‘life is amazing here’

It is about 8 months ago that we sold everything and started this journey. We did not really have a plan and we also did not want to have a plan. We purposely jumped into the unknown with great trust, some ideas and a lot of joy.

Was it scary? No, I felt trust in myself and in us to be able to fully enjoy this adventure. Do I worry? Only when I think too much. Right now this way of life is not sustainable as we are living of our savings. But we feel confident that we will find the right circumstances to create something beautiful that will provide us with some income along the way.

I do treasure the great time we had in Delft. All of you have a special place in my heart and I certainly miss our yoga community. At the same time this was one of the best decisions ever. As I am reflecting on the adventures we had so far I feel very grateful for all these experiences. While I am writing this I’m sitting in a hammock, the sky is blue, the sun is shining and I have a great view over the valley. We are in the mountains of Gran Canaria, far away from the touristic beaches, at EcoTara where we work and live.

Every morning when the sun comes up over the mountains I teach a yoga class for the guests. The yoga platform is outdoors and it has a wonderful view over the mountains. After the class Boris has prepared a delicious fruit salad as we have an abundance of fruits that are growing on this land. In the afternoons I work in the vegetable garden, which makes me very happy. There is something so fulfilling about growing your own food. We have a wide variety of vegetables in the garden and whatever is ready to harvest I will turn into a delicious meal for us later. Any leftovers from the garden and kitchen will go directly to Baku. Baku is a huge black pig. He came to EcoTara just a few years ago when he was a tiny baby pig. We also have chickens here and right now Boris is building a luxurious home for them with all the possible comforts a chicken could wish for. There are more animals here and we are happy to take care of them. Dany the dog was following me to the yoga class every morning and she waited quietly just outside the platform. You can see Dany come by at the end of the ‘Rise & Shine’ yoga class on YouTube which we filmed here at EcoTara.

The days here have a simple rhythm. We get up with the sun and we sleep early when it is dark. The whole day we spend outdoors. We have an outdoor kitchen, outdoor bathroom, outdoor living room and all our work is outdoors too. There is plenty of work to do here but there is no need to hurry. We always have time for a chat with the guests, to cook some yummy food, to enjoy the sunshine and relax. We even started to learn some Spanish as we listen to everyone around us and diligently do our online course in the evenings. We are actually planning to stay here for the whole winter, which really feels like summer. For now this is the perfect spot for us, we love the mountains, the sunshine, the fresh air, the starlit nights, the morning yoga, the people and the way of life at EcoTara.

We are looking forward to new adventures in 2020 and we are looking forward to see you again at one of our yoga retreats. We wish you all the best for 2020, that you may have the freedom and space to explore and do whatever it is that your heart desires. May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe and may you be at peace.

Lots of love and sunshine,

Sophie & Boris

Gran Canaria, December 2019