Hi, my name is Dulcinea Ortiz. I am from El Toboso, La Mancha, in Spain. If you are familiar with Don Quixote, you may be wondering about my name… That’s right, I was named after Don Quixoje’s imaginary beloved.
My parents are passionate about Cervantes’ work and live in the most popular village featured in the novel, where I was born. My family is certainly a food driven one, with great cooks accross generations. It is also a pharmacists incubator, with 3 out of 5 of us in the business.
Both FOOD and HEALTH are paramount to us, the very core of our existence.
Always driven by sustainability, environmental and health principles, I’ve got a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Speciality. After 14 years of work in chemical research, chemical processing and chemical safety, I reached a point in my professional career, when being Safety Studies Manager in a London based multinational felt like…just a job. A well paid one, true. But…is that all? I started wondering. I wanted more. More what? Some coaching helped me answer deep difficult questions, and finally 2 years later, I decided to jump off the big ship; to take a leap of faith. I dared to get out of my comfort zone, to start from the scratch an amazing adventure. I changed my career path towards a more fulfilling way of living: a greener and more sustainable field, where I could make a difference among my neighbours, around my village and surroundings.
My 12 years living abroad nurtured me with inspiring experiences, I learnt from conscious cultures and individuals, who already lived, ate and travelled in sustainable ways.
Meantime, I could see that back home, in rural areas of Spain like the one I grew up in, customs and lifestyle were still far from that consciousness. Conventional holidays were centred in cheap and bulk purchasing, eating, partying and travelling – with not much attention towards the environment, energy consumption, well-being habits, active holidays or healthy eating. Support to small business and the local economy of those places which warmly welcome us in our well deserved time off work with friends and family, was also at the bottom of the holiday list, it they were actually on that list.
All this shaped Dulcinea’s Retreat vacational vision and its conscious values, focused on raising awareness for more ethical holiday-making habits, staying in energy smart accommodation, enjoying a variety of well-being activities, supporting local producers and farmers while eating healthy food, free of toxic chemicals and preservants.
A delightful inner trip, within yourself, while discovering and enjoying new places in a sustainable and affordable way. Are you ready for it? I am looking forward to welcome you in El Toboso very soon!
