YiiMtii Dreaming

Another day...aaahhh...

An Orchard's Turning Point...

Avocado trees at Yiimtii were planted nine years ago. We bought trees grafted with the Hass variety but then the grafting died and the Mother lived on. We only knew it was a good Heirloom Mother that bore fruit like a Mango Tree... Anyway, after nine years of waiting, we discovered we have the Best Avocados on the face of the Universe (not exaggerating)... They don't go bad or black or have fibers and they taste deliciously buttery and sweet...
We truly consider this a turning point at Yiimtii. Avocado being one of our everyday essentials.
THANKYOU MOTHER EARTH AT YIIMTII FOR GIFTING US WITH THIS MARVEL!

Tandem Flying

Every night we have several bats come and hang from the roof of our hall. We noticed last night that almost all of them are females that have their young ones hanging from them. It is pretty cute! If you can say that...

Ephimeral Yellow Blossoms

Five Days after the first rainfall, the Ocotines of the forest dress themselves in yellow blossoms. The blossoms only last two days on the tree and then they form yellow carpets on the ground. What a sight!

Sacred life giving Rain

Rains are back these year... It is always surprising to see the forest be reborn again. It takes less than a week to notice the green scenery. At the third day you could see the green sprouting:

And after 10 days this is how it looks like:

WELCOME BACK RAIN!!! WELCOME BACK JUNGLE!!!

Birding it out!!!

JABIRU MIGRATION:
The NIGHT of May 24th-25th The Jabirus stopped at Yiimtii for the second year that we notice them. They stopped for the night, like last year, that the majority of them stopped at the Dead Old Ocotin Structure, which this year became the Star-Gazing Tower, which this time they by-passed it probably surprised by the feathered turtle shell that hangs as a shild on top of the tower, they chose an overlooking tree a little bit further. The Jabirus are like storks, mentioned as the largest flying bird of North America, although I still have my doubts compared with the Condor. In the morning they took off with the same ritual, all of them gathering and flying in circles for a while, aligning the formation one by one, calling the others from other trees.

I feel honored and am in awe, to witness this migration pattern, having them over for the night... every year... like best friend visitors.


BABY TOUCANETTE:

A ride on a boat, through the mangrove, with the lulling of the song -rows in water-, we find this nest:

CRESTED CARACARA:

It is the first time in all of my life in Yiimtii that I see a Raptor so close to us. Today she landed on our passion flower trellis. She seemed to be a youngster. What a big gift to see her eye to eye:

Sometimes Owls appear at dusk... singing and blinking... but they never come as close.

Turtle Rescue

Early morning we saw turtle tracks down on the beach. We got ready to go down and do the usual, once we have located the exact spot of the nest, we try to make a mess around it, dig a big hole near it so the turtle egg hunters get all confuse and think someone else has got the eggs first. It works all the time. But for once to our surprise, not just the tracks were there but the turtle was still there!!! Towards the end of the trail going down, very deep in the forest, the dogs started barking at something and we discovered the turtle all tangled up in vines and trapped. Anyway, it was quite a rescue... Rodolfo broke her loose and between him and Naim they tried to carry it all the way to the path. We don't even know how she got so far in because it is pretty thick and full of cactus. Only she knows...but she must have been looking for as high ground as possible, her instinct telling her that the tides would come higher this year... She was exhausted. Later on we discovered why, her tracks were all over the beach, she had tried to dig several nests but it seemed none of the locations really convinced her. Anyway, when she felt free she went directly for the ocean, with some help here and there and some histerical flapping on her part anytime it was necessary to lift her up. We were sorry to not be able to communicate with her that we were just trying to help. She must have been scared to dead of us and plus the barking of the dogs. If it was me I would have had a heart attack.

What a great relief to see her go, swimming in the waves... and we wondered if she would come again the next day... and she did, but she just hasn't found the right spot yet. Hopefully she will tonight if she comes back. Turtles lay her eggs on the beach they were born, so I guess she has no other option but finding the right place for her nest here.

