Amorgos

Ahhhh (sigh). I feel my heart open just writing the title.

Amorgos is a Greek island in the Cyclades. It’s also where the famous French movie Le Grand Bleu got shot. A movie about Freediving. Which is exactly why I went there as well: try Freediving. More about that here: My Freediving experience.

The Freediving was part of a Yoga Retreat with Cherryl Duncan at the Aegialis Hotel & Spa in Aegiali, the second harbor of the island. Would I recommend this 5 star hotel ?! Of course I would! It’s a family run business, the staff is super friendly, the food is great, the view fab. I never got sick of those sunrises and sunsets that you could see from literally everywhere! And of course Cherryl’s teachings were full of insights and we had fun from breakfast to dinner! So if she runs it again next year, I highly recommend you taking part in it if you want to try Freediving with the Amorgos Diving Center and practice Yoga and Meditation with Cherryl.

We had a few days to settle down before the Retreat started and because our Ferry from Athen arrived in Katapola (the biggest harbor on the island), we stayed there first. We spent a few nights at Alezina Studios, also a family run hotel, who knows how to take care of their guests! They opened a few months ago and I wanted to give them a shoutout. We had a great time there! It is the perfect spot away from the crowds and still very close to all the restaurants. A 15-20 min walk to town.

Our favorite restaurant in Katapola was : Fata Morgana, a nice hipsterized Greek restaurant overlooking the water and very friendly staff!

One day, we decided to hike from Katapola to Chora which I honestly don’t recommend because it’s way too hot in Greece to hike anywhere, especially when a bus is actually driving there! The whole point of this hike was to make it to the famous Monastery and a restaurant that got recommended to us in Athen called Apospero. In the end we only made it to the restaurant which was my priority anyway! ;) My husband made it to the Monastery the next day and said it was beautiful and definitely worth a visit. The whole village of Chora looks like a fairytale and every restaurant looked amazing! A must see!

To me, the whole island felt particularly nice because of its old school vibe and slow pace <3

To get there, we took the fast ferry from Piraeus in Athen which took about 5 hours. There are also cheaper and slower options from Athen or you could fly to Mykonos or Santorini and take the boat from there. I personally really enjoyed taking that 5 hour water ride, it was super comfortable and I got a lot of writing done. Seeing the water for hours was really inspiring for me plus it gave me time to process the whole experience on the way back.

In Athen we stayed at the Gallery Suites & Residences which is a perfect stop-over between flight and ferry if you like to take it slow and easy like us. It’s a 5 min walk to the Harbor and 1 hour away from the airport. You can get there by metro, bus or cab.

And for great Coffee in Piraeus: Möte.

Let me know if you have any questions about traveling to Amorgos, I’d be more than happy to answer!

The self-help note

One of the things I realized on this trip was that the more comfortable I am in one area of my life (in this case being pampered 24/7 at the hotel, sleeping well, eating well, having all my needs met and not having to worry or think about a single thing) the easier it will be to get out of my comfort zone in other areas (in this case doing the Freediving course).

I think that when our system is already in stress mode, it is more difficult to get out of our ‘comfort zone’ = be even more stressed doing something we have never done before or may even be scared of.

I remembered last Summer on Jersey, where we were camping - which is already waaaay out of my comfort zone. One day, we decided to go surfing on the other side of the island. To get there we had to take 2 buses. Instead of waiting for the second one at the bus station, I went to town to get something and my husband stayed there. The plan was to meet in the second bus. Except that he got distracted and we missed the bus. So we took another one but that one didn’t stop exactly at the beach and so we had to walk 30 min through sand dunes to get there. Was I angry? Of course! Once we got there, choppy and windy surf was waiting for us and I remember looking at the water and saying: ‘I won’t go because I’ve struggled enough for today!’ - half joking half serious. Which my husband didn’t understand at all because for him none of it was a struggle. So he went for a surf while I stayed on the beach to read. I chose to stay in the comfort zone because I could feel it would have been too much that day.

Hence my theory: the more comfortable I am in one area or multiple areas in my life, the more it will allow me to get out of my comfort zone in others. It doesn’t mean that the Freediving was easy! You can read about the challenges I encountered there in the post My Freediving experience. But I did it unlike surfing last Summer!

The problem with having read so many posts about ‘getting out of your comfort zone and the benefits of that practice for one’s growth’, was that I used to overdo it and stress my system more than I needed to! But I feel that since that Jersey surf experience (or rather non-experience!), I am more aware of how much I want to / need to get out of my comfort zone.

When I’m already at my limit - and that limit is different for everyone - I won’t add an extra stressor but if I’m very comfortable in a few areas of my life or / and have some kind of routine, then I can take on something new.

I also find it very important to ask myself: why do I want to get out of my comfort zone? Did this idea come from outside (social media for ex.) or is it truly an inner urge? Am I trying to prove something to myself or others or am I just curious? What’s my intention?

And like everything, what helps, is to get to know myself :)

What is your experience with the concept called ‘comfort zone’?

How often do you tiptoe, baby step, hop or leap out of it?

And what do you choose to do when you do so?

Thanks for reading!