Today we have the pleasure of spending time with Andrew Finlay of Wild View Retreat. Andrew’s has been on quite a journey culminating in the eventual creation of Wild View Retreat. Andrew is a Nutritional Therapist, Yoga Teacher and Founder (along with his wonderful wife Erika) of Wild View Retreat. www.wildviewretreat.com About Wild View Retreat Wild View Retreat has arisen from the ruins of an abandoned mountain village of Corgas Bravas, in the foothills of the Algarve in Portugal. Originally built by a Portuguese Army General in 1898, the ‘Manor House’ and surrounding ruins have undergone a 1.5 year restoration and redevelopment project, transforming the iconic setting into a bespoke wellness retreat. Wild View Retreat is defined by its spectacular uninterrupted 360° views of the Serra do Caldeirão mountains, a Zona De Intervenção Florestal protected for its natural beauty and famous Portuguese cortiça (cork) trees. There are no cars, no roads, no buildings, no neighbours. Nothing but wilderness and nature. Nothing to hear but the birds and the wind. Nothing to do but restore and relax the body, mind and soul. On the retreat all guests will be away from the pressures of modern society, isolated in nature embarking on a programme of detoxification, wellness and fitness, working towards restoring health and balance in our lives. You’ll return home feeling brand new and fantastic! Andrew’s Journey So how did all this come about? Well this is a story that stretches over most of my lifetime. It is a genuine and heart felt insight into the personal journey I’ve been on, and how I ended up surrounded by these incredible wild mountains and inspirational people today. As with all stories, it contains some serious ‘bottom of the whiskey glass’ moments as well as some incredible highs. All of which I now realize have been invaluable life lessons, guiding me along a bumpy path and to the eventual evolution of Wild View Retreat. Since my childhood days I’ve always fitted into the category of ‘non-conventional’. I probably didn’t even understand what that meant at the age of 10 nor quite where it would eventually lead me. But as teenager I soon became familiar with the stresses and strains of modern day society, silently observing my father’s struggle to balance the pressures of finances, work, relationships and life. It made me question why we pile so much pressure on ourselves if it is only going to make us unhappy and unwell. Of course I realise now the conventional path is amazing for many, but I started to understand it’s not for everyone. When my father then retired at 53 to enjoy he’s freedom and tragically died a year later from a diet and lifestyle induced cancer, it was to change my life forever. He never got to enjoy the result of 30 years of stress and hard graft and I never really had a father in my life. Making healthy lifestyle choices is hard to achieve in our modern society. Seeing the impact of stress, a poor diet and no exercise on my Father planted the initial light bulb moment. I feel like he sacrificed his life to pass on these lessons, unwittingly never knowing they were going to have such a profound impact on me. Pursuing a career in an out of office environment, I found myself working on environmental conservation in Fiji and then the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. This was a fascinating and rewarding experience, but was abruptly cut short when I nearly lost my leg from a terrible compound fracture and open dislocation on a remote Pacific atoll. When none of the medical staff were able to help me, my great friend Brett stood up and carried me for two days on two small aircraft, from Majuro Atoll, Micronesia to Hawaii and on to Sydney, to get medical help. After 3 weeks with my leg in two pieces doctors finally cleared a severe leg infection and were able to drill me back together. It was a very close call and I will always be eternally grateful to Brett for getting me out of there and for the use of both my legs! This painful experience provided the catalyst to buy a bicycle and ride continuously for 8 months from the Arctic in Alaska through Canada, America, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and finally to the Panama Canal – the best physical and mental therapy I could have ever possibly imagined! It was truly enlightening, the generosity and hospitality of strangers restored my faith in humanity of this crazy World. An unforgettable journey and experience, one that I would never have pursued if I hadn’t nearly lost my leg and if Brett hadn’t come to my rescue. It’s strange, but ask me now and I am almost grateful to the guy who broke my leg but even more grateful to Brett for ensuring it wasn’t amputated. However there was one last tragic event to come. Brett, my friend who had carried me from Majuro Atoll to Sydney, tragically drowned in a free diving accident back in the Marshall Islands, when we went back to ...