What wonderful animals they are, no wonder why they are icons of Mother Earth... Sacred Ancient and Wise Beings...
It is impressing the way they are born, working so hard digging themselves out of their nest without any maternal love near them to help them deal with such immensity as they face the world... the beach and then the ocean and all the predators in between as well... How inspiring that such small creatures can accomplish something so grand as to survive... and then come back one day and repeat the cycle for the sake of the species.
May all the turtles of this Earth be safe and healthy and happy...
May they prevail...
Thankyou so much Turtle for letting us be so close to You... We'll always remember You.

Friendly Critters

Walter and his fabulous chirping siblings insure premium dinnertime entertainment at YiiMtii Retreat, complete with the Gecko Chorus, sound of lapping waves, and moonlight to sooth the soul.

I'm lying in a hammock, feeling the warm breeze blow through the cabin here are yiimtii. Outside is in, surrounding me with the sounds of lapping waves, bird calls and geckos. I am alone and alive in a magical place on the planet.

Come. BE at YiiMtii... BE....

You CAN Touch the Stars!

The night sky is calling to you from YiiMtii... Hold the stars and planets in the palms of your hands. They flirt with your mind from the heavens above.


["Stars and Planets" drawing by Sam Rubin]

YUM!

At Yiimtii, much of the food comes from the amazing garden where 42 varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown. Every meal feels completely nourishing and leaves you full and happy.

Mother Earth

Do what you can to awaken humanity to
the necessity to care for Mother Earth.

A Visit from the Sea Turtle

Turtles visited again. She must have been busy, looking for a place to hide her eggs. Her tracks are all over the beach. Can you see them?

Let Your Hair Down...

Hang back.
Soak in the sunset.
Go for it!!!
You want relaxation?
You got it!!!

HIking Trails and Endless Sky

A most pleasant afternoon walk through the woods, our sandals crunching through dried leaves adorned with yellow flowers...off to a far cliff overlooking the sea. We stood and watched the frigate birds as they traced the sky, their majestic wings and bodies against the azure blue air.

Holy Waves Crashing!!!!

No two days on the beach at yiimtti are the same. If it's not the waves dancing, it's sea turtles looking for a place to stash their eggs. Or just wanderers soaking in the sun. Or fishermen looking for a place to catch fish.

Mmmmm.....

Sometimes a picture speaks louder than any words can say. The food at yiimtii is so delicious and nourishing. All the amazing vistas aside, it's worth the trip, just to eat the food from Naim's garden.

This One's For Gopi!!!!

The divine interplay of textures and colors blow my mind at yiimtii. The eye is pulled into the vast experience of blues, greens, ochres with sprays of pink and dustings of vermillion. Twigs and cactii...shrubs and more shrubs... Glorious nature, inviting the gopis of the world to the dance of life!

Wish You Were Here....

Get off the Grid and lay low. Eat food that nourishes Body and Soul. Take it ALL IN with your senses. What more is there to say? What more can one possibly say?

DeTails on the TRails!

A little dragonfly takes time to check us out on the YiiMtii garden path.

Rainbow Color Magic

This week we used acrylic paints for the first time with the children at Mother Earth's Art Program. I took the three primary colors along with white and black. They had never heard about primary colors before, so as I started mixing the colors after showing them the "Color Wheel", their jaws dropped and they looked at me as if I was somekind of magician. It was super cool to feel I had the power of rainbow magic on my hands. As I was mixing red with white, and showing them what came up, you could hear all of the girls' sighs at the pink's first glance.
It was hectic, I didn't stop for a moment delivering different colors to each particular group's demand. We literally had a blast! And I sure had to make them help me clean up afterwards!
We painted TREES OF LIFE:

Another Yummy Meal at Yiimtii!!!!

We had the most amazing brunch today. Drown eggs in tomatillo sauce with poblano, nopales and amaranth leaves, and of course the plantains fried in coconut oil on the side. Wish we could send you a doggy bag...

Gosh! What a Wind Today!

Mother Wind sometimes blows big and churles up the waters. It's a particularly frothy day down at the beach at yiimtii . But, not one that stops a hearty soul from beachcombing in search of the great Sea Turtle and where she might stash her eggs.

