Spring Retreat on Marettimo, Sicily 27th March to 3rd April 2024

It will be Holy Week in Sicily when we gather on Marettimo off the northwestern edge of this great island which from the time of the Phoenicians has been at the crossroads of many civilizations.

We are delighted to have this chance to invite Xie Chuan this spring for what will be our first live seminar with him. The online learning - weekly classes, monthly seminars - has been intense these past two years, and we are curious to know if it will be different, live.

Marettimo as a place of retreat is quite ideal. Our dojo is a wooden pavilion in the hillside garden of Marettimo Residence where we will stay. The mountain is our backbone, the sea, islands and the bulk of the Sicilian mainland an embrace as we stand in ZhanZhuang, as we twine silk in Chentaiji, and this time, as we explore the hidden realms of Zhineng Qigong.

There are some photos of the 'sala' where we will be practising at pix.taiji.org/sala

and room photo at pix.taiji.org/marettimo/etc/residence.room.jpg

The arrival date on Marettimo will be Wednesday 27th March, and the retreat will begin that evening. Six complete days of Qihearts meditation guided by Xie Laoshi and taiji practice with Kinthissa. From the morning of Wednesday 3rd April, we depart from Marettimo at the time of our choice to cross back to Trapani, the port-city for the Egadi.

You will see that Trapani and Marettimo are easy to reach. This spring will be our 6th gathering on Marettimo, and friends from Iceland, Ireland, GB, Germany, Spain and Italy will think little of the journey now that they know the ropes. There is an airport at Trapani; alternatively, from Palermo airport Trapani is 70 minutes by coach (five times a day) along the highway.

There are some travel notes from 2017 at /egadi/

For current information about buses between Palermo airport, Palermo city and Trapani, see /bus/

For Liberty Lines aliscafi times, /aliscafi/

We hope you will join us on Isola Sacra as the island was known in olden days. Please ask if you would like to know costs of the retreat and the accommodation which we will be booking for you. Breakfast on our balconies or in a cafe in the fishing village, picnic with goodies from the bakery while hiking on the mountain trails, and supping together at a little restaurant ~ in Sicily, food is delicious and economical.

I'm putting this in train early so you have time to plan your journey, and for us to book the rooms.

And here to give you a feel of the island of Marettimo ~ pix.taiji.org/marettimo

For the Mysteries I Misteri in Trapani during Settimana Santa ~ pix.taiji.org/massari

With warm wishes from Kinthissa and Ben

And if you have not met Xie Chuan before, or Kinthissa, you will find a little information at about Xie Chuan and about Kinthissa

The programme this spring on Marettimo will include ~