If you ask me when I first heard about Kurotel, I wouldn't know how to answer. I have the impression that I've been living with this name/idea/doubt/curiosity for many, many years. Maybe I'd hear every now and then that someone had been there or when I came across news that international celebrity X was here in Brazil with the sole purpose of going to this medical spa. "Wow! This spa must be really different to make someone come from the other side of the planet," I thought. 

But at the same time, no advertising content reached me that allowed me to get to know the place a little better. Now, we live in a time of a flood of images and content, so I always had the feeling that the lack of a blatant and aggressively present communication on social networks was intentional. 

To understand the complexity of the Kur philosophy, you have to live it. 

Despite the curiosity that has accompanied me for so long, the decision to put an end to this mystery only came in 2021, and kind of out of the blue: June 2021, I open the freezer, grab a special edition carrot cake ice cream from Sorvete Discreto (you can take note of this tip!) and, already salivating, I put a spoonful in my mouth and taste what? Absolutely nothing, which would not be credible for an ice cream of this brand and, therefore, it didn't take me a minute to realize: "My God, I have COVID".

The positive result came and, of course, I was scared. After that, I caught myself thinking "but how am I going to take care of myself?" I explain: I'm a terrible housewife and, although I'm extremely fond of food and love good food, I'm lazy about going to the supermarket, I never have a thing in the fridge, I don't know how to cook and I live on delivery. At that moment I regretted being so useless. 

Locked up at home alone, only God, iFood, and Rappi know how I ate during that period. After the quarantine period, my doctor asked me to stay 1 month without exercising. So the scenario was as follows: before getting COVID and due to the "opening and closing" of gyms, I was already unable to exercise as usual > I get COVID and spend 15 days eating poorly and without exercise and, after the quarantine, another 1 month without any exercise. I am a very disciplined person with well-being and exercise, but, unfortunately, I am also the type of person who gets very demotivated seeing everything "out of place" and immediately think: "Oh, it's all bad anyway, so screw it...later I'll get back to it". And I do  actually  get back at some point, but while I don't, it's a very bad feeling of neglect for my health. 

The fact is that my routine of taking care of myself had not been the same since 2020 and getting COVID was a kind of awakening to go back to being who I was. And better.

An important aside: I'm active. I've been weightlifting at least 4 times a week for over 10 years, I walk everywhere I can, I eat well, and by 'eat well', I mean I love real food! And I also love junk food! I struggle to convince myself that I can't eat certain things during the week. The idea that I might die tomorrow without having eaten what I love stresses me out! So during the week I eat all of them, but in smaller quantities.

Suddenly, I found myself in a vicious cycle and having a hard time getting out of it, but being an Aries, I was determined to use that post-COVID return as a wake-up call, as an opportunity to reset the whole system and start taking care of myself again, from the inside out, to start doing good things for my body, for the inside of it. I wanted that good feeling of knowing that I was taking good care of my health, but that I had neglected for a while.

I thought about taking a week vacation in São Paulo and scheduling all the possible doctors, but I would still be in the concrete jungle and, if I was going to take a kind of "part-time vacation" (working part-time), it might as well be in a place where I could actually rest. That's when it hit me! I remembered someone close to me, who never exercised, who didn't eat well and who lived an intense and stressful work routine and, after a health scare, decided to go to Kur and came back a different person and, above all, with a different mindset. Better.

And then it sounded like a call to me: "I've always been curious about Kur! Being a medical spa, I'll be able to see several doctors, get exams, eat well, exercise, have various therapies, and all this in the winter in Serra Gaúcha" It seemed idyllic. Could I have gone to a spa closer? No, I couldn't. Remember: I wasn't just looking for a spa. For a place to eat and relax. The most important thing for me at that time was the medical aspect. Weight loss and massages were not the goal (although it happened). And how often do we do this? Do we take a week to take care of our health, from the inside out? I myself am always traveling, but until then, I didn't allow myself to take a week to look inward. And a week is so little and so possible!

