Photos and Report Christmas and New Year Detox Egypt Dec-Jan 2011

Well this was a real mixed event, ending on a wonderful high thankfully!

Once again guests arrived at Sayadeen Village Nuweiba for the second detox retreat at this resort. We were 9-11 guests, 2 left after week 1 and 4 more arrived for week 2. The staff team was myself, Sandra Hillawi, the sparkling and amazing Jo Hogarty for Yoga and beautiful Lynda Jakiro for massage.

It was good to be back at Sayadeen, to be welcomed with warm smiles by the resort staff again and to soak up the stunning views across the Gulf of Aqaba, mountains behind and to the right, the sea and Saudi mountains in front and to the left.

We began our detox. Chef Barakat our dedicated chef now familiar with our menu served up such delicious and beautifully presented detox meals that all the guests loved. After 2 days we started our juice fast.  A few guests wanted a longer juice fast so the Chef happily adapted to all adjustments to accommodate the needs of everyone.

It was going well but we did have some problems in week 1.

The Weather and The Showers

The showers were not reliable in some of our guest rooms. Apparently in this remote Bedouin region of Sinai where the plumbing is not all modern, especially in our older resort, sand gets into the pipe work here and there affecting the water pressure and needs to be cleared from time to time. Then we had a freak storm, dramatic sheet lightening and heavy rain, in itself quite exciting, but this caused a few problems to services. In England snow grinds us all to a halt. In Egypt water has the same effect.

The hotel however responded very well. They had their own generator thankfully, as power was lost in the whole region for a while. They got to work immediately and worked really hard clearing the mess after the storm restoring water as fast as they could and thankfully by the end of week 1 and the start of week 2, the hotel was back to normal, as was the weather, and all the showers were working again reliably.  The guests staying only 1 week however were somewhat disappointed with the weather and the resort problems though enjoyed the detox, what they learned and meeting new friends.

Thankfully the sun returned gloriously, the services were all restored reliably and new guests and old staying for week 2 had a wonderful time.

New Year Highlights

As this retreat extended over the New Year we had some special celebrations. Six of our detox group decided to take the special journey to the top of Moses Mountain to watch the sunrise on the 1^st day of the New Year from the summit. It was a very demanding journey, starting at 11 pm, ascending by camel in a procession of torch lights up the mountain, and then on foot to the summit. It was sub zero up there but the stunning views and glorious sunrise across the Sinai desert and mountains on this first day of the year was an unforgettable experience for everyone.

They all descended the mountain to tour St Catherine’s Monastery then returned after their night excursion shattered, a bit bruised after the camel ride  and ready to collapse in bed or on the beach to recover. No regrets whatsoever though. Definitely worth it.

New Year Party

Those who didn’t venture up the mountain stayed for the New Years Celebration at the Hotel, joining other guests for whom the owner Mr Sami has laid on a night of singing and dancing. An Egyptian singer doing a medley of popular songs from several countries followed by the local Bedouins who came with their petrol drum and sang for us. We all danced and had a wonderful time.

Yoga Jo and myself became the stars of the dance floor once we’d mastered the famous Egyptian hip movement after watching some of the beautiful Egyptian women showing us how it’s done.

Real Lasting Stress Release

All the guests enjoyed the therapies, massage on the beach or in private, relaxing foot massage on the beach, listening to the waves lapping and enjoying the sun. Yoga Jo’s 2 hr Thai Yoga was popular as an additional therapy as was Lynda’s past life clearing which she offered in addition to Massage. There was plenty of bliss outs and pampering.

But in the one to one EFT and EMO sessions we went below the surface for deeper inner healing and inner change.  On this retreat we worked with bereavement, healing loss and sadness, releasing with family conflict, restoring relationship disconnections, releasing works tress and boosting self confidence and confidence in our body, to feel more attractive.

Love Life Energy and Emotions

In the group workshops we did lots of heart healing exploring and understanding why and how to love ourselves more, the energy dynamics of relationships, how they work, why they fail and how to restore connection, flow and nourishment. We shared some wonderful enriching sessions together.

Celebration Dinner

So when we came to the celebration dinner, everyone was happy. We dressed up for the occasion,  ready with our hip scarves.

We’d all lost weight and had more energy and vitality from the detox. Everyone had enjoyed the raw menu, learned some new life skills and self help techniques, released some stress. All looked and felt radiant light and free, ready to celebrate.

Chef Barakat did a wonderful job with the raw celebration dinner amazing and delighting guests with the mouth watering and delicious and healthy meal. Then it was time to say thank you to everyone who had helped and supported the event, therapists and staff and finally the Bedouin singers arrived again, with their petrol drum. Happy healthy free and full of joy we danced and laughed and shared our last night together. Nagi bright dancing spirit showed the way followed by Jo, myself and then the rest of the guests joined in. Guests and hotel staff all together, happy, new friendships and connections having been made before the long journey home.