• 20 - 27 Aug 2023
  • Asturias, Spain

Restore Balance & Renew Your Spirit in Northern Spain: August 2023

Restore balance and renew your mind, body, & spirit by connecting with like-minded individuals while experiencing the quiet, charming villages, forests, lush farmland and beaches of Northern Spain.

19 CME credits available for Healthcare professionals

RESTORE BALANCE AND RENEW YOUR SPIRIT IN NORTHERN SPAIN

Taking a “time-out” for restoration and renewal is a true gift to the self – as well as to everyone around you. Awakening to your inner needs and opening your heart to new insights and possibilities results from doing deep reset practices. In an atmosphere of peaceful beauty and with the attentive help of our staff, you will have the opportunity to experience transforming mindful lessons and practices that will help interrupt the habit patterns that can pull you away from your natural balance. Our time of restoring balance & renewing the spirit will include talks, personal reflection in the peaceful surrounding of Old Spain, journaling, gentle movement, mindful meditation, and connecting with like-minded kindred souls. We will use the days activities as metaphors to develop a greater sense of gratitude, awareness, awe, and joy.

Asturias, Spain’s best kept secret and home to Hotel Fuentes de Lucia, is the beautiful location of our adventure. This dynamic retreat, which combines gentle movement practices, comfortable hiking (sauntering), and quiet time to absorb the unique experience, is staffed by experienced facilitators from the fields of medicine, psychology, and mindfulness training, local guides, and extremely helpful and gracious hosts. There’s no better place to breathe in pure mountain air and stretch your limbs than in the middle of the majestic beauty of dramatic peaks, deep gorges, and crystal-clear rivers.

We will begin each day with an early morning (6:30am) reflective practice while sipping coffee and watching the sunrise – Hotel Fuentes de Lucia has a 270 degree view of the lovely mountain range from sunrise to sunset. Then, after a hearty breakfast served in the main dining room, the days activities will include lessons presented by your teachers, mindful meditation practices, guided walks along beautiful mountain trails, and wonderful food. We’ll savor local Asturian cuisine, sample aromatic cheeses, and sip the traditional beverage, Sidra Asturiana, a cider made from locally grown apples. On a few of our days together we will trek through scenic gorges and alongside babbling brooks; dine in local taverns; explore 10th-century churches, and spent some quiet time under Spain’s oldest yew, El Tiexo, planted more than a 1000 years ago in a sacred meadow.

In the evening we will have the opportunity to meet for some social time, debrief the day’s events, and connect with our group as we rejuvenate our minds, bodies, and souls before enjoying lovely home-cooked dinners prepared by the owners of Fuentes de Lucia. No matter what your level of fitness or mindfulness experience, you are welcome on this active holiday experience!

This activity qualifies for 19 continuing medical education credits through the Minnesota Medical Association.  It has been designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing continuing education requirements for 19 hours of credit. However, the nurse is responsible for determining whether this activity meets the requirements for acceptable continuing education.  Individuals representing other professional disciplines may submit course materials to their respective professional associations for 19 hours of continuing education credit.

Following the retreat there will be monthly virtual sessions offered for those who may want to continue their growth.  The cost for the additional virtual sessions is $500 (for 6 months virtual sessions) or $750 (for 12 months virtual sessions). The virtual sessions will happen every 2nd Sunday of the month from 6:00 PM – 7:30PM CST. It will be 1 CME per session. For more information, you can go here. 

Corey Martin, a facilitator prepared by The Center for Courage & Renewal will be joined by Augusta and David Kantra,  co-founders & co-owners of the Center for Calm Living in Fairhope, Alabama. The Kantras bring together teachings from psychology, mindfulness, business, and Eastern philosophy to illuminate and instruct others in ways to open the heart and connect the mind, body, and spirit.

If have additional questions about this trip, please contact Corey Martin at Corey@BounceTravels.com.

TENTATIVE DAILY SCHEDULE
6:30am Coffee, sunrise and morning session/reflective practice

9:00am Hearty breakfast at our hotel

10:00am Reflective practice, yoga, educational session or hike in the beautiful surroundings

12:00pm Lunch in quaint villages surrounding our retreat center

1:00pm Reflective practice, yoga, educational session or hike in the beautiful surroundings

4:00pm Relaxation / personal reflection time

6:00pm Reflective practice, yoga, educational session

7:30pm Dinner & drinks

Day 1 – Fuentes de Lucia – QUIROS. Bounce Travels will meet you in Oviedo at 5PM. We will then head south through the Trubia river valley basin in the Ubiñas Mountains, part of the massive Cordillera Cantábrica Mountain range. There we will follow (by car) the Senda del Oso (Bear Trail), a 50 kilometer footpath recently converted from rail tracks into Via Verdes, or Greenways, for the pleasure of walking in nature. Our basecamp, Hotel Fuentes de Lucia, a recently converted farmhouse in the hamlet of Faedo, will be our home and learning center for the week. It is set on a hillside of this lovely, green valley surrounded by tall peaks. Dinner included.

