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 The Rancho Journal
This issue: Writings from our Guests
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Hurricane Dean Report 7 September, 2007
You probably know by now that the Rancho was in the direct path of Hurricane Dean, the category 5 hurricane that slammed the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. Miraculously, most of our structures remain standing and intact. We lost our glorious group palapa "Catedral Maya," the roof of casita #1 (the round house closest to the Catedral), the palapa at the end of the main dock, some minor damage to a couple of roofs and our electrical transformer.
We had been bracing ourselves for losing everything, so our hearts are flooded with relief that the Rancho survived. Maybe this has to do with the ancient Maya considering this particular land sacred.
Cleanup, Replanting & Repairs
The most devastating loss is to the landscape. It appears that around 80% of our trees are gone. Some were ancient hardwood that had grown there for generations. Others were exotic tropical and fruit trees we planted ourselves when we were given stewardship of that sacred land over twenty years ago. Many of the coconut palms were uprooted.
Ramon and Mallina are directing a crew at this moment to cut up downed trees and clean up the debris from the storm so that we can reclaim the land. We have a new transformer and are back in business. We have already had a few guests stay. We plan to have a new "Catedral Maya" and new landscaping by the beginning of high season (November 15).
How to Help
We would like to appeal to you for some help in replanting the land. We know that many you have been touched by the healing quality of this magical place. Countless people have described that miraculous Rancho Encantado phenomenon, in which they felt they had not known how thirsty their souls were until they spent time at the Rancho and were renewed. It has been a place of deep rest, inspiration, and joy to so many. A significant part of the Rancho's magic lies in the power of the land.
If all our friends respond by contributing the cost of replanting one tree (or more, if you are so inclined! A tree can run from a dollar to hundreds, so any amount will be appreciated.), we will be able to recreate the paradise we all know and love, in a new form. As you probably know, we have never been in this for the money. Our primary concern has always been for the sustainability of the land and the culture that have so generously welcomed us over these past few decades, and we never quite made it into the "plus column" on our balance sheet. Rancho Encantado has truly been a labor of love, and we call on you now, who love this place too, to help us bring the land back to life.
Check donations for replanting the Rancho can be made payable to Rancho Encatado, noted "tree planting," and sent to:
Rancho Encantado, 470 E. Riverside, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901
20% OFF ON RESERVATIONS MADE NOW
And, for those who are interested in making a reservation for a stay at the Rancho this coming season, we would be very happy to offer a 20% discount if you could pay in full at the time of booking, if reserved by the end of September, or 10% by the end of October.
In gratitude,
Familia Rancho Encantado
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Letter from
Susanna Starr
The first group of 2007, A Gathering of Women, led by Mirabai Starr and Tessa Bielecki was a perfect launch for the season. Twenty four women gathered from all over the United States, including three from England. It was a beautiful week and plans have already been made to have another one next year. (see “A Meeting of Strong-minded Women”, right).
Several more workshops are scheduled for January, February, March and April, although there is certainly room available for those who want to come to visit by themselves or with friends and family. Scheduled are, among others, yoga groups, including tantric yoga for couples, and a travel writing & photography workshop.
There’s been lots of refurbishing for this season, including new linens, memory foam pillows and hand-woven bedspreads. Each room also has a new refrigerator for convenience, in addition to the hospitality coffee and tea in each casita. New dishes in the dining room provide an elegant accompaniment for the candle-lit dinners.
La Tiendita, our gift shop, has been enlarged to include more of a variety of hand-made crafts, including beautiful rugs, placemats and coasters, hand painted wood items, ceramics, jewelry and more. New Rancho Encantado Tee Shirts are there as well as a greatly expanded collection of hand made clothing from hand-loomed cotton shawls to beautifully embroidered “huipiles.”
The new kayaks, which seat two people, are a great way to get around the Laguna and we now can arrange for sailboat trips including swimming in the channel – a wonderful experience!
