38. Denia, Where The Mediterranean Remembers Itself

Denia is the kind of place that makes you stop mid sentence and look up. A city on Spain’s Costa Blanca sitting between a castle and the sea, continuously inhabited for thousands of years, and somehow still calm enough to feel personal. We’re sharing why Denia earns its reputation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, and how to experience it without turning your day into a rushed itinerary.

We talk through Denia’s layered history, from its Greek beginnings to the Roman Dianium connection, then move into what you actually do when you arrive: wander the old town, eye up the castle, and head to the port and marina for that waterfront energy. We also get practical about the ferry to the Balearic Islands (Ibiza and Mallorca) and why it can be slower and pricier than flying, even though it still makes sense if you’re travelling with a car or staying longer.

The biggest surprise is the one most people miss: Jardín de l’Albarda, a conservation led botanical garden just outside Denia that feels like a secret garden hidden in a residential neighbourhood. We share costs, tips, why it’s brilliant for families and photographers, and why a simple coffee and cake there can become the most memorable part of the day. From gamba roja de Dénia and fideuà to a mindset of vivir despacio, we end on what slow travel can teach you about everyday life.

If you enjoyed this coastal guide and our slice of life chat, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs a slower weekend, and leave us a review. What’s your perfect Denia plan, castle first or lunch first?

Transcript

Welcome And Clean Energy Sponsor

SPEAKER_01 0:06

This episode of the Maid in Spain podcast is powered by GoCo Energy. Clean natural energy for life at the speed of Go. Welcome everyone to the Maid in Spain podcast. I am Laura Senior Garcia. And I'm Nalini Sharma. And today we're doing our first episode of season seven. Woohoo! Yay! So Denia, where the Mediterranean remembers itself.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Oh, that's really nice. I like that. Yeah. Denia is a sp a really special little town. It is. City. City. Yeah. It's a city. Don't kill us, Denia. Yeah. It's small and it's situated sort of. It's kind of really between Alicount and Valenti. Yeah, that's the best way to describe it. Um, we can dive into that in a second, but you know, we've started just giving our little fresh take on things we're watching or that we've experienced or eating or doing or using right

Reality TV And Age Assumptions

SPEAKER_00 1:07

now. And um, you want to talk about a show that we both watched?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

So we both watched Age of Attraction on Netflix, and I think this one is really weird in some ways, I have to say, for me at least. Because you know, I watch like Love is Blind, and you know, I kind of get hooked on those. But why don't you explain the concept of the show for those who haven't seen it?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Well, the concept is that you have people of whatever age they are, but you don't get to ask that question until you decide to have sort of a commitment after the experiment. So you kind of it's almost like speed dating for a short period of time, you know, where you introduce yourself to other people, you don't know how old they are. Um, you can ask, I think almost any question except their age. Yeah. Is that true?

SPEAKER_01 1:58

You can ask if they have kids. And obviously, if you know someone has like, you know, a 20-year-old child, it's gonna give away a little bit of you know how old they are. But yeah, I just found it really interesting that first of all, I thought to myself, some people that are on the show are blind or something, because it's like, you know, age, I I don't think age is about like a number. You know, to me, it's like I'm all for like friendships and relationships across different ages. It's just one more paradigm of who we are. But I think it's really funny when someone that, you know, you have a lived experience and even your eyes show that. Like it's not, I'm not talking about like, you know, the wrinkles or whatever. I'm talking about like the experience you've lived. Exactly. And you know, they go like, Oh, I could have never guessed that person was 60. I'm like, come on, like, you know, okay, maybe not 60, but maybe 50 or something, right? And they're like shocked. And did that just I thought of like, are these people being naive or like what's going on here?

