Wellness Retreat in Santa Fe

Life has been so stressful recently. I decided it was time to destress. I went with a couple of friends to Santa Fe with the goal of relaxation. We stayed at Ojo Santa Fe which is famous for their hot springs pools. I went there a few years ago and had a good experience. I had high expectations for our trip. There were definitely some good but also some bad.

We flew into Albuquerque. It was an early flight so we had time to explore a bit. We started with coffee at the Burque Bakehouse. There's no seating. You order at the window and wait for your drink. I got the iced pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin loaf. It was superb.

Then we headed over to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. It's a cute little museum with a large courtyard for performances. We saw a corn dance which was great. Then the speaker proceeded to talk for 30 minutes about his tribe but it was basically rambling. He may have spoken for longer than 30 minutes but we left at that point.

We grabbed lunch at the cafe and had their famous Indian fry bread taco. The fry bread was good. The green chili was too spicy for me.

Last stop in Albuquerque was the Sandia Peak Tramway. Tram goes all the way up the Sandia Mountains. The views are incredible. Really breathtaking the entire ride up. And breathtaking at the top. There's a lot of hikes and a restaurant. We didn't have enough time for a hike but the little bits we walked were pretty. The only drawback is the line to go up the train took an hour. So be prepared to wait. But it's still worth it.

We then headed to our resort. The drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe is about 50 minutes. We checked in and then went to dinner. We had dinner at the Tune Up Cafe. I saw this place on one of my favorite shows 'Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.' I had the El Salvadoran Combo which had a tamale and a pupusa. It was tasty. I don't get a lot of El Salvadoran food.

Day two was spent at the resort. We started the day with yoga. 75 minutes for yoga is really long for me. We then ate lunch at the restaurant onsite Blue Heron. The food was decent. I had the New Mexican cobb salad. I got smart and asked for the green chili on the side.

We then went to the spa and I had a 75 minute massage. The massage was really good. But the spa was so crowded! They had day passes for people who just wanted to soak in the pools. And there were people everywhere.

After the massage, I had a snack. Then I went to play with puppies.

We had dinner at the Blue Heron again. I had the cream of broccoli soup and chicken enchilada. It was pretty good.

Day three was spent exploring downtown Santa Fe. We started at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. It was very small but well done.

We then headed to Casa Chimayo for lunch. I don't remember where I found this place from but I'm so glad I did. The food was unbelievable. It was so good one of my friends said she may want it for her last meal. I had a pomegranate margarita and the Chili En Nogada. We also had the table side guacamole and elote. If you go to Santa Fe, you must eat here.

We walked through Santa Fe Plaza. First stop was the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi. It was beautiful.

There was a lovely little park next to the Cathedral aptly named Cathedral Park.

We saw the miraculous staircase at the Loretto Church. The legend is a mysterious carpenter showed up to build the staircase and left without payment. The staircase is two 360 degree turns with no middle support. It is pretty cool.

We then visited the oldest church in America - San Miguel Chapel, built in 1610. Churches always seem cold to me but this one felt warm and inviting.

Last stop was the New Mexico State Capitol which was round. This is very chic for a state capitol.

Dinner was at Rowley Farmhouse Ale which was also featured on Triple D. I had their famous chicken biscuit sandwich with onion rings. Thumbs up.

Day Four started with morning soaks. And then a hike.

Lunch was at the Jambo Cafe which has African cuisine. I had the East African Coconut Lentil Stew. It was so delicious and comforting!

We then went down the street for desert at the Kakawa Chocolate House. I had the hot chocolate with a truffle. My friends had the ice cream. Everything was so good!

We then headed to El Rancho de las Golondrinas. It's a historic ranch and living history museum. We went kind of late. They were almost closing. We missed the sign that said to buy tickets a the gift shop and a mean lady chased us down and basically accused us trying to sneak it. She was unnecessarily rude and really made the visit less pleasant than it could have been. The area was nice to walk around.

Dinner was at Back Door Pizza which was also featured on Triple D. Their crust is rolled in cornmeal and it really adds to the texture. We had the garlic knots which were made from the same crust and the Killa B pizza which had bacon + garlic + fresh basil. This was one of the best pizzas I've ever had.

Day Five is flying home. We had time for lunch before heading to the airport. We ate at the Coda Bakery in Albuquerque. It's a Vietnamese restaurant famous for their sandwiches and rice and noodle bowls. I had the shrimp sausage banh mi. It was so flavorful! I would go back to Albuquerque just to eat here again.

Overall, it was a lovely trip. I did relax. It was fun to hang out with friends. There were some issues at the resort which caused a bit of stress but it was resolved. The resort grounds are really beautiful. It's too bad the management is lacking.