Troncones: What a Happy Ending. ; )

The sun licked off the remaining droplets of water on my stomach with a sizzling kiss. I was now dry, ready, to return home.

I deftly packed up my bikinis (pretty much my entire wardrobe of the week) and left the Present Moment retreat at high noon. Valerie left with me calmly ready to embark down the dusty road back to civilization. After our flight from Ixtapa, we had a five hour layover in Mexico City, an amount of time that would normally drive us mad and prompt a reckless purchase of luxe airline lounge passes or a taxi into town. However, the Present Moment Retreat had changed us. The two most Type A girls had learned to chill. The airport would surely have a bar and a burrito stand right? Tequila and tacos? We needed nothing more.

Troncones was an idyllic vacation, although not in the traditional White Chameleon travel sense. Instead of racing down undiscovered paths or challenging the locals to duels of whiskey shots, the days were mostly spent within 100 meters, internally navigating the soul and calming the mind. After enough days here one realizes the outside world, including its societal pressures and materialistic pursuits, do not matter. All that is important is the constant pull of the ocean toward shore. (and the papaya glazed Mahi Mahi...us Californians cannot ever let food slip in priority).

After the girls arrived, I nervously expected San Francisco to come roaring back to me: the work, the pressure, the gossip, the sheer frivolousness that can be city life. But as soon as Monica, Ali, and Valerie stepped foot in Troncones, they transformed just as I had. The usual ‘who is doing who’ conversations ceased. No one was interested in discussing the color selection of this season’s Tod’s handbags. And most importantly, any desire to run or explore instantly died Like me, all they wanted to do was slip into swimsuits and plop.

As we leisurely plopped, diligently yoged,and gracefully sipped our ocean side ginger cucumber elixirs, the rest of the world seemed to be entering Armageddon: Volcanic ash and travel paralysis in Europe, another earthquake in Mexico, and the Goldman Sachs fraud in the US. Not to mention the tragic news about Sandra Bullock’s cheating husband.

But to us, the sunshine drunks, none of this mattered. Our little world of morning yoga, afternoon massage, and sunset cocktails was very much alive and well. We forgot our worries, laughed over cards, and gave appreciative toasts to the fortune that was our life. Healthy, without attachment or concern, the world was our oyster….with a Mikimoto pearl set.

I do not understand the businessmen that slave away their best years under dimly lit excel spreadsheets. Nor the needy women who waste their youth in a state of panic over getting married and having children. Life is so fleeting-shouldn’t we just take time to enjoy it? Why worry, why panic…in fact why live anywhere that doesn’t allow you to wear your swimsuit 24/7? When you spend enough time on a beach reflecting, the things that usually demand brain space (career ladders, dating etiquette, ummm….wearing clothes) become so trivial.

Although I am returning to the apparel world shortly, I do hope to bring the carefree attitude of Troncones with me. Along with help from the girls, perhaps I can create a new look in San Francisco.