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Or yeah, and I think it's really funny that they everybody who basically I would say the majority of the people that, you know, ended up in a relationship, or at least an experiment of a relationship, you know, they all said the same thing. Oh, I'm tired of the dating scene and the apps and this, and I'm not meeting the right person, and et cetera, et cetera. And especially one particular guy that was on there, and he said, Oh, you know, my friends always laugh at me. I date the same type of girl. And then he goes for the same type of girl in the show. And he he literally went for the exact same type of girl. And then his friends show up and they're laughing at him. They actually took bets that he would end up with the exact same type of girl, which is somebody in their 20s, very early 20s, early 20s, uh blonde and kind of, you know, bubbly. Bubbly, which listen, there's nothing wrong with that. But he went on the show saying he is pushing 40 or more. I think he was or close to 40.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

And then she said she's like, Oh my god, I had no idea he was that old. So put that into perspective that he she thinks that's old. Yeah. And he has two children, two daughters, teenagers. So the difference between I think one of his children and his girlfriend is less than 10 years.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

I think it was like four years or something. I don't know. But and then there was another one that's super to me, it's super funny. Yeah, but one of the the person I found the most genuine on the whole show was the 27-year-old guy who was dating the 55-year-old lady, right? Who is like, I found he was the most genuine. Like I felt that, yeah, this person doesn't really care about the age of the other person. No. And then he's having to deal with, you know, her own house. Anyway, so I think if you're looking for something in that kind of love and outside the boundary space that you want to watch, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Yeah. Also, I think Farmer Wants a Wife. Don't laugh at me. I this is these are things I watch after I've contributed to society.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

And then you watch Farmer Wants a Wife.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Yeah, and then lived my life and everybody is where they should be. Everything is done, and I put that on because I think it's super, it's super funny. It's human. You know, the the all these reality shows, it's human behavior. Absolutely. It's what we're watching, it's just human behavior that's human.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

That's why I kind of like them. Um I know some people criticize them, but again, we're, you know, just being honest here.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

So going back to Dania.

Denia’s Origins And Castle History

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Okay, let's start our episode.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

There is a city on the Costa Blanca that sits between a castle and a sea, and it has been continuously inhabited for 3,000 years. Okay. It is a UNESCO creative city of gastronomy. Oh, okay. And it has a very special secret garden.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Right. And we're going to get to that in just a second. Do you want to uh talk us through the history of it a little bit, Laura?

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Okay. I have been having nightmares about having to say this word, but I'm going to give it a try. So Denia was founded by the Greeks, which is interesting because uh, you know, not a lot of cities here were founded by the Greeks. Some of them were founded by the Romans, etc.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

And it was called Emeroscopeon.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

That's good.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Yeah, more or less. I think I got that. Yeah. And it was a watchover, uh, a watchtower city. Right. Uh looking out to the sea across the Mediterranean. And then the Romans renamed it Dianium after Diana, the goddess of the hunt. And from there, the name Denia evolved.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

That's really nice. Yes. I bet you people in Denia didn't don't know that.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Maybe not. But or at least some. And something funny, the name Diana, the goddess the city was named after, is the root of the English name Diana and the French Diane. So in a small way, every Diana you ever met is named after the city of Denia.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

That's really interesting. And um, yeah, Denia is just a it's a very beautiful, accessible city. Would you consider it a city?

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Yeah, I think it is. Okay. So every reference that we looked at calls it the a city, Ciudad Denia, a city of 45,000 people, once once governing islands hundreds of kilometers away. And this is when it was under the Moorish period. Okay. So it's just fascinating. There's so much history to it. There is a castle above the town. It does contain layers of Greek, Roman, Moorish, and Christian history. So interesting, like you know, the Alhambra, I think, was Roman, Moorish, and Christian. This kind of takes that further layer of the Greeks as well. Okay. So basically, you can walk through 2,500 years of history in an hour. And the funny thing is, when we knew we were gonna go to Denia, I mentioned to Nalini, would you be interested in taking a Segway tour? Which her answer was like, absolutely not. You know, let leave me on the horses. So that's one of the reasons we decided not to visit the castle, but it's that we saw the castle, we just didn't visit it. But there is a Segway tour that you can take to actually go up to the castle, etc. And I've actually done that in Alicante, and it's quite recommendable.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yeah, and I mean, after we spent the day there and on the way home, I think I would have done it after the fact because it wasn't that busy when we went. It was actually we went at a good time. It I think in the middle of the summer, if you have a lot of tourists and stuff, it might be overwhelming. But the time of the year that we were there in the particular afternoon, it was just perfect.

