Latest news with #Szekely
National Geographic
14-03-2025
- National Geographic
The Mexican health spa Rancho La Puerta has helped shape modern wellness travel
Before sunrise, I shuffled into a gazebo, clutching a weak cup of coffee and a portioned banana chunk, joining 15 other guests bundled up against the desert chill. After briefly learning about the 5-mile trail ahead of us, the other hikers suddenly bolted forward in a mad rush for the mountain. Welcome to Rancho La Puerta, where the day begins with gusto at dawn. At this Tecate, Mexico, wellness resort, guests are encouraged, if not explicitly instructed, to join daily early-morning hikes during their week-long stay. As avid hikers (my husband Scott and I had recently completed the 10-day Tour du Mont Blanc in the Alps), we expected a leisurely pre-breakfast walk that aligned with the resort's ethos of mindfulness and tranquility. When our fellow hikers sprinted for the hills, we were caught in an unexpected race to the top. For the next six days, we huffed and puffed up and down Mount Kuchumaa, trying to beat our previous day's finishing time (and yes, our fellow hikers, too). Rancho La Puerta's founders might frown at our competitive mission. These daily 'health walks,' which have been part of The Ranch's programming since it opened in 1940, were designed to encourage movement and connection — with the environment, other guests, and oneself. Though there wasn't much talking during the 6 a.m. hike, we had plenty of time to connect during communal meals, where the most common ice breaker isn't 'Where are you from,' but 'How many times have you been here?' Answers of 20 to 30 times are common, as are guests who stay for multiweek (and sometimes multi-month) stints. According to Barry Shingle, director of guest programming, The Ranch boasts a whopping 64 percent return rate. What draws guests back to this wellness oasis in the desert? We'd have to consider its origins. (Related: On the botanical wellness travel trail in St Lucia) Rancho La Puerto has an interesting past, including a diet where people lived on three pounds of grape juice a day. Photograph Courtesy Rancho La Puerta The visionary beginning Rancho La Puerta was founded by an unlikely couple on the Baja peninsula in the mid-20 century. Edmond Szekely, a Romanian philosophy professor with an expiring US visa, and his new wife, Deborah, crossed the southern border to avoid returning to Eastern Europe, where Szekely, a Jew, was not safe. They settled in a rented shed at the base of Mount Kuchumaa, a land sacred to the Indigenous Kumeyaay people. Fortunately, the couple's new home turned out to be a fertile oasis. Szekely quickly mobilized the small group of followers he'd gained as a speaker to visit him in Tecate. Early guests paid $17.50 a week to pitch tents and listen to the professor's revolutionary ideas about healthy living. His message — emphasizing organic food, clean air and water, safe sunbathing, and a low-fat diet — resonated in the World War II era. A 1949 San Diego Union headline read: "Romanian Professor Founds Cult Across Border at Tecate," describing a "health cult to end all health cults," where guests survived on three pounds of grape juice a day, raw produce, and vigorous exercise and sunbathing routines. Today, that article is placed in every casita with a note from Deborah, who is still involved in Ranch operations at age 102: "I cried when I first read it, but as the years passed, I realized that most of the health precepts he thought so strange have become the accepted way of life today." There's an active daily schedule that includes everything from water aerobics to yoga to arts and crafts. Photograph Courtesy Rancho La Puerta The Ranch today When Edmond left Tecate in 1969, Deborah took over. Today, she and their daughter, Sarah Livia Brightwood, continue to run The Ranch in a slightly softened iteration from its austere beginnings. The founding principles are still present in the morning hikes, lectures, and emphasis on self-growth, with a sprinkle of comfort (and, even wine these days). Perhaps most importantly, the infamous caffeine ban was lifted (coffee lovers should visit the on-site cafe). The once-strict vegetarian menu now includes seafood, and cookies make a splash — and disappear quickly — every Friday. The Ranch diet is lacto-ovo pescatarian, meaning eggs, dairy, and seafood are in, but meat is out. Fruit, vegetables, and legumes are plentiful and often sourced from the property's organic garden, where guests can take cooking classes with visiting chefs. Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style and dinner is a pre-set coursed affair. Most guests visit from Saturday to Saturday and enjoy an active daily schedule that includes everything from water aerobics to yoga to arts and crafts. Each week, a rotating cast of visiting experts lead sessions on topics such as gut health, life coaching, and dance. Between activities and spa services, it's easy to become so busy at The Ranch that you forget what's missing: Wi-Fi is limited to a few of the 86 casitas, cell service is nonexistent, and phones are discouraged except for photos. "Health walks' have been part of The Ranch's programming since it opened in 1940. Photograph Courtesy Rancho La Puerta While digital detox resorts are now common, Rancho La Puerta was one of the first escapes to prioritize mindfulness and face-to-face connection, as well as locally grown organic food, daily exercise, and life-long learning. (Related: Why you should head to Tuscany for a spiritual reboot) While we won't miss the grape juice cleanses, repeat guests often cite the friendships they've forged at The Ranch as their top reason for returning — many book the same casita, the same week, every year to reunite with friends made while building prayer arrows or pressing tortillas on their first visit. Those moments of using your hands — and not just for texting — is something we can all stand to do a little more of. The Ranch has successfully shaken off its initial cult label, but the magic that draws people to this desert sanctuary remains as powerful as ever. In an age of constant connectivity, Rancho La Puerta offers something increasingly rare: A chance to disconnect from technology and reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the natural world — just as its founders envisioned more than 80 years ago. How to do it When to go: The climate in Tecate is mild year-round, though summers can get hot and there are occasional frosts during winter. The dry air gets chilly at night and warms up significantly during the day, and the temperature rarely exceeds 90°F. Annual rainfall averages just 12 inches, so you'll rarely need to pack a raincoat. The Ranch is busy all year, but spring and fall are the most popular times to visit, when garden produce is at its peak and the temperature is comfortable for outdoor activities. Getting there: San Diego, the closest airport, is about an hour from the property. The Ranch provides regular complimentary shuttles to and from the airport on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Ranch is about three hours by car from LAX. In addition to a passport, visitors crossing via land need a Mexican tourist visa, known as a Migratory Form (FFM). You can process the visa online in advance or at the border (this can take some time and is not recommended). The FFM costs $40. Lizzy Briskin is a New York City-based travel and food writer. Her work appears in Real Simple, Food Network Magazine, Bon Appetit, Wirecutter, Insider, and Shape.
