Jumpstart Your SOULjourn!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 
                   Jumpstart Your Souljorn Retreat 2024   SOLD OUT

                  Registration begins July 2024 for 2025 Retreat

                     Dates of 2025  Retreat: January 30- February 5, 2025

          Email sunyafolayan@seesunya.online for  2025 Waiting List

 

                    

   Jumpstart Your Souljourn 2024                       
January 25 -29, 2024

Ajijic, Jalisco, MX

Do you have a sense of adventure? An urgency to experience more? Do you have a desire to explore the land, culture, and language of inland Mexico, and experience this colorful, delightful, and magical area for yourself, and perhaps your family? If you wish to move from dreaming about a new way of life that includes, tranquility, a caring community, adventure, freedom, and ease to actually experiencing the magic of an intentional way of life that incorporates those elements in a magical community- join us on an adventure to get a jumpstart on making it happen.

Jump starting your SOULjourn is the soft-landing to your very SOUL. It is also your official welcome to the Lakeside area of Jalisco, Mexico, characterized by Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, and the metro City of Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city. This experience is designed to give hands-on information to Black women, especially those considering their future and life at retirement. If you are ready to center your dreams and seize the time, this retreat is for you.

About Your Facilitators                                                          

Sunya Folayan and Donna Jones will be your facilitators. Sunya (The Cashflow Coach) is a published writer, commissioned textile artist and musician; and Donna Jones (The Hope Coach) is a writer and podcaster. Both have had flourishing careers helping others; Sunya in social work via direct clinical services, financial social work, corporate executive counseling, and non-profit management, and Donna as a registered nurse in mental health settings, teaching, and consulting. Both are committed to a thriving community of women and families embracing financial health as a part of wellness and self-care. Sunya and Donna met online and created MEXodus Sojourners, a Facebook group for Black women who want to experience what they discovered: the beautiful life, people, culture, and pace of inland Mexico's Lake Chapala communities. You will hear and experience firsthand from these two residents of Mexico, how they manifested their journey into a softer way of life encompassing joy, freedom, loving community, and ease. You can do it too!

 

Your soft-landing experience:

 

2 Meals daily of authentic, nutritious, and varied Mexican cuisine and other diverse flavors. Find yourself in the culinary roots of Africa in Mexican food, flavors, textures and colors. Drink Red Jamaica tea, Horchata, and Tamarindo; savor red rice and black bean dishes, and so much more as you uncover the West African foundations of so many Mexican dishes.

Explore the “Pueblo Mágico,” of Ajijic, Jalisco, an authentic magical town of Mexico where you will see caballeros on horseback alongside modern vehicles manufactured in Mexico. Ajijic will be your base. This cobblestoned lakeside community is an artist's magnet, and home to many known and unknown creatives. You will find art everywhere. Enjoy the boutiques, shops and artisan offerings, art galleries, music, and color, as the backdrop for your activities. Tap into the community, enjoy fragrant coffee and pasteles at dusk on a sidewalk table at the town's Plaza Centro, and tap into your own magic, actualizing the dreams that have been placed inside of you.

We will journey via van to the thriving metropolis of Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco and the home of Mariachi music. Guadalajara, where graffiti tagged edifices co-exist with the storied, striking, and fiery murals of José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, two of the greatest Mexican muralists of all time.

 We will take a local bus for a day trip to Chapala to experience local color and culture, where we may be entertained by a local clown performer or musician as we journey 15 minutes to the Malecón. Hold on to your sombrero for this ride! In Chapala we will take a water taxi to the rustic Isla De los Alacranes (Scorpion Island) where you will have a chance to step inside a tiny Mexican chapel to reflect. We will have an informal lunch along the water's edge, and engage in intimate and meaningful conversation regarding your experience. Perhaps you will try an intriguing Michelada: a tomato juice based Mexican cerveza cocktail in varying colors, spices, and flavors.
 
Another option is to visit Napa Valley in Chapala to take a tour of a local vineyard producing wines that rival the best of Napa Valley from a Mexican grower / on their ranch. This trip includes a flavorful and colorful charcuterie selection of local culinary delights, so make sure to bring your camera to capture the sumptuous bounty!
 

Our third excursion is to one of the area's thermal spas that bring forth varying degrees of heated volcanic healing mineral spring water. Luxuriate for hours in a pool of fragrant flowers, immerse your body in the healing smoothness of an Avena bath, and experience the decadence of the gentle exfoliation of coffee on one's skin followed by fragrant floral and herbal vapors for the face and neck and body. No rushing through this experience, you will want to linger for a while!