Port Life And Balearic Ferries

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Now, um, the port, you have a beautiful port, marina, and you have uh for I mean, many times you get the some of the super yachts that yeah that park their vessel there. Denny is also the area which and I never seen it until the last time we went. The ferry that takes you over to the Balearic Islands.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

So Ibitha, Mallorca on a daily basis, multiple ferries. Yes. We did have a bit of a debate about this when we were there because interestingly enough, the ferry is almost more expensive, depending on when you buy the ticket, than your airplane rides. And it takes more than double the time. And if the water is a bit choppy, even though it's a big ferry, you can still feel no, you're feeling it.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

It's I think it's super funny to me that when you book a flight to Mallorca, for example. So I've I have flown to Mallorca, by the way, for seven euro. Like seven?

unknown 9:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Wow. Not in high season, not in high season. I mean, one way, not return. One way, but and no bags as well. There's no bags. You get your purse, that's sandwich. Yeah, you get on the plane. But honestly, you can fly to mostly Palma. Not uh Minorca tends to be more expensive and also seasonal. And obviously I visa and Formentera, but I've gone for next to nothing to spend a night or a day even. You can take a day trip and go to Mallorca. And when you're on the plane and you look down, you see you pass the ferry. Like you fly over the ferry, you see them going. I don't I mean, listen, they do a brisk business, and I think um maybe it's for people who have to commute or they want to take their car. I think that's the other big thing is that people who want to take their car, uh, it's a lot more affordable to drive there, put your car on, and especially if you're gonna s is spend an extended period there. I think it would probably be for people who work maybe from the islands and work somewhere here because otherwise it's it doesn't make sense. It used to be cheaper.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Yeah, somewhere along the line, it was uh the cost was way less. But I can tell you, having been to Ibiza on a let's say fairly uh upbeat weekend, right? And then taking the ferry back is not an experience I wish upon anyone. It's not and I don't get seasick, but yeah, that ferry is an interesting no, and then there's another thing that's really relevant about Denia

Gamba Roja And Fideuà Must Eats

SPEAKER_01 11:21

is the gambas rojas. Okay, they're red prawns, yeah. Red prawns. Yeah, the red prawns from Denia are famous all over Spain. I don't know if they're famous outside of Spain, but they're very unique. The intensity and the sweetness of the prawn is completely like no other. So, and there they usually do recommend that you eat the head or really suck the head of the prawn, or you know, which I've always found it disturbing. I always find when I watch people do that with the prawn heads, it's like you're watching an alien movie or something. I'm not into it, but a lot of people do that here. And the the prawns are quite uh pricey, they're expensive, they're very expensive. I don't even know what the market price is today, but it's upwards of a hundred euros a kilo at a good restaurant. And the fishermen go out at night and the prawns uh put the table, put the prawns on the table in the morning. Right. So it's not like you know, freshness is a real uh has to be a part of this. Right. I will say that you really have to know where you're going, you have to do your research because if not, there's a high likelihood that you're going to be given prawns that they tell you are from there, but they end up being from Namibia or somewhere much more cost-effective.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

I mean, I think once you see that that particular type of uh prawn, you know what it should look like. Yes, it has a very distinctive look to it.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Yes, it does. And always watch out for like the color of the prawn. It has to be like red, yeah, you know, because they've got like a greenish undertone. Yeah, sometimes they put these like um preservatives, preservatives on it, and it really kind of ruins the experience. I will say I am not a prawn lover. It's something that if I have to, kind of I'll eat it, but I'm not huge on prawns. Right. They remind me of like sea insects. So it's like I always look at them and I'm like, I don't know. They're just and I don't even want to say what kind of insect because I don't want to ruin prawns for everyone for the rest of your life, but they do remind me of sea insects. So I'm not huge on prawns.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Uh we had a really nice lunch when we were there. Yes. And I thought we we've talked about this before, but the noodle version of paella is Fedewa. Fidewa. And your Spanish accent is like totally there. No, it's not. But anyway, we that's a whole other issue. But it does not come from Denia, it's actually from Gandhi.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Yes. However, a lot of people think it comes from Denya.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

