A full day tour of western Belize to explore the amazing Xunantunich and the impressive Cahal Pech, including a visit to a lively local town where you will savor an authentic Maya lunch and learn about Maya traditions! After a short drive, you will take the hand-cranked ferry over the river to Xunantunich, which sits atop a hill overlooking the Mopan River and the Cayo District. The area was a major ceremonial site built on a natural limestone ridge during the Classic Period. It is composed of six major plazas, with more than 25 temples and palaces. “El Castillo” (the Castle), the largest pyramid at 130 feet above the plaza, has carved friezes on the east and west sides. On a clear day, you can see across into nearby Guatemala and near Caracol in the Pine Ridge Mountain Reserve. Next, you will visit the Maya Village of San Antonio where you take part in a conversation of the present-day culture and its traditions and then enjoy an authentic Maya meal. Next, you will journey to Cahal Pech, a Maya site located in San Ignacio along the banks of the Macal River, offering spectacular panoramic views of the town and the Belize River Valley. Cahal Pech is particularly important for the information it has provided on the earliest Maya settlements in the region, for its large number of Pre-classic figurines and for its complex residential architecture. Indeed, its maze of interconnected rooms provide an excellent example of Late Classic Maya palace architecture. First settled between 1200-1000 B.C., the site is one of the oldest settlements in the lowland Maya world. The central precinct of the site consists of 36 structures, which include tall temple pyramids, two ball courts and several range-type buildings or palaces. Both archeological sites have a jungle setting with good bird diversity and the opportunity to spot other wildlife like howler monkeys, so have your camera ready! Back to the lodge in time for dinner.

The retreat program will be based on the acronym of COURAGE developed by Peggy. During this adventure, you will embody Compassion in Action, Own our Magnificence, Understand our Triggers, Resilience, Assertively Communicating, Gratitude as a way of life and Empowerment as a means of self agency and advocacy.

After breakfast, you will take part in a workshop and a wellness activity:

Workshop 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: Compassion in action

Cultivating courage requires a deep sense of compassion for self and others. In this workshop, we will explore what it means to embody compassion, reflect on how we might engage more compassionately with the world around us and within us.

Wellness 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Restorative yoga and meditation

Enjoy a gentle, restorative yoga class to unwind from your travels and then deeply relax with a guided meditation.

Once you've freshened up, get ready for a delicious lunch. In the afternoon you will have the following activity:

Workshop 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.: Own your magnificence

This workshop is about firing your inner critic and hiring your inner coach, to allow your genuine creativity and passion to arise without letting imposter syndrome or self-limiting beliefs keep you stuck in a narrative of smallness or feeling less than.

At sunset, we will gather around a ceremonial fire to symbolically burn our letter of resignation from our inner critic and feel released from self limiting beliefs of our old self saboteur! Dinner will be served at the lodge restaurant at 7:00 p.m.

After breakfast, we will leave for Caracol (2-hour drive each way). Located near the Guatemalan border, the ancient Maya city of Caracol is the largest archeological site in Belize. Caracol is deep in the heart of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve of the Maya Mountains in the Cayo District. Discovered in 1938, this pristine and well-kept Maya site covers about 65 square miles (168 square kilometers) and includes more than 35,000 structures, five plazas and an abundance of jungle. This site is impressive not only for its size, but also for its immense agricultural field system and elaborate city planning. Numerous carved monuments establish that Caracol was a major player in the geopolitics of the Classic period Maya world. It was an ally of Calakmul in Campeche (Mexico) and engaged in several wars with neighboring cities, such as Tikal, Naranjo and Ucanal in Guatemala. The main temple, Canaã (“sky place”), offers incredible views of the surrounding jungle. At 143 feet high, it is the tallest manmade structure in Belize and provides excellent acoustics, so that priests and rulers using normal speaking voices could be heard clearly by the masses assembled in the plaza below. A boxed lunch will be served during the excursion and a powerful summer solstice ceremony will be performed. Back to the lodge in time for dinner. Later, you can take part in the following wellness activity:

Guided meditation: 8:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Experience the benefits of mindfulness meditation and how effective it is in creating clarity of thought and peace of mind.

After breakfast, you will take part in the following wellness activities:

Workshop 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.: Resilience

We will examine what it truly means to be resilient in a culture that almost celebrates over achieving and workaholism. You will learn to develop your capacity to bounce back and adapt from a compassionate place. 

Workshop 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Assertive communication

In this workshop we will explore the 4 types of communication and practice the gold standard of compassionate communication which is assertive communication. Through practical exercises, you will acquire the tools to communicate with confidence and calmness. 

After lunch, get ready for a 2-hour transfer to Hopkins, where you will stay in beautiful beachfront rooms at the gorgeous Almond Beach Resort. After some time to rest, you will take part in the following activity:

Workshop 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: Fun with Liberating Structures

Designing and rescripting your life is a collaborative process and some of the best ideas come from other people. In this session, we will utilize a Liberating Structure to coach one another and gain greater clarity.

After breakfast, we will embark in a full-day snorkeling excursion. The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest barrier reef system in the world, considered by the UNESCO as one of the most diverse ecosystems in the ocean, made up of over 100 coral species and home to some 500 species of fish and hundreds of invertebrates. After a 45-minute boat ride, you will snorkel among delicate sea fans, colorful tropical fish and impressive corals. Snorkelers often have encounters with eagle rays, sea turtles and a wide variety of exotic fish! No prior snorkeling experience is required. There will be beach time and a boxed lunch will be served in one of the cays.

Back to the resort in time for an early dinner, then take part in the following activity:

Workshop 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.: Understanding your triggers

In this workshop we will delve into a deeper understanding of our derivation story and how we came to be the people we are today and courageously reframe and rescript the parts of our story that no longer serve us and cultivate a habit of no longer letting triggers define us.

Guided meditation: 9:00 p.m. - 9.30 p.m. (optional)

Meditation on adaptability, flexibility and fluidity designed to increase flow states.

After breakfast, we will have the closing ceremony:

Closing ceremony 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.: Gratitude and Empowerment

In this final ceremony we will create a gratitude journal and begin to habituate the pattern of framing the world in a more positive light, using positive psychology as an underpinning thereby empowering the participants to adopt a more benevolent view of self, others and the world. 

After the ceremony, 2-hour transfer to Belize international airport. For those who want to stay longer, we recommend a 3-day tour in Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary (with visits to the Maya sites of Lamanai and Altun Ha) or a stay at the gorgeous Placencia beach.