Rancho La Puerta : The setting … simply stunning.
Rancho La Puerta Sunset - Photo: Alice Joyce
It’s true, guests are served divine meals with a Mediterranean flair during a stay at Rancho La Puerta. Certainly the full schedule of classes and presentations offers an opportunity to arrive a peaceful center after enjoying one perfect day after another. Finding balance might begin with an early-morning hike, and breakfast at the Rancho’s cooking school, La Cocina que Canta. That invigorating experience may be followed with a yoga or tai chi session; perhaps an art workshop or an informative lecture about sleep after dinner.
The beauty of the landscape itself can be transformative. Majestic evergreen live oaks offer shade and shelter throughout the Rancho’s gardens, while succulents such as cacti and aloes, native and Mediterranean species, and drought-tolerant flowering perennials and shrubs add beautiful punctuation to the terrain’s natural rock formations.
Fountain, Dining Hall Terrace: Alice Joyce photo
And then, there is bird song….
Dining Hall Rancho La Puerta: Alice Joyce Photo
enlivening every pathway, patio, and passageway during daylight hours.
Art emerges at every turn, from mosaics & metalwork to stained glass embellishments:
An exceptional collection of bronze sculptures appears amid grassy clearings, or as focal points all round the property: Works by Mexican artist, Víctor Hugo Castañeda.
Mount Kuchumaa, Rancho La Puerta Landscape - Alice Joyce photo
The presence of Mount Kuchumaa – “the exalted high place” of the Kumeyaay Indians – has remained with me since returning home, leaving me with a sense of nourishment and fortitude. Whether one is inclined toward spiritual pursuits or not, I would guess that the scenery’s powerful energy is felt by all who have walked the Rancho’s pathways over the course of a week. The stunning setting has that effect on people.
Stonework bench at a 'casita' (Alice Joyce)
La Cocina que Canta Cooking School entryway (Alice Joyce)
Plantings encourage and sustain wildlife at Rancho La Puerta: (Alice Joyce)
Rancho La Puerta Decorative Entry Gate: Alice Joyce photo
Mt Kuchumaa vignette, Rancho La Puerta - Alice Joyce photo
Reflexology Path Rancho La Puerta: Alice Joyce photo
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