The Muse in Hotel Esencia on the Divine Riviera Maya

For Mayan jungle vibes alongside powdery Caribbean sands on scarcely developed precious grounds of the Yucatán peninsula, Hotel Esencia invites with its boutique design merging glamour of the decades past with something a sensitive heart feels. The former private villa of an Italian duchess, this independent welcoming lodging was awarded five star ratings, but it is the aesthetic escapist cream of New York that makes it chic today. Hand-drawn touch on a stack of post cards invites your own creativity to enter without hesitation. The muse resides at Hotel Esencia, therefore I present a travel story in poems and photographic trysts.

The Poetic connects with the authentic naturally

In this story, I am not going to copy and paste the property’s elsewhere documented amenities. You will find fun and Monaco luxe (The Beefbar) dinings and the incredible organic Mayan spa set in its private slice of the jungle in an ecologically built semi-open temple spirit. I must highlight though the baby turtles in the garden pond, that I witnessed kissing right next to the window panes of the state-of-the-art gymnasium. Easily find the rest info on the hotel’s illustrated website and in the eager reviews of well-trod travel journals. Anyway, I did not find Hotel Esencia in any commercial outlet but through that golden, intimate way a friend shares via word of mouth. That intimate advice you appreciate in this crowded world swept by the tsunami of paid for sponsorships and commercialisation of anything that once – good bye guitar-strung summers in St. Tropez, jungle camping before the glamping in Tulum, spontaneous street weaving lessons (I was taught by older lady how to make flower lays while squatting along with her) in the now Western yogi hive on Bali (so glad I went two decades ago) – offered unspoiled nature, authentic local cultural immersion and privacy.

Let the water of your soul flow

propel a morsel of spirit into now

your daily breaths calm and wholly present

in expanded being of your flesh without torment

at ease with the combustive mind’s fire

flutter your wings, shed weight and admire

bring more awe to the beauty of all

the blossoms blessed by your presence

befriend all beings, merge with conscience

and equally your self

~RB

I want to share Esencia’s magical creative spirit. The muse there that whispered poetic lines, reflections and breaths of the intangible hidden yet alive, that beautiful. She entered though my open arms into the heart to sing about love, nature, contentment, the good and the bad in life. Like when a pianist flows over the keys luring out tones that are tuned to your soul, that storm of bliss you joyfully allow to shower all over you. See the World like a Poet.

the ease of being here, bared existence

bathing in the essence of just this

nothing more to crave, nothing to miss

Moment after another, lack of resistance 

distilled purity of infinite presence

not mine, neither yours, but shared

love of simple life blessed by the sacred

the metasensual wave of divine fluorescence

~RB

The Creative Spirit at Hotel Esencia

It started with that hibiscus red, linen-bound notebook in our room, the fen purling cool air, an inviting desk and lounging canapé with palms shaded Caribbean Sea views. Later, I switched into a back deck craved into the roof open into the jungle vibrant green. I put on my obsidian silk kaftan, picked a pen with my eager fingers, opened the first blank page, and I know no more. Only these lines tell stories inspired by those momentous rushes of Riviera Maya inspiration.

As the sunlit days floated on the azure horizon I realised that this poppy notebook is filling with bliss, but also some pressing collective material that whirled its way up onto the light from its dark depths. The unconscious spoke and my mind and pen listened with open consciousness.

Direction

solitude accompanied by the soul

is what nurtures my being whole

sans mirages of infinity drugs

of hopes and vanity that mugs

genuine

creativity thriving in liberty

a bird conducted by spontaneity

it happens naturally and with ease

when wind morphs into my muse

feasting on the freshest bounty

feels better when shared first

with the hungry birds, naughty

yet free to roam where they want

~RB

The rooms at Hotel Esencia are very comfortable while remaining minimalist, whiteness expands the indoor space and the bath is set by a large window to gaze out onto natural beauty, that feels soo good. Likewise the spa, unlike any other luxury pampering experience, here I felt also spiritually rejuvenated. Love heals one within oneself.

Soaking my achy body

in a warm bath ready

for heated bliss

all

that’s left 

to desire

is just a kiss

~RB

Nature speaks, listen

The moon was waxing towards its fullness, I could watch its bulb lit hours before the sunset. As a woman I feel attracted to the feminine magnetism of the earth’s moon, more so in spiritual places like the Yucatan’s coast.

Journey: Before Full Moon

A circle feels whole, oneness more

This lightless sun reflects time’s chore

works its whole, wound by the universe

like erosion grates rocks coarse

washing away sorrows into water 

not directed by the human matter

—

as if the stone had never existed before

~RB

a genteel feel of timeless essence

in breeze the wind’s fan sways a palm leaf

a nodding wild dance of calming relief

like a drum’s bounce in the heart’s rhythm

eases me into this exotic, unhurried place

tune by tune, breath after breath here

in the lush greens gushing over the sea

with smoky mezcal eyes, oh she

with tequila swing jolly, simply free

we sway together in the white washed waves

over the sand dunes we gulp with our hearts

~RB

On a hot spring day in the shade of the coconut groves at Hotel Esencia I imagined how the Italian aristocracy manoeuvred their paradise retreat with the not that far hideaway of Latin America’s most wanted drug lord. Dark, shrewd schemes disrupted my pacified mind, yet the power of the surrounding nature won over fear and I found my

Destination 

Loving today is the only way

To reach tomorrow happily 

~RB

Yet another lesson learned by being entirely immersed in the moment. I felt like making a list of some good guidance and chaotic misguidance that is bad (hence the poem’s styling) for happiness and the world as whole.

GOOD

let’s not judge

feel the oneness

let’s share beauty

in togetherness

we can build better

world or keep the good

that is happy and pure

without separating

rising divisions

there will be no discord

~RB

BAD

the vile often find their way to stray, to harm the innocent souls, so I ask them why? When one strays others judge or follow, it just depends on the rule of law driven by fear or lust, they just must But you can do something for them, show your heart’s light with open arms, hug them. We won’t win the goodness battle through a fight – we must unify for the sake of love ~RB

Located along the highway stretch between Carretera Cancún and Tulum on the 265th kilometre, the Xpu-Ha beach region in the Quintana Roo state is convenient for further exploration of the ruins and natural wonders, many within a short drive from this already developing beach stretch in Mexico. There are a few lowkey stays and basic eateries on the beach, unkept to Esencia’s luxury standards. The only flaw we saw was the messy upkeep of the beach and the tail of a giant resort on one end that cuts one’s stroll. Stay before it becomes another Cancun or Playa del Carmen, but inside and around its private grounds, Hotel Esencia is a gem of a retreat.