I want to thank Santiago Bravo, my friend in Bogota, Colombia (see related post) for introducing me to Biodanza. My first class in Medellín was amazing (see related post) and I began to look for any opportunity to participate during the last part of my travel adventure.

My new friend from La Paloma, Mechthild, has been with this group for a very long time and asked permission if I could participate. This is so important when you understand the purpose and meaning of Biodanza.

For quick reference from Wikipedia, Biodanza, literally translated from Spanish as the "dance of life," is a system of self-development and personal growth. It uses music, movement, and authentic group interaction to help individuals deepen their self-awareness, release stress, and connect meaningfully with others and nature.

*Today I had the privilege of learning from Stella Yoselen Saracho Silva*

The focus of today’s practice was exploring our shadow — but not in the Carl Jung definition of shadow work. If you’re not familiar with his work:

“In Carl Jung's psychology, the shadow is the unconscious part of the psyche that contains repressed weaknesses, desires, instincts, and undeveloped potentials. It represents the "dark side" of the personality—everything the conscious ego deems unacceptable, shameful, or incompatible with its idealized self-image.”

Today, the key difference (as I understood it) would be exploring acceptance of our shadow parts and seeing the cracks where the light shines through them. Today, I had the opportunity to explore what accepting every part of my history and past feels like and dancing into it. In the safety of a beautiful circle, I could allow my self to feel the darker parts and love them for the person I’ve become as a result.

But first, I needed to adjust to the temperature. Having spent the last 11 months in an eternal summer, I’m still not quite adjusted to the temperature here. I wasn’t alone. I took this picture of our feet as we all stood closely together where the sun had heated up the wood floor:

*Perfect. I love this picture. It perfectly captures the “warm up” phase ;-)*

After a thoughtful check-in sitting in a circle, I was amazed at how quickly I shed the many layers of clothes I was wearing heating up to our collective dancing.

I’m amazed at the power Biodanza generates from deep within. People share the incredible nature of our inner-wisdom, and I experience the depth of my inner-knowing through the freedom of movement and expression in Biodanza.

No doubt about it, Stella Yoselen Saracho Silva is an incredible teacher and I am so lucky to have had this opportunity to be her student and learn from her today. And when the student is ready, the master appears. There are parts of me that needed to come out today and the combination of the instruction, music and shared experience with the other dancers allowed the flow to happen naturally and organically.

*Deeply grateful to my fellow dancers today for holding space for me.*

Afterwards, Mechthild took me to the nearby beach in La Paloma that reminded me of Big Sur, California. Sweeping beauty in all directions. I loved the contrast between the rocks, sand, waves, ocean and sky.

As we descended the stairs, Mechthild had me turn around to see this:

*Beautiful mosaic created by a local artist here in La Paloma*

Mechthild and I had a beautiful stroll down the beach as we got to know each other. She’s originally from Germany and met her husband, Danny, at a conservation convention in Mexico where she was representing China. If that doesn’t grab your attention, I don’t know what will. She’s saving the proposal story for Danny to tell me later this week. In the meantime, it was incredible to share this time together and explore the decision to leave China to be in La Paloma and build a life here.

Mechthild has an incredible eye for spotting penguins. She kept pointing to where one was popping up among the waves, but even with the binoculars that Danny shared with me, I wasn’t seeing the penguin for myself. I’m impressed at Mechthild’s abilities with just her eyes.

*I love these signs. All around the world, they support my photo diary.*

*If you look closely at the L in “La” you’ll see me sitting comfortably*

*This one is better for Elena’s annual picture calendar ;-)*

Before wrapping up our time together, Mechthild took me to one more place nearby: Sendero Barra de la Laguna.

*This Laguna ranges from 7,000 feet to 70,000 feet and home to three fourth of Uruguay’s bird population!*

And just to have an incredible end to an incredible day, I went to a fabulous Mexican restaurant where they were playing the FIFA World Cup Championships and Uruguay was playing Saudi Arabia. When I entered, the game had already been on for an hour and Uruguay was behind by 1. I had the lovely opportunity to have dinner as Uruguay scored and tied up the match. (I still don’t get how teams in FIFA can tie and still continue in the Championships, but that’s my own ignorance).

*Final score of the 2026 FIFA World Cup game I watched live*

I love La Cantina Mexicana. It’s 2 blocks from where I’m staying and I’ve had some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had here. The enchiladas Mole were spectacular and the tacos and empanadas were incredible. I thank Danny and Mechthild for introducing me to this restaurant.

La Paloma Biodanza (June 15, 2026)

Montevideo: Feria de Tristan Narvaja (June 14, 2026)