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JOIN FARAWAY IS CLOSE: SPAIN
write journey embody in a magic mountain town in southern Spain CAPILEIRA, GRANADAN What will emerge when you give yourself the gift of a retreat to evoke la naturaleza dentro – your true nature - earth wind fire water and ether –and embody the encounter in writing and movement?
Min group size 5, Max 8 June 2022 (dates tbd) Sign up for our mailing list to receive updates
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what is waiting for you in the memory of old mountains
Encounters with land, story, and community in one of the most beautiful villages of the Alpujarras. (read about us in The Olive Press, expat newspaper in Spain) |
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Facilitated by Shebana Coelho, an award-winning writer, filmmaker and traveler and founder of Faraway is Close, a new experiential cross-cultural project - with Sonia Moslero Mellado of Zahorí Massage, Cristina Serrano Paz of Flamenco la Fuente and a lovely group of Al Pujarras residents to guide you in encounters with your imagination, the language of your body, nature, dance, culture and history.
seven days out of time, and in place, to write, journey, embody
deepen your vision and profoundly refresh your body, spirit and imagination. |
WHY NOW
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In a sped-up digital world, divided by fear and more fear - of other cultures, other communities, “other others” - I believe it’s vital to nurture encounters that give us time to slow down and dissolve the borders that keep us from our shared belonging - to each other, to land, to story – creating one word, one step, one dance at a time, a collective network of resonance and healing.
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CRAFTED TO:
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WHY CAPILEIRA?
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Steeped in story and history, Capileira lies under the snowy peak of Mt. Mulhacén, in a landscape of valleys and rivers, chestnut and walnut trees, senderos paths edged by acequias of water, with starry skies and views clear across the valley to the shade of sea.
On my first trip here, as I went walking, someone pointed that way and said, see that beautiful blue in the distance, parece nubes pero es africa, looks like clouds but it's Africa. This region of white towns in the Sierra Nevada mountains was the last place the Moors held before they were expelled from Spain; here, they once made silk and the mulberry trees they planted still live in certain forgotten corners. I’ve spent two summers and two winters here and I’ve chosen it for this retreat because it’s a place where the natural elements are so tactile: the earth surrounded by verdant mountains and valleys, and dotted with flattened grass circles of Eras where ancient inhabitants threshed wheat
acequias line the paths going into the mountains and in the town itself, small fountains of spring water greet you in corners The town is lit by the fire of an abundant sun that makes some winter days feel like warmer seasons. Sometimes, short spells of wind run through the narrow streets like the memory of a dervish, and then die away to a sublime stillness; and around it all, through it, under it, over it - is the aether, the ambiente that which you cannot name but it enters every one of your senses and you feel the myth and metaphor of this place - once populated by Tartessians, Moors, ancient Andalucian farmers and herders - …you feel the earth remembering its own stories and inviting yours… Guided by these elements, calling on each one everyday, we will imagine, dream, dance and above all, write memoir fiction lyric - seed new visions and deepen old ones, nudging the storypoems under the skin to rise and manifest, responding to sound, dance, stillness, color and light - all in a nurturing environment. GETTING TO CAPILEIRA The nearest airports are Granada and Malaga. Capileira is approx 1.5 hour drive from Granada and a 2.5 hour drive from Malaga. (Aiport pickup dropoff is included in our package) The Flamenco la Fuente website is a wonderful resource about the area. Also EXPLORE OUR BLOG for more info about Capileira |
WHO WE ARE
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Founded by Shebana Coelho, Faraway is Close seeks to create resonant cross cultural experiences that connect us to different cultures and also to what may feel distant within us, the stories under the skin, indigenous to each of us, the stories only we can tell.
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Shebana Coelho is one of those people whose natural grace and intelligence can't help but inspire the rest of us to shine brighter. Her natural voice in writing and open heart mixed with imaginative powers make her a fine teacher of writing. -Joan Logghe Santa Fe Poet Laureate 2010-2012 Writing teacher for over thirty years
This workshop was a game changer! Thank you for lighting a fire inside me. Your workshop was a great catalyst READ MORE TESTIMONIALS 
encounter inspire create
catharsis metaphor deep play alchemy embody I live by these words, and create in them and facilitate through them. |
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Faraway is Close has grown out of everything I am – someone who grew up in India within Catholic and Muslim communities, then moved to the US as a teenager; a writer, director, filmmaker, poet, dancer, and a nomad who has traveled in South America, Mexico, Mongolia, Bolivia, Peru and Palestine and Spain and is now in the southwestern US, in New Mexico. What moved me as I traveled was seeing my true nature as I encountered land, story and song. As these encounters became embodied experiences, I began to dance, write stories, speak poetry and, above all, listen to the call to live the story that is true to me. Following that has led me to faraway is close…
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I feel art heals through metaphor; it creates a safe space for what needs to be seen and borne and transformed.
