01
Landing
Staggered arrivals and a ranch orientation walk. An opening circle where everyone offers one word for the week. Nance opens with the buffalo drum. Ranch time replaces travel time.
Second annual · Nine days · Mexican highlands
MetamorphosisRetreat 2027
From Ophelia
A caterpillar doesn't add wings.
It dissolves, then rebuilds.
This is the second year I'm taking a group to Ranchos Las Cascadas. We don't go there to add anything. We go to put things down. Most of us are still carrying a version of ourselves we outgrew years ago, and nine days without the usual noise is long enough to notice it and set it down.
The week runs as one arc in nine parts. The first days are slow on purpose, the intensity peaks mid-week, and the last stretch is for integration so nobody leaves raw.
This place matters to me, and I would rather be the one who shows it to you than have you find it in a search result.
- Duration
- 9days, eight nights
- Group size
- 30guests, never more
- All-inclusive
- $3,600everything but flights
- Your team
- 5on the ranch all week
02
Rooting
Sunrise movement on the lawn, a silent walking meditation, then down to the stables to pick your horse. He is yours every morning after this. An introduction to conscious breath.
03
Release
A hike to the falls, then journaling on a single question: what are you done carrying? Eric's first reading circle. A fire ceremony at dusk.
04
Stillness
The cocoon day. Silence until lunch, yoga nidra, hammocks, and the deepest rest of the week. One-to-one sessions run all afternoon.
05
Nourishment
A gentle ride, then a cooking class with the ranch chef. Tortillas by hand, mole from the base up, salsas built on what came out of the garden. Dinner is the whole evening.
06
The Edge
Adventure day. A long trail ride into the highlands, a packed lunch, and one deliberate step past comfortable.
07
Connection
Partner breathwork and witnessing practice. Eric's connection circle. A second fire, this one for stories rather than release.
08
Becoming
A sunrise ride on an early-week route, so you feel the difference in yourself. Vision work, and a letter we mail you three months from now.
09
Flight
Closing circle: the word you arrived with, and the word you're leaving with. The buffalo drum again. Then unhurried goodbyes.
Who you'll be with
Five of us on the ranch, all nine days
Nance and Eric run the spiritual side of the week together. It is one cocooning program across all nine days, not two sets of separate sessions.
Nance
Wholistic Rebirth
Sixteen years of therapeutic massage and myofascial release, held together with conscious breath and the rhythm of the buffalo drum. Her work meets stress, emotional holding and life transitions with presence rather than force.
Montréal-born, Charlotte-based. She opens the retreat on night one and closes it on day nine. Same drum, different people listening.
Eric
Sacred Forge Healing
An angelic reader with a gentle way of naming the thing you have been avoiding. He leads two group reading circles, one on release and one on connection, and takes private one-on-one readings across the nine days.
Day three asks what wants to be put down. Day seven asks what is being asked of you in relationship, community and service.
Ophelia
Your host. I built the week, I open it on day one, I run the highland day, and I am on the ranch the whole time if you need anything.
The in-house chef
Every meal of the week and the cooking classes. Exquisite Mexican food, much of it grown on the property, none of it out of a packet.
The ranch riding expert
He helps you pick your horse on day two and is at the stables every day after that. Groundwork, horsemanship, sunrise rides and the highland trail.
The horses
You pick your horse
On day two you go down to the stables and pick your horse, though most people will tell you it went the other way around. After that he is yours for the rest of the retreat. You catch him in the morning, groom him, tack him up, and learn how he likes to be handled. By the end of the week he knows your voice and you know which of his moods you are working with. Nine days is long enough to build something with an animal, which is most of why I hold this retreat on a working ranch.
The riding is unlimited. No sign-up sheet, no per-ride charge, no two-hour window you have to book. If you want to be out before breakfast every morning, the stables are open and the riding expert is there.
Unlimited ridingRide as much as you want, every day of the nine. Sunrise routes, the long highland trail on day six, and the slow evening loops in between.
The same horse all weekYou choose on day two and ride him through day nine. Any level, including people who have never sat on a horse. If you would rather not ride at all, the rest of the ranch is still yours.
Horsemanship & groundworkCatching, grooming, tacking and equine grounding work, taught from the beginning by the ranch's riding expert.
