Chef Denise Cowburn-Levy joined us in Greece to complete her cookbook. She was joined by her friend, life coach Gabi Lowe who wrote her bestselling memoir Get me to 21 on the island. A year later they both had their books selling on the shelves. Below is an extract from her book Around my Table. about her experience on the retreat.
Finally the day dawns for us to head on out to Skala Eresos for our writing retreat. I am so excited. I have
been here in this bustling port city now for three nights, so I am ready to move on to a quieter place. We
have met a few of our fellow writers and a few more gather in the lounge area of our hotel to await the
bus, which is running rather late.
When the minibus does finally arrive we are slightly taken aback as it seems to be an eight-seater
and I know we are ten plus a driver plus loads of luggage. Mmm, this is going to be fun! Should be
an interesting test of character. Oh and on top of this it has no aircon, and it is already incredibly hot
outside.
Sure enough, some cases are strapped to the roof, others jammed in the boot, and others placed under
our feet. We are all sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, rather awkwardly. Then low-and-behold if the driver
doesn’t make one more stop to pick up an extra person. Oh no! Where the hell is she going to go?
Nothing for it but to squish up even more and pile her in with her small bags. Thank goodness she
travels light! We all complain quietly, but there’s nothing to do but to accept and survive the drive.
So nearly two hours later, drenched and melting but in good spirits, we arrived in the famously
bohemian village of Skala Eressos at the Hotel Kyma and the fabulous Kate and Sarah - our hosts for the
writers retreat.
I was delighted that the village was so quaint, with cobble-stoned roads and classic white blue and
green shuttered houses. The hotel was directly on the seafront. In the middle of the crystal clear sea
was a massive rock rising from the depths. We had been promised to swim to it every day, and it looked
really far out.
We literally fell out of the bus, gasping for fresh air in the hot Greek summer and stretching our sore
limbs and aching backs. But the beauty of the surroundings and the warmth of the host family soon
dispelled this physical discomfort.
I love going somewhere and having absolutely no expectations. Yes it is lovely to go back to a familiar
spot and anticipate what you are going to enjoy but somehow the unknown makes me more acutely
present and in the moment. Everything is new, f resh and exciting.
For the next week we wrote and wrote. We all experienced incredible moments, both together as a
group of writers and privately in our rooms, delving into our chosen topic, exploring old emotions and
reliving scenes from our lives as words poured out of our hearts and onto paper.
There were many laughs and many tears too. We all connected on a very deep level, quickly discovering parts of ourselves in other writers as we heard their stories.
We were open, vulnerable and brave. Kate took us on a journey deep into our souls, held us as a group
and counselled us individually, which we certainly needed. Sarah shared her immense knowledge and
writing skills with us, setting the tasks and homework for us to do and guiding our writing journeys.
The island presented excursions and physical challenges every day. We swam out daily into the Aegean
Sea all the way to The Rock, walked up to ancient ruins and hiked to the winter village on the hillside
where we ate a table full of lamb. I embraced these joyously, as I do love a challenge!
Swimming far out into the sea was a magical thing. You need to push yourself to get there. Some days it
looked so far, and seemed to take forever, and other days it was a breeze. The feeling was so rewarding
of arriving at this huge rock jutting out of the water and pausing to take a moment to catch your breath,
to warm your body in the early morning sun.
So many thoughts ran through my head as I swam, cut off from the outside world for a while. There
is only the lapping of the sea and the feeling of doing one repetitive stroke after another. You go into
a kind of trance. The sea drew out thoughts and feelings and memories. I was never sure where they
come from, but clearly they needed to bob to the surface as a cork on water does and, once released, it
felt so good to let go of them.
We shared so many gorgeous meals together, both as a full group or separately in the several seaside
restaurants and small tavernas.
How lovely to just walk everywhere! Such a stress-free feeling this village life gives you.
One of the highlights was to have my brother Julian join us on the retreat, as we have lived on different
continents for decades so extended time together is limited and very precious. We are two years apart
and shared a very close bond growing up.
Gabi was writing her own story about the early passing of her remarkable daughter Jenna, the impact
that it had on everyone that she came into contact with as well as the legacy that she left behind. It was
not an easy topic to delve into as you can imagine, and one that took serious bravery by Gabi as she had
to revisit so much pain and suffering and go deep into the dark recesses of her soul.
The day came to leave the island and it was so sad to leave this remarkable place. I knew with certainty
that I would be back someday. It is a very special place Skala Eressos and creeps stealthily into your
heart. We really felt a part of the town, like old locals after a week, with our favourite café or ice-cream
shop and we were greeted as friends by those restaurateurs and shopkeepers.
