In case you noticed my absence last week…I had a birthday trip to my favorite place, the spa/wellness resort in Mexico. Like my last visit, I invited along a bestie. She was ever so appreciative and I think I might have a new convert to the cult.
This visit played out a bit differently than usual. First of all, it was VERY hot for October - high 90’s every day between about 10 am and 3 pm. This reduced my energy for activities quite a bit. It’s a large campus and when you’re facing the prospect of walking almost a mile in the hot sun to get to the activity pool for water aerobics, sometimes it sounds more appealing to stay where you are.
Second, on the very first night there I got up in the middle of the night to pee…dark unfamiliar room…I bashed my foot big time into a piece of furniture. My pinky toe was really sore all week, in fact it’s STILL kind of sore, as I discovered this morning when HWD affectionately squeezed my foot under the covers as he was leaving for work. Also, because of the hot weather I didn’t want to wear my big bulky shoes with socks, so I wore a different pair for walking around that ended up giving me a blister on my heel. So…the sore tootsies were also a deterrent to doing too much running around to different activities.
It’s fine. My bestie who was there with me is a very experienced meditator and so for the first time I did some meditation sessions. The first one was kinda wild - the teacher opened by asking if everyone was an experienced meditator. I don’t consider myself inexperienced although most of my experience has been the stray 10 or 15 minutes at the end of a yoga class. There were a couple of newbies, but even so he said “how about we just go for it?” I could see my friend look alarmed and she suggested maybe a check-in halfway through would be a good idea; the leader agreed. And boom, we went into 40 minutes of silence (apparently his idea of a “check-in” was to open his eyes and look at the newbies and make sure they weren’t melting down). It went a bit more quickly than I was expecting. One of the newbies burst into tears when we were aroused from our contemplation. Drama queen. 🙄
I ended up doing four meditation sessions over the course of the week, and also did “sound healing” and yoga Nidra. For both of those you are allowed to lie on the floor and wrap yourself up in blankets. For the sound healing the leader plays crystal bowls; for yoga Nidra the leader did a spoken meditation that was a body inventory. In both cases I fell asleep within the first five minutes. 😂
The rest of the time was my usual stuff - pre-breakfast walks, circuit training at the gym, yoga (I did double yoga on a few of the days, taking both the 10 and 11 am classes). A good week. It was so nice to spend some concentrated time with my friend - usually it’s just a couple hours and it’s often with our friend group instead of one on one. She kept marveling about how warm every single staff person there was, and the level of customer service. There was an older couple in the casita next to ours - when we ran into them in the lounge the first time, the wife said grandly, “Welcome to MY ranch”. They were delightful. Anyway, my friend said anyplace where the customers feel that kind of ownership is doing something right.
The founder/owner was also on the premises this week and did a Q&A session one evening. She has passed active management off to her daughter, but turned 102 this year and is still pretty damn sharp. Maybe another sign that they’re doing something right.
A few pictures:
Artwork next to my bed. Thankfully it didn't give me nightmares.
Morning light on the hills during our pre-breakfast hike.
Typical yummy breakfast - pancake, eggs with pico de gallo, muesli, fruit with yogurt, anti-inflammatory shot (no weight was lost this week despite being at least more active than I am at home).
We did a morning hike, 2 miles to the organic garden and then after breakfast there the garden manager gave us a tour.
Yoga gym with the mountain behind.
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24 comments
Looks enticing
It's kind of addictive - there's a reason I've been there about seven times.
The retreat looks idyllic. And the breakfast looked good too!
Breakfast was definitely a strong point.
The other meals were good as well; in particular we had a grilled salmon one evening that was delicious.
Such a nice recap Smarty....and enjoying it with a friend even better. Lol....ya those meditative sessions can put one to sleep and oddly even the sound baths can too. a recharge to the nth degree. Great pics too...Kokopelli is a jokester....he gives good dreams.....but watch out he is also a fertility deity~~
Luckily I was not sharing my bed with anyone!! Fertility at this stage of life would be scary.
