Casa Teóco
In the Mountains of Provincia, in Jalisco, Mexico,
I encounter a person and a place that change my life
I have spent much time romanticizing the days of my early travels, wishing I could return to the simplicity of the world and myself back then. Yet, for all the internet and globalization gifts, I miss how much more present I lived in the moment before smartphones and social media. I've dabbled in retreats, forays into the Amazon, a vision quest and extended sojourns in contactless places to try to distance myself from the hungry machine of the industrial world.
Now living on a remote mountain in Mexico, without a signal to the outside world, I feel like I have restored a sense of peace to my life that I haven't experienced since those days as a young backpacker.
Watching the rain fall from a cave.
The view from my yoga mat at Casa Teóco
I first visited the old, abandoned mining town of Provincia in the summer of 2021 on my travels through Mexico, incidentally with a long-time follower of mine on Instagram. Jaz and I had never met in person but had a mutual friend in my hometown, where perhaps not by coincidence, he had once lived for ten years without us ever crossing paths. So in the week that I spent hidden up in the sierra around El Tuito in Cabo Corrientes, with Jaz, Ambar, her four kittens, and a handful of eccentrics, I felt that I had found a little piece of the paradise I had been searching for, most especially at this dizzying time in the world. It was far away from global news and social media performance, with no phone or internet signal; it was almost back in time. There was no hot water, nearby shops, transportation, or time-saving conveniences, nothing but an abundance of quietude and tranquillity.
Jaz in Provincia, Summer of 2021.
Jaz and I spent our days picking fallen mangoes from the roadside and making jam, crafting colourful yarn Ojos, which we hung on trees outside, creating dreamcatchers from his forest finds and sitting around a fire under a bright carpet of jewelled stars and fireflies. One afternoon, we arrived at a cave just as the rains began to fall and hid inside, watching the sky morph into different cloud patterns until it passed. We rock climbed to swim naked in waterfalls and acquired a puppy from a local ranchero that ran away days later. Most days, we laughed till our insides hurt.
Something powerful occurred inside of me on this visit. My encounter with Jaz in these mountains shifted my life's direction by asking me to slow down, inhabit my being more profoundly, and meet my truth inside. This place's powerful silence and purity were incredibly healing; it activated a process that allowed my inner truth to speak louder than the voices of confusion bombarding me; I could no longer rely on the clever ways I had used to outrun meeting my shadow. Instead, the stillness acted like a mirror where I could do nothing but face myself and the ways I wanted to change my life. So, following a brief return to Canada, where I made some tough personal decisions, I returned to the mountains of red clay, pine and oak trees, wildflowers and winding creeks of fresh spring water to live with Jaz.
A view of the Plaza de Armas, El Tuito
The wildflowers of Provincia, Jalisco
I suppose there is a time and a place for everything, so when two people are meant to meet, no matter the odds, the universe will work its magic in ways that always leave me humbled.
Jaz and I on a road trip to Chacala, Cabo Corrientes
Meeting Jaz was like reconnecting with a best friend of lifetimes in his latest incarnation; we just clicked in a way that planted the seed for a journey that continues to unfold in new, creative ways. The beginnings of this dream to live in an enchanting place where I can share gifts that I've gathered throughout my travels have been brewing for some time now. But, here in Provincia, it has taken its most substantial roots.
Casa Teóco’s beehives.
Mountain vistas in Provincia.
Born from the desire to share the healing power of the mountain where we live and inspire others toward a life of simplicity, Jaz and I have transformed our beautiful home into Casa Teóco, where like-minded folks gather in ceremonies to reconnect with themselves and the elements. Here I discovered that the simplicity and peace I once yearned for are not as far away as I believed. It is not dependent on what is happening globally, and it doesn't cost a penny.
Presence is a medicine available to us at any moment, simply by turning our attention away from the endless distractions out there and tuning into the limitless, expansive Now that is always here and ever ready to welcome us back.
The gifts of this time away from the world's madness are too good not to share and precisely the soothing balm the planet needs.
Casa Teóco shares the medicine of blue mountain vistas, the aroma of pine needles burning in the afternoon heat, the rush of gushing water and the sun dappling through forest foliage.
Casa Teóco’s puppy, Zorro.
The view on the walk to the waterfalls.
Our distant neighbour, Petaco trying our honey.
We are a centre of creativity, beekeeping, unique events, and seasonal products. We care about the producers, farmers and artisans who live around us and are learning so much about a life of sustainability and abundance through sharing in the community.
Casa Teóco is our home and offering to a world that needs to remember how to live with its highest at heart. Teóco derives from the prehispanic language, Nahuatl, and comes from the word Teotl—God. It is undoubtedly a sacred place that has truly touched and changed my life, and so I sincerely hope you will enrich our growing community with your presence.
A plaque in El Tuito shows the old name of the town.
Walking Zorro to the mirador.
