I’m on the lookout for flying lemons. That’s the local name for the Golden Oriole, a flash of yellow that spends its summers in Andalucía’s Alpujarra mountains. Much like myself, they’ve come here in search of some rest and recuperation.
It’s 7am and, aside from birdsong, the village of Mairena is silent as I head to the first yoga session of the day. Its streets are narrow and cobbled, the white houses immaculate. As the sun rises, it pours through the landscape and illuminates the building façades, some of which are home to purple wisteria and cascading vines.
Today, the rolling hills of the Valle de Ugíjar and Cerrajón de Murtas onto which Mairena looks have been subsumed by a thin but all-encompassing band of white clouds. Yesterday it was clear skies and semi-arid scenery for as far as the eye could see. On a clear day, you can even see Algeria in the distance beyond a turquoise ocean. After a strong coffee in my room – homely and charming, featuring traditional décor and with staggering mountain views – I begin my day with a guided meditation in the village shala, the doors flung open and the sounds of nature as accompaniment.
Las Chimeneas is a farmhouse-style hotel tucked high in Mairena, a traditional whitewashed village in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, with a population of 300. The hotel is one of the village’s only businesses except for a micro bar which happens to be closed for the whole month of June. It’s safe to say Mairena isn’t a business hub. I’m here on a group yoga retreat hosted by Bristol-based Frances, who has been visiting this property for over a decade after first volunteering here in her twenties, and whose yoga retreats have become an annual affair.
Owners David and Emma Illsley – a British married couple who raised their children in this very village – have transformed Mairena in the 28 years since they moved. Despite their original intention of staying for only a year, nearly thirty years on, the couple has created employment for the villagers, bought and converted dilapidated properties, and played a significant role in improving biodiversity through countless local rewilding and restoration projects. The flying lemons are particular fans of their work.
This pocket of the world can be reached by a three-hour drive from Málaga airport. It’s the perfect location for a retreat, really, not least because of the dazzling panoramic vistas at every turn and the luxury of being physically removed from the noise of everyday life. No two weeks at Las Chimeneas look the same. Visitors hail from across Europe and beyond for walking holidays, birdwatching trips and retreats of all kinds. Throughout the year, Las Chimeneas hosts everything from yoga and tai chi retreats to writing and painting workshops, breadmaking courses and culinary residencies led by the team behind Moro. It’s enough to inspire a few new pursuits.
A stay here is restorative for many reasons. On Frances’ retreat, days are shaped by two yoga practices, mountain walks and long meals. Guests can visit local food producers and craftspeople, cool off in the plunge pool, or simply sit with a book and the mountain views.
The surrounding national park has the cleanest air in Europe, we’re told. It’s a retreat for the lungs as much as anything else.
One morning, we struggle to keep up with David on a guided walk through the surrounding Sierra Nevada National Park. He – resembling a local mountain goat, skipping over trees and non-existent pathways without a second thought – has the unfair advantage of doing one of these every day. It doesn’t take long to discover David’s encyclopaedic knowledge of local plant and flower species, rock compositions, irrigation systems, local history and tradition, and just about everything else. I scribble notes in an effort to absorb some insights, but the heat of the mid-morning sun at a thousand metres above sea-level doesn’t help with the logistics of this.
Five minutes on foot from the hotel, you’ll find David and Emma’s organic farm, where they source much of the fruit and vegetables on the menu. Pausing under one of the farm’s pomegranate trees, David shares another piece of local knowledge. Poplars destined for roofs and beams are traditionally felled under the waning August moon, then stripped and left to season for a year. The timing matters: according to local wisdom, wood cut at any other point retains too much moisture. It sounds folkloric until you look around Mairena and realise many of the village’s centuries-old buildings were constructed according to exactly these rules.
As we meander through the farm, perfumed by French lavender and wild mint, we snack on an inordinate amount of seasonal fruit. This week, that means cherries, peaches and loquats – all impossibly sweet and seemingly growing in every direction. Naturally, David and Emma also produce their own extra virgin olive oil. Earlier this year the pair spent five days harvesting around 800 kilograms of olives by hand.
Food in Las Chimeneas is homely and considered, following Spanish-Moorish recipes. The menu varies each day, but you’ll recognise a great deal of dishes from a flick through their very own recipe book, which is displayed and on sale in the dining room. This is a beautiful read, featuring striking photography and profiles of local producers, alongside classical recipes. Chefs and sisters-in-law Conchi and Sole have been with the hotel from the beginning. You taste the quality of the local produce, the familiarity of generational recipes and the care that goes into each dish. Guests get the choice of two options per course at dinnertime; salmorejo, sole cooked in an orange sauce and tender paprika and chicken stew and traditional chocolate cake are some highlights from my stay.
The property’s petite size, the warmth of its owners and staff, and the authenticity of this family business create an atmosphere I’ve rarely encountered elsewhere. Guests gather over a glass of wine before dinner, swapping stories from mountain walks and village visits, and before long a sense of community emerges almost without anyone noticing.
After a final inhale of mountain air, I begin my descent via the winding roads back towards the coast. It feels like a reluctant return to civilisation, but in three days of slow pace, meaningful company and meditative yoga, I feel that my mind has become a little sharper, my nerves much calmer, and my limbs hopefully a little more flexible.
To book Frances Hawley’s Yoga Retreat, visit: yogaglowstudio.co.uk
