The rose quartz

The first day of the final week started with saying goodbye to some of the volunteers which was a strange experience yet one that I’m used to. Saying good bye to people you’ve known so intimately to never hear from them again had been quite a common occurrence in my life. But we took a polaroid - a beautiful tradition for each volunteer who went on to start a new chapter, and the remaining of us cracked on with work. The task in hand, was walking up the mountain, digging up big rocks from the terrain and carrying them back down to the land. It’s safe to say it was a pretty exhausting day. Nonetheless, it was one that made me feel strong. Showers hit hard this week after the immense amount of sweat that had been released.

On Tuesday I experienced my first ever blackout and what a beautiful experience it was. I walked outside through to the communal kitchen to get some dinner - I had been slobbing hard in bed, staying nice and cozy. I took off my boots and stepped inside to the ‘warmer than outside’ hut and saw the other lovely volunteers huddled over their dinner on the table with multiple little lit up. I kept my torch lit and sat down to join them with a bowl of yummy left overs from lunch. Eventually, someone appears carrying what I initially thought was a light saber but now, whilst I have forgotten the name for what it actually was, I know it wasn’t a light sabre. Its neon bright colours lit up the kitchen and our laughs lit up the atmosphere. I have no clue what we yapped about that night, but I remember the complete freedom that was experienced and pure laughter and joy as we exchanged our talents and flaws.

Wednesday… oh my goodness - what a glorious day! It started off foggy and misty, lugging the big heavy rocks and stacking them to create a wall. After another incredible cake break - we set back to work and completed the task with time to clear up. I sat back and admired the beauty of our work. The day had many encounters of rocks dropping on my fingers, or feet. After unwinding with a wonderful lunch, some of us set off to go on a walk and explore an old abandoned mine. As we started to walk up the hill, we encountered our lovely host who offered to take us with him to see his incredible project that I had mentioned that was the ‘healing centre’. The jagged, rocky, crystal filled mountain made for an interesting experience in the truck - I was shaking around like a maraca, but laughing got the entirety of the very short car ride.

Since entering the pit of the mountains, I haven’t really left the pits of the mountains. Even when I arrived, I came in the darkness so I’d never seen the surrounding area. It’s been a beautiful experience don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t realise just how magical being in a different setting for some time could be. We arrived at the healing centre after dropping off some bin bags along the way, and I was instantly amazed at the beauty that stood before me. The bright, amber trees shining in the sun, the flowing noise of the waterfall, the smell of the mist, it all surrounded me as I stood in awe as to what had been created. There was so much love and care put into this building, the naturally selected crystals in the engraved steps and the carefully treated wooden beams. I eventually stumbled across a trampoline and had the most joyous, ecstatic experience ever. I found some dope pieces of nature, sporting ferns, spiralling snail shells, pieces of moss that made the rock look as though it was the earth upside down. I scrambled up to a glorious waterfall, thrashing and beating its streams against the rocks. I felt like I was a 4 year old girl believing I was a fairy in some mystical corner of the earth. Upon the walk back, we stopped to dig through all the shining crystals, we said ‘Hello’ to the old Portuguese villagers,  gazed in awe at the incredible, golden sunset, and carried an olive branch whilst constantly returning to the analogy of handing an olive branch as a peace offering. Wednesday was a day of admiration, wonder and peace.

Thursday morning I revolted back to staring at a wall for 20 minutes before getting moving and got to work on my task for the day being - dismantling the rock wall that we’d created the day before and making cement to layer in between. The host joined in and helped us too which made me feel valued - a feeling that is always good to experience. I showered away all the dirt and grime from the days prior and did the regular activities of an evening - reading, drawing, writing. Friday was a day spent wishing I could stay in bed and experience the rain from the warm, cozy cabin. I slogged my way through the work day and when the bell rang, I commemorated myself for finishing my final day of work in the mountains. See, when I first arrived, 4 weeks felt like a mountain to climb (no pun intended), only now I’m almost at the summit.

My final weekend was one catered to me, the surrounding area and the journey that I have been on. In the past, I have never let myself rest or lie in, or get an early night whereas here, it’s so easy and also so rewarding to do that. I have loved waking up, hearing the birds and feeling the cold air on my skin as I read my book. After immersing myself in fantasy land and being captivated by the drawing I’m working on, I headed outside to feel the gorgeous sunshine beam down upon my face. I sat in this mindfulness moment whilst I chatted with others and ate delicious leftovers. I had a day of letting my creativity pour out and soaking in the resting mentality.

The universe pulled through on Sunday when the crystal gods blessed me with finding a rose quarts crystal! I’d heard others say that they had came across it within the midst of all the unique milky glistening quartz, but I had never experienced it myself. After a morning of resting and writing, I basked in the beauty of the environment I had called home for the past 4 weeks and went on a hike to search for cool rocks one final time. I was sat, prodding through a patch of hundreds of naturally occurring crystals when I felt defeated and shouted to the mountains - ‘where the hell is the rose quartz?!’. Despite my impolite tone, as I looked down at my feet there was a glistening pink poking through. As if that wasn’t special enough, I then found one that is perfectly necklace sized and one that’s perfectly ‘big beaming crystal’ sized. I feel as though it really was a sign from the universe - leaving with a little more love for myself.

The final week up in the mountains was filled with immense joy and laughter, real human connection and mystical sights from Mother nature. I was full of gratitude for what I had experienced in the weeks prior and also reflection for the things I had learnt about myself.