When I went to see Alex Serra and TotiDub,back in June in Granada, it was part of a taster for the Luz Del Sur Festival. At the end of the event, they showed us some footage of the festival, from the previous year and it looked amazing. It certainly looked like something I would like to attend. But it is hard for me to make plans. Especially, when it comes to having someone look after my girls. Plus there was the cost of it. But it stayed in my mind all through the summer.
I discussed it a few times with some friends, but those conversations never went anywhere. Mostly cos I felt there were too many obstacles in my way. But one friend, reminded me of the conversation a couple of weeks ago and said that we should just make it happen. Plus I really felt like I could do with a wee holiday, some me time. Where I could really just focus on me for 3 days.
And we made it happen. We travelled to the outskirts of Cadiz ( a four hour car journey) to spend 3 days, 2 nights, camping at the festival which was held at a lakeside campsite. Which was beautiful. I was pretty excited about going on a road trip, with a couple of my friends. So after arranging for my girls to stay with their friends for 2 nights, I was ready to go. We left late morning and got there in the afternoon.
Just in time to go for a swim and see Januman perform. Who is an amazing multi-instrumentalist, who used a loop machine, to layer the many different instruments he played live , on top of his own voice, to produce some of the most uplifting music, I have heard. I danced for 2 hours non stop, my body would not allow me to be still and I love it. It certainly made me Estatic.
Then there was an hour and a half break to eat. I brought my own food, as eating at the festival was an extra cost. Then at 10p.m I got to see Alex Serra and Totidub, perform together again. I have listen to Alex Serra's music so much, because it is so uplifting and positive. It just felt so good to get to see him live again. I got speaking to both of them the following day. Totidub had just got back from Ireland after performing there and he loved it. So we had a lovely time talking about the beauty of Ireland. Then later I got to chat with Alex and tell him how grateful I was for his music. He was super sweet and humble.
That was my Thursday, I went to my tent super tired but oh so content. Then I was up on Friday ready to go again. Eager to get more involved in the festival. But first I had to go for a swim in the lake. Which was total bliss. The water was so soft and the view was amazing. It was the perfect way to start my day. After my hour down by the lake, I went and had a breakfast of fruit and headed off for the Biodanza workshop, which was run by a beautiful friend of mine and his partner.
There about 100 people in attendance and it was amazing. ( I know I'm using that word a lot, but it's the most fitting and I will be using it a few more times). After that I had a half hour to process, all the wonderful connections I made, before heading off to an Estatic Dance and Five Rhythms workshop. The Estatic DJ, Alex Seville is also a friend of mine, and I do love his sets, he is so good at reading the crowd and he really takes you on a wonderful journey with the music he plays. I'd never done a Five Rhythms workshop before, so I was excited for that and it didn't disappoint. I danced for 4 hours straight. Stopping briefly to drink some water or hose myself down as it was about 34 degrees Celsius. The energy was electric.
After that I had an hour and a half before the next event. So me and my two
friends went back to our tents, where we made some food to eat. A chickpea Salad, with sprouts for me, as I needed some high energy food after my day of dancing and also because I knew I would be dancing again later that night. We thought we were late for this next event, but actually we arrived just as the artist was doing a sound check. This lady blew me away, Musgo. She has the most beautiful voice, using it to sing and make beats as she plays the Harp, whilst using a loop machine to bring the altogether. She was amazing. I was up dancing for the whole concert, which included her version of Teardrop by Massive Attack.
I danced for 8 hours on Friday and by the end of that day, my body felt sore, but also good. I can't remember the last time I ot to dance for so long in one day. When I dance, I feel free and oh so alive. I had considered going for another swim before I retired for the night, but my body wasn't really up for it, so I went to sleep, my heart full of love and gratitude for the apical day I had and the wonderful people I connected with. Plus I wanted to get enough sleep, so that the following day, I could enjoy as many hours of the festival as I could, before we had to drive back home.
I didn't wake up as early as I hoped, but I was in time for the morning circle, where we sang and were informed of the days events. After that I took part in a dance workshop, which called on us to connect with our inner animal, which I had no problem doing. Especially with the music that was being played. It just felt so good to be moving my body. After that I went to the lake for a swim, I was the only on there and when I was in the water lots of swallows turned up. They were swooping up and down on the water and some were so close to me, as I floated out in the water. It was so beautiful and I felt so blessed.
Then it was time to have some food, before the last Estatic Dance, that I would attend. There was a Cacao Ceremony first and then I spend the next three hours dancing, alongside all the wonderful people I had met. Me and my friends had to leave before it finished, as it was getting late. That was not a easy thing to do, to drive away from such a wonderful event. But our hearts were full and we had a 4 hour journey ahead of us, that saw me arrive home just after one in the morning, exhausted but really happy.