If you look closely at the beach in this picture, you can see the sea turtle tracks. Check it out!!!

I Could Stare Endlessly...

I could stare at these mountains folded into one another all day long
and not see the same thing twice as each new moment unfolds,
the sunlight licking along, adjusting the colors second by second.

All Things Are Connected

This we know; the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. (Chief Seattle)

MOTHER EARTH ART PROJECT

I am so lucky to be teaching Zapotengo's children an Art/Ecology/Meditation workshop every week... the kids just blow my mind with their interest and their amazing drawings. They are so open to anything that I propose: they meditate and they love to sing (their favorite song is Earth my body, Water my blood, Air my breath and Fire my Spirit)... Every class I bring a different story with an ecological message and they enjoy looking at every image and go over each other to participate...
I feel that I am the one being rewarded... their smiles... and drawings...make my heart sing.
MT

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

So, the tower is finished... we have a nice view of the sky above the canopy now. We invite you all to come and learn the stars... it is a whole different sky up there when you look up and you know your neighbors by name...it makes you feel more at home.
Thank you Tim for manifesting this dream. The tree house of my childhood dreams is even better that I ever imagined!!!

Tostadas, anyone?

Corn from the Yiimtii garden. Fresh tostadas every day.

The taste of the food lingers in your soul long after you return to where you've come from. The magic of Yiimtii stays with you and carries you forward in all aspects of your days.

Walking Yiimtii

Walking Yiimtii...

Here's where we ended up...

Reaching for the Stars...

Our now good friend Tim, came to Yiimtii as a volunteer. He was planning to stay just a couple of days. None of us knew what the Universe had in mind, bringing him to Yiimtii.
He had been searching a way to learn the Stars, and he found it here...Talking about how our dream was to have a tower for stargazing...the artist inside him immediately leaped forward to manifest it... We set off to find a tree at Yiimtii's highest point... after going through the brush for a while without really finding the perfect tree, and almost about to give up on the whole idea... There it was, some big bare branches reaching for the sky... Oh, yes. That was that tree where the most amazing cranes landed for the night one day last year on their migration path... that was quite a visit... We went forward to reach its base... A Grandfather Ocotin, already death, but still standing strong...the perfect structure, and what a relief we won't even hurt the tree, on the contrary, we will be honoring him, using what he left behind... The magnificent Mot-Mot came by singing his approval...
The Stargazing and Observation tower is being built as this is written.
Dreams can come true... we can only trust and wait...
More on the tower later...

I Marvel at Thee, Crab

The world from the point of view of a crab. This is a sand crab...kept boring down into the sand and popping up when the tide retreated. I was told that the hermit crabs can travel all the way up the cliff to find shelter and carry their shells down to the sea. Obviously, there is much to learn about the crab world.

The Well Is Everything

The experience of water in this desert paradise is something everyone should have. If it is not already, like oil, water will soon be on the minds of people. Come to yiimtii to learn simple ways to conserve water, ways that protect how we use the land on which we live.

And I Think To Myself "What A Wonderful World...."

Each day, the world around you comes alive at yiimtii. When you first arrive, the images are macro-based broad brush strokes: ocean, woods, path... The sounds would be crashing surf, wind in the trees, your footsteps crunching on the path.

After some days, newer and deeper levels of awareness naturally occur and soon one finds oneself in a living arboretum of chirping, cawing, scratching, slithering, gnawing, tapping...a virutal symphony of sound in the natural world.

As for the light. At first, there is sunrise, daylight, sunset and night. After some days, the patterns of light as they shine upon and reflect off every tree, branch, leaf or flying insect, bird or scuttling crab emits its own unique quality, depending on the time of day or night. A new palette of color emerges and the senses are drenched in a graphic beauty bar none.

You have to go there to really get this. It is truly beyond description.

Wind Meets Sea

Wind strong
Wind gentle
No matter
I am your leaf
Lift me up
Swirl around me
Kiss my cheeks
Cry my eyes
Friend Wind!