Saturday, Oct 15, 2011 ¡Buenos días from México!
As some of you may know, I am teaching yoga for a week at Rancho La Puerta in Mexico, which was voted World’s Best Destination Spa in both 2010 and 2011 by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine. My husband decided to accompany me and make it a special getaway for the two of us. Our arrival at the iron gates of Rancho La Puerta opened to an entire world of elegant beauty and peace. The architecture, art, and landscaping offer a broad tapestry of texture, color, and fragrance that is unforgettable. The colors that meet your eyes are bright, vital, and dazzling in the sunshine placed against a backdrop of high desert rolling hills and a huge canopy of azure sky. We were escorted to our own personal casita (house) for our week’s stay. Much to our delight, we discovered that our slice of heaven was tucked into a private knoll surrounded by natural landscaping that we share with countless birds, rabbits and ground squirrel. The inside of our casita is appointed with numerous tapestries all in bright Mexican colors complemented with embroidered pillows, a huge wreath above our stone fireplace sculpted out of pottery, and two papier-mâché roosters standing guard—crowing—on our mantle. (This is a great omen for me as my maiden name, Hahn, means rooster!) We have a large step-down bedroom filled with natural light and more extraordinary artwork placed perfectly to nurture your soul. Actually…I am beginning to believe that this is exactly what Rancho La Puerta is all about—soul soothing! We arrived at dusk and, after settling in our room, it was time for a ten-minute stroll to the massive dining hall where we were in for the most extraordinary eating experience. Greeted by staff, we were seated at a table for six where we met three women from different parts of the country, all of whom had arrived for “soul soothing”. We discovered that part of the charm of the Rancho is encouraging folks to meet one another. At a later date, I shall go into detail about the food experience, as it deserves complete, undivided attention!