions. During the week I was there, on four days the meditation was substituted by early morning walks. The walks were blissful and meditative in themselves. They included walks along the beautiful coastline and to the light house in nearby Benidorm. On the coastline walks, about an hour into our walks, we would sit on a slice of rock protruding into the sea. We watched the dance of the seagulls between sky and sea, their glide onto the sea surface, and the play of sun that lit the whole stage up for us.

Creative wellness workshop

The trek to the lighthouse offered a bird’s eye view of untempered natural beauty. Any element of ardour to the uphill walk, was entirely mitigated by the soul nurturing, sweeping views of the Mediterranean. The mountains played guard to the ocean and played the road to us – a road of perpetual vantage points to take in the awe-inspiring views.

Black bean burgers

The nurture of nature on the walks was always met by a nourishing breakfast once we were back at the retreat. From fresh juices to different types of porridge for each day of the week optionally garnished with nutritious toppings like desiccated coconut, gogi berries, flaked almonds and raisons – breakfast was always sumptuous. The food – breakfast, lunch and dinner was consistently incredible. If you ever thought ‘delicious and healthy’ was an oxymoron, La Crisalida challenges it. For someone like myself, who is not too fond of beans, I found their beans with a dill dressing lip-smackingly delicious. Lunch would comprise of a nourishing soup, a variety of salads and hot food options like the Black Bean Burgers that were a hit with the guests.
Dinner would have a spread of salads and hot food options with dessert twice a week – on Tuesdays and Fridays. The dips and salad dressings were among the best I’ve had – they would give our supermarkets a run for their money! Incredulously, La Crisalida’s nutritionists and chefs achieve this without the use of any sugar or salt. Fruit juice and rice syrup are used instead of sugar and tamari as a substitute for salt.

Stairway to heaven

Herbs, spices, lemon and lime are used generously. An Italian guest said the Italian herb dressing was tastier than the versions she has had in Italy! The food, though entirely plant based and vegan, had no element of deprivation to it. It was my first week long experience of vegan food and surprisingly, I felt nourished and, dare I say with so many delicious options, I even felt over fed at times!

The most unique aspect of La Crisalida is its flexibility – the retreat runs around the year and with no bounded programmes you chose your day of arrival and departure and your length of stay. I visited in February when retreats in Europe are scare. Moreover, you have a range of retreat types to choose from – detox (which is juice based); yoga; life make-over or relax and rejuvenate. Their typical days have different yoga styles, meditation and well being workshops on offer.

For more details on retreat packages please visit: https://www.lacrisalidaretreats.com/