The Third Annual
Faraway Nearby 2025 Yoga & Writing Retreat
for Woman-Identified and Non-binary Writers

in Oaxaca City, Mexico
late September 2025

In September 2025, we—writer-editor-educator Wendy Call and poet-yoga therapist-healer Yael Flusberg—are cohosting our third annual Faraway Nearby Writing & Yoga Retreat.

We will gather in the center of Oaxaca City on the afternoon on Friday, September 19, 2025, enjoy the fall equinox together as part of our nine-day retreat, and close our collective experience on Sunday, September 28, 2025. (Our apologies that this gathering conflicts with Rosh Hashanah and Sharada Navarati; that scheduling was unavoidable.)

Write in Oaxaca City

Wendy has been spending time and writing in the same 300-year-old house in the Centro Histórico of Oaxaca for nearly a quarter century. We will gather at the house for our daily writing sessions and yoga. Here is part of the house's courtyard, where we will write. Wendy and Yael are both nearly fluent speakers of Spanish.

In the Centro Histórico

The house where the retreat will be held sits next door to the majestic and magical Basilica de la Soledad, on land that has been sacred to Mixtec and Zapotec peoples for thousands of years.

The daily schedule of the Faraway Nearby 2025

~ a hour-long morning freewriting session with Wendy,

~ an afternoon (90-minute) yoga session with Yael,

~ a group meal in the late afternoon (normal “main meal of the day” time in Mexico) at a nearby restaurant,

~ plenty of unstructured time for your own writing (and/or exploring), and

~ evening sharing and communal joy and adventure. 

We will be in the midst of Oaxaca's Centro Histórico, which offers endless literary, artistic, musical, theatrical, spiritual, culinary, and celebrational opportunities.


The Lodging

All Faraway Nearby 2025 participants will stay together at Hotel Azucenas, a lovely and cozy ten-room guest house that is less than two blocks from our daytime gathering space. It is on a quiet(ish) street, which is very rare in Oaxaca. It is a ten-minute walk to the Zócalo, the city's central plaza. The Faraway Nearby will have the entire ten-room hotel to ourselves, so it will be our own private retreat space. Below are photos of the hotel.

Hotel Azucenas is perfect for our retreat. The owners and managers are kind and helpful and love the arts. There is a (small) desk in every room. (This is very rare in Oaxacan hotels.) The rooms are not fancy, but they are cozy, very clean, and quiet. Some have double beds and some have king-size beds (the latter can be divided into two twins). Each person will have their own room with private bathroom. The rooftop garden has great views and its kitchen space offers free coffee and tea all day! (Beer and other drinks, as well a continental breakfast, are available for a small fee.)

Application Process

Applications for the retreat are now open and will be due on Saturday, February 15 at midnight Eastern time. Early applications are encouraged. All applicants will be notified by February 28, 2025 of their application status. A ranked waitlist will be maintained. The applications are for ONE regular slot and THREE scholarship slots for BIPOC writers. (The other six slots have been filled by returning alum of the retreat.)

Here is a link to the application form.

It is a simple application, requesting a bio (100-200 words); short writing project description (200-400 words), brief explanation of why you wish to be part of a retreat in Oaxaca, Mexico (200-400 words); and a five-to-ten page writing sample.

Fees and The Fine Print

The cost for the nine-day (and nine-night) retreat is on a sliding scale from US$1,250 to US$1,600, based on your (self-assessed) ability to pay. Every dollar above $1,350 funds our scholarship fund.

There are three partial (50%) scholarships available to BIPOC writers.

The fee includes:

~ nine nights' lodging in a private room (with private bath) at Hotel Azucenas,

~ all morning freewrites and afternoon yoga sessions,

~ writing space at the Azucenas rooftop garden and in both indoor and outdoor spaces at Wendy's (part-time) home, a gorgeous house with a courtyard garden, which is a five-minute walk from Hotel Azucenas,

~ all-day coffee, tea, other beverages, and snacks at our "central meeting space" at Wendy's home,

~ our main meal each day (which Oaxacans eat at around 3:00 in the afternoon) at an excellent restaurant across the street from our writing / yoga meeting space (which is at Wendy's house). Vegetarian and gluten-free options are always available at the restaurant. Vegan options are limited but possible, and

~ welcome dinner on our first night (Friday, Sept 19).

Costs that are not included: travel, breakfasts, dinners (which are light in Oaxaca) other than the first night, tips, and incidentals. Breakfast is available at the hotel for US$5 each day, or at a number of restaurants within a five-minute walk, for about the same price. Dinners are in the US$8-12 range, unless you want a particularly fancy meal. Safe and efficient transport from the Oaxaca City airport to the hotel is US$15 each way.

September is "low season" in terms of tourism in Oaxaca, which means there will be plenty of space in restaurants and cultural spaces, the streets will be uncrowded, and plane tickets from most