Being an Aries, I found myself obsessed with that idea and couldn't think of anything else. In 10 days I was already on a flight to Rio Grande do Sul. I landed in Porto Alegre and from there, a friend who owns a dealership in the city and who knows I'm passionate about cars and driving lent me a BMW and there I was, taking a road trip (one of the things I love most), listening to my music, in my wonderful company, in a cold and landscape that made it seem like I was somewhere in Germany. When I opened the door and entered the Kur lobby, one of the employees (who I later learned was the restaurant maître d', the always friendly Victor) called me by my nickname. That caught my attention. How does he know? I haven't even checked in yet. It didn't take long for me to realize that everyone was calling me by my nickname.

I know, now you imagine that a report will begin about everything I did at Kur, but unfortunately, I feel like I'm going to disappoint you. I could give this report but then I thought that it would ruin all the mystery that surrounds Kurotel and I'm a person who loves surprises, so I wouldn't ruin yours. And besides being loyal, I'm very protective of the things I like.

But what I can say: finally, I understood the mystery, which is completely spontaneous, it is a natural consequence of all the discretion of Kur. While any brand, any establishment is busy trying to sell its fish through advertising, Kur is putting all its energy on the inside and on those who are inside. In taking care of those who have decided to allow themselves to look inward. And by doing so, Kur ends up benefiting from the best kind of advertising there is: word of mouth, the most genuine of all.

Promising an experience committed to the relationship between relaxation and medicine, Kur has a location and aesthetics that favor this mission. The cozy facility, whose style is reminiscent of old German country houses, has the presence of several doctors, examination clinics, and countless other technologies dedicated to the individual assessment of each patient. The warm architecture and the spa's proximity to nature helped me relax, and the familiarity of the very friendly staff, who always made a point of calling me by name, made me feel at home where I felt very cared for. Upon better understanding Kur's philosophy throughout my week there, I understood that the clinic reflects this thinking as well - what matters most is not the external public side of this place but the work that is done inside.

It was a week alternating my days between appointments with doctors, doing exams, exercising, therapies, resting, working (I didn't completely disconnect and the room that is almost bigger than my house fit like a glove!). I left Kur determined to return from time to time, because while I am a very disciplined person, I also allow myself to completely get out of the routine on trips, do absolutely everything I want, knowing that later I will need to recalculate the route.

And it is this "recalculating the route" that I decided I would try to do at Kur whenever possible. And I have been very successful at this goal! After this first time I have already returned to Kur with a friend (it was hilarious to see Victoria Ceridono sleeping at 9:15 pm, eating things she didn't even know she would be able to like, without partying - but not without a disco ball! see what we found in the pool!).

If you're truly well inside, you're free. And probably everyone will find that beautiful, because happiness that comes from the soul shines through in the eyes. What is most beautiful, what is most valuable, certainly always comes from a deeper place.

Last year, I spent 40 days in Europe allowing myself to do absolutely everything, and on the way back, I wanted my flight from London to land directly at Kur, but even if that was possible, I was full of work and couldn't be absent for another week. And then the idea came: "Wait! Why don't I convince my business partner and we'll both go? We'll work from there, without distraction, rested... I think we'll even work better and more focused." Result: it was wonderful! The following week, we held the launch event for the Trent Planner 2023, so it was special and crucial to have spent that week before at Kur.

I know what you're going to ask me:

- No, I didn't go hungry. Far from it.

- Is the food good? You'll have to experience that to draw your own conclusions. But I'll tell you this: I, the person who can't cook anything, came back with 2 recipe books from there, yes, I'm optimistic! I haven't tested the recipes at home, I confess, but the fact that I bought the books answers what you want to know.

- Did I lose weight? Although that wasn't the goal, yes, every time I spent a week there I lost almost 3kg in 7 days.

