Dia de los Muertos: Ancestral & Plant Spirit Healing Retreat

with Lupo Passero & Ilana Sobo
Sayulita, Mexico November 1-8, 2018

We will be staying at the stunning Casa Salita in the heart of Sayulita. Casa Salita is a newly remodeled home with beautiful architectural design with expansive views overlooking the entire Sayulita Bay, downtown area and distant mountains and is complete with rooftop terrace and pool area. The pool at Casa Salita provides sun and shade and is perfect for cooling down while enjoying the views from the patio and surrounding gardens on the property. Casa Salita is conveniently situated only steps to the main downtown Sayulita plaza and only 3 blocks to the main Sayulita beach and surf break. The rooftop deck at Casa Salita is very spacious with a large dining table, comfortable couches to lounge on and the perfect place to share meals under the pergola to shade from the afternoon sun. 

Classes/workshops/ceremonies

The highlight of this tour will certainly be the Local Day of the Dead Celebration. The annual Fesival Dia de los Muertos will be held on Nov 1 & 2. As soon as we arrive to town there will plenty of activity and ceremonies to participate in. There will be a stage set up in the plaza, with music and traditional folk dancing starting at 7PM both nights. The ceremonial lighting of candles on the altars will be at 11PM Nov 1. Altars will be set up throughout and around the plaza and the cemetery will be aglow with flowers and candles. There will be a midnight candlelight procession from the plaza to the cemetery 11:30 PM on Nov 2nd, it is sure to be a beautiful celebration!

Other activities will include:
Daily Healing Yoga, Ritual & Flower Ceremonies, Spiritual Bathing & Limpias, Daily Herbal Plant Walks & Talks, Daily interaction with the local, places, people & plants, Mandalas & Local Crafts, Healing with Yemaya (Ocean Ceremony), Calling in and Celebrating the Ancestors, Ancestral Plant Spirit Healing Journey, Flower Essences & Aromatic Medicine Making and Despacho Closing Ceremony

Day 1: Thursday, November 1, 2018

Airport Pick Up, Check in to Casa, Welcome Dinner, Opening Ceremony & Ceremonial Lighting of Candles in Town

2:00 Group pick up at Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR) From here we'll make our way up the beautiful Pacific Coast about 45 minutes to Sayulita. We will settle into our new home away from home and head into the town square to join the celebrations of Fesival Dia de los Muertos. Arrive to Casa Salita by 3:00.
5:00 Opening Circle and Welcome Dinner (at favorite local restaurant).
7:00 We will head to the plaza, for music and traditional folk dancing and merriment.

Day 2: Friday, November 2, 2018

·8:00 am Yoga (optional) , 9:00 am Breakfast , 10:00-12:00 Visit with Local Crafts People and Farmers Market  After breakfast, we will take a stroll into town and visit the numerous local craftspeople who work closely with the plants in various ways and visit the local farmers market.  Lupo will introduce you to the weavers, textiles and artists that make Sayulita so special.  We will also visit the beautiful work of the Huichol, the local, indigenous tribe. The art of the Huichol is personal and captivating, with complex designs, vibrant colors and sacred symbols. 12:30 pm Lunch, 1:30-3:30 New Morning Ceremony After lunch we’ll set our intentions and create group alter honoring our ancestors and those who have come before us. We will spend the morning in ceremony connecting to our past with our present hearts, to the land and to the spirits with ceremony, song and celebration.  4:00 Free Time, 7:00 We will meet in the plaza, for music and traditional folk dancing and merriment, 11:30 PM Midnight Candlelight Procession from the plaza to the cemetery (optional)

Day 3: Saturday, November 3, 2018

8:00 am Yoga (optional), 9:00 am Breakfast, 10:00-12:00 Water Reiki Healing Ceremony After the beautiful and fulfilling experience of the Fesival Dia de Muertos activities, we will release and cleanse our cares away in a reiki healing water ritual, lead by Ilana and held in the pool overlooking the ocean, surrounded by flowers and relaxing energy healing. This ceremony is meant to cleanse and support our spiritual and emotional bodies and prepare us for the second half of our journey.  12:30 pm Lunch, 1:30-3:30 Connecting to Your Plant Spirits & Ancestral Healing Journey Lupo will lead a Plant Spirit Healing exercise that allows participants to release any ancestral burdens one may be carrying.  These burdens are often held in our energy body and can limit us in various ways.  Through this journey we will lay down our ancestral burdens and anything else may be keeping us from our full and true expression of self. This ceremony will be followed with herbal, aromatic and plant spirit healing rituals.  4:00 Free Time

Day 4: Sunday, November 4, 2018

8:00 am Yoga (optional), 9:00 am Breakfast, 10:00-12:00 Ocean Blessing Ceremony with Yemaya We all come from the Sea, as did each of those who came before us. In the spirit of gratitude and deep reverence we will begin the day giving thanks and offerings to Mother Ocean. In this time of great need for the healings of all of our waters we will sit with the ocean and work with the power of transmuting messages through water using our voices, meditations, offerings and mandalas meant to bless the local and global scared waters. 12:30 pm Lunch, 1:30-3:30 The Art of Pleasure Medicine We will continue of theme of botanical love and healing by exploring the art of pleasure medicine. Ilana will lead the group in a talk about the role of scared aromatics for use in emotional healing.  Lupo will share her experience in pairing flower essences and plant spirit healing modalities for the perfect trifecta of blissful healing energy.  Participants will make and create custom blends meant to support each individuals healing journey and will go home with personalized formulas. 4:00 Free Time

Day 5: Monday, November 5, 2018

9:00 am Yoga (optional)               

10:00 am Breakfast

12:00-5 Field Trip & Beach day to San Pancho!! San Pancho is Sayulita’s sweet little neighbor to the north. Formally called San Francisco, San Pancho shares Sayulita’s small scale and beachfront locale, but it has a very different vibe and is quite a special place and well worth the visit. San Pancho is a quaint and colorful town offering beautiful architecture, restaurants, yoga centers, jewelry shops, cafés, local crafts people and of course stunning beaches.

5:00 Free Time

Day 6: Tuesday, November 5, 2018

8:30 am Yoga (optional), 9:30 am Breakfast, 10:30-12:30 Setting intentions with sacred crafts. We will spend the morning working with the various local textile and yarns that the region is known for.  Using our intentions we will create beautiful and sacred pieces of art that will be meant for you to take home so that you always have a piece of Sayulita and our amazing adventure to place on your alter or sacred space. 12:30 pm Lunch, Free Afternoon This afternoon will be left intentionally open and we will see where the day takes us. Participants may want to spend a lazy afternoon by the pool or with the ocean or we may find another activity that speaks to the group as a whole. There are also various activities such as whale watching, surfing, hiking or other adventures that you may want to fit into your final day in Mexico. 6:00 Closing Ceremony, Despacho Closing Ceremony and Gratitude Dinner

Day 7: Wednesday, November 6, 2018

Adios Amigo & Amigas!! Please be prepared for a late morning departure. After breakfast you will be picked up and dropped off at Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR) no later than 11:00 am.