It was a life changing and defining time and I was so grateful to have been a part of this.
been here in this bustling port city now for three nights, so I am ready to move on to a quieter place. We
have met a few of our fellow writers and a few more gather in the lounge area of our hotel to await the
bus, which is running rather late.
When the minibus does finally arrive we are slightly taken aback as it seems to be an eight-seater
and I know we are ten plus a driver plus loads of luggage. Mmm, this is going to be fun! Should be
an interesting test of character. Oh and on top of this it has no aircon, and it is already incredibly hot
outside.
Sure enough, some cases are strapped to the roof, others jammed in the boot, and others placed under
our feet. We are all sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, rather awkwardly. Then low-and-behold if the driver
doesn’t make one more stop to pick up an extra person. Oh no! Where the hell is she going to go?
Nothing for it but to squish up even more and pile her in with her small bags. Thank goodness she
travels light! We all complain quietly, but there’s nothing to do but to accept and survive the drive.
So nearly two hours later, drenched and melting but in good spirits, we arrived in the famously
bohemian village of Skala Eressos at the Hotel Kyma and the fabulous Kate and Sarah - our hosts for the
writers retreat.
I was delighted that the village was so quaint, with cobble-stoned roads and classic white blue and
green shuttered houses. The hotel was directly on the seafront. In the middle of the crystal clear sea
was a massive rock rising from the depths. We had been promised to swim to it every day, and it looked
really far out.
We literally fell out of the bus, gasping for fresh air in the hot Greek summer and stretching our sore
limbs and aching backs. But the beauty of the surroundings and the warmth of the host family soon
dispelled this physical discomfort.
I love going somewhere and having absolutely no expectations. Yes it is lovely to go back to a familiar
spot and anticipate what you are going to enjoy but somehow the unknown makes me more acutely
present and in the moment. Everything is new, f resh and exciting.
For the next week we wrote and wrote. We all experienced incredible moments, both together as a
group of writers and privately in our rooms, delving into our chosen topic, exploring old emotions and
reliving scenes from our lives as words poured out of our hearts and onto paper.
There were many laughs and many tears too. We all connected on a very deep level, quickly discovering parts of ourselves in other writers as we heard their stories.
We were open, vulnerable and brave. Kate took us on a journey deep into our souls, held us as a group
and counselled us individually, which we certainly needed. Sarah shared her immense knowledge and
writing skills with us, setting the tasks and homework for us to do and guiding our writing journeys.
The island presented excursions and physical challenges every day. We swam out daily into the Aegean
Sea all the way to The Rock, walked up to ancient ruins and hiked to the winter village on the hillside
where we ate a table full of lamb. I embraced these joyously, as I do love a challenge!
Swimming far out into the sea was a magical thing. You need to push yourself to get there. Some days it
looked so far, and seemed to take forever, and other days it was a breeze. The feeling was so rewarding
of arriving at this huge rock jutting out of the water and pausing to take a moment to catch your breath,
to warm your body in the early morning sun.
So many thoughts ran through my head as I swam, cut off from the outside world for a while. There
is only the lapping of the sea and the feeling of doing one repetitive stroke after another. You go into
a kind of trance. The sea drew out thoughts and feelings and memories. I was never sure where they
come from, but clearly they needed to bob to the surface as a cork on water does and, once released, it
felt so good to let go of them.
We shared so many gorgeous meals together, both as a full group or separately in the several seaside
restaurants and small tavernas.
How lovely to just walk everywhere! Such a stress-free feeling this village life gives you.
One of the highlights was to have my brother Julian join us on the retreat, as we have lived on different
continents for decades so extended time together is limited and very precious. We are two years apart
and shared a very close bond growing up.
Gabi was writing her own story about the early passing of her remarkable daughter Jenna, the impact
that it had on everyone that she came into contact with as well as the legacy that she left behind. It was
not an easy topic to delve into as you can imagine, and one that took serious bravery by Gabi as she had
to revisit so much pain and suffering and go deep into the dark recesses of her soul.
The day came to leave the island and it was so sad to leave this remarkable place. I knew with certainty
that I would be back someday. It is a very special place Skala Eressos and creeps stealthily into your
heart. We really felt a part of the town, like old locals after a week, with our favourite café or ice-cream
shop and we were greeted as friends by those restaurateurs and shopkeepers.
It was a life changing and defining time and I was so grateful to have been a part of this.
