1st leg, Pollenca to Lluc 17km GR221 November 20, 2011

After deciding that I wanted to walk the GR221 dry stone route of the Tramuntana mountain range, Mallorca, I knew I would have to do some recce’s before hand. The actual 5 day hikeis planned for April 28th to May 2nd 2012 as a sponsored Event to raise money for Esteem’s next project. The walk will be open to participants and the general public alike (for more info please contact hello@esteem.org.uk). Each walk will end at one of the ‘refugio’s, a mountain hostal where a log fire and a warm hearty meal await you!

So, yesterday Cat and I set off on a rainy Saturday morning and dropped the car off at Pont de Roma, the 1st refigio’s where we will spend the arrival night. By the time we started walking the rain had stopped and we made our way along the river passing fields of olive groves and fruits trees in the morning mist.

Good footwear is essential as at one point, crossing the river the path ran out and we had to walk along the riverbed, only just escaping wet feet!  After an hour and a half, slowly climbing higher into the mountains we stopped for a snack and a flask of tea. and re-checked the map.

   Following the track until we reached a clearing with spectacular views, we wound our way up until we reached the Font de Muntanya where waterfalls and streams cascaded across the path. 

Looking back over the distance we had come made us feel hungry so we continued just until the base of the Piug Tomir mountain (an area where black vultures are sometimes sighted) and stopped for lunch under a tree. Lunch time was cut short when a shower came in and moved us on as Cat started feeling the cold once we’d stopped, but quickly warmed up contouring the wooded slope of the Molleta de Binifaldo and crossing the path at the Coll Pelat at 686m.

It is hugely satisfying to see the path around the mountain you have just walked, breathing fresh mountain air, hearing nothing but birds and getting the blood pumping on the up-hills. 

From the the lunch stop it took us about an hour and a half to get down to the Son Amer refugio where we would spend the second night on the  2012 Tramuntana hike. It looked very inviting with its wood fire and delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Unfortunately Cat and I couldn’t stop as we had to make our way to the Monastery at Lluc, another 15min walk, where we got a taxi back to our car at the start of the walk in Pollenca (we did try hitching).

The whole walk took us 6 hours, including stops. It was a great day and I cant wait to do the next stage of the GR221, Lluc to Tassals Verds next weekend! Check out our blog each week to keep updated!

Volunteers comments October 28, 2011

What a brilliant week; A huge congratulations to all the participants who made the effort to come on the 2011 Esteem vocational and personal development programme, for fund-raising £150 to earn your place and especially for all your hard work and commitment during your time at Cortijo Vadillo.

To Sandra, Ruth and Mic – thank you so much for volunteering your valuable time and energy; with out you this project could not have been as successful as it was. I think I speak for us all when I say that meeting these wonderful, talented young people has had a positive impact on our lives, as well as teaching us a bit more about ourselves too.

We have all committed to supporting them in achieving their goals now and in the future, I hope we all keep in regular contact. I will certainly be pestering each participant, following up on our one to one vocational mentoring session!

It is really encouraging that some of this years participants will be joining Esteem as volunteers and are keen to get involved in the next projects – one being a 5-day hike across the Mallorcan  Tramuntanna mountain range, in May next year.

If you would like any more information about Esteem, please do not hesitate to get in contact: hello@esteem.org,uk

All the Best,

Cat Vizor (Director)

Summary October 23, 2011

To summarise the whole week i would say it has been exciting, interesting and challenging. I think the work shops have been beneficial to us all as they have helped to build confidence and teach us new skills. I enjoyed learning how to plant vegetables as this is something i may like to do in the future. I’ve really enjoyed the healthy eating as it is something I am passionate about. I think it has made everyone feel good and refreshed. The cooking of the meals has also been very useful as it has taught us new recipes which were Spanish so we have also experienced their culture. I loved making an doing the face masks and it is something i would try at home. I found the walk interesting as it was lovely to see all the different sights, and to be out in the fantastic weather. I thought yoga was great and was really pleased that i got to do it as i hadn’t tried it before, especially at sunrise as it made me feel fresh and awake.

When i decided to come on this trip i didn’t really know what to expect or what it would be like, but I am really glad i came as I have never been any where like here before. I think I speak for everyone when I say I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and am grateful i had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people!

Day 6 October 23, 2011

Today was our free day. We drove into the nearest city Granada so we could experience a different side of Spain and also to do some shopping and have lunch. Even though it rained everyone really enjoyed themselves and we all come back with some lovely Spanish souvenirs for our friends and family. I enjoyed looking round all the different Spanish shops that we don’t have back in England. After we all met back up with the rest of the group at the planned meeting spot we all made our way to the Alhambra Palace were we got to look around all the palace grounds and gardens which were all beautiful. When we got back to the Yurts we all had a yummy soup for dinner cooked by Sandra. Soon after we all slowly made our way to bed as we were all tired as we had been up early and were still tired from the long hike the day before.

Lauren.

Day 5 October 23, 2011

I overslept this morning and everyone was was waking me up, telling me that if I didn’t get up I wouldn’t get any pancakes! So being a big sleepy head, eventually I got up and ate breakfast. The gardening workshop with Sandra was hot and tiring digging all the buns and furrows! Afterwards, we had the last workshop with Ruth and we each did a presentation: 5 things that represented ourself. On my turn one of my items I played music and danced some body popping, which everyone said was brilliant.

