The Voyage
Nestled in the heart of Occitanie, Maiden Voyage is more than a retreat; it’s a pilgrimage to the self.
Each day, we journey through one of the five elements:
Air, Ether, Water, Fire, and Earth, tuning the body, opening the heart, refining the will, freeing the mind, and dissolving into unity.
Led by experienced guides, you’ll be held in nature’s embrace while engaging in sacred practices at mythic locations across Cathar country.
What Awaits You
Elemental Immersion
Embark on a transformative journey through the elements, where each day is dedicated to exploring and connecting with the essence of Air, Ether, Water, Fire, and Earth. Experience the power of nature and sacred practices in enchanting locations across southern France.
Sacred Practices
Healing
Breathwork, sound healing, movement, and ritual
Nature’s Embrace
The touch of Nature
From forests to thermal springs, each location is chosen for its healing presence
Elemental Journeys
Be at one with the elements
Daily explorations aligned with the five elements, fostering deep personal insight
Community Connection
Remember what it is to be human
Share and grow within a supportive circle
The Journey
Embark on a transformative journey through the elements, where each day is dedicated to exploring and connecting with the essence of Air, Ether, Water, Fire, and Earth. Experience the power of nature and sacred practices in enchanting locations across southern France.
Getting here
We will pick you up at a central location in Perpignan.
You can either fly into Perpignan, depending on where you live, or you can get the train from Barcelona or from Paris. There are many ways to get to Perpignan.
Salvador Dali famously said that Perpignan is the centre of the universe,
so with this in mind it should be very easy for you to get here. :-)
What to expect
Each day of the retreat follows one of the five elements — not just as metaphor, but as living teacher.
These rhythms are not fixed or scripted. They are offered as invitations from the land itself.
The places are not set in stone, as we have dozens of places to choose from.
We will let the land guide us. :-)
The start of your journey
We begin just outside Perpignan, at Château Nadal-Hainaut, a working vineyard with roots reaching back to the 12th century.
Here, amidst rows of vines and warm stone, we gather for our opening lunch. It is a moment of welcome and grounding, not just into place, but into rhythm.
From there, we travel into the sacred mountains to places like these:
Retreat Base Introductory
Our shared retreat base is more than just a place to sleep; it is a site of spiritual and energetic significance. Surrounded by wild nature and silence, it offers a space of deep restoration and connection.
At its heart, a sacred fire will burn continuously, tended day and night. After each day’s elemental exploration, you’ll return to the warmth of this living flame.
Whether in quiet reflection or shared storytelling beneath the stars, the fire offers a steady companion and a place to integrate what the day has stirred.
The accommodation itself is simple, beautiful, and clean, intentionally rustic to keep you close to the land.
What’s Included
We’ve designed this experience to be immersive, nourishing, and beautifully simple.
Everything you need to journey deeply, and nothing you don’t.
Included in Your Journey
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5 full days of guided elemental immersion
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6 nights of shared accommodation in beautiful retreat homes
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All transport between sites during the retreat
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Breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day (mostly vegetarian)
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Daily practices: movement, breathwork, voice, ritual
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Entry to all sacred sites and guided facilitation
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Ceremony and integration support
Not Included in Your Journey
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Your travel to and from the retreat meeting point
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Personal snacks or souvenirs
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Private accommodation (limited upgrades may be available)
Earth — Nébias
A moss-covered forest where the path winds softly through stone and mist. Every step is a listening. The forest teaches surrender. It’s easy to lose your sense of time here, and that’s
the point.
The more you soften, the more it reveals.
The forest of Nébias is alive in a way that asks you to become quiet.
Moss thickens on the rocks like memory, and twisted branches form gateways between seen and unseen.
Light filters in gently, never directly, and your body begins to slow.
Here, the Earth is not solid or fixed, but breathing, whispering, holding.
You are invited to walk not as a seeker, but as someone returning to an ancient home.
Time dissolves. Listening becomes a form of devotion.
Water — Rennes-les-Bains
Ancient thermal springs that hold memory in their warmth. You will soak in stillness, the
waters remember.
