Well what a day it has been. Up early for our 8:30am yoga practice...the hike up to the outdoor platform is a trek at this hour, especially after horseback riding...but it’s always worth it.
After yoga, had a large breakfast that started off with overnight oats with banana, peanut butter and raw cocoa.Then came sourdough toast with fresh cheeses and honey...I love the honey here!
And we topped off today’s breakfast with some lemon cake...nothing better than fresh lemon in baked goods...and I had enjoyed my cake with a fresh cup of green tea.
Today we did not have anything planned until 3:30pm so I took this free time to explore the property more and take one last look at the town of Cercal.
The property is quite large with trails hidden throughout. First on my trek was the honey bees that were strategically placed at the top of the hill off from where we do yoga. The bees were busy working, but I was not that brave to capture any close up photos.
The woods here are full of pine trees and I have never seen such gigantic pine cones in my life. I could spend all day in search of these little marvels to decorate my place.
I made my way to the other side of the property and found another trail leading up the bank.
At the top I came across a seating area where I spent the next 45 minutes just relaxing and enjoying some down time in this magical place...nothing better to help you decompress.
From her I made my way along the trail where I took in the sights of the new accommodations across the way, listened to the church bells off in the distance, saw some beautiful butterflies, found an orange tree...and tasted one for good measure...and then came across the the chickens and Mr. White. A pretty successful wander and so much to see.
It was mid day so I decided to take a stroll into the town...this time I brought a map and didn’t get lost...progress in the navigation category! It was Sunday afternoon so nothing much was open, but I still enjoyed looking at the buildings and scenery along the way.
I love the bright coloured homes and the beautiful tiles...even the run down properties have this real charm and appeal to them.
The town centre is at a roundabout and there I found a group of men having fun playing cards, beautiful roses and flowers in bloom and some traditional tile work on the the side of a home.
Not far from the Quinta I came across a couple sheep enjoying a feast of oranges...yep oranges. They were so into eating they didn’t even notice me sneaking up to the fence and were quite startled to see me when I started taking pictures.
Our afternoon activity was a visit to a vineyard about 20 minutes away...Herdade do Cebolal. Before we even made it to the vineyard the adventure had already begun, with eight of us squeezed into Cam’s vehicle for the journey and for some, it was a bit tighter squeeze then others.
When we arrived at the vineyard we were greeted by Luis who is a fifth generation owner of the family property and it was clear running a sustainable vineyard was a real passion of his.
He provided us with an extensive explanation of the sustainable processes they use at the vineyard and how everything has a purpose and nothing goes to waste. Even the trees on the property had a story behind who planted them, when and why.
We made it inside the winery and he showed us where he made white wine which is kept in steel vats and red wine that is made in oak barrels and kept in dark rooms.
We tried a number of the wines available...love that he poured them right out the vat for us to drink.
After doing a few tastings we were taken upstairs to the seating area where the real fun began. First of all, the views of the vineyard were beautiful from there, but it was pretty windy so we stayed inside.
More wine came our way, both red and white, and then the food.
One after another Luis brought us different culinary delights to try from different cheeses, with bread and honey, to various fruit from the farm...cherries are in season this month and they are so delicious...to a bowl of pork and vegetables, tuna pate, a beet and mixed vegetable salad, gazpacho and we finished off with some expresso. What a feast!
And what an afternoon of laughter and shenanigans we had...my fascination with the old fashioned lightbulbs might have put us over the edge. Can you say Not So Serious Yoga and Wine Retreat...I have not laughed this hard in a long time.
We made out way back to the quinta just in time for dinner...yes more delicious food. While we are at the winery, Vera was preparing a lovely feast for us all. It started with a leafy greens and fennel salad and then the main dish was zucchini noodles with basil and mint pesto...zucchini is in season now so lots of opportunity to make some creative dishes.
The piece de resistance was the gluten free chocolate brownie...I was in heaven. Of course this was all served with wine...Monte da Crochinha to start.
I must say I was pretty full with all this food...but it was so great to share it while having some pretty good laughs and exchanging photos from the day. Of course food pictures are the number one priority while we are here. We had picked up some wine at the winery so we shared what we had purchased and then it was time to take on our yoga and wine challenge from this morning...tree pose while drinking wine.
Of course we were all up for the challenge and had a great time demonstrating our skills by the pool side...we really take the “not so serious” part of this retreat to heart...and maybe the wine part as well.
It was getting late and we all needed to pack before heading on our way tomorrow morning, so we called it a night around 10pm after a fantastic final day at the Not So Serious Yoga and Wine retreat with Vera and Cam at the Quinta Camarena.
Tomorrow we have one last yoga class and breakfast together...can’t wait to have some of the famous French toast I have been hearing about.Until tomorrow....share in the experience.
Lisa
