By Amy Tara Koch
Can a week at an oceanside retreat really pamper and tone?
As a kid, I had no greater fantasy than to attend an all girls boarding school where my daily routine would consist of going to classes with my best friends, bonding with roommates after lights out, and escaping to secret hideaways. Well, I never made it to boarding school, but twenty years later, I found an adult version of my all-girl haven in the form of Amansala’s Bikini Boot Camp in Tulum, Mexico. The best part, of course, was that classrooms were in the sand and history, algebra, and social studies classes were replaced with relaxation, yoga, and body sculpting.
Adios reality!
After a bumpy two-hour ride from the Cancun airport (oh, that’s why they said to bring a jogging bra!), I was deposited in the sand on Amansala’s palm tree-studded property (there is no lobby or main “building”). I bid adios to reality. Amansala is a conglomeration of thatched huts and two story cabanas, which resemble the tropical community that might have evolved if Tom Hanks had been washed ashore with a woman (think Castaway, 400-thread count sheets, and designer candles). It was midday and a bevy of bikini clad ladies sat munching mango con limon in the open air room that doubles as a reception area and dining facility, while others lounged in hammocks enjoying a beachfront moment. Being in the company of women in this remote Yucatan peninsula helped me forget about looming deadlines and encouraged me to hop into a hammock to chill out with my new roommates.
Bikini Boot Camp defined
A typical bikini boot camp day is challenging but not as fierce as the title would indicate. Each day’s schedule combined two strenuous fitness regimes, a spiritual endeavor like meditation or journaling, an excursion to such local sites as the Mayan ruins, or a natural springs sink hole, as well as quality down time to read or nap. The day kicks off with some feisty Mexican coffee and a two-hour power walk on the beach. The yoga was seriously hard core, long on pigeon and short on child’s pose. Though I practice regularly, plane flights and my signature writer’s hunch have rendered my spine caturanga dandasana challenged. After two sweat-drenched hours, I emerged a taller, more balanced woman. My favorite exercise regime was the body sculpting cum movement class. Imagine, if you will, fifteen women working out with two-pound green coconuts to house music in the candlelit jungle. Just as I was about to collapse from pumping coconut, we were told to close our eyes and tap into our inner Martha Graham. I could not help laughing at the surreal vision of urban gals completely letting go of their boundaries as they writhed about the room freestyle while tropical birds cawed overhead.
During personal time, we went swimming or indulged in outdoor massage and/or reflexology. One day co-owner Melissa Perlman proferred some detoxifying Mayan Clay which we smeared all over our bodies in the sun. After rinsing the mud off, we lounged on the beach and marveled how clay and a simple dip in the Gulf of Mexico felt more restorative than a $300 algae wrap at a fancy New York spa. Another beauty plus? Tulum’s perfectly moist eighty-something weather transformed our winterized skin into dewy radiance.
“Eco-chic”
Cleverly deemed “eco-chic” by it’s founders, Amansala offers a tropical paradise with urban verve. The concept was born when New Yorkers Melissa Perlman and Erica Gragg decided to exit the rat race to develop a reasonably priced beachside retreat. They scoured Tulum (camping out under the stars) until they found a run down “resort” without running water, electricity, or plumbing. After a $100,000 renovation, Amansala (meaning tranquility by the water) was born. The two-story cabanas are simple and airy. Rooms boast shabby-chic bedding, billowing mosquito netting, oversized candles and bathrooms adorned with groovy Mexican tile. And, being situated yards from the ocean, guests are lulled to sleep by the sound of waves crashing upon the shore. But the creation of the fitness oriented Bikini Boot Camp is what really jumpstarted Amansala’s buzz factor. Busy, urban women became enamored with a reasonably priced all girl Mexican getaway offering adventure, relaxation, fitness, and simple, healthy food.
Connecting with life’s basic pleasures
Located in an enclave where the jungle meets the beach, life can get downright primitive at Amansala. Upon arrival, I was shocked to learn that I would be sharing a room (and bathroom) with a virtual stranger, something that I hadn’t done in ten years. My anxiety was compounded when I was told that the phone lines “no sirve” when I attempted to call my husband to let him know that I was alive. Apparently, phone service (and internet access) goes in and out depending on the weather. Other surprises included the resort’s limited electricity in the evenings and lack of air conditioning, oh, and toilet paper cannot be flushed down the toilet. But, I discovered true beauty in Amansala’s simplicity. These uncomfortable situations illustrate one of Amansala’s primary tenets: reconnecting with the basic pleasures of life (and disconnecting with one’s hectic reality) provides balance and tranquility. Being literally cut off from my normal routine also allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and live adventurously. Of course, my roommate Kate and I became best friends, comparing bug bites and laughing hysterically when Melissa’s dog leapt into my bed at 2 a.m.
Food
All of the meals at Amansala also reflect this lifestyle: clean, light, and nutritious. Breakfast is a choice of fresh mango or papaya with lime, and/or huevos rancheros. Lunches are salads with chicken or fish. At dinner we feasted on delicately grilled fish accompanied by veggies.
Bonding
The Bikini Boot Camp experience incorporated both physical and spiritual by providing the opportunity to just hang out and bond with women, something that I hadn’t done, save the scheduled drink and dinner with friends, since college. One of the most fabulous escapades was the night of the Mayan sweat lodge. We gathered (in bikinis, of course) by a Survivor-esque outdoor fire where we each voiced a wish for the future. Inside, (before I had to flee from claustrophobia) we huddled in hundred degree temps and sang show tunes as we sweated out impurities. Every day we exercised, ate, and giggled about our lives. Every night we drank wine and laughed some more. I felt ten years younger. At Amansala, I vowed to make more time in my life for women. And to score some green coconuts for tropical workouts at home in snowy Chicago.
address book
Amansala is on the beach south of Tulum, about two hours’ drive south of Cancun. Bikini Boot Camp rates are $1,575 per person for the six-day program, $1,075 for the four-day program. The fee covers accommodations; meals; all exercise classes and lectures; beachside massage; activities such as bicycling, hiking to archaeological sites and snorkeling; and other programs, which might include a temazcal or a dance or drumming workshop. Guests who do not participate in boot camp are also welcome; room-only rates are $125 – $165 per night. An optional meal plan is $100 per couple, per day. (011-52-98) 48-Q6-45-82; www.amansala.com
March/April 2004
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