In Rennes-les-Bains, the water is more than water; it is memory itself, rising warm from deep within the Earth. These springs have soothed pilgrims, mystics, and wanderers for centuries, asking nothing in return.
Submerge, and the mind begins to quiet. Your heartbeat slows. The body exhales tension you didn’t know you were holding.
You are not cleansed, but remembered. This is the realm of the sacred feminine, soft, circular, deeply restoring.
You may find answers here, but they will come as feelings, not facts.
Air — Bugarach
The upside-down mountain. Strange winds, inexplicable energy. This is not a place for explanation, only for feeling.
Bugarach does not announce itself. It hums. The wind here carries messages without words,
it moves through you, not around you.
Locals call it the upside-down mountain, and for good reason: compasses falter, senses rearrange. It is not a place of logic, but of presence.
Climb a little, and the air changes. Thoughts become clearer, then vanish.
The mind is not king here; the breath is.
You might not understand what you feel in Bugarach. That’s okay.
It’s not here to be explained. It’s here to be inhaled.
Ether — Rennes-le-Château
A place of symbols, myth, and mystery. The Magdalene, sacred geometry, and layered legends swirl here, but the truth is subtle, not spoken.
Rennes-le-Château is built on a hill, but it feels suspended between worlds. Every stone seems encoded, every turn lined with legend. The tower overlooks a land heavy with stories, of Mary Magdalene, of treasure, of secrets left just out of reach.
Yet if you come seeking proof, you’ll leave unsatisfied. This is a place of intuition, not evidence.
The energy is delicate, interwoven, and very much alive. You don’t need to decipher the myth to feel it working through you.
Something here opens the veil. Just enough.
Fire — Montségur
The Final Climb is a Cathar stronghold, a place of sacrifice, courage, and clarity. The wind sings. The past lingers. Something in you will rise.
Montségur rises like a flame itself, steep, luminous, and unyielding. This was the last refuge of the Cathars, and the stones still carry the echoes of their courage.
The climb is not easy, and it’s not meant to be.
Wind carves through silence as you ascend, sharpening something within you and at the top, breathless, it all becomes still. From here, everything is clear.
Fire lives in the courage to see, to stand, to surrender. It is not destruction, it is transformation.
Something in you will burn, and something in you will begin.
The Fire Guardian
Each evening, we gather around the fire. The fire burns from the moment the retreat begins until the moment it ends.
It is our companion, our witness. As night falls, we return to the center, to the fire that holds the day.
We gather not for answers, but for warmth. For reflection. For ritual.
The fire doesn’t speak, yet it says everything. It listens to your laughter, your silence, your prayers. It flickers as people open, as memories surface, as something ancient stirs. It becomes our witness. Our guardian.
It holds space as we unravel and reweave. And when we leave, it remains, still glowing, somewhere in the heart.
The sacred heart.
Your Guides
Journey Leaders
Vyelle and Stephen are experienced guides who are committed to facilitating your elemental immersion, providing support, wisdom, and a deep connection to the mystical landscapes of southern France.
Dr. David Chen
Herbalist
Emma Thompson
Cupping Therapist
Pilgrim Stories
Our pilgrims share their profound experiences during the elemental immersion, highlighting the transformative impact of the journey and the sacred practices in the enchanting landscapes of southern France.
Elena M., Berlin
“Maiden Voyage helped me reconnect with the part of myself I thought I had lost. I came back softer, clearer, and more grounded. It wasn’t just five days in nature. It was a return to who I really am.”
James T., London
“The land itself felt alive. Every step we took was a conversation with something ancient. I’ll never forget it.”
Tomás V., Lisbon
“This retreat didn’t give me answers. It gave me space. And that’s what I needed more than anything.”
Sophie D., Amsterdam
“What surprised me most was the community. I came for solitude and found soul family.”
Introductory Form
In Loving Memory
At the heart of this project is a quiet thread of remembrance.
Rochelle Croom, Vyelle’s mother and one of Stephen’s dearest friends, passed in 2023.
She planted the seed for this path, and her warmth and vision continue to inspire the way forward.
We honour her by walking gently, with care.
Rochelle Mary-anne Van-Croom