Raw and Vegan Retreat in the Yucatán
by Beate Epp

Have you ever thought of leaving everything behind, cutting cords, peeling off those layers, one by one, letting go, getting rid of stuff no longer needed, or actually never really needed?

Well, I have done this step twice now! The first time was fourteen years ago when I not only left my home and my home land, but my whole continent when I left Germany to come first to the US, and then to Canada. Actually, I came to Saskatchewan and after a few months I met my wonderful husband, Paul.

We lived and worked together on our farm south of Saskatoon, where we experienced many changes over the years... from omnivore to vegetarian, to vegan, to raw vegan, to mostly high-carb, low-fat raw vegan... from conventional farming to certified organic, to finding our own spirituality, learning, practising, and teaching holistic therapies, living and working deeply connected with the land, to growing and producing, and personally, writing books and painting pictures, and being...

Then, not long ago, we felt an inner calling to a place about which we knew nothing, not its location nor what we were supposed to do there... until it was revealed, piece by piece... and then, well, then things moved really fast, to say the least.

The condo we had tried to sell for years, suddenly sold in a matter of days, which happened immediately after we saw an old colonial house for sale on the internet. Things kept coming together, one by one, naturally and magically, and we, well, we were stunned, but yes, we followed, we jumped in.

At first, we did not have to commit to much more than buying and creating, renovating and fixing. The tough part started when we got closer to actually moving... the letting go of our horses, finding homes for the cats, getting the papers ready for our dogs to move with us, and sorting out and letting go of so many things, selling paintings, trading paintings, and then the actual packing.

Everything we took fit into a small 4 ft x 8 ft trailer, our clothes on top of the van, and us and the dogs inside. It felt scary at times, but also very liberating. The almost empty farmhouse also felt liberating, peaceful, just like you feel after a long, quiet meditation... peaceful and quiet inside with a lot of space and room to breathe.

We drove 6,200 kilometres in eight days, two adults and four dogs, and we arrived save and sound in the Yucatán, Mexico.

That was in October, 2012. Since then, many things have happened. We created and named our place—Casa Axis Mundi, Raw and Vegan Retreat Centre and Bed & Breakfast. We successfully hosted our first raw food retreat in December with our friend, Chris Kendall, and had numerous guests who became more like new friends to us. We top the TripAdvisor list with our great reviews on special accommodations in Valladolid, which are on facebook, and of course on our own website.

Why the name? Well, while I was looking on the internet, I found this information:

Axis Mundi means, “A connection between sky and earth, where all four directions meet. A sacred place of healing and nurturing, bringing higher and lower realms together to a still point of deep peace, harmony, and knowing.”

This resonated wonderfully with us, with our vision of bringing energies together, higher and lower realms, to create a place of helping and sharing, a safe place to be, of nurturing and healing.

With only six rooms, we offer a warm and personalized hospitality in a beautiful setting. Our main house is colonial and over 200 years old. It consists of the entrance and lobby/living-room, and opens up to a covered outdoor dining area and kitchen, from where it goes into our expansive garden.

Our rooms are in three separate guest houses, two rooms in each house, all in different colours to complement the chakra system. Each room has its own terrace or balcony and all rooms have their own bathroom with non-odour composting toilets.

All of the rooms/guest houses face our lovely pool surrounded by a deck for yoga or hammock time. The many trees give wonderful shade in hot weather and together, with all the other plants, provide a tropical, beach-like feeling to the whole place. We love our fish pond with a meditation platform and waterfall. It’s hard to believe we are almost in the centre of a busy city.

It’s great to be able to live your dream, and that’s what we are doing!

To make it affordable for everyone, we offer good prices year around, with weekly and monthly deals, as well as long term, self-catering deals. All our guests are welcome to use the kitchen, and all of the therapies and teachings we give are on a donation basis.

We give Reiki and Regression therapy, offer spiritual counselling and readings, as well as teaching different Reiki modalities up to the Master level.

We offer the possibilities of raw food and cleansings/healing retreats, couple’s or women’s retreats, and as well, we are open to host and cater to retreats given by others at our place.

It is wonderful to share our home with like-minded people, showing them and pointing out the many wonderful sites to see and to experience in and around Valladolid. Being right in the heart of the Yucatán, Valladolid is the perfect place to explore the many local ancient Mayan sites like Ek Balam, Chichen Itza, or Coba, all the wonderful cenotes (deep sinkholes in limestone with a pool at the bottom, found especially in the Yucatán), a permaculture farm nearby, jungle hikes, the ocean not far away, and all the great colonial buildings right inside the city. The possibilities are endless, and sometimes it is just the best to let go and just be—sitting back, closing your eyes, and letting your senses do the rest.

We would love to welcome you here, vegan, raw vegan, veggie, or omnivore, we welcome everyone with a juicy and fruity breakfast that will put a smile on your face and in your heart. Welcome to the Yucatán.

To learn more about Beate and Paul Epp and the Casa Axis Mundi Retreat Centre and for bookings, visit www.casaaxismundi.com, call +52 985-107-5715 or email: mail@casaaxismundi.com. Also, see the display ad on page 24 of the 19.2 July/August issue of the WHOLifE Journal.