In 2019, I took my first trip overseas to Santorini, Greece…. ALONE. It was the most nerve-racking and most rewarding experience. The retreat was hosted by Yoga By Candace, a sweet, caring, and knowledgeable person. It was an excellent opportunity to attend this retreat, allowing me to leave my comfort zone and travel overseas alone.

Travel Days

Santorini, Greece, is about 8 hours ahead of Colorado, so travel was a process. Since I live in Durango, a small mountain town in the state's southwestern corner, the closest major airport is about 4.5 hours away in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So after driving there, I took a two-hour flight to Chicago with a two-hour layover, then an 8-hour flight to London with another two-hour layover. I was finally taking a four-hour flight to Santorini. I left on a Saturday afternoon (Durango time) and arrived Sunday evening (Santorini time) after traveling for about 23 hours!

On the way back, I took an evening flight back to London from Santorini, where I had an overnight layover. I spent the night in the airport, which was different. I had difficulty getting my boarding pass printed for my next flight, and not knowing what I needed to do, getting any sleep that night while in the airport was not happening. Once morning came, I finally got my boarding pass printed and a ten-hour flight to Dallas, TX, with an hour layover before boarding my final flight to Albuquerque. My dad picked me up there, and we had dinner before returning to Durango. By the time I got home, I had been traveling for over 48 hours with almost zero sleep!

Yoga Retreat

Every morning we attended a yoga class led by Candace or a workshop. Every flow that Candace did was terrific, challenging enough, and just a little different than other yoga classes I’ve done in the past. I enjoyed every single one of them.

One of the workshops we attended was all about posture by Eva Zschaschel. She worked with everyone, giving us tips about our posture and how we can improve it. I learned from her that I stand with an anterior pelvic tilt, my knees locked, and my shoulders rounded. By standing this way, my stomach sticks out, making me look like I have more weight than I do (or am pregnant) and highly unconfident. She showed me how to improve my posture and tips for strengthening the muscles that are weakened or stressed due to improper posture.

It is not easy to fix bad postural habits, so I am still constantly reminding myself to rotate my pelvis, unlock my knees, straighten my back from my core, and bring my shoulders down and back. I’ve improved my posture slightly, but not enough to become habitual. She said for every year that you’ve had poor postural habits; it’ll take a month to change. To learn more about Eva’s posture programs, visit her Instagram.

Following yoga or workshops, we had breakfast at the hotel and were free to explore Santorini. Most days were spent in Oia or Thira, then at the hotel pool. One day we spent doing a hike from Thira to Oia. Then in the evening, Candace led a restorative yoga class, followed by dinner at the hotel.

The Hotel

The hotel we stayed in was called Hotel Pelagos. It had its restaurant, bar, and pool. It was such a cute place to call home for a week. There were several room options, such as single, double, and triple occupancies. I chose the triple room occupancy, as it was the most cost-effective and I could meet some new people. I ended up with the sweetest girls as roommates, and we spent most of our free time together! Most afternoons were spent relaxing in the sunny and cool October air by the pool.

Oia

Oia is pronounced “ee-uh.” It was a charming town. Many of the housing in the city was on a mountainside that all had the same blue and white aesthetic. From the main parts of town, the ocean is almost always visible. We ate Gyros for lunch and visited several local shops and a cute bookstore. Like any tourist destination, many shops had a lot of the same merchandise. But the unique shops, such as the book store, interested me the most.

Thira

Thira was much of the same in terms of being a tourist destination. But there were several cute, quirky shops that I loved browsing, though. Some shops sold wine and olive oil, with an option to ship the merchandise to your house. That was a nice touch, so we didn’t have to take it all through customs when traveling back home. Though the trip to Thira was short since we were trying to find the trail we wanted to hike that took us back to Oia, it was also a charming town.

Hike from Thira to Oia

The trail from Thira to Oia is about 6 miles, with an elevation gain of 1,023 ft. It travels along one side of the island with views across both sides at high points and many ocean pictures. There are tiny trees, so sun protection and water on hand are essential! It took us about four hours to complete this hike.

My Takeaway

I loved traveling overseas, even if the travel days were long and stressful. That is just a minor detail when it comes down to the final destination. I loved the independence I gained by being about to travel alone since I was hesitant even to book the trip. I loved having the yoga classes twice a day, every day. This island was beautiful, with so much to see and do. I didn’t even get to do many touristy things since I intended to relax and not plan out every detail for this vacation. I achieved that intention and enjoyed attending the yoga retreat in Santorini, Greece, with Yoga By Candace.

More photos from this trip are located here.

If you are here and reading this, you are interested in your health and fitness. That is so good; I am so excited for you! Taking care of your body is the best thing you can do for yourself in the present and long term. I read this quote, but I am not sure who said it though

I find that so inspiring. Hard work will pay off in the future, but you also have to live in the moment, and I feel like taking care of yourself is doing both. You are doing good for yourself now as well as for your future self.

If you want to learn more about health and fitness, follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram @myactivelife_stacey. I’ve got big things coming, and I’d love for you to join me on this journey. Stay tuned!

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Side note: Candace is my inspiration for beginning this blog. She started her business many years ago, writing a blog. Since then, she has written a book, created yoga classes for her YouTube Channel, hosted many retreats and yoga teacher training events, and now even has an actual brick-and-mortar yoga studio to host in-person yoga classes and personal training. Though I don’t necessarily aspire to do ALL of the same things, my starting point is here with this blog; by sharing my experiences and opinions about living an active lifestyle.