The Independent
05-03-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
The rise of Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool's No 10 reviving Hungary's famous football legacy
Hungary is hardly short of football royalty, but you have to go back generations to a time when the Mighty Magyars boasted some of the most regal talent in global football. Little wonder then, that Dominik Szoboszlai 's performances in the Liverpool midfield have been a source of enormous national pride in Budapest and beyond this season. Hungary's football-crazy public suddenly have a modern role model that young footballers are falling over themselves to emulate, a fact that MTK Budapest's academy chief, Zsolt Szekely, witnesses first hand every time he goes onto the training pitch at one of the country's most famous football institutions. Szekely was Szoboszlai's coach during his time in the Hungarian capital and although he's quick to downplay his own role in developing a player he describes as 'special', he can't overstate just how big an impact he continues to have at MTK – nine years after leaving the club. 'The fact that he's the best player at Liverpool has a great impact in Hungary - the players see they have the chance for such a career,' he tells the Independent. 'So many children are starting to play football because of him.' That's hardly surprising given his recent performances at Anfield. The 24-year-old has been outstanding in Arne Slot 's midfield as Liverpool have continued to set the pace, both in the Premier League and in Europe. For a country which has been lacking in outstanding exports since the golden age of the likes of Ferenc Puskas, Nandor Hidegkuti and Zoltan Czibor, Szoboszlai's performances have set pulses racing in this corner of Eastern Europe. And Szekely explains that the rise of a player signed by Liverpool for a reported £60m from RB Leipzig in July 2023, carries deep symbolism at MTK. 'To be honest, it's a little bit funny,' he says. 'As we won 6-3 against England (at Wembley in November 1953), we played a special football style that came from Jimmy Hogan. 'He was the coach of MTK Budapest - he was the first to play the MTK style and the national team played the same way. Now we're doing that again, we're playing the same way. 'Every team at MTK plays in the same style, they call it the Barcelona style, but it's not, it's MTK style! 'Are there similarities between Szoby and Puskas? Well, I think he's something special. He can be the next Puksas but he doesn't want to be, he only wants to be the first Szoby.' There will be plenty of future players, inside and outside of Hungary, modelling their game on a midfield dynamo whose battery never appears in danger of running flat. 'His energy is incredible,' says Georges Leekens, the former Hungary manager who first brought Szoboszlai into the international fold. 'He was very young, but you could see that he had this vision, this ability to create something. You could see that this was a player of the future. 'In Hungary, it's tough. You think of football and you automatically think of the great names of the past, it's like every Hungarian team is compared to that Puskas team. But you can't keep looking back – you have to look to the future and you have to create a team with your own players. 'He was brought in (to the senior Hungarian set-up) early, maybe too early, but that's better than waiting too long in my opinion. 'You learn by playing matches, you learn by playing against the biggest countries in world football. For me, he's a leader – and these players don't come along very often. He was too young to take the national team in his hands back then. Now, as I think you've seen with Liverpool this season, he's ready.' Szoboszlai was named Hungary's captain in November 2022 and skippered the side at Euro 2024 in Germany last summer, the third successive time the country has reached the European Championship finals. Now, all eyes are on him again as Hungary attempt to make it to a World Cup for the first time since 1986. '40 years is a very long time – there are generations of Hungary football fans who have never seen us at the tournament,' says Gabor Kiraly, the former Crystal Palace keeper and a man who won 108 caps for his country. 'If we're going to get to the World Cup again then it's pretty clear that Dominik is going to be key for us. He's a very special guy, and a very special footballer. 'I think, during my time, Zoltan Gera, who played for West Brom and Fulham was probably the outstanding player, but for this generation there's only one player that the kids are pretending to be on the playground or on the training pitch, and that's Szoboszlai.' Szekely recalls that if the Liverpool midfielder lacked one quality as a young player, it was pace. That's no longer a concern. Everything else, meanwhile, was in place long before he left MTK and signed for Red Bull Salzburg. He would make his full professional debut in Austria's second tier for FC Liefering, the club's reserve team, in August 2017. By 2019/20 he was named the player of the season in the Austrian Bundesliga. 'He would work so hard with his father,' says Szekely. 'He would train before training and then train again as soon as training had finished. His dad and him would work, work, work. Dominik wouldn't have a smart phone, he wouldn't have a Facebook profile – it was football, football, football!' Watching him play, you get the feeling that it's almost a disappointment every time the referee blows the full-time whistle, and that given the choice, he would just continue having a kickabout on the pitch with a few Anfield season-ticket holders instead of showering off and heading home. The hours and hours of work have paid off handsomely. And as Liverpool close in on the title, this very modern midfielder is providing a timely reminder that Hungary's future could one day be as bright as its glittering past.