Okay, because it's a port town. Um, and the origin story of it, you know, in a nutshell, is that a a cook named Gabriel Rodriguez Pastor was on a fishing boat, and I guess he had to make food for the crew, ran out of the particular rice to make paella and decided to use short noodles instead. That's that that's the kind of history behind it. Yeah. And it was born out of that, and it's become a staple. But you will see on most of the menus in Denia, it is um sort of uh a staple and uh kind of the star of the show.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

Apparently, Gandhi actually holds a fidewa competition. Oh, really? Which I think is quite interesting. Uh, and the socarat that we talked about with the baella, that happens with the noodles also. You get that like burnt piece at the bottom.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

That's the fun part.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Yeah. I mean, the place where we went, I thought it was delicious. I think it's agua del mar. Yes. Agua del mar. So like agua de mar, which is like water from the sea. Yeah. And very good service, great place to have a fideo. Anywhere I think in the port, you know, you're you're probably going to get a fairly good product. But as mentioned, I would do the research, you know, look at the reviews. It's worth it if you're gonna have an experience, uh, you know, to make sure you get the best possible experience. And yeah, the port, I think, is a great place to have a fidewa and some kava, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

And I would say for anybody traveling to uh Denia, for example, it is a place that's a little bit more upscale. Yes. It doesn't mean all every restaurant is expensive, but it is a slightly more upscale, you know, place to have lunch. So just a recommendation that maybe dress the part. Yes. You know, you don't have to be super dressed up, but it is not Benador. No, it's it is definitely not Venador. But also here I find people always dress up for lunch.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Yeah, it's a you know it's a thing, particularly at the weekend. Yeah, it's almost like you know, you you wear your Sunday outfits.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Yeah, it's nice, and it's nice to be in a kind of environment like that.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Yeah. So denia, food, castle, history, the port, a little trip from Ibiza, but one little gem that we found super special. It is

Jardín De L’Albarda Secret Garden

SPEAKER_01 16:05

was the Jardin del Albarda.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Yes. So you want to talk to us a little bit about that, Nalini? All right. So when we were planning our day trip to Denia, we were thinking of things to do. I said no to the segue. So this sort of came up on just, you know, a little bit of research. And maybe for a lot of people, they would think, oh yeah, I want to go to the port or, you know, d see the castle and be directly in, you know, right at the water. But if you just drive a little further out, there's this, it I really think it's a secret garden. Yeah, it is. It's a secret garden. It's so spectacularly beautiful. They it's very special. It's very special. And I can guarantee you that if I asked 10 people that have lived here their entire life, they would not have gone to it.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Yeah, it's it's very, very unique. And when we were looking for activities to do in Denia and this came up, I swear I didn't actually know it existed.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Right. I mean, it's not as if you're uh the average person is looking for a botanical garden to walk around on a Saturday morning. That's not maybe a search you put in Google. It might just be top things to do. Uh I would hope this is populated somewhere along the uh, you know, the suggestions because it is run by, I would say it's sort of like a collective, it's a foundation.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Right. Uh Fundem, I think it's called. And I believe they have like a thousand patrons. Yes. And it was funny because when we walked in, we thought, what a great place for a wedding or an event. And we're all excited, you know, go up there and we're like, hey, so do you do like events or weddings here? And the woman's like, no. No, no, they do have concerts though. They have concerts and they have certain days of the year that they do like their own hosted events, but they do not rent out the space for that. It's really a conservation-oriented garden, and it's very, very special. Like they even have like this greenhouse that they give a whole little tour and history of, where initially they were gonna bring botanical elements and plants from Latin America, right? But the owner who originally had this place decided that that was not natural, so they decided to go a different direction, and the greenhouse actually houses a lot of uh autocht autochthonous or you know, from the region, right, uh plants and and species. So it's and also the orange blossom is all around.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Oh my god, everywhere it's really, really special. It's it's like you're stepping into, I don't know, like this little paradise. And the funny thing about the garden is it is located in a residential area.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Yes. So you when you're driving up, you're going, there's no way that we're going in the right direction, which seems to be a theme here. But it's only seven euros to seven euros uh on a weekday and nine euros at the weekend. There's plenty of parking. Uh, I think it's a nice place to visit as a family.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

