The Beginning

Our first morning view from Villa Mandala

Today is where it all begins.

   Ben (my long suffering husband) and I had lived on the river in Hampton together for over a decade. We met when I was on my own boat and he on his and together we lived and worked on three boats before putting our beloved Barge up for sale and flogging any other superfluous belongings in order to start a brave new challenge...

   To open a bed and breakfast/ yoga retreat on the gorgeous Greek island of Corfu :)

  It started as most of our crazy ideas start- with a casual conversation:

"It would be nice to have a garden wouldn't it?"  I said.

  "Don't say that!" Ben replied "We have only just got the boat how we want it. Where would we go that we could have a garden?" 

  "I don't know. You are probably right... but I just have a feeling we might have a garden soon."

  Ben sighed, rolled his eyes and mumbled "...Crap."

  Within a month things changed before our eyes. The Ferry Boat skipper job that Ben had worked at lovingly for over 6 years was no longer working for him. I was still loving teaching singing and yoga and leading kirtan in Hampton but it felt like something was missing. It was time to shake things up.

  "I just wish I could work for a business that I could really  put my heart and soul into." Ben said one day. "Maybe we need to get away from here and start something of our own."

  So it simply became a case of where.

 We both wanted sunshine and we needed something dramatically cheaper than London prices (not hard to do).

   First we thought France, I speak passable french and we love the country... but the south where the weather is warmer gets pretty pricey.  I called my Mum who had also sold everything when I was at the end of my college years so that she could open a medieval campsite near Poitier. (Yes people, she really did this- I am proud to come from a long line of nutters!)

    "The trouble with rural France is friends." My mum said. "Don't get me wrong the local people were great and some of the other expats were really lovely people, and good friends to me. But real, proper, soul group friends. People who totally get you don't spring up everywhere. You should perhaps think about going somewhere near an alternative community. Somewhere where you are more likely to meet like minded people. You'll miss all your present friends too much if you don't find a new community to settle in to."

 She was right. We love our friends in England, they would be a very tough act to follow. If we were going to leave all the people we love in another country we best set our selves up to succeed.  
 It got us thinking.... Corfu.

  Neither me or Ben  had ever been to Corfu before, but why let something like that stop you from making the biggest move of your life- eh?!

  My oldest friend, sister really- Sophia married a gorgeous Corfiat and also deep friend- Costes. We are the godparents to their son, we already knew and loved their big Greek  family and we met some of their friends at their wedding and noted that they were all amazing people that we could happily poach as friends of our own (...which we thoroughly intend to do)!

  A quick google search showed image after image of sunshine, mountains, sea, beaches and some of the most beautiful landscapes either of us had ever seen.

We came to the island and fell in love. The mountains, the trees, the beaches, the weather, that crazy blue water and impossibly blue sky. We couldn't believe it. 

By our second trip we found our dream home. It was better then anything I could ever have even hoped for the villa is in a stunning village, has views of mountains that are straight out of a fairy tale, its 7 mins drive from the sea, in the coolest, most alternative, creative, yogic, funky, hippy community on the island of Corfu. We are pinching ourselves constantly to see if we are actually awake!  I literally cried when I stepped into what is now our home and within the time it took to put the boat on the market and pack up our things we found ourselves saying goodbye to our loved ones in Hampton and driving off into the sunset.

From this...

To this!

  So here is the start of our story! 

     This blog is the space we will share our journey to Corfu, doing up Villa Mandala, setting up the Mandala Yoga B&B and sharing our life here on the paradise island.

  Thank you so much for dropping by,

   Big Love!
          x Sacha


www.mandalayogabnb.com

www.gofundme.com/launch-the-mandala-yoga-bnb