A Humans of Mallorca story
Arrivals happen every day and local Estate Agents can give you the numbers on a month by month basis. The winter is when it all tends to gel together and all of a sudden you are living next door to an 80’s pop star. It’s only luck that makes you even work out who they are. The Duran Duran connection are living in the Soller Valley and fade into insignificance because the celebs getting on with their lives here are two a penny. The Soller people are very unimpressed by our notions of celebrities just as we are of theirs. That is until the babies in our lives grow up here with Majorcan tastes on who is worthy of adoration.
When the celebrities are done with their arriving in the summer on super yachts the real famous arrive. Prime Ministers, Presidents and Kings happen by and Majorca is their autumn playground before Christmas overtakes them. This week it has been my privilege to get to know Nadine Hawa. She is my Human of Majorca this week. She has met many of these people in her world here here and in the seven other countries of her life – but her lips are sealed.
Nadine is a Solleric these days, living amongst the beauty of the Soller Valley. This has been her home for the past five years and comes with a wonderful family attached. A great husband and precious children complete life in the Valley. Nadine was born in Beirut and fled to Lebanon with her family as an eight-year-old. Life took them to Cairo and safety. She was old enough to remember life then and the death of a beloved uncle. Childhood memories filled with love, laughter and anguish.
Working in Dubai as a researcher for a business TV channel her brain was engaged in Middle Eastern finance and politics. She made it to the big screen for CNBC and was a TV reporter on Business Arabia for a number of years. The glitz and life of Dubai was at odds with her sustainable heart and she returned to University in London learn more about Corporate Governance and Sustainability. London life meant easy access to Europe and it was on a Greek island holiday that love walked through the door.
Nicholas Ball and love brought Nadine to Majorca and to a very different world. This was the place that Nicholas had grown up in and he has serious Majorcan roots. His family owned the majestic Son Sales, a finca surrounded by orange groves and all that represent the Soller Valley. This complex has been used for Yoga retreats for many years by the many that join annually from the USA. Nadine observed the regular visitors arrive and derive huge benefit from the Ashrams. She herself had tried Yoga at least three times in the past when all her friends became enthusiastic practitioners. For her, the true understanding and ‘getting it’ didn’t happen until she was living here in Majorca.
Babies and business came next and Nadine embraced motherhood and all its pleasures. The children are the heart of the family and adored by all the extended family living here and those that visit from afar. The Soller Valley is proving to be an ideal safe environment for the family and their way of life.
Son Sales is used by the same groups annually for their intensive retreats. People travel from all over the world to attend and many of them make an annual summer pilgrimage. Yoga is in the heartbeat of the building and visitors never forget their experiences here. It was out of this place Ananda Mallorca was born offering occasional yoga and wellness retreats. Ananda means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit and Marathi. The easiest English translation is ‘Bliss’. The whole wellness and yoga experience is working towards that high ideal.
Life is good for Nadine as 2020 approaches. She is enjoying everything Majorca has to offer and the delights of her young family. The Yoga side of life is a revelation as no-one could have predicted the part that it was to play in the life of this island. The retreats spring up every year in beautiful locations. The travel arrangements to get to Majorca are not complicated and bring many from the USA, South Africa, Canada and the UK. Yoga is a universal language which requires no translation and is understood everywhere.
For Nadine the future of the Ananda Yoga retreats in Son Sales is looking great. They happen when the Finca and the yoga gurus are available. The co-operation with the teachers of Earth Yoga makes this whole experience a team effort.
The building and the grounds of Son Sales gives the ambience that Ananda craves for their guests. All senses are fed on these retreats and many people return home ready to take on the world. Which is just as well as some of them run it. But in the true Human of Majorca spirit names are never mentioned or secrets disclosed.
Nadine is a lady of many, highly intelligent parts with much to offer to the future of the wider world understanding in Majorca. Watch this space as I am sure there is much more to come. We certainly welcome this Human of Majorca…
By Shirley Roberts
Pic by Nadine Hawa