Enjoy a breathtaking, mountainside dinner at sunset overlooking Lake Chapala from one of the most spectacular vistas in the area. Allow yourself to be awestruck by the beauty of the starry sky and the enchanting twinkling lights floating below on the lake as we dine by candlelight under a soaring thatched-ceilinged palapa.

You will enjoy a welcome rooftop reception at the home of the hosts, Sunya Folayan and Donna Jones in Chapala, where you will meet local residents, friends, and neighbors and enjoy your favorite drinks prepared to your liking by our very own bartender.

Get answers to all of your questions about residency in Mexico from a local attorney we know and trust in our Informational workshop on residency. Get insider information on paths to residency in Mexico in 2024.

Experience informational presentations and bring your questions about safety, law, and daily life from local professionals who are poised to serve you in the following professional areas: real estate, medical, Spanish language proficiency, end-of-life, culinary, public safety, and law.

Wake up to gentle Pilates stretch in the mornings. Engage your body and prepare your mind to receive all that is in store for you.

Jumpstart the sojourn to your SOUL's desires in the Garden of Eden-like setting of La Jardín de Sueños—our boutique hotel location—The Garden of Dreams.

Garden of Dreams Boutique Hotel in Ajijic, Jalisco, MX

What better place to jumpstart your SOULjourn and unfurl your dreams than the oasis in The Garden of Dreams? It’s time to experience the ‘mágico’ in the Pueblo Mágico that is Ajijic. Your dreams are waiting for you.

 
Get inspired through guided daily journal prompts—catalysts to activate your dreams to make them a reality. During our Vision Board and Goal Setting Session, you will create and or refine the vision and steps to actualize the dreams inside you that are waiting to be unfurled.

You will be assigned a coach and will receive group and individualized coaching sessions to address 5 cashflow strategies to take into middle age, and into retirement. Your retreat experience and preparation will begin November 1, 2023, in advance of your arrival in Mexico in January.

Space for this retreat is limited, so register early, check your passport, and pack your bags. Leave room for souvenirs!

Cost: $797.00 per person (Early bird registration through August 31, 2023) 997.00 starting September 1, 2023

Registration is non-refundable after 3 business days. No refunds after the third business day of purchase. In case of cancellation, any payment received can be applied to a future retreat by Lakeside Wellness and Retreats / MEXodus Sojourners to be scheduled within 6-12 months of payment.  Payment links are at the bottom of this page.

Airfare and hotel are not included.

ROOMS ARE SOLD OUT.

-Contact The Garden of Dreams Boutique Hotel in Ajijic, Jalisco, MX. for reservations: and ask about the discounted rate for stays of 7 days or more under the code MEXODUS SOJOURNERS by calling: +52 32 2238 2046 (Hotel cell) and +52  37 6766 1027 (Hotel's main line). Consider downloading WhatsApp to make dialing long distance easier, and for making calls while in Mexico.

We have secured most of the rooms at The Garden of Dreams at a special rate for this retreat. PLEASE NOTE: This is MEXICO,  generally patience is a virtue here, and you may find it takes longer to get answers at the front desk. To alleviate any possible frustration, participants may feel free to find lodging at any of the surrounding Airbnbs, or other hospitality establishments. The Garden of Dreams, however, will be our hub. 

Other hotels and Airbnb are sprinkled throughout the area. Participants are free to stay in other area venues. Check prices, and if you decide to stay off the Garden of Dreams campus, look for lodging within a few miles of proximity to Centro Ajijic such as Ajijic, Chapala, San Antonio Tlacayapan, San Juan Cosala, and Riberas to save time to and from our venue. Breakfast and lunch will be served at the Garden of Dreams Boutique Hotel. 

Our recommended travel vendor is Maureen Johnson at Legacy Travel and Tours our preferred travel professional for airline tickets and world travel. She has over 30 years in the travel business and is part of our community. 

Email: mjohnson@legacytravelntours.com

Airport: You will fly into Guadalajara International Airport. Airport taxis are plentiful and easily accessible from the front portico of the airport. The cost of taxi service is approximately 550 pesos (Approx. 35.00 in U.S. dollars.) Our retreat location is approximately 45 minutes from the airport.