This issue, Travel

Back to Your Roots

A mother-daughter escape to RANCHO LA PUERTA
BY IRVINA LEW

From the moment my daughter, Sharon, and I arrived at Rancho La Puerta, we felt its unique sense of place. On this 32-acre campus, clay-tile paths curve and wind their way up hill and down, past fountains, stone bridges, a running track surrounding a vineyard and gardens with clusters of sage, geranium or rosemary. Whether during a casual stroll, a bird-watching talk or a brisk walk between the four pools, eleven gyms and 83 casitas, this landscaped section of the 3000-acre ranch always surprises with something splendid to see.

We stayed in Villa Sol #9-a two-bedroom, twobathroom lodging-with a spacious great room topped by a vaulted, beamed ceiling and decorated with Mexican handicrafts. The dining area (for room service breakfasts) has a kitchen on one wall and a sliding glass door on the other that leads to a private patio with views of Mount Kuchumaa. The sculpture and art enriched “adult camp” with its Spanish, tile-roof architecture tells the tale of one family’s sensitivity to art, nature and beauty. Deborah Szekely-the Brooklyn-born, fruitatarianraised, mother of the spa industry, who will celebrate her 87th birthday this May-embodies the Ranch’s spirit and wellness philosophy. This always industrious, entrepreneur/activist/philanthropist married at 17. Months later, in 1940, with her late husband, Professor Edmond Bordeaux Szekely, a geophysicist and natural living experimenter, she moved to a humble, dirt floor hut in the middle of a vineyard named: Rancho La Puerta. Word spread and though there was neither running water nor electricity, invited guests paid $17.50 a week and brought their own tents to their vegetarian Shangri La. After all, it offered a climate to relish, a mountain to hike, a river to swim and an organic farm to cultivate. It was all so unusual in 1949 that a San Diego newspaper article referred to it as a “cult” led by the professor who lectured on the benefits of healthy soil, organic produce, vegetarian diets, exercise, even the value of 20 minutes of daily sunshine.

Days at Rancho La Puerta are filled with organic cooking and healthy activities for the ultimate vacation.

Experts continue to speak at The Ranch; during our week, some talks focused on the Magic of Mexico, Feeding the Future and Sex Education for Grown Ups. Best are Deborah Szekely’s weekly chats. She advocates healthy choices and recants insights gathered from the multitude of periodicals that she reads, clips, saves and shares. She even shares personal strategies: doable things, such as walking daily and eating half portions of restaurant meals.

At The Ranch, mostly vegetarian meals take place in a grand, two-story dining hall surrounded by gracious outdoor terraces. Hot and cold breakfasts and lunches are self-served from buffet stations; a wait staff serves dinners and guests sit at tables of two, four or six. As often as not, our table assembled casually on the spot. Fresh, organic fruits and vegetables predominate, though fish appears on the menu daily. Mexican specialidades, such as tacos and burritos, appear along with salads and extraordinary soups: Broccoli Corriander, Miso Lime with cilantro and a Tuscan Tomato Soup made with fresh roasted tomatoes and peppermint.

The activity schedule offers guests a finely tuned, extraordinarily well-organized and well-executed opportunity to participate (or not) in a myriad of active or passive pursuits. From 6 am hikes to 8 pm movies (and lectures), there are hourly activities (as many as eight choices an hour) geared to men and women of varying fitness levels and ages (from 20 to 80). My daughter attended tennis clinics and did yoga and Pilates; I chose Water Works and dance classes and we both tried Inner Meditation.

We each scheduled three pampering treatments during the week. Though I had one in-room massage, most services take place in one of the Health Centers the Villa Health Center has a Jacuzzi on the roof, the Women’s Health Center has one on a walled patio.

We did the Organic Garden Breakfast hike and a cooking class together. It was still dark when our small group set out on the two-mile trek to Las Tres Estrellas, the six-acre organic farm, though we arrived in clear daylight. We breakfasted in the newly constructed La Cocina Que Canta, the high-roofed, spacious Spanish Colonial style cooking school and culinary center and toured the farm before she walked back with friends (I took the van back to campus).

The first time I visited The Ranch; there was just a small farm kitchen. I clearly remember my cooking class there because I still prepare the thin-crusted, lightly cheesed, vegetable-and-basil studded pizza that the chef introduced to me in 1990, when most pizzas were oily, cheeseladen, calorie-dense pies!

This time, Ana Lorena Najar, the experienced 29-year old chef, spoke to the nine men and women in our class about the virtues of organic produce. She sweetly but firmly denounced chemically enhanced “diet” foods and introduced the farm-to-fork menu she had prepared. Each of us took our places in the grand dining room, collected our recipes and donned an apron before heading to our individual cooking stations (aides helped each cook while a discreet clean-up staff came and went to the prep kitchen; there are four staff members for each guest at The Ranch. I learned to prepare the Creamy Dark Chocolate Flan made with maple syrup and, yes, extra egg yolks and garnished with berries. (The ingredient rich recipe was served in miniscule cups!)

On Friday, when disbelief sets in that the week is almost over, Yuichi, the Los Angeles dancer arrives. For decades, he has been leading guests to the music of ever-popular tunes at both The Ranch and The Door (Ms. Szekely created the Golden Door for guests who want a more intimate and personalized spa experience). He performed after dinner, wearing a gold-lame jacket and an Elvis wig, to the music of a live Mariachi band and danced with some of the guests, including moi. I may have looked ridiculous, especially in front of my daughter, but it sure was fun and a great way to end an extraordinary spa week. What could be a better
Mother’s Day treat?

A Daughter’s Perspective
BY SHARON LEW BLOCK

After the initial shock and awe that my mother had invited me to go with her to Rancho La Puerta, it hit me that I was going away for a week alone with my Mother! I was admittedly flustered. We had never actually been alone together on a trip! While I knew Rancho la Puerta was an inspiring place and I was very excited about a full week at a spa, I was worried we would revert into our old habits of dealing with each other. Mom, being mom, and me, well being the daughter of mom.

The moment we arrived on the grounds and felt the peacefulness that surrounds The Ranch, all other worries vanished. A grin appeared on both of us. Our first two meals were awkward because we wanted to sit together, but we didn’t want to be rude and leave people out either; very quickly we made new acquaintances. The age of the men and women at The Ranch doesn’t seem to have any relevance there; three generations were sitting at every meal, at any given table, without any of us noticing.

As the days went on, we met more and more people and had such a blast with our new ‘friends’ that my mother and I didn’t even see each other ’til dinner! Our schedules were so full with wonderful activities; we barely noticed we were actually living together. The experience I remember most was the morning hike we took together to the Organic Garden. It was a fully gorgeous morning and we had so many laughs. We later harvested vegetables for the day’s meals and this city girl learned how to pluck a carrot out of the ground (You just pull! -I thought I would need a shovel! Who knew?)

A few days later, mother and daughter took a cooking class together and we had a blast. I learned how to cut vegetables properly for the first time ever, how to make a vegetable soup and how to enjoy cooking with more organic ingredients than I ever have eaten before!

All in all, Rancho La Puerta with my mom was one of the fondest most heart-warming experiences I think I have ever had.