Newsletter - June/July 2008

Hello and welcome ...

... to our summer newsletter

Hello from a deep green (and slightly damp) Norfolk. I have just returned from four fabulous holidays, starting with 2 weeks at Yuva, our eco-holiday retreat, right by the turquoise sea in SW Anatolia. The sunny climate and surroundings at Yuva are so invigorating and the simple veggie/vegan Turkish food so healthy that I always return feeling twice the man! - Rural Derbyshire beckoned me next with back to back holidays. First, with 23 guests and staff, a 4-day walking holiday. While the group strode over the Peaks, Ritchie, Jane and I busied ourselves in the kitchen preparing meals and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of Unstone Grange, a community retreat centre, with impressive, very productive organic gardens run partly by volunteers. The Macrobiotic Summer Gathering followed. It's a bi-annual event, with 80 guests and staff, including 15 children and teenagers, a Steiner oriented children's programme and many workshops and talks. Exhausting, but fun! - Now I'm back in the office, organising the rest of this year's programme and planning for 2009/10. We have a range of holidays through the summer, autumn and winter. If you are looking for a relaxing break with active choices and great veggie/vegan food, we have plenty to offer. And if it’s a rock-bottom bargain you are after, then take an Independent Break at the Faralya Hotel in Turkey. See below. For further info on all our holidays, please visit our web sites www.vegiventures.com & www.yuvaholidays.com and feel free to contact us for further information at any time.

Happy Travelling, Nigel

Turkey

Yoga, Dance & Nutrition Week with Theresa Webb
28 July - 4 August

Many of you have asked us for holidays where you can take the children, so for the second year we have arranged our special ‘Family Break’ at Yuva. Theresa, who is London based, trained with Yoga Bugs as a children’s instructor and also includes easy acrobatics and circus skills. Lots of fun for the kids, and there's more traditional yoga for adults too, plus the swimming, guided walks, cooking classes...

Theresa’s teaching is inspired by 15 years of yoga practice, drawing from many styles and encompassing postures to tone, relax, strengthen and energise. The week is suitable for families and individuals; all levels welcome. Adults £345, children 6 - 12 HALF PRICE, one child under 6 FREE. Prices include 7 nights full board and transfers, excl flights. More...

Other fabulous holidays at Yuva Eco Holiday Centre, Turkey:

7 - 14 July	Yoga & Meditation with Chandra Mauli & Julie Preston
1 - 8 September	Yoga Break with Catherine Annis
8 - 15 September	Yoga & Detox with Lauren Manning
15 - 22 September	Yoga & Detox with Lauren Manning
29 Sept - 6 Oct	Lycian Way Walking Holiday
13 - 20 October	Creativity and Relaxation Week
22 - 29 December	Christmas in Turkey

English Lake District

6 - 13 & 13 - 20 Sept

Hill Walking Holidays

In the pioneering days of VegiVentures, I reconnoitred ten venues in the Lake District. For the best walking, beauty of location and shear inspiration Dalegarth, on the shores of Buttermere, left all the others standing. It's a guest house with character, built of wood in the 1930's, has simple comfortable accommodation, and is run by Carol & Malcolm Parker who are great hosts and make us very welcome. Buttermere is a magical, wild, unspoiled lake with arguably the best mountain views in England. Heather Read leads the walks with her friendly easy-going approach. There are daily yoga classes, good company and me (Nigel), your personal chef! Join us for our 19th season in the Lakes ! Week one is nearly full, some space still available on week two. Prices from £315 in-house, £189 camping including 7 nights half board. Please contact us and we will post or email you full details.

Peru, Machupicchu & Jungle Journey

20 September - 8 October 2008

Half of Peru is thick Amazonian jungle, with wide, twisting tropical rivers offering the main transport routes. One of these rivers is The Manu, its basin now a 4.5 million acre rainforest ‘Biosphere Reserve’, renowned for its rich wildlife. Deep in this reserved zone live the protected and secretive Machiguenga Tribe. On this tour we journey two-day by motorized dug-out canoe, down the Madre de Dios and up the Manu Rivers, where we join the tribe for 3 nights at 'Casa Machiguenga' the only lodge in the region run by indigenous people of the rainforest. All our guests booked so far are very excited about this rare VegiVentures opportunity (we last ran this tour in 2004, and if we run it again it will not be for at least 3 years). The tour continues to the Peruvian highlands (altiplano), and to Machupicchu and the Sacred Valley. There is also an optional extension to the Pacific coastal dessert and the extraordinary Nazca Lines. There is some space still available. Price: £1495, includes all ground arrangements and jungle expedition. Excluding Flights. Please contact us for full details.

Also: our Christmas/New Year Tour
17 December - 4 January Peru, Inka, Machupicchu & Lake Titicaca, space available.

Guatemala, nearly full

14 February - 5 March 2009

The Mayas Past and Present

Just a few places still available. Join us on an exploration of the land and culture of the Mayas, including: volcanic lakes, jungle covered temples, tropical beaches, Mayan ceremonies and a 3-day stay at Na'oj Mayab' a Mayan language school for children from poor families. This tour is NEARLY FULL. All the group booked so far have found flights at very reasonable prices (at time of writing £560). Tour Price: £1475 includes all ground arrangements, excl flights. Please contact us for full details by post or email.

Caribbean Holidays

A fabulous venue for a quiet holiday with excellent cuisine, on the green tropical island of Grenada. These are independent breaks, staying in the friendly, colonial-style luxury of a planter's house, with ocean and rainforest views. Perfect for couples and honeymooners! Fly at any time. Full details on our website at www.vegiventures.com/grenada.html

Other Holidays with VegiVentures

23 - 27 December 2008	Xmas on Exmoor, Christmas Houseparty
26 - 29 March 2009	Creativity Weekend, Derbyshire
9 - 13 April 2009	Spring in Snowdonia, Easter walking holiday

We are planning a VegiVenture Holiday to South India in early 2010, Watch this space!

Advert

Humanistic Psychology Weekend Summer Festival

18 - 20 July 2008. The backdrop is the beautiful LEELA CENTRE in the wonderful Dorset countryside. Speakers Dina Glouberman and Andrew Samuels lead a packed program, offering something for everyone during the festival. Feeling the energy of the early humanistic movement coming through to today helping us sense the relevance of humanistic psychology in the world as we know it... If you seek a sense of community, freedom, contact, exploration and excitement come and join in the joy of the AHPB summer festival 2008. To book a place at the festival contact Julian Nangle email: admin@ahpb.org.uk, visit www.ahpb.org.uk

One Liners:

“I don’t suffer from stress. I'm a carrier.”
“I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.”

Assisting

Free holiday?... Well yes, in exchange for some enjoyable work:

Catering assistants are required for some of our UK holidays. Experience is a bonus, but not essential. Please contact Nigel for details: T. 01760 755888

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