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Heart Healthy

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ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON I drive to Tecate, Mexico. I think about the week ahead of me: self-indulgence, spa treatments and yoga galore at Rancho La Puerta. My commitment to myself includes no caffeine, sugar or alcohol.

I arrive and am amazed at the beauty of the ranch and the congeniality of the staff. Heading toward my Mexican villa, I’m excited. The week, from Saturday to Saturday, offers an agenda of hiking, fitness classes, dance, inner journeys, meditation and the eagerly anticipated meals (1,400 calories a day, a vegetarian diet by an award-winning chef).

The first day begins at 7 a.m. with a hike on rolling hills. The canyon echoes with the noises of wild animals. I do a full morning of classes—aerobics with soul, circuit training, yoga, legs and glutes. I’m feeling good. I spend the afternoon lazing around the pool, dreaming about my impending massage.

By the third day, I’m over my espresso and chocolate cravings, I think. The breakfast hike is 3.5 miles to Les Estrelles, an organic vegetable farm. Rumor has it we get chocolate bread with breakfast—yippee. I feel good. But something else inside is feeling empty. This self-indulgence is great, right? What’s missing?

As we walk toward the farm, our hike leader, Harmony, casually mentions, “Over there, that’s an orphanage.” I ask her if the ranch helps them out. Suddenly, I have an idea about filling my empty feeling.

When we get back to the spa, I call the front desk and arrange a trip to the orphanage with three other women. On the way, we stop at the dulceria to purchase candy for the children. (Four women off sugar for a week loose in a dulceria !) We buy a soccer-ball piñata and fill it with candy. We make it out of the dulceria without any indulgence . . . okay, Almira buys a Coke.

WE ARRIVE AT THE ORPHANAGE, Rancho San Juan Bosco, and are quickly greeted by the director, Misael Morelos Quezada. It’s a home for boys—good thing the piñata is a soccer ball. The boys range from age 6 to 17 and are sitting quietly in a classroom doing homework.

A boy taken from an abusive home in Tijuana walks up to me with his head down and shakes my hand. Misael says he doesn’t speak because of his abusive background. My heart aches. Misael gives us a tour, including the medical facilities run by his wife, a doctor. We’re impressed by the tour, and quickly realize they’re in need of the very basics and much, much more.

One by one, I blindfold the boys, uno, dos, tres, spinning them around before they head toward the piñata with a stick. We have a great time playing this game, laughing and watching the children scatter for as much candy as possible.

As we go to leave, the little boy from Tijuana walks up to me, hands me a balloon and a piece of candy and says, “Gracias, senorita, mucho gusto.” My heart is filled.

We return to Rancho La Puerta, four women on a mission, filled with love for those boys. We decide to raffle off a giant Hershey’s Kiss to raise money. We sell $420 worth of tickets—and two guests match the proceeds: $840 total.

The guest who wins the raffle gives back the Kiss. He hopes next week’s group will carry on the tradition. We all hope that if we return, we’ll see this tradition carry on for years to come. Rancho La Puerta says it will provide the orphanage with monthly fruits and vegetables.

The whole experience? The spa was wonderful. The will to resist indulgences will ebb and flow. But the inner fulfillment gained on this trip will last a lifetime.

Maureen Sullivan is the general manager of San Diego Magazine. The address for the Rancho San Juan Bosco Casa Hogar/Children’s Home is P.O. Box 1059, Tecate, CA 91980.

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