Later on in the day we went for a REALLY LONG walk in the mountains which was exhausting but at the same time very enjoyable. When we got back I had a cooling down swim in the pool. I really enjoyed the day and found it so relaxing, especially after the dip in the pool!

After a trip to the village we came back and had a BBQ and Sam and Laurel joined us with their guitar and we all sang songs.

Day 4 October 23, 2011

Today is Day 4 of our Spanish experience. I woke up quite chilly in the yurt which I’m sharing with Kate, Jade and Lauren. After an early start and porridge we all went up into the gardens with our tools and did a spot of gardening with Sandra. (which was really interesting). My job was to dig tiny holes and plant French beans, whilst others planted different vegetables such as onions. I found this enjoyable however was scorching hot afterwards as the weather was very humid. After gardening we all chilled out and had a little break which was lovely after the hard work! I thought personal development was good fun today and very energetic. We all danced in the communal yurt and went out on a small walk around the mountains where we all had a chance to lead the group, taking them wherever we wanted which was quite amusing! This Afternoon we took a trip and went to visit the nearby springs where the local water gets produced, We had the chance while we were there to have a dip in the water. Apparently it was VERY  cold so I chickened out and decided to sit back and observe a few of the others dipping in! After a busy fun filled day we sat down to a tasty Spanish dish called Casselay. This meal was lovely and very filling. I was SO full afterwards it felt nice to go back to our cosy yurt and wrap up in my sleeping bag!

Day 3 October 19, 2011

Today was a very exciting and challenging – I faced one of my fears by taking a huge jump into the waterfalls.  I have never done anything l;ike this before and was able to do it with a allot of support from members of the team and the friends I have made here. We had a very nice spot of lunch and I tried a new salami which was delicious.

When we got back to Cortijo Vadillo we all attended a workshop run by Ruth; It was very good because we were able to learn more about each other, we played very fun games.

Soon after we did some gardening which I have never done before, we all chipped in together and planted onions radish, lettuce, cabbage, brussle-sprouts, broccoli and chard. It was very interesting because we would like to be able to grow these things back at the YMCA.

Gardenning was followed by a fabulous, authentic, Spanish meal of  Tapas which everybody seemed to enjoy. I was part team 3 which were on cleaning rota for toady and it was really good to muck in and work as a team – I dont usually enjoy that sort of thing! Cat, the organiser, thought of a brilliant idea of coming to a Spanish bar and I was very shoked that I could buy a beer for 1euro and it even came with free tapas!

I want to thank everybody in the team for making these first few days wonderful and exciting. I feel the team has bonded very well together and it is a team – we’re not singled out, we all muck in, help each other and have lots of fun.

For anyone thinking about coming on an Esteem trip – I think its a fantastic opportunity and you should grab it with both hands!

Jade

Day 2 October 19, 2011

Today is my Birthday, and I awoke to a massive singsong of Happy Birthday.

For Breakfast we had an assortment of fruit and healthy food, like yoghurt, muesli and pomegranate freshly picked from the tree.

After breakfast we went to the fruit and veg market and bought the shopping for the day. While there we were each designated an item to ask for to practice our Spanish.

Then we had our first workshop with Ruth, and I thoroughly enjoyed it because we did allot of drama games which left us feeling calm and alert.

We had free time after Ruth’s lesson and I spent a lot of it reading by poolside, whereas others swam.

Then, it was teatime and the food was absolutely gorgeous; I was really impressed with how the tastes complimented each other.  We had Paella with squid, clams and mussels which I had never tasted before.

To top it all off, everyone had made me a card and bought me the most beautiful and delicious chocolate cake ever.

I had an amazing day and it couldn’t have been better.

Thank you everyone for my birthday and making it extra special

Tyffany

Spanish Vocational ‘Taster’ Week 2011 October 19, 2011

Day 1

The first day on Esteems personal development project in Spain was quite nerve racking.  I had never been abroad before so I didn’t know what to expect, and it was my first time flying. On arrival I met up with Cat the organiser of Esteem, Mic and five of the other participants, with whom throughout the day made it even more of a pleasure to be here with their easy going and friendly attitude. After briefly introducing ourselves we took a short trip to the beach near the airport in Malaga, which I found was a nice opportunity for a chat, chill and getting to know each other. After that me, and two of the participants went shopping in a Spanish supermarket for ingredients for our first Spanish meal together, which was cooked and prepared by us. When we got to our accommodation at Coritjito Vadillo, in a small village called Castillo De Locubin, just near Granada and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The grounds were amazing!

Yurts, surrounded by 30 acres of pomegranate, orange, lemon, pear and olive trees. herb plants and bamboo gave it such a natural and serene atmosphere.

Cooking the spaghetti bolognaise in the outdoor kitchen ,once we had got settled, gave us a good sense of teamwork and was a really nice bonding experience; it was ready just in time for the last members of the group to arrive. It was nice to sit down and have a real ‘getting to know you’ conversation over a nice heart-warming meal.

After all the excitement of being in a different country in new surroundings and meeting new people we were ready to wrap up in our rustic, bohemian and cosy yurts – it was time to call it a night.

Dominique

2011 Spanish Project October 7, 2011

Only 10days to go till Esteems next Spanish project! How exciting!!!