Food at the Rancho has always had an emphasis on health and now guests are more and more impressed by the expanded menu, which includes some wonderful vegetarian fare. The fabulous home made bread and muffins always draw rave reviews.
Spa services also have been expanded with a full menu that is touching both physically and emotionally. Although they feel quite wonderful, the emphasis is on providing a healing experience and many will attest to Mallina’s magic touch. The variety of massages and other services, such as herbal wraps, appeal to just about everyone who visits. This year, too, there is another spa staff member who provides a different menu of treatments, including in-depth facials, manicures and pedicures.
As always, the incredible trips to the various archeological sites of the ancient Maya continue to fascinate. They can be arranged in advance or while there. These trips are an experience never to be forgotten.
The village of Bacalar, just four kilometers away, is growing along with the general development in the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula and the recently refurbished Spanish fort is a local destination.
Chetumal, just half an hour away, has been going through some very positive transformations and the Boulevard along the Bahia makes for a delightful drive. All the roads continue to be expanded and driving in the area is very comfortable with ample highways.
Now there are two flights in and out of nearby Chetumal, making it an alternative flight destination. Although the cost of the tickets are more than either Cancun or Belize City, the savings in both time and the cost of ground transportation, make it a viable alternative, since it is just half an hour away from the Rancho, with taxi service readily available.
With the severity of the winter in many parts of the U.S. and Canada, Rancho Encantado is looking forward to hosting even more guests in this beautiful, tropical area on the shore of the magical Laguna Bacalar. The small number of individual casitas and personal service provide a retreat from the stresses and strains of everyday life, with a different, more relaxing sense of time.
–Susanna Starr, January 7, 2007
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A Meeting of
Strong-minded Women
click images for a larger view
Come, my best-beloveds and hear the story I will tell of a meeting of strong-minded women.
Now as you know, women like to meet with women, and in the space they create between them, ideas are born and shaped. Some fly forth on great wings; some shoot upwards as a mighty firework; some join the oceans and flow round the world and some put forth roots into the earth and grow and spread.
And an idea of a meeting began to take shape, and it had wings and fireworks and it both swam across the oceans and took root in the earth. And the word was passed from woman to woman and returned and formed and the web criss-crossed – up and under; in and out; and from it a time and a place were given.
And the women set about their preparations - for childcare, mothercare, plant and animal care and when they were ready they stepped out of their homes and shut the door. And so they came, singly, in pairs, in groups. They came through snow and ice, wind and rain, sun and sea.
They came from cities and country, from mountains and valleys, from the green places and the desert places. They got into cars and trains and planes. They visited friends along the way. Late into the night they journeyed – singly they became two’s and three’s, four’s and fives. They circled around and found the missing three and eventually they arrived to warm, open-hearted welcome; to food and wine and finally the longed for comfort of lying down and stretching out
And in the morning the women met in a circle, and with great, with very great care, they unpacked the treasures which they had so carefully and with such attention brought with them. And with strength, and courage, and honesty they shared them with each other.
They brought their loss, which was shaped and coloured by their tears, and they laid it in the circle and it became links connecting one to the other, uniting and encircling.
They brought their creativity – a many-coloured, ever-changing, fire-flashed, rainbow cloth in which they dressed themselves and shared and merged and formed new beauty.
They brought joy and laughter to set as gemstones upon their foreheads.
They brought devotion and prayer and the eternal sound to lay before the altar.
And in their time together they were cared for by the unseen hands who cooked for them; the people who brought them food and drink and cleaned their rooms in their absence. And they received blessings from the healing hands of the women of the place and they were healed and renewed and blessed by the earth which cradled them; purified by the water; sheltered by the beauty of the trees and caressed by the air.
This mother place, this feminine, creative, nurturing, fecund, burgeoning energy blessed them and in leaving they planted in the earth and poured into the water something of their individual essence, and took within themselves the memory of crystal clear waters lit by moon and sun; of bird song and flight; and trees and plants interwoven in harmony.
–Anne Louise Wirgman, 9.1.07
all photos in this column
by Judy Maselli
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