The nearest airport is Faro (one hour's drive away). Most of our guests tend to fly in to Faro and have us pick them up from the airport.

There are regular trains from Faro to Lagos, for those who prefer to make their own way. You can also fly in to Lisbon and take a bus or train from Lisbon to Lagos (4 -5 hours). There are buses and trains from most European cities to Lagos.

By car:

On the motorway take the Odiaxere exit. On the main street of Odiaxere, turn right at third traffic light.

Alternatively, on the coast road (Lisbon to Lagos), turn off past Bensafrim at the sign of the "Barragem".

Follow the signs Barragem or Barragem de Bravura. Follow the road to the top - past the dam on your left, past the restaurant on your left , and at the end of the new patch of tarmac you will see our sign Moinhos Velhos. Follow the cement drive into our valley.

Arrival at Faro airport:

If you would like to be picked up at Faro Airport, please advise us of your flight number and the time of your arrival and we will be there to meet you. Upon entering the arrival hall TURN LEFT and look for somebody with our sign Moinhos Velhos.

We are most fortunate that the water from the Barragem, (which is a major supply of water for Portimao and Lagos) runs through our property. A tunnel through the mountain opens into a control station on our property, from which we are able to get our water for the garden. We have two means of obtaining this water. There is an old gravity feed through canals which supplies water to our lower garden. Our Portuguese gardener loves this, as that is the system which he is used to, and he makes good old fashioned ditches which supplies water to the plants.

We also have a pump at the control station, and this pump supplies water to the rest of the garden, primarily through a computerized 16 station irrigation system.

In spite of the fact that Southern Europe is experiencing a severe draught this year, there is still sufficient water in our barragem to supply all the water that we need. We have a 100 meter deep borehole, from which we obtain the water for drinking, as this water is a better quality than the barragem water. The water from the borehole is pumped into a storage tank from which it is then pumped to the main house.

When we purchased Moinhos Velhos in 1992 there was a converted farm house, three old animal buildings and a couple of ruins. During the first year here we cleaned up the property and built the yoga temple, swimming pool, sauna, clinic and guest house and we had our first program in May 1993. In the following years the main house was added to and restored, a couple of ruins converted and other buildings added.

Today we have altogether 12 buildings on the property plus a large (160 square meter) greenhouse, a sauna and a tepee. The main building has a dining room and two kitchens. One kitchen is for making the juices. In the second kitchen there is a staff eating area. Adjoining the office is the living room, which is very cozy with a most efficient wood burning heater. There is also a wood burning free standing heater in the dining room. Above the living room is the main office with two computers, printers, copying machine, etc.

Outside the dining room and kitchen there is a large terrace with comfortable seating. In the summer time part of this area is shaded by an overhead grape vine. Just stretch out your hand and pick the grapes, which of course are off limit for the fasters.

A broad stone stairway leads down to the yoga temple and pool.

The pool is a salt water pool. Approximately 12m x 6m we use no chemicals in the water. A special conversion units splits the salt atoms into natural chlorine and oxygen, (at least that is the way I understand it) providing a chemical free pool. It is truly a pleasure to swim in this water, it feels like silk on the skin. We use the pool 12 month of the year. In the winter when the water temperature can drop to 14 degrees, we first have a sauna and a quick dip in the pool is then most refreshing.

The sauna is just below the pool. Here also is the storage area for our garden equipment as well as the greenhouse (20m x 8m).

Past the temple is the clinic. This building has four rooms and one toilet. There are three therapy rooms with a selection of modern holistic therapeutic equipment. We have a complete Bicom System, Foot Detox Bath and the Quantum QXCI. The magnetic harmonizing bed is at the moment located in the room below the yoga temple .There is a reading room with a large selection of spiritual and health related books, a CD and DVD player and a good selection of tapes and disks.

There is a computer for guest use, and a separate telephone line for the guests. (Altogether we have 3 telephone lines).

We now proceed to the guest accommodation area. The main guest house has four rooms, 3 double and 1 single. All with private bathrooms and individual heaters. All the guest rooms are also fitted with a Clysmatic (Gravity Colonic Unit).

Moinhos Velhos means The Old Mills. In days before the Barragem was built this was an operating water mill, and all the neighboring farmers would bring their produce to be milled here. Apparently this goes back many hundreds of years. We have converted half the mill ruin into two single rooms. The other half of the mill belongs to our neighbor.