- No, it's not a prison! And I'll talk about that below!

- Is it expensive? Well, the concept of expensive is very subjective and varies from person to person, but it's definitely a significant amount. But we're talking about care, about health, where every investment is little and very welcome. So, if you're more concerned with what's going on inside and you know that the most beautiful version of your exterior is when you're healthy and happy...

Having said all that, allow me to end this account with a ramble I had during my first visit to Kur: 

My week at Kur made me even more certain about my convictions: how important it is to look more inward. This doesn't mean being less vain or not caring about your aesthetics. It's not about that, I myself am a very vain person, but rather about the idea that other things should come first. Aesthetics will come as a consequence - let's worry, primarily, about health and the beauty that comes from within outward. 

In one of my reflections, I found myself thinking about Slim Aarons, an American photographer known for his work that, over nearly half a decade, recorded the glamorous life of American socialites, jet-setters, and celebrities. The people Aarons photographed lived intensely, and at a time when that glamour was genuine and not manufactured just to be used as an instrument of the ego. As futile and superficial as the activities portrayed in Aarons' photos might have been, so far removed from reality and full of space for criticism, I believe that happiness, that sparkle in the eyes, was genuine. Today, I no longer believe so much in the photos I see on social media. 

Warning: this is not a study of society at that time, but just my perception of those images.

As I said, during my week at Kur, I affirmed one of my values: taking care of myself internally, without prioritizing only aesthetics. Nowadays, ideas of this kind are no longer so valued. Instagram has become the empire of beauty built at a high cost. Nowadays, I rarely see in social media the sparkle in the eyes that so enchants me in Aarons' photos, which portrayed the opposite of the sad generation with amazing pictures. 

The desire to fit in, to fit into a profile that is 'likeable' or 'commentable' can be sacrificial. It is common to see people making questionable choices, especially from a health point of view, in favor of a beautiful photo - and in reality, in favor of approval - and see happiness coming from outside. I believe it is very dangerous to put happiness in the hands of other people, to expect someone who does not know me to give me the approval I desire. If you are well, truly, inside, you are free. And probably everyone will find that beautiful, because happiness that comes from the soul shines through in the eyes. What is most beautiful, what is most valuable certainly always comes from a deeper place.

While I was with that borrowed car, I took the opportunity to take a trip to Cambará do Sul, the location of the headquarters of the Aparados da Serra National Park and the Serra Geral National Park, where several canyons are located, among which the most famous are Itaimbezinho, Fortaleza, Churriado and Malacara. I had plans to do a group hike with a guide inside the park to reach the canyons. I left Kur very early to go to Cambará do Sul. 

The road was covered in a poetic morning mist, looking like a scene from a movie. I felt like I was inside the paintings of Paul Gauguin, a French post-impressionist artist, especially those that characterize the colony of Pont-Aven. 

I stopped along the road to appreciate the landscape and take pictures that would help me immortalize that moment. The car trip, which would have taken 1h30, took twice as long. When I arrived in Cambará do Sul, the tour had already left. I was late, so I would have to wait 6 hours for the next tour, which was not feasible, just as it was not being there and not seeing the Brazilian canyons. How many people travel abroad to see canyons like this? I couldn't wait for another opportunity to return to Cambará do Sul to experience this national phenomenon and contemplate the inner beauty of our country. 

Looking inward and contemplating inner beauty before glorifying the external. And I also don't need to wait for anyone to do with me the things I want to do. 

I learned from other guides that the 6km trail to reach the canyons was safe and well marked. I would do the trail alone, taking full advantage of the feeling of freedom of being alone with nature, simultaneously cultivating the intimate "encounter of the self with the self". 

When I met the canyons, I remembered the words of Tim Walker: "There really are so many wonderful things". Another tourist took some pictures of me with the canyons, with my wide smile and shining eyes. A joy that comes from within outward. From someone who is happy and healthy inside.

With Affection,
Maria Helena.