100%. And you can take pictures. They also offer a photography service for 100 euros, up to five people. You have to book it in advance, but you can have professional photos taken there. I think they give you maybe an hour, hour and a half of time, which I mean, real realistically, you don't need affordable. It's very affordable. So if you want to do engagement photos, we saw a couple there doing their wedding photos, um like even a family photo. I think it's a spectacular place to go. You dress really nice, you you know, you pay your hundred euros, book it in advance, take some beautiful uh memories, uh, and then you can go for lunch in the port.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Yeah, if you're a content creator looking for someone aesthetic, you know, to shoot nice pictures, it's a great visit. And you're still contributing through your ticket to the conservation of the garden.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Yeah, and it's also um very educational. You can book a tour. You there are tour guides that will take you through and explain all the different types of trees and uh vegetation that they have. The greenhouse that they have, the construction of it is very interesting because it almost looks like a colosseum. Yeah, it's like an amphitheater in a way. I don't know if it was originally built to host um performances or something because the way it's you know circular and you have it graduated down and then the main stage area. I feel maybe originally that would was its purpose. I mean, they just have plants all over the place now. So the plants are watching the show, yeah. But it would make acoustically, I think, a fantastic location for a concert. Yeah, and the the the day we went, the following day, they were um hosting a I think classical music performance in the garden. Yeah, so that too would be something really special.

How To Plan A Denia Day

SPEAKER_01 20:50

So let's talk about how to do Denia, kind of summarize it. Okay, so you could stay in the old town if you want atmosphere and walking distance to everything, or a port area if you want waterfront energy.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Uh yeah, I think that you can do the castle, you can uh Denia is very walkable as well. I mean, at least the center of it. You can do uh the castle, you would have to drive to the garden. Um, but then you know, you do the castle, you do the garden, and you head back for a nice uh late lunch or early dinner in the port or surrounding area.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

You can also do day trips from there. So you can go to Javia, which is not far away at all, like under 15 minutes, and that's one of the most beautiful bays in the whole coast. Calpe is about 20 minutes, and the Halom Valley, which me mentioned just in the last episode, is about 25 minutes. So if you want to learn more about the Halum Valley, we just did that in uh our last episode of season six.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Okay, and then you can also take the tram from Denia to Alicante. Um, it's slow, it's not super slow. It's I mean, it it moves fast enough that you'll get there in a reasonable amount of time. Um, and yeah, it just goes along the coast, I think really pretty, pic picturesque, and you know, you can head into Alicante or vice versa. You can go from Alicante into Denya. So if you're staying there, either direction. I think it that's the last stop.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Denya and Alicante. So you can go from one side to the other. Yeah. How long would it be? Maybe I think two hours? Yeah, it's gotta be a while because you're stopping like boop, boop, boop, yeah. Yeah, and it's a tram. It's not a train, it's a tram. It's a little tram. So sometimes you won't even have a seat. But you know, it's definitely worth considering that. So some fun facts uh before we go to our slice of life. The gamba roja that we mentioned, the red prone, has its own protected geographical indication. Oh, so that's kind of an interesting one.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

Uh, next fact is that Denia was designated as a UNESCO creative city of gastronomy in 2015 and celebrated its 10th anniversary. And I mean, when you think about it, the official population is about 45,000 people. That is a fantastic designation.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

And last fun fact, the castle at Denia actually contains a toy museum. That's one of the largest collections of traditional Spanish toys, which I have no idea what that looks like in terms of traditional Spanish toy uh in the country. And it's housed inside an ancient fortress. So very charming, a little unsettling. And depending on, especially on our experience at the Halom market, it'd be interesting to see what those toys look like.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

Yeah, absolutely. And we talked about uh fidewa, that is a must-have, I would think, on your stop in Denia, even though it was originally invented in uh Gandhia. Gandhi or Gandhi? Gandhiya. Gandhi. I think there's a Gandhi. Oh, all right. I've been to Gandhi many times.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Yeah. That's a whole different one. That's a whole other thing. I find Gandhi is a bit of a strange city. Very seasonal, but yeah, very seasonal.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

But yeah, all right, slice of life, slice of life.

