The Azores are calling you.

In March 2025, my wife and I purchased a property with three apartments, on São Miguel Island in the Azores, Portugal.

The Azores are shaped by fire and water—volcanic earth, thermal hot springs, ocean air, and deep green quiet.

There is a grounded, ancient, healing energy here that resonated with us immediately. I cannot wait to share it with you.

Rest and heal in the peace and quiet of our countryside oasis: we are located in the northwest corner of São Miguel island.

When you join us, you will have your own apartment: Onda (Wave, fully refurbished in December 2025), Mar (Sea), or Praia (Beach). Each apartment offers a living room with a full sized sofa bed, and a 42 inch TV with streaming services, a well equipped kitchenette with a 4 burner stovetop and tabletop oven, as well as a bedroom with a King sized (180x200cm) bed and an en-suite bathroom. The bedroom also has a drawer system for all your belongings, a full length mirror, bedside tables, and a clothes rack. During your stay we will provide all linens, bath towels, organic Turkish beach towels and paper products. Each apartment has a private patio and garden area with lounge chairs, and additionally there is a shared BBQ and lounge space for grilling and relaxing. Our mini garden library can also provide you with a book to borrow during your stay. The sea is visible from the apartments and garden and the working farm across the street provides authentic Açorean vibes!

The property + apartments are child friendly. :)

We are 35 minutes from the main airport on São Miguel (PDL), 25 minutes from the Sete Cidades Village, 20 minutes from Ferraria Hot Springs (a natural, geothermal, ocean hot spring, and one of only 4-5 in the world(!)), and 10 minutes from the Mosteiros Natural Swimming Pools. A rental car is advised, and we can assist you with this upon request, as we work with a family-owned rental car agency.

*From June 1 to October 1, craft cocktails and charcuterie boards are available for purchase.

*Our entire property can be booked for small weddings, family gatherings, or healing retreats. Please inquire for more information.

Our 3 apartments:

Onda

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A Letter From Ryan:

My name is Ryan. I am a son, a father, a husband, a friend, a chocolate-chip-cookie lover and someone holding a dream that needs community care in order to bring it to life.

I want to begin by naming something honestly: asking for support at this moment feels tender and complicated. There is so much need in the world, and there are many people whose circumstances are more urgent than mine. I have wrestled deeply with whether and how to make this ask. What has helped me come to peace is the understanding that this dream that I am trying to make a reality is in alignment with my values rooted in humanity with an ultimate goal to create a space that allows me to better serve, heal, educate and uplift others, especially those who so often carry the weight for everyone else.

In March 2025, my wife and I purchased a property with three apartments in Pilar da Bretanha, on São Miguel Island in the Azores, Portugal. The property is in need of significant care and restoration—but it is also full of possibility. We purchased it as a multigenerational home for our family and as a place where something larger could grow.

Our intention is to cultivate a learning and  healing-centered space for artists, educators, and organizers—particularly BIPOC and marginalized healers who often carry disproportionate labor, stress, and responsibility in their communities and work. We envision gatherings rooted in rest, creativity, reflection, joy and collective care. A place where healing is not rushed, extracted, or transactional.

I have been an educator for over 25 years—first as a middle school English and Language Arts teacher, and now supporting educational leaders in reimagining what education can look, sound, and feel like through a justice lens. I am also a poet, rooted in freedom dreaming and healing-centered work, and I feel most alive when I am helping to wake up poems in others. My work—through Parker Pedagogy LLC, my small educational consulting business, has always centered humanity, joy, healing and actualizing freedom-dreams. In this new chapter of my life, it is my desire to combine the aforementioned and infuse it into experiences we offer within the space we are cultivating. This project grows directly from my lived experience and my ongoing commitment to transformational justice.

It is a dream of mine to create the conditions by which people can learn, heal and grow through nature, art, affinity, joy, and community care.

I am deeply aware that not everyone will have access to board a plane to the Azores. From the beginning, our plan has always included writing grants, seeking funding partnerships, and creating pathways that make this space as accessible as possible. But before any of that can happen, the land itself must be prepared to hold the vision and the people.

Your donation would specifically support Stage One of that dream.

We are seeking support for the following:

-A covered outdoor gathering pavilion for retreats, circles, and shared meals - $10,000 estimated

-A quiet artist’s studio for reflection, writing, and creative practice, whatever the medium - $15,000 estimated

-Repairs to the roofs of each dwelling - $15,000 estimated

-Walkway repairs - $10,000 estimated

Once completed, we plan to host up to four healing retreats per year (with two already in the planning stages for 2026), as well as multiple artist residencies where artists can come to rest, create, and simply be. In addition, upon reaching our fundraising goal of $60,000 we plan to use $10,000 of the funds raised to provide a one week, all expenses paid retreat experience for the leaders of an organization that centers youth learning and empowerment. 

What I am rooted in—what has always guided me—is freedom dreaming paired with the courage to actualize those dreams. Healing is a vital part of that reimagination. After much soul-searching and counsel from people I deeply respect, I am stepping into this ask with humility and faith: faith that those who are able to support financially will do so, and that others will support in different but equally meaningful ways—through prayer, good energy, encouragement, or sharing this vision forward.

This request has felt uncomfortable at times, especially in the face of so much present need. I am giving myself grace by remembering that this project is one way I can contribute to the transformational justice I believe in—by creating a space where healers can go to heal, where learning, unlearning, and creativity is nurtured, and where community care is centered.

There are stages to making this Freedom Dream a Freedom Reality. Stage One is building a space that is safe, functional, and worthy of the people it is meant to hold. Stage Two and Three will be to actualize the experience in the space that we have carved out for those experiences to bloom. We will provide updates along the way, visual and written, for full transparency of how donations are being put to use.

Thank you for taking the time to read, witness, and hold this vision with me. Whether you choose to contribute financially, share this page, or simply send good energy and prayers, your support matters deeply.

Community care shows up in many forms, and I am grateful for each one.

With gratitude and love,

Ryan