We flew EasyJet ($110 incl. luggage) to Toulouse, France, and I had warned Andy that there would be a run for seats, as we didn't want to pay for seating. We got moved around twice, as it turned out that there was seating, and our seat numbers were actually printed on the boarding passes as usual! Did somebody say experienced travellers?
The airport shuttle ($16) took us to the mail train station, where we bought the train tickets to Bederiaux ($74). I called our Workaway Host Kiet to let him know when the train would arrive, as he would pick us up. Unfortunately, there was a 'personal incident' on our route, so we were re-routed, and spent about an hour on the train waiting for the tracks to be cleared. When we finally reached Beziers, the last bus to Bediareux had just left! The rail staff told us that they might be able to give us a taxi with another person in an hour. We checked out the price of a taxi, and a hotel room in case we had to spend the night there. I left our host several messages, as he would already be at the station waiting for us.
Finally, we were sent off in a taxi, met by Kiet, and taken to our home, La Source, for next couple of weeks. Sandra and Kiet live on the top of a mountain in the middle of now-where in the Languedoc National Park. A beautiful and peaceful place.
La Source
Five years ago, Sandra and Kiet bought the abandoned house and land, and they have now turned it into a peaceful place for retreats and workshops if you wish to be close to nature and expereince meditation and Chi Gong. http://www.lempreintedutao.org/index.php.
The conditions were very basic compared to our daily life, so it was good we were used to that when camping. We sleept in a tent on a futon
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| Our home |
The shower is a bucket of water behind a curtain.
The hot water is heated by solar power, and the cold water is rain water. The toilet is a dry toilet using saw dust to absorb the odour and initiate decomposition process, and the drinking water comes from a well nearby. The dishes and laundry are done in rain water, and everything is left to dry outside. It is around 30 degrees during the day, and we have only had rain once, so it is very dry here. This is really back to nature, and it takes a while to get used to that everything takes longer, and we have to be sparse with the water.
The tasks the first couple of days were to help getting ready for the retreat, as well as get used to the kitchen, so we cleared paths, cleared areas for laundry lines and tent sites. A lot of physically hard work, which we were not used to, so we slept well and long!
The Family Retreat
Fourteen adults and 13 children (between 1,5 and 9 years) participated, and most of them were French, but there were also 2 German couples from Berlin. We cooked lunch and dinner, and the menu was a mix of French and Vietnamese vegetarian cuisine, so we chopped A LOT of vegetables.
We had help from one of the participants at each meal, but it still took us around 3 hours to prepare the meal, set the tables, and fetch hot water in the shower.
We participated in the guided meditation session every morning, and both found it very relaxing to try to still the mind and focus on being in the present just by concentraton on breathing.
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| Andy is getting meditation position advice |
The first afternoon, we went for a walk to explore the area,
but it was really hot and uncomfortable, so after that mistake, we slept after lunch like everybody else!
We started cooking dinner around 17:00, and after dinner, when the left-over food was put away and the pots and pans washed, it was time for a shower, and walk and then bed. Often the dog, Zuckar (means serendipity in Vietnamese) and the cat Plume (means feather in French) accompanied us on the walk which was funny and very nice.
If you cannot find time to meditate for an hour every day, find two hours
- Kiet Dao
Olargues is considered to be one of the most beautifl villages in France, and we can agree with that. There is around 600 inhabitants, so it is truely a village. The "Devil's Bridge" is said to date back to 1202 and is reputed to be the scene of transactions between the people of Olargues and the "devil". The old village is clustered around the belltower, which was formerly the main tower of the castle, and the old shops have marble frontages and overhanging upper storeys.
