Melanie Haiken
Best Anti-Aging Creams Ever!
In the fall, I spent a week at Rancho La Puerta, the original wellness retreat in Tecate, Mexico, with a group of travel bloggers. Another member of our group, Chicago TV reporter Nancy Loo, told all of us about an all-natural product line called Maylán that was developed by a Chicago chemist for his wife’s [...]
Seeking Health and Solace in Chimayó, New Mexico
Can a spoonful of dirt transmit a miracle of healing? The more than 40,000 people who make a pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó near Santa Fe, New Mexico believe it can.
Winter Ice Wonderlands as Featured in Delta Sky
Ice climbers ascend a frozen waterfall in Jasper Well, I didn’t post much this month, but that wasn’t because I wasn’t traveling and writing. I was doing plenty of both, but I was churning out words for print publications rather than posting here. One of my biggest stories, for one more day the current current [...]
Stopping the Clock in Scotland
The garden terrace at GlenEagles, perfect for breakfast I love the term the folks across the pond use for vacations: holidays, or “hols” for short. It’s perfectly descriptive, suggesting a sense of celebration and release. Another evocative term they use is “break,” as in the kids are on school break. It suggests a break from [...]
Finding a Cure for Back Pain at Rancho La Puerta
I went to Rancho La Puerta, the legendary wellness retreat and spa in Tecate, Mexico, to whip myself into shape and get healthy and centered. Certainly those goals seemed ambitious enough for one week. What happened instead was quite unexpected; I discovered a series of classes and activities that allowed me to focus on alleviating [...]
Dark Circles Begone: An Eye Cream that Awakens Tired Eyes
If I have one beauty bugaboo that bothers me more than others, it’s the dark circles under my eyes. They’re a permanent fixture, unfortunately; the genetics in my family have seen to it that by the age of 35, my three sisters and I had all developed what we commonly refer to as “eye bags,” [...]
Walk On: How Fashion in Scotland Favors Fitness
No sooner had I gotten off the plane in Glasgow than I began coveting boots. Well, actually, boots and coats. Oh, did I mention scarves? In fact, what I wanted was the whole look: A pared-down silhouette that allows Scotswomen to look like models even as they bundle up against the chill. So, I decided [...]
Yosemite’s Tenaya Lodge Unveils New Wellness Spa
A garden gate lures at Tenaya Lodge Like many Californians, I love Yosemite but don’t visit very often, scared away by the hordes of tourists who can turn the valley floor into a giant big parking lot, albeit one with spectacular views. But there’s an easy way to enjoy Yosemite while at the same time [...]
Best Healthy Aging Advice Ever from Rancho La Puerta
One of inspiring aging-related messages at Rancho La Puerta I haven’t had a lot of examples of healthy aging in my personal life; sadly, both of my parents died at relatively young ages. So I find myself constantly on the watch for role models to learn from; I’m hungry for the example of others as [...]
Rancho La Puerta: A Wellness Retreat Ahead of Its Time
Sunrise on Mount Kuchumaa This week I have a chance to visit a place I’ve been hearing about all my life. Legendary Esalen, the Big Sur retreat that everyone raved about while I was growing up in the crazy ’70s? Nope, not Esalen — Esalen was modeled on this place. It’s Rancho La Puerta, founded [...]