Day 2 – SENDA del OSO –After our breakfast together, our morning sessions will focus on creating brave space to do deep heartfelt work as well as the importance of Gratitude and Relationships.  For hiking,  we will follow a branch of the Senda del Oso to the small town of Terverga. From there, a drive to the top of a pass will reveal the spectacular views of Puerto de Ventana. If the Cave of La Huerta is open, we will visit it. From the top of the pass, it is all downhill into Quirós. Breakfast & Dinner included.

Day 3 – SOMIEDO – Our morning educational sessions will focus on the power of our mindset and ways to create space in our busy life to live with joy, meaning and purpose.  A 45 minute drive will take us into the heart of Somiedo National Park, a seldom visited park sharing its border with Castilla y Leon. The complete isolation of this area makes it seem as if time were actually standing still. This area was declared a natural park in 1988 due to its diverse landscape of flora and fauna and it is recognized today as a wildlife reserve for its environmental variety and preservation of tradition. We will explore one of the many mountain trails up to Los Lagos. Breakfast & Dinner included.

Day 4 – QUIROS – Educational sessions will include setting boundaries, connecting with nature.  Hiking today is along a narrow footpath out the back door of the hotel will be the start of our morning walk. Along the way, you can explore three mills, each one over 200 years old. This chestnut lined trail leads us from village to village with spectacular views of the valley. After lunch, you can follow the Senda del Oso back to Fuentes de Lucia and settle in for a day of reflection and relaxation. Breakfast & Dinner included.

Day 5 – OVIEDO – Educational sessions include perfectionism, shame, and clearness committees.  After our sessions, El Mercado de Fonton (market) is where we will start our day in the capital of Asturias, Oviedo. The streets in el casco antiguo will be packed with stands of fresh fruits, home-made cheeses, hand-crafted goods and an assortment of everyday items, new and old. We will have plenty of time to photograph the sights or just take it all in from one of the many cafes that line the streets of this medieval university town. After a delicious lunch of tapas in one of the local sidrarias (cider bars) we will meet a tour guide who will take us on a visit of the city’s monuments. Breakfast & Dinner included.

Day 6 – LAS XANAS – Educational sessions will focus on grief and forgiveness and transitions.  Our activities today will follow a route up and into a gorge called El Desfiladero de Las Xanas. Climbing steadily, a well-planned path hugging the sides of this canyon will take us up to the hamlet of Pedrobayo where we’ll feast on a lunch of the famous Asturian bean stew, Fabada. After a short siesta under a tree (weather permitting) we’ll follow another path that leads us back to the start of this trail. Breakfast & Dinner included.

Day 7 – BERMIEGO to CORTES and SAN MELCHOR – Educational session will be determined by need from earlier in the week.  From the hamlet of Bermiego, famous for its decorative horreos (corn cribs), we will set out on an adventure through the Urbino mountains to the small village of Cortes. This is the birthplace of San Melchor, a humble missionary, later a bishop, who in 1858 was martyred in Vietnam. Breakfast & Dinner included.

Day 8 – Return to OVIEDO – After breakfast, we will drive you to Oviedo bus or train station to arrive by 10am.

Hotel Fuentes de Lucia – Address: 33117 Faedo, Asturias, Spain

WHAT’S INCLUDED • Expert local bilingual guides
• Daily interactive sessions on resiliency and self-care
• Lodging in exquisite small local inns
• Daily breakfasts and most dinners with wine
• Van support for luggage and transportation along the route
• One pre-departure meeting to discuss reflective practices and preparation for the trip
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED • Round-trip airfare
• Ground transportation to and from the retreat
• Daily lunches
• One dinner
• Tips and gratuity
• Travel Insurance
CANCELLATION DETAILS • Cancellations prior to May 20, 2023 are subject to a $500 cancellation fee
• Nonrefundable on or after May 20, 2023
• Limited to the first 20 people
• If Bounce Travels cancels the trip due to any reason, you have your choice of a refund (minus the $500 non-refundable) OR using your entire balance towards another Bounce Travels trip through the following calendar year.
PLEASE NOTE • This itinerary may change slightly due to accommodation availability, rain, festivals and spontaneous side trips.
• This is not an endurance race, nor a competition. Please be respectful of all the different paces and walks of life that come together on this group trip.

 

Accreditation Statement:  This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the Minnesota Medical Association and Innovations in Resilience. The Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

CME Credit:  The Minnesota Medical Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 19 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Commercial Support: There is no commercial support for this event.

This activity has been designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing continuing education requirements for 19 hours of credit. However, the nurse is responsible for determining whether this activity meets the requirements for acceptable continuing education.

Individuals representing other professional disciplines may submit course materials to their respective professional associations for 19 hours of continuing education credit.

A commercial interest is any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients.  The ACCME defines “‘relevant’ financial relationships” as financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest.

Contact

Send a message to this program facilitator

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.