GoCo Energy Mid Roll Break

SPEAKER_01 24:09

So before we dive into our slice of life, quick shout out to our amazing partner, Goco Energy. You have to try this.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

That's right, Laura. Goco is energy done right, made with coconut water, natural caffeine, and real fruit flavors. No crash, no jitters, just clean, feel-good energy that actually tastes amazing.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

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SPEAKER_00 24:42

I agree. I'm not necessarily a fan of all energy drinks, but this is one that I truly enjoy. My favorite flavor so far is pineapple, and you can order it straight from gocoenergy.com. That's g-o-k-o-energy.com. Shipped right to your door.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

So hydrating, refreshing, and honestly, it just makes everything flow better.

Coffee, Cake, And Garden Cafe Magic

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Slice of life. Slice of life. We're having uh coffee and cake, and this is in honor of our garden that we went to in Denia, the well, outside of Denia, technically, but very close to it. And the cutest thing I think about the garden, the secret garden, is that they have a little cafe in the center of it, and you just kind of walk up to it. It's set in this little beautiful walkway, and you ring a bell for service. So if the girl's not there, you can ring this little bell and she comes. It's just a window. And when your little coffee or breakfast is ready or cake, you they ring the bell to let you know that your order is up, and then you take it to your table in the garden and you enjoy it. So they had beautiful cakes. I saw a lot of people having that. We had a power cake, they had. Yeah, a nice breakfast we had. So in honor of them, we're having a little slice of cake.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Yes. We did not bring the cake from the garden because that would mean we'll be eating rotten cake by now.

unknown 26:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

But I'm having red velvet and you're having chocolate.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Yes. And these are actually from our your cafe. Yeah, family cafe, Valentina's coffee shop. Um, actually, I didn't think I was gonna eat much of this chocolate cake, but it is really, really good. So I'll just take one more bite. Nice. How's a velvet cake? Really nice. Awesome. So in today's slice of life, we're gonna talk about something a little different that we're going to do next Friday.

Blue Lotus Ceremony Under Flower Moon

SPEAKER_01 26:44

So next Friday is the flower moon, which is the blue uh where and we're gonna do the blue lotus ceremony.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

So a lady uh from Soul Flow Holistics uh reached out to us, and we are super excited about this experience. I don't think it's the thing that we usually do. No, it's very different. And it's an evening, it's intimate ceremonial journey where everybody's invited to slow down, open and deeply reconnect with ourselves. So there's gonna be soft yoga to gently relax and arrive kind of fully present and in the moment. Then we're gonna have an energetic cleansing to purify our energy and create the space. By the way, all of this is gonna happen in like a yurt. Is that what you call it? A yurt, really? Like uh, yes, it's called the yurt in Javia. Okay, so it's like a big teepee or like a tent. Yeah, so we're gonna be yeah, so we're gonna be doing it in there. Okay, and then the heart of the evening, we're gonna share blue lotus tea. Right. Hopefully it's not laced with anything, you know, because this is sounding quite hippie, but you know, I think it's gonna be really interesting. And it's really a moment to open our hearts and invite kind of turning inward. And even though this is not something that we usually do, I think that it's so helpful sometimes to just slow down because whatever you're doing in your life, it feels like all of us are running from one thing to the next thing to the next thing, and you don't connect with your body sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

No, and also I just think connect with your thoughts and the fact that we are booked in to do it, uh, you know, on a particular day at a particular time. On a Friday evening. Yeah, on a Friday evening, you have to set that intention that you're going to be there, you're going to participate in it. Um, it I mean, the reality is a lot of things here socially involve alcohol, which this doesn't. It does not. Uh you know, a Friday evening to take that moment for yourself. I'm actually really looking forward to it. Same here. Because I really believe the moon governs us.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

