rancho cerro largo yoga retreat!

Namaste - om shanti and so on....
Yes - we are feeling stronger, healthier and better in our bodies and minds at this moment! Thanks to Rancho Cerra Largo - the beautiful spot we found by luck 11 days ago. After work, really interested in finding a spot to chill out and rejuvenate - we travelled towards Puerto Escondido and Zicatela - a famous surf spot where the waves are high and the people also. A nice little place this was, and we stayed a few days. But not really getting into the vibe of it all - we decided to cruise on and moved further down the coast towards Zipolite, a hippie hang out offering yoga and the likes. Halfway there, we meet some nice people on our last means of transportation - and they tell us that Zipolite is quite dirty and unsafe - whereas Playa Augustinillo or even Mazunte would be better if we´re into peace, quiet and clean spots. And also, when I asked about yoga - the girl was telling me about this wonderful place up on the cliffs i should go and see. We decided to hop off in Augustinillo - and left our packs with Jack - the forever traveller and good man. We started out walking fast paced up the hills in search for Cerro Largo to see if this could be what we had been looking for. after 20 minutes of walking in intense heat and already tired from travelling - we started to think we might have walked in the wrong direction or something.. all was nothing on the roads.. But after a few minutes, a sign pointed to the right and we had found it! And there it was.. entering under the nepali prayer flags, we knew that it was something special. It somehow reminded us of Bhakti Kutir in Goa, India - all organic, in the spiritual zone and in tune with nature. And oh, so pretty! Placed on top of the cliffs with the most amazing views over the ocean - with 6 cabanas all different in style and size. we met with one of the owners, marion and she showed us the only available cabana - a room where you could open up alle the walls so there was infact no walls at all! outdoor shower and toilet - and we liked the idea of getting soaped under a starry sky....we booked us in for a week and moved in!!!
that day, we gathered around the dinner table, mario (owner), rolf and marion, paulina from italy and fabienne, theresa, kathy and sue. 4 american girls staying one week for the yoga and the place. fabienne, a ashtanga instructor from boston - had been hired by the girls to teach for one week. but ole and me, and the locals from the area was also welcome to join in the classes! so after being totally taken aback from the energy and the spirit of the girls at dinner, we got the picture in yoga class. ever so present, enthusiastic and funny fabienne with all her wonderful crazyness got me in the mood - and so it went for the rest of the week. theresa took us dancing at night, just the girls in the yogahall going nuts - singing and sweating our prayers. yoga was great in the morning, and in the evenings we would share meals and laugh more than usual i would say... new people joined in at the table, we had virginia and her boy from mexico city, ron and ted from massachusets, suzanna from ? that had directed punishment park!!! and ofcourse mario, marion and rolf. the staff was always si great and the food - ahhhhh the food. mario made the most delicious veggieoptions - indian inspired and hibisquis tea for dessert. we have spend our days lazily about in the hammock, in our room, in the hammock in our room, at the beach, going for walks, checking out the crocodiles and the turtles in the mangroveforest, eating, eating, eating, yoga, yoga, yoga, speaking very little, laughing hard, meeting likeminded people and creating a nice life together with other visitors at cerro largo. the area is so wild and intouched, very few tourists and lots of birds and wildlife. and the sun setting and rising in coordination with the moon has been something out of this world! very vivid and the moon is so huge! the sun is bleeding orange, and at night - the moon is so blue that it lights up the whole sky. lying under the mosquitonet, seeing the moon and the palm trees - hearing the ocean... ahhhhhhhhhh. it was hard to leave and tears were shed - but there is a time for everything and it was that time to move..
today - just after discovering a rat in our room - we are in oaxaca city: WIERD to all of a sudden walk a little faster, look at a menu, see lots of people, read the newspaper, look in shops and so on.. the architecture is truly a sight and all the streets are straight and narrow - making it easy to navigate around. It is lots of brick and concrete. old buildings that are all artied up and you can see there is a lot of creative people around...
we shall explore more tomorrow in daylight! looking forward to see monte alban also - and the villages surrounding the city.

look at the pics under the link: view pics from puerto escondido/rancho cerro largo!!

hasta luego -