The place
Somebody built this on purpose
A Swiss woman came to Mexico for work decades ago, stayed, became a citizen, and in her forties started building out in the highlands on her own. She meant to have a house around a courtyard and keep a couple of horses. What she has now is a working ranch at 7,300 feet with more than thirty trails leaving the gate, and she is still the one running it. I have never stayed anywhere that felt so much like one person's actual life.
There is a natural pool, a hot tub, saunas and heated rock caves, all a short walk down a trail from your room. You are going to be sore in places you did not know about, and the ranch is set up for exactly that.
Eight nights on-siteNatural poolHot tubSaunas
Heated rock cavesWaterfall hikeUnlimited riding
Open-air fire circleAirport transfers included
What's included
$3,600
Early-bird pricing ends 31 October 2026
All-inclusive. You book the flight and I handle everything else, from the airport pickup to the last meal. Book on or before 31 October and this is the price.
- Eight nights at Ranchos Las Cascadas
- Every meal, much of it grown on the ranch, all of it cooked from scratch
- Hands-on cooking classes with the in-house chef
- Unlimited horseback riding, the same horse all week
- The natural pool, the hot tub, the saunas and the heated rock caves
- The cocooning program with Nance and Eric, plus daily movement and meditation
- Breathwork and buffalo-drum sound journeys with Nance
- Group angelic reading circles with Eric
- Horsemanship and groundwork with the ranch's riding expert
- The highland excursion day, packed lunch included
- Two fire ceremonies, journals and materials
- Your letter to your future self, mailed three months out
- Airport transfers and all on-ranch transport
Not included: airfare, travel insurance, and the optional monarch sanctuary day. Bodywork with Nance and private readings with Eric are booked on-site. Everyone is welcome, and couples and groups of three or more get a discount, so email ophelia@voyagebywren.com before you book.
Pay in full$3,600One payment at checkout. Nothing further due.
Or hold your seat$1,000The remaining $2,600 is invoiced ahead of departure.
Book your spot
Early-bird pricing ends 31 Oct 2026 · thirty seats
Optional add-on
The butterflies,
if you want them
The monarch colonies in Michoacán are at their fullest in late February, which is not an accident in how I picked these dates. A retreat named Metamorphosis should probably offer you the actual thing.
Getting there is a real commitment. Roughly four and a half hours out, a climb at altitude once you arrive, and the same four and a half hours back. So I run it as an add-on rather than putting a very long day into everybody's week.
Tell me when you book and I will send you the details.
Not included in the $3,600
Before you book
Questions we get asked
Do I need experience with breathwork, bodywork or horses?
No. Everything is taught from the beginning and every practice is optional. You pick your horse on day two and the riding is scaled to you. Plenty of guests arrive having never been on a horse.
How much riding is included?
As much as you want. You pick your horse on day two and ride the same one through day nine, with no per-ride fee and no booking window. Guided rides are built into the week, including the long highland trail on day six, and the stables are open around the programming if you'd rather go out on your own schedule.
What does the daily rhythm look like?
Morning movement, main programming, an open window for private sessions, an evening gathering, and meditation before sleep. Day four is deliberately the quietest; day six is the most active.
Can I come on my own, as a couple, or with a group?
All three, and all are welcome. Most guests come alone, and the group is capped at thirty so you know everyone's name by day three. Couples and groups of three or more get a discount, so email ophelia@voyagebywren.com before you book and I will sort the rate with you.
What are the rooms like?
Eight nights on the ranch, with room options confirmed at booking. Every room is on-site, so nobody commutes to the programming.
How do I get there?
You book your own flight into the nearest international airport. Airport transfers on arrival and departure day are included, along with all transport once you're on the ranch.
How does payment work?
Two options at checkout. Pay the full $3,600 and nothing else is due, or reserve your seat with a $1,000 deposit and we invoice the remaining $2,600 ahead of departure. Early-bird pricing holds for bookings placed on or before 31 October 2026.
What about dietary needs?
The kitchen cooks vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and around most allergies. Tell us at booking and the chef plans for it.
February 26 to March 6, 2027
Thirty seats.
One ranch.
Early-bird pricing holds through 31 October 2026, and a $1,000 deposit holds your seat. The ranch only ever holds thirty of us. Come get a sense of renewal next spring.
Book your spot voyagebywren.com/metamorphosis