Soul Stuff Adventures

CONGRATULATIONS 😍😍😍

Peaks of the Balkans - Day 7 (the last day!!) 🌞🗺 ~13km, 700m elevation 🥾

En route to our final hike in the Balkans, we stopped at Oko Skakavice water spring - check out the colour of that water 🥹 Today's hike was through a beautiful valley, climbing up to a pass for lunch before a steep 1000m descent to the end ⛰️ Stopped for celebratory drinks & we all got special magnets to commemorate a very special week ❤️  

That evening, we were treated to a very special traditional Albanian meal to celebrate finishing the trail - 22 tasting courses with the host describing the ingredients and origins of each one! We also celebrated 2 more birthdays 🥳✨️

A note from Sarah: A huge congrats to the team for completing this challenging trail - i had such FOMO watching the adventure unfold this past week, but also loved seeing the bond within the group grow stronger & stronger with every day on trail together 🥹 Group dynamics on adventures like this are so important - there's times when some people are struggling more than others & that's where the TEAM pulls through for each other in so many supportive ways ❤️ this was so evident with this particular group 🫶🏼

Thank you SO MUCH to for last-minute volunteering as Superhost - third time stepping in & third time playing a blinder 🫂 and to everyone for all the updates all week.. so glad to see you all had such a great time!! ☀️

I am so proud of you all & buzzing to see ye all for the big debrief hopefully soon 🥰

Meet Lynsey, our next Soul Stuff Superhost 🥹💕

If you've ever met Lyns, you'll know she's one of those people who makes everyone feel at ease from the min they meet her - it doesn't matter whether she's known you for five mins or five years 😂 she'll chat to you, include you & make you feel like you've been part of the group all along 🫶🏼 She has a way of bringing people together so effortlessly & she is always creating an environment where everyone feels welcome.. & there's often glitter involved too ✨️🌞

Lynsey will be hosting our August Dolomites trip (& hopefully

Thank you Lynsey for being such an amazing friend & THEEEE BIGGEST Soul Stuff cheerleader (she's always recruiting new members - on hikes, at festivals, on nights out in Dublin 😂) And to think it all started with her turning up in Dublin Airport for our 2024 ski trip knowing absolutely noone 😍😂

Say hello to our lovely Lynsey in the comments 👋🏼

Peaks of the Balkans - Day 6 (second-last day) 🌞 Grabaja Valley hike 🗺 ~10km, 1000m elevation 🥾

We started today by hopping on a bus from our guesthouse to the start of the hike in Grabaja valley. We did a a looped hike, traversing three peaks ⛰️ ⛰️ ⛰️ Check out those VIEWS!! Everyday seems to get more & more beautiful, if that's even possible 😍

Definitely a highlight not having to carry our full-packs today! We sat in a cosy cafe at the end of the hike to shelter from the thunderstorm & stopped in a town called Plav on our way home to restock on snacks before getting a bus back to our accommodation at Moonlight House in Vusanje 🏡 

Peaks of the Balkans - Day 5 🌞 Mileshefc - Babinopolje 🗺 ~12km, 630m elevation 🥾

Another beautiful day - we're being so spoilt! We stopped at a guesthouse en route for traditional rose lemonade and local cake / baklava and also got a trip on the back of a truck to a gorgeous lake for a swim!! Have you seen the drone footage Jessica Spini captured of the swim spot? Insane!

Another campfire in the evening to round off the day ❤️

The feedback from the group so far - "you MUST run this trip again in 2027!!" 😍🙏🏼

Peaks of the Balkans - Day 4 🌩 Dobërdol - Mileshefc 🗺 ~17.6km, 750m elevation 🥾

After an amazing breakfast and send-off from the host, we spent the day hiking in Kosovo 🇽🇰

The sun shone but we managed to build a snowman too ⛄️ At our accommodation that evening, we had our daily yoga session, spent time around the campfire and enjoyed some sunset drinks. Another dreamy day on the trail ☺️✨️

Peaks of the Balkans - Day 2 ☀️ Valbone - Cerem - Doberdol 🗺 ~17km, 1185m elevation 🥾

Our second day on the trail was very different to the first. Today took us through ancient forests & open fields of wildflowers 🌼 and the trail crossed the border into Montenegro then back into Albania again ☺️🤩

Highlights from today included the border crossing, having lunch at a local family's homestead, and passing through a UNESCO nature reserve of the oldest trees in Europe (beech & Bosnian pines) 🌲🌲🌲

And another evening yoga session in the mountains 🥹❤️

Peaks of the Balkans - Day 1 ☀️ Theth to Valbone 🗺 ~20km, 1200m elevation 🥾

A big first day for the team but WOW what a start!!! 😍 Highlights of today included lots of gorgeous doggos on the trail, the wildflowers & strawberries and a yoga session with our guide Driada when we arrived at our hut for the evening... like how perfect!! Amazing food & obv a celebratory glass of vino too ✨️🍷

Check out those postcard-perfect views 🥹🥰 Well done everyone, a strong start!!! 💪🏽

WOWWW!! what a weekend we had on Inishbofin for the music fest 🎶

Inishbofin is one of our favourite islands anyway (we've been there twice before on Soul Stuff group trips) but to be there for this lovely little festival was extra special 🥰

Twenty three of us in total - enjoying the music, exploring by bike, eating lots of nice food, hanging out, connecting, making pals, having the absolute LOLS together ✨️

A very, very feel-good weekend and we will definitely be back again next year!!!

Marie is the very first Soul Stuff Superhost!! 🤍

last year, when I couldn't make one of our hiking trips to the UK, Marie stepped in and hosted the trip for me.. & this year she did it again! 💚 it's VERY difficult to hand your pride & joy over to someone for the first time but i needn't have worried at all ✨️

whether she's hiking, running, providing plasters & encouragement, challenging herself to step outside her comfort zone, Marie puts her whole heart into whatever she's doing 🫶🏼 & that's why we love her 🥹

thank you for being the first ever Soul Stuff host everrrrr & thank you for always bringing your energy, your kindness, your wit, your enthusiasm aaaaaand your epic dance moves to our trips 💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