The Hungry Traveler: Savor Saturdays at Rancho la Puerta

TECATE, Mexico — Sharon Coleman had long dreamed of visiting Rancho La Puerta, the legendary destination spa just across the border from San Diego. But the commitment of week’s time - and weekly rates starting at about $3,000 per person - were something of a roadblock.

“I’d heard so many good things about it,” the Chula Vista massage therapist said. “But I just couldn’t swing it.”

Then Coleman, who lives in Chula Vista, heard about “Saturdays at the Ranch” - a day-long visit that includes fitness classes, use of all ranch facilities including pools and gyms, the opportunity to enjoy spa treatments, plus a three-hour hands-on class at the ranch’s new cooking school. The package includes roundtrip transportation from San Diego and two meals, for $195 per person.

Coleman sprang for the deal - and treated her husband and parents, visiting from Maine, to the outing.

On the road

The day began at 7:45 a.m. at the Old Town Transit-Trolley Station, where 19 of us boarded a chartered bus that would take us to Rancho La Puerta. (Participation is limited to 21.)

During the hour or so drive to the “Ranch,” as it’s known to devotees, we watched a video on the resort’s history narrated by founder Deborah Szekely; we munched Ranch granola and met fellow travelers - women mostly, but a few good men.

After crossing the border at Tecate, we cruised west a short distance, turning right at a discreet sign. A metal mural gate of flowers and birds swung open, admitting us to a 3,000-acre verdant, serene retreat. A Ranch escort guided us to the women’s and men’s health centers, where we stored our gear in lockers, before embarking on a quick tour.

Our escort gently prodded us along a rosey brick path that meanders past trickling fountains, reclining bronze sculptures, plumes of pampas grass and bouquets of rosemary and sage.

She pointed out the glass-walled studios where we could aerobic dance with hula hoops, learn yoga poses, use tennis balls to release and mobilize knotted muscles.

She noted the gyms where assistants would time our circuit workouts and watch us sweat on cardio cycles.

She showed us pools where we could swim laps - or simply claim a reclining lounge and loll in the sun.

More importantly, she made sure we could find the two-story dining hall - where guests savor the ambiance as much as wholesome organic meals. The setting is the best of Mexican colonial: thick white stucco walls, wood beams, terra-cotta tile floors, high-backed wooden chairs, tables covered in cloths that reflect the colors of folk art hung on the walls. In winter, there’s a crackling log fire in the hearth beside the circular staircase that leads to balcony seating.

Saturday lunches are offered buffet style. Guests pile their plates with raw and roasted organic vegetables from the ranch garden: beets, fennel bulb, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, mixed greens. There are cheeses, nuts, olives, tuna, eggs and house-made salsas and vinaigrettes for dressing the bounty. Add a slice or two of guilt-free whole grain wheat bread, fresh from the ranch oven.

Choosing classes

Some Saturday participants, especially those who’d previously stayed at the Ranch for a full week, grumped about the short menu of classes and guided hikes offered. (There was only one hike: an easy two-mile meadow trek departing at 2 p.m.)

But in the end, ours was a relatively lazy bunch. None of us opted for cardio cycling - and nobody made a mad dash for the weight room or circuit training. A few wandered into yoga class and a gaggle of girlfriends laughed their way through “Hula Hoop Dance Class.” Debbie Beecher and Don Mohn, from Coronado, settled by a pool.

Many found their way to the labyrinth for a meditative outdoor walk on a perfect day.

Rancho La Puerta’s open-air labyrinth, set in a grove of ancient oaks, is a full-scale replica of the floor labyrinth laid at Chartres Cathedral between 1194 and 1200. It’s a classical 11-circuit design, a metaphor for life’s journey - leading to the center and back out again, through turn after turn after turn.

Those of us who made the journey walked alone, embracing a warm breeze; inhaling the summerlike scents of sage, rosemary, lavender, oak - and listening, intently, to the profound silence. Time to think, to savor. Time.

The walk was a perfect prelude to “Singing Bowls and Meditation.” We stretched out for the class in a carpeted studio, closed our eyes and breathed deeply, as a Ranch instructor applied instruments (and her hands) to a series of crystal bowls - some very large. The instructor explained that the sounds were calibrated to the chakras of our bodies. Her efforts sent us on meditative tonal trips. Some of us clearly were transported to another plane - and proved it with deep, satisfied, sleepy snores.

Ahhh.

Time is fleeting - especially when you’re in another zone: stone, cold relaxed.

Pamper yourself

SpaFinder magazine readers named Rancho La Puerta their “Favorite Spa in North America” for good reason. Don’t go home without indulging in a spa treatment. But a word to the wise: Do it before 2 p.m. After a mind-numbing, drool-on-the-sheets massage or herbal wrap, you’ll want to stay in slow-mo for awhile. It’s no fun racing to shower and dress, then zipping across campus to board the vans that transport students to the culinary school at 3:30 p.m.

