Not one to afford time out of my day to day for a week-long retreat, I jumped at the opportunity when a friend suggested we take off for a two-day getaway to the mountains with FindingMe Bali. Just two days? Everyone can do that! Living here as an expat for the past 14 years, most assume my island life is filled with such weekends away in exotic locations, but like many of us, work/life gets in the way and we suddenly find ourselves mid-fifties, sans kids, wondering where the years went, what the hell happened to our bodies and who we have become!
Everybody deserves forty-eight hours away from the everyday to recharge, re-energise and reconnect. Add to that a group of kick-ass, dynamic, like minded women each with their own story to tell and there’s the makings of a magical weekend. It’s like FindingMe’s tagline – when women gather, great things happen.
Did I know these women before the weekend? Not really. But throw us together for 48 hours of conversation and connection in one of Bali’s most stunning locales and I now have a new armoury of amazing women I call friends.
Our mini-retreat took us to Batukaru coffee estate – a dream realised by the charismatic Kentri, a local lady with a vision for sustainability and reconnecting people with nature. Located half-way up majestic Mt Batukaru, this 10-hectare estate is a bounty of local flora and fauna with all food served during the retreat sourced from the estate itself, including the world class coffee they produce from beans grown solely on the estate. The retreat food is vegetarian, plentiful and downright delicious. Take it from a diehard carnivore, I did not miss meat for a minute!
At first glance, accommodations may appear rustic but once you’ve tossed your backpack onto the bed and taken a deep breath, you’ll realise just how special (and well appointed) your weekend digs really are.
Batukaru Coffee Estate & Retreat comprises an eclectic collection of ensuited accommodation styles from shared rooms to solo suites. Utilising materials from the local area and designed to maximise mountain views, rooms ensure privacy and relaxation while inviting guests to truly immerse themselves in the beauty of their surroundings, even enjoying a sunrise from bed! Due to the elevation, the air is clean and fresh, there’s no need for AC and it’s too cool for the mozzies. In fact, it’s probably the best sleep I’ve had in 6 months!
Our two-day program was tailored to suit women with all levels of fitness and included sunrise body balance sessions in the yoga shala, an educational hike through the jungle to the pristine Ye Ho Waterfall with guide Nengah, an emotional wellness workshop and walk through UNESCO listed Jatiluwih Rice Terraces – all activities being entirely optional. But by far the best part of the weekend was the opportunity to connect with an incredible group of women, to listen to their stories, benefit from their experience and most of all, find reassurance that I was not alone in my quest to figure who I was and where I was headed at this stage in my life!
After just one weekend I returned to my everyday crazy feeling refreshed, full of new energy and determination to achieve the next step. In a world where, as women, many of us are constantly navigating the minefield of emotions and needs of those closest to us whilst neglecting our own, a FindingMe Mini Retreat might be just the tonic you need to pilot the next phase of life after 40, 50 or 60 and to remember that YOU do indeed matter and YOU are certainly worth a weekend away in the mountains.
The importance of strength training as we age