The sleepy meditations did feel very restorative. I just hope I didn't snore and disturb the other participants.
Sounds like it was a wonderful time. I spent the day with one of my besties yesterday. Was a lovely day of long conversations about multitude of topics. This was our view while we made dinner over her camp fire (I drove home after dinner as I'm not much of a camper).
Wow, beautiful end to what sounds like it was a lovely day. But smart move to leave after dinner, lol.
I got an alert that my comment was denied, but I still see it? 🤷🏻♀️ If you don't please let me know.
@smartasswoman I got both comments. Weird
"experienced meditator" caught me... is it just because people aren't used to sitting with themselves or is there something else about meditation? Tears?
Looks gorgeous, and hot! Glad you had a good time!
By ‘experienced’ I mean that she studies with a Buddhist teacher, helps to run beginner sessions for one of the local meditation centers, and has done several week long silent retreats.
So, I guess she’s seen enough new people to know that 40 minutes straight through might be challenging for some people.
I have never burst into tears simply from sitting with my thoughts. More likely to start nodding off, haha!
Love the Huichol art.
It’s pretty cool. 😊
Good that could get away and enjoy yourself especially with your friend
The place looks amazing. Glad you had a good time.
Thank you!
Happy belated birthday 🎂
Sounds like you had a wonderful time 😁
Thanks JN. Perfect birthday getaway, but maybe I won't be going on birthday week any more if it's going to be so hot.
@smartasswoman
I’ve been to Hokkaido on my birthday weekend, which was in the dead of winter. Friends thought I lost my mind 😂
Perfect
I'm glad you were able to disconnect and had time to meditate, exercise, and enjoy nature. The truth is that 'the ranch' seems like a very pleasant place that deserves a visit. Especially the fact that those who work there are kind and welcoming is one of the best parts, in my opinion.
Everyone from the gardeners to the kitchen staff to the instructors always has a friendly smile and hello. Some of the local people who work there are third generation to do so. I think it's probably one of the best employers in Tecate.
Nice to have you back. Sounds like an amazing week. Thanks for sharing about it and hope the foot/feet recover quickly.
Thank you! It seems to be doing OK.
I'm glad you had a good trip...and that you went with a friend. Don't you "normally" go solo? Anyway...nothing like a week away to put things in perspective. I hope your toe and blisters are better. Are you sure you didn't break your toe?
Yes, the first several times I went there it was solo, and that’s a fun way to do it too.
Then a couple of years ago my investments happened to do really well and I decided it would be a really nice thing to bring a friend along as my treat and share the magic. 😊
I wondered if I had broken my toe, too. I did stop into the first aid office after a couple days. The doctor felt it and said she didn’t think it was fractured. And my friend said when she broke a toe they didn’t put a cast on, just taped it to the neighboring toe. So I’m going to be patient.
@smartasswoman Yes, when I broke my toe, it was just taped to its neighbor, but I had to wear a special hard-sole shoe so it wouldn't bend.
I was wondering where you were!
Glad things went well for you, despite the "intense heat" - 90s 🤣
Hey, I did say “for October”! 😂 Last year when I was there at this same time the weather was perfect, in the 80’s.
Looks and sounds like an eclectic time was had by all.👍🤗
The schedule is super eclectic - a mix of straight exercise classes; yoga, Pilates, stretching and posture, and educational type offerings. There was a writer there who was doing sessions on memoir writing, and another presenter who did several sessions on dealing with your emotions in a healthy way (sounds all woo-woo I know, but she was entertaining).
@smartasswoman
I could have benefited from several of those sessions. 🤔
And true, about toes. I've broken a few and simply taped one next to the other.
It sounds as though you had a good time, and that’s what’s most important.
The drama queen comment had me rolling!
There’s more to the story. That first day she said she had never meditated before. Two days later, different teacher, and again she said she had never meditated before. That was when I felt like she was just seeking attention. But I didn’t jump up and say “Liar liar pants on fire!!” 😂