EXERCISING
YOUR OPTIONS AT
RANCHO LA PUERTA
By Paulette Cooper
Why
would someone like myself, whose idea of exercise is crossing
Worth Avenue, or braving the crowds for the Stubbs & Wooten shoe sale, go to
a fitness & health spa--known for its strenuous programs-- not once but two
years in a row?
That’s
because there’s enough to do and see at Rancho La Puerta without having to
exercise or do anything very difficult at all. “The Ranch,” as they call it,
focuses on development of the inner self as well as the outer body.
And some of the outer body stuff is pretty soft, like the make-up
lessons, and the massages they offer for (almost) every part of your body.
Not to mention enough wraps to turn you into a mummy.
In
the evenings they have talks and slide shows presented by special guests who
have enjoyed (and endured) everything from the wilds of Indonesia to a trek to
the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Or instead of listening to a
lecture, you can watch a first run movie or play bingo.
And
during the day, yes, sure, you can do the 4 mile breakfast hike, like my
husband, Paul Noble did. Or
you can go on a 2-mile rolling hills hike, or do the bird walk observation
(under Mount Kuchumaa) which was definitely more my speed.
My
speed was also the meditation, the dance classes --for example, there’s Samba
lessons to prepare you for your next cruise in which you’ll put on all the
weight you might lose here--and the Tai Chi sessions.
And
speaking of Tai Chi and dance, that’s another reason I love Rancho La Puerta.
The people who teach the classes or conduct the exercises are all major experts
who also happen to be approachable and likeable. For example,
Thai Chi is taught by David Dorian Ross, who has won 4 US gold medals, 2 World
Bronze medals and 2 world silver medals – and will be competing in the
Olympics in 2 years when Thai Chi will become one of the sports.
The
most popular dance class there is taught by Yuichi, a Hollywood choreographer
who comes here one day a week to teach it. His class is so
well liked that from the moment people arrive, they start telling each other not
to miss Yuichi’s class.
Another
reason I go to Rancho La Puerta is for the food, which surprises even me because
I’m not a vegetarian and there’s no meat here. But the
food is healthy and delicious, although mid-week I started dreaming about cows,
which suddenly started looking very good to me. (Here,
Bessie) And so Paul and I sneaked out to a non-healthy restaurant in town.
There
are enough other meat-starved carnivores at the Ranch that the restaurant has a
free van that picks you up and then serves you an OK steak (which was DELICIOUS)
and a knock-out Margarita. (The drink was especially good,
since no real alcohol is available at the ranch, although a couple of nights
they offered a bit of wine. Which explains why some people come here to dry out
a well as veg out--or veg-in--as the case appears to be.)
OK,
OK, none of what I’ve written so far tempts you to come here because you
want to work out. Well, there’s certainly plenty here for
you as well. In fact, most of the 80 classes a week are for
people who want to do strenuous flexibility or Pilates or yoga or whatever.
I simply prefer to work up a sweat by sitting in the hot tub, while most of the
others there chose to work up a sweat in a more arduous manner.
Actually,
you don’t have to exert yourself at all to enjoy this
paradise. It’s so magnificent, that if it wasn't a luxury
spa, it could be a botanical garden. Built on 575 lush acres in the Mexican
mountains right over the border in Baja, it's so spread out, the 180 guests will
find themselves exercising just by hiking from one area to another even if
they’re planning only on indulging in the milder pampering activities. Well,
at least that was my excuse for not doing anything strenuous all week.
RANCHO LA PUERTA
TECATE,MEXICO
800-443-7565 or in Mexico 011-52-665-654-9155
www.rancholapuerta.com