I believe and deeply, you know, have felt it that, you know, the the moon phases and I mean if you think about it, it affects the sea levels, it affects animals. So, how is it not going to affect us? You know, where if it affects the sea and we are, you know, so such a large percentage of our human body is made up of water. Right. You know, how is it not going to impact us? So I think it's going to be really interesting. And the evening actually closes with a deep sound healing. Okay. Which is what this lady from Soul Flow Holistics is actually known for. She's like a sound healer. So they use the different sound healing tools and the you know, Tibetan bowls and all of that. Right. So honestly, I am so looking forward to it. I think it's so like a relaxation, you know, piece that sometimes is missing in our life. You know, when I speak about myself, like really it's so hard to just be present and stop.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

And to stop and just to, you know, go inward sometimes. Cause I think we're always looking outwards of what other people are doing and wearing and uh experiencing. And there's this we I think just now as a society, everybody's afraid of missing something that you always need to be connected. And it's not about disconnecting, but actually using that energy to connect with yourself, you know, and find a little bit of peace, or at least a moment of clarity.

Email Apnoea And Digital Detox Talk

SPEAKER_01 30:16

And even intentional breathing. So that's something that to me is quite fascinating because I read somewhere the other day that there's this thing called email apnea, which I thought was hilarious. But if you think about when we're on our phone and you're kind of scrolling or you're looking at your emails or you're looking at your messages, many times we're actually holding our breath in. Oh, okay. So it's like, and then you realize you're like, oh my goodness, I'm not breathing. So because you're reading or you're kind of that tension. So they call it like email apnea. Oh my gosh, I never thought of that. I can even realize it right now. It's like, you know, just taking a deep breath, right? Being present, being in the moment. So I'm looking forward to going in there with the intention of just connecting with my body because a lot of times I'm in my head, not in my body.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Right. I know that sounds kind of weird, but that sounds super exciting. I did, uh, when I was in Toronto, I did a sound healing at this uh yoga.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

What did you feel?

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Um I I wasn't anticip I didn't really know what I was going into. I signed up for the class and I went, or the experience and I just uh and I did it. It was in the dark as well. So the room was quite dim and heated. Uh it's hard in those situations not to kind of just drift off and fall asleep, which some people do, I think. But it was, I mean, when you're finished, you feel very relaxed, very centered, and yeah, just very much at peace, which I think maybe is the normal way for people to feel. It's just that we have so many outside influences on us all day and stimuli that this has become the norm of how you should feel. And the opposite way is probably more natural to us.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

It is. And sometimes, you know, you talk about a digital detox, and I'm looking forward to going in there without my phone. Like just, you know, just not having to pay attention to who's calling, who's messaging. It's you just realize that we are so hooked on our devices that it is an interesting moment to reflect. So next Friday, we're gonna be in a yurt with a bunch of people we don't know, laying down, trying to connect with ourselves. So we're like I've never been in a yurt. Me neither. This is our yurt experience. It's another first for us. It's our first yurt experience in the Costa Blanca, which I may say again, may not be the first place you think about, you know, when you think about these kind of things. It's not like you know, we're taking a trip to India or anything. No, we're driving 25 minutes up the coast. Exactly. So that was our little slice of life. We'll look forward to sharing with you on socials what that looks like. So we'll use our phone for a little bit just to show you what it's like. And let's finish with our sentence of the day.

Vivir Despacio And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 33:03

Okay. So, very much with the theme of what we just discussed. The sentence of the day is vivir despatio.

SPEAKER_00 33:12

Uh, live slowly.

SPEAKER_01 33:13

Yes. Yeah, okay. And if you're thinking about going to Denia, I think thinking about a slow holiday where you're not running around and seeing a bunch of things and just taking in that energy from the Mediterranean is a great way to frame it. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

Cheers to that, Laura. Bye for now. The Maid in Spain podcast is fueled by Goco Energy, refreshingly real energy that keeps the good vibes going.