Related stories:

Rancho La Puerta could face dark days

Rancho La Puerta’s Deborah Szekely talks with Tom Blair

Deborah Szekely not slowing down after 87 years

“My ‘Energy Balance’ massage was the best massage I have ever had - and I’ve had plenty of massages at the best spas all around the world. It was outstanding - 90 minutes of outstanding,” avowed Becki Etess of La Jolla, still bleary eyed during the 10-minute ride to the school.

“My therapist used pressure, like reflexology, on my entire body. Then about halfway through, I opened one eye to see what was going on. There were all these candles lit. She had this bouquet of fresh herbs - sage, rosemary, peppercorn - brushing it all over me, circling me.

“As I was leaving, I noticed an award posted in the reception area. My massage therapist, Luz, was recently selected by SpaFinder to be the masseuse of the year”

La Cocina que Canta

The 4,500-square foot culinary school, La Cocina que Canta (the kitchen that sings) is adjacent to Tres Estrellas, the Ranch’s six-acre organic garden. That’s where we started our class: harvesting some of the fresh vegetables we’d be cooking and eating in the next few hours. School director Antonia Allegra, said the plan from the start was to teach “the connection between the garden, cooking and eating.”

The tile-roofed Cocina has the welcoming feel of a friend’s hacienda - a wealthy friend, who loves to cook. Terra-cotta-colored walls, pinewood tables and chairs, Talavera tiles and Mexican textiles in the colors of ripe fruit - lemon, raspberry, orange, lime, banana - dress the place. A wrought iron chandelier dangles from the beamed ceiling; French-style doors open to the garden.

The kitchen is all stainless steel, shiny mirrors, butcher block and tile counters.

Ana Lorena Naja, resident chef at La Cocina, led our three-hour hands-on class. She arrived at the Ranch from Asao, the finest restaurant in Tecate - and before that worked in Seville, Spain, at two-Michelin-starred La Alqueria.

“The important thing for us is that you have fun,” Naja said, as she handed out packets of recipes copied from recently released ed “Cooking with the Seasons,” co-authored by Ranch founder Deborah Szekely and well known San Diego chef (and frequent Ranch cooking instructor) Deborah Schneider.

“When people come here, most want to take home something from the Ranch, something from Mexico,” Naja said. “So we are giving you Mexican flavors to take home.

Our menu for the evening included agua fresca, grilled corn soup, Mexican coleslaw with cilantro vinaigrette, shrimp enchiladas, chiles rellenos with ancho chile sauce, braised greens, red Mexican rice, guacamole and dessert of avocado sorbet.

“We have to eat at 6 o’clock,” Naja announced, clapping her hands. “Let’s go.”

We broke into teams of two or three, grabbed a recipe and started cleaning, chopping, juicing and sautéing.

“After way too many cooking classes and demonstrations, I love that I finally understand how to hold and use a large chopping/mincing knife,” said Etess, as Naja gently coached her.

“It’s great that we’re being able to actually do the cooking - as opposed to watching a demonstration,” added Diane Takvorian, founder and executive director of the San Diego-based Environmental Health Coalition.

Takvorian was there celebrating birthdays with girlfriends Beatriz Barraza and Sharon Kalenkiarian. The trio tackled chiles rellenos and did themselves proud - while most of the rest of us made a mental note NEVER to attempt making chiles rellenos in our own kitchens.

Jeane Erley from University City minced garlic, diced onions and chopped shrimp with help from her daughters, Janet D’Annunzio and Ann Cummings. Their shrimp enchiladas won raves.

The minute the guacamole was ready, it started disappearing. Delicious. We all learned its low-fat secret. A cup of frozen peas added to mashed Haas avocado, seeded tomato, sweet onion, Jalapeno, chopped garlic and onion. More guac, with fewer calories - the perfect souvenir from Mexico.

“It’s been a long day,” said Phyllis Cusimano, pooped but happy, as she sat down with her husband Tony, daughter and son-in-law, Sharon and Bill Coleman, to eat the meal they’d prepared. “Bon appetito.”

IF YOU GO: Saturdays at the Ranch cost $195, including roundtrip transportation from San Diego, two meals, a three-hour hands-on cooking class, access to Ranch fitness facilities and classes. Spa treatments cost extra. Book at www.rancholapuerta.com

Saturday participants get 20 percent off a week’s stay, plus four free spa treatments and a free cooking class, when booking a visit this summer.

Tags: cooking class, Deborah Szekely, fitness, Rancho la Puerta, SDNN, spa, Tecate

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.