Walking the Cami de Cavalls for the Cancer Support Group

Vicki McLeod: What brought you to the island? What was the attraction?

Anita Vince: What you know, the funny thing is I came here when I was young, when I was about 16 or 17 with my parents on holiday and loved it. We were over on the east coast and had such a really good holiday. And then I was in New Zealand and I met my husband over there and had been living there for quite a few years and had three children there. And then he was getting a bit bored.

I mean, I love New Zealand and wouldn’t change anything about it. But it is very isolated. It’s such a long way from my family. And so when he suggested that it might be a good idea to travel and go to Europe, I kind of jumped at the chance and started looking around for jobs. I got a job at Belver International College. And so we moved over with three kids who were all under five

VMc: What’s your job?

AV: I’m a dyslexic specialist: after teaching for many years, in physical education, I’d got to a certain age where my body just seemed to be falling apart a little bit. And I just, I, as much as I still love teaching PE and being out there on the field, I couldn’t do everything that I was trying to teach anymore, you know, gymnastics weren’t really there. So I decided to retrain.

And I’d always take real interest in special needs, and particularly dyslexia and ADHD. Because on the island, I didn’t think that there was enough support for these people. And I could see that kids with impairments were struggling. So I started trying to find a different avenue. I set up my business which is www.dysl3xia.com I do full assessments for those with dyslexia, or ADHD and also, some do support lessons as well.

And I can also support yachties and people in the yachting industry who need full assessment as that can help them to get through their exams, because if you get a full report, you very often get extra time, you can get 25% extra time and examinations.

VMc: With a background as a PE teacher and having lived in New Zealand I can see that walking in Majorca must be quite appealing. Now you have walked the GR221 on quite a few occasions with a group to raise money haven’t you?

AV: A few years ago I had breast cancer. The diagnosis was a huge shock to me because I thought that I was so fit and healthy. And I always thought that breast cancer or anyone who got cancer was someone who was old or sick. It was a real life changing thing. It took probably a year to go through everything and then come out the other side.

And when I was coming out the other side I needed something to motivate myself. to get myself fit and active again. I’d always seen this walk that you could do in Majorca that went all the way across the mountains. And I didn’t feel like I’d really tapped into walking as much as I should, because I used to run.

So I decided to start, I wanted to do this walk, and I asked some friends of mine if they wanted to come along. Because cancer support had supported me when I was sick, it just seemed a logical thing to try and raise some money. I didn’t want people feeling sorry for me, you know, I was happy and healthy again. But I knew that there were other people who were kind of in the same boat as me. And so it just makes you feel so much better when you’re doing something for somebody else. This year, we’re doing something slightly different.

We are going to walk the Cami de Cavalls in Minorca. We’d arranged to do this two or three years ago, but that all got put on hold, obviously. We are going to do half of it, it is five days of walking.

VMc: Is it the same kind of tough mountainous terrain as the GR221 in Mallorca?

AV: Well, the North is hilly, it’s definitely not mountainous, but it’s all coastal. So it just follows the coast around and the south part is fairly flat. We will be walking about 15 to 20 kilometres a day which is about five to six hours a day. And we’re raising money for the Cancer Support Group.

This year it’s quite close to my heart because the president and founder of the group, Krista Hyer, passed away a month or so ago. She was quite inspirational to me, she’ll be my heart when I walk this year. And if we can raise a little bit of money to support the charity that she set up, then that would be fantastic.

Sean Judkins, Anita’s husband, is also raising money for the charity, with his own epic physical challenge, you can visit www.tramuntathlon.com for info about how to participate on April 9th when he will be running, cycling and kayaking across the island.

Sweat for the Pets!

Juju and Robin from Pink Rhino in Son Ferrer have announced that they are organising a fundraising event for the animal rescue shelter Amics dels Animals d’Esporles. “We adopted our husky Marli from them about 3 months ago. They have lots of dogs in need of a stable family and the main purpose of the event is to support the shelter and raise awareness about the dogs waiting to be adopted there.”

If you’d like to participate or help out then you can join in! The event will be on Saturday 26th February from 10.00 to 12.00. The event will be a fun team workout which is accessible to everyone regardless of fitness levels.

Participation is free, but they would like everyone to make a donation to the charity. And it will be pet friendly, so bring your dog with you!

Any bar purchases you make will be donated to the shelter (coffees, smoothies, snacks etc.)

Another way you can support the initiative is by bringing pet food, blankets, dog toys, etc to the gym to be passed on to the shelter. “You can visit us anytime this week up to the day of the event, we are open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 2pm”.

You can get more information at www.pinkrhinomallorca.com or pass by and see them, the gym is at Carrer Condor 34, Son Ferrer, Calvia.

Network baby

Well, they do say that you should do things that scare you, and I have to say that speaking in public to live people who can actually see me gives me the heebies. BUT, I will be speaking at the next Women in Business event on Thursday 24th February at Santosha in Palma.

You can join the group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/mymuybuenowomeninbusiness/ and save your spot.

On the following day I am part of a open networking business lunch which will be at Hostal Corona in Palma at 13.00, the lunch costs 25€ per person and if you would like to join then send me an email to majorcamallorcapodcast@gmail.com

Finally…

If you would like to be a guest on the Majorca Mallorca podcast then send me an email, we are always happy to hear from people with a story to tell on the island!