I believe the story only you can tell with transform you. It will illuminate us all. (Read the EN CAPILIERA blog for more stories) |
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Faraway is Close is so grateful to be collaborating with an amazing group of Alpujarras residents whose talents are making this first incarnation manifest
in the mountains. |
Sonia Moslero Mellado
MOVEMENT and MASSAGE
Zahorí Massage |
Cristina Serrano Paz
FLAMENCO
dancer and founder, Flamenco La Fuente |
NATURE WALKS
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ALPUJARRAS HISTORY & CULTURE
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WHO YOU ARE
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WHAT YOU GET
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WHAT WE DO 
everyday - with Shebana - we write embody journey …we affirm the blank page and the words (invisible, clamoring to be seen, as Nabokov imagined) we read listen write share move evoking image ceremony symbols 
Some days, Sonia guides us to move and dance to songs from this place, and the movements brings us fully into this here, this now.…
.... we enter the world flamenco with Cristina who guides us into its story and we move our bodies and arms and invoke the earth and fire of this dance. With Jaime, we walk past the Eras, past chestnut trees to feel the energy of the Sierra Nevadas, which the Moors called the Mountains of Sun and Wind…. we visit the museum, an old house full of objects that remember – Lurdes and Agustín help us reimagine the past – memories of Moors and farmers…. ....and everyday we write....we listen to stories and songs from different cultures and create from that encounter
on the first day, we share a lunch together on the last day we have a group dinner….
along the way, we meet Capileira residents, who might tell us tales of cortijos, rustic farmhouse and wheat songs, maybe we even sing… we hear Spanish – and we hear it translated into English – but especially we listen to the cadence of this place, this now we gaze on flowers and and write to them. guided, we let inspiration rise... there are one on one sessions with Shebana to talk through elements of story craft there are individual body work sessions with the hands of Sonia so that body may speak and be gentled ….and everyday we write journey create shape embody
READ OUR CAPILIERA BLOG - WE’ll HAVE UPDATES AND STORIES AND POEMS BRINGING YOU CLOSER AND CLOSER TO OUR TIME TOGETHER | |||||||
GROUP SIZE
MINIMUM 5 - MAXIMUM 10
SUN & WIND
The SUN is strong in Capileira – it is known for its almost year around sunshine
and it’s also high - about 4,711ft (1.436m) above sea level; sometimes, mist and clouds may waft into town.
Other times, it might rain. Or we might get a windy afternoon.
The Moors called the Sierra Nevadas the mountains of Sun and Wind.
So - we adapt our program to these mountains and the weather,
and are sensitive to the changeable elements.
WALKING COMFORT
The roads of Capileira are uneven stone paved streets and they slope up and down
– comfortable thick soled shoes are a must for the town
and for the rural paths (which are often more even than the streets!)
Walking is a significant part our workshop, up a gently curved paved road
to the house where we meet everyday, and down from it to the village square (about a 10 min walk)
Our guided excursions are on paths that are even in places and in other places
have roughly hewn stone steps.
MINIMUM 5 - MAXIMUM 10
SUN & WIND
The SUN is strong in Capileira – it is known for its almost year around sunshine
and it’s also high - about 4,711ft (1.436m) above sea level; sometimes, mist and clouds may waft into town.
Other times, it might rain. Or we might get a windy afternoon.
The Moors called the Sierra Nevadas the mountains of Sun and Wind.
So - we adapt our program to these mountains and the weather,
and are sensitive to the changeable elements.
WALKING COMFORT
The roads of Capileira are uneven stone paved streets and they slope up and down
– comfortable thick soled shoes are a must for the town
and for the rural paths (which are often more even than the streets!)
Walking is a significant part our workshop, up a gently curved paved road
to the house where we meet everyday, and down from it to the village square (about a 10 min walk)
Our guided excursions are on paths that are even in places and in other places
have roughly hewn stone steps.
INFO & DETAILS
CONTACT US VIA EMAIL (writeoutloud13 at gmail dot com) OR
PHONE/Whatsapp +1 609 651 5840 (US Mountain Standard Time)
follow us on facebook
PHONE/Whatsapp +1 609 651 5840 (US Mountain Standard Time)
follow us on facebook
ADVENTURES IN LODGING
Explore these lodging options and special discounts from our friends in Capileira
US to SPAIN TICKET SUGGESTIONS
– we love Norwegian Airlines which has great prices from the US to Spain,
also, we hear that IBERIA and UNITED sometimes have great discounts from the southwestern US
– we love Norwegian Airlines which has great prices from the US to Spain,
also, we hear that IBERIA and UNITED sometimes have great discounts from the southwestern US
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THE HEARTH OF THE MATTER
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Our day creativity writing sessions will be held at
CORTIJO LOS CASTAÑOS a beautiful spacious property with a terrace, gardens, a pool and stunning views |
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ADVENTURES IN LODGING
As a long time independent traveler, I wanted this retreat to have elements of guided sessions and solo endeavors. I’ve always found choosing a place to lay your head to be an intriguing exploration - an opportunity to encounter who lives in the places you will soon visit. Choose your own adventure in lodging! We can recommend friends who have properties and one primary hotel in town that offers a special discount. |
EXPLORE MORE
head on over to our blog |