Side Planks, Cherry Trees, and Saying Goodbye to Samadhi

Well this has been one of the fastest weeks I can remember. It feels like we just got here and somehow it’s already time to say goodbye to one adventure and start part two of my Peru trip.

This yoga retreat tucked into the Sacred Valley is a pretty special place, and the best part is I wasn’t here alone. I met some really wonderful new people, and the ones I already knew I got to know better — which is one of those unexpected gifts of travel. When you remove everyone from their normal lives and drop them into a place with mountains, yoga mats, and no real schedule, people tend to open up in the nicest ways.

Also, when you leave home routines behind you start noticing things more. You observe. You slow down. You become more present.

Look at me… really talking the yoga talk now.

Friday was our last full day at Samadhi, and naturally it started the way every day starts here — with yoga. This time Ali was teaching and she decided to go out with a bang. It was easily the spiciest flow of the week. There were side planks involved, which always feels like a personal challenge issued directly to my core.

We practiced in the Sun Studio, which sits at the top of the hill in the main building. The studio has huge windows looking out across the valley. Honestly it would be hard to find a bad view anywhere around here, but this one feels particularly dramatic as the sun slowly starts lighting up the mountains and fields below.

After yoga we headed down for breakfast, which is always a communal event. Everyone sits together at two long tables in the dining room and the kitchen brings out whatever the menu is for the day. There’s always fresh bread in the morning with different spreads, usually some form of eggs, and fruit that looks like it was picked about ten minutes earlier.

Our last adventure at Samadhi was planting trees on the property as part of their effort to restore native forests. Apparently eucalyptus trees were introduced here years ago and they spread like crazy, pushing out the native species. So now there’s a big effort to replant local trees.

I planted a cherry tree.

Which feels very satisfying because now I can say I have a tree in Peru. It seems like the kind of detail that will sound impressive later even though my actual role mostly involved filling in a hole already there and hoping the tree survives me.

I do have to give a big shout out to the food here. It has been incredible all week. Lots of trout, tons of fresh vegetables from the garden, beautiful fruit every morning, and potatoes — so many potatoes. Apparently there are more than 3,000 varieties of potatoes in Peru, which feels both impressive and slightly unnecessary, but I’m glad someone is keeping track. And of course corn. Peru takes corn very seriously.

Now one thing Samadhi does lack… is napkins.

They give you this tiny little square that I swear is only about an inch bigger than a square of toilet paper. I always took two just to be safe, but then you’re left with the question of etiquette. Do I put this microscopic napkin in my lap? Do I hold it? Is it decorative?

At one point I was genuinely convinced they had just cut toilet paper into squares for the table. But Barb inspected one carefully and pointed out there were no perforated edges, so apparently it is in fact a real napkin.

The coffee situation was also interesting. They had these bottles that looked exactly like vinegar bottles filled with concentrated coffee. You pour some in your cup and add hot water. It technically works, but it’s not exactly the highlight of the morning. Fortunately there was a lovely woman who would arrive around 7:00 a.m. and start making lattes. Real lattes.

Every morning I would ask for a latte with cow’s milk, double espresso, no sugar — which she seemed to think sounded completely awful. But whatever magic she was doing behind that machine, the result was fantastic. Waiting for her to appear every morning slowly became a ritual.

And if you’ve read my journals from earlier in the week, you’ve probably seen some photos of the gardens here. They’re beautiful, but honestly the pictures don’t quite do the place justice. The grounds are full of flowers and pathways and little corners to sit and stare at the mountains.

One of the cooler details is that the flowers planted around the property correspond with the different chakra bungalows, so each area has its own color palette. It’s the kind of thoughtful design that makes you feel like someone really cared when they created this place.

It’s hard to say goodbye to somewhere this peaceful. But some places stay with you long after you leave, and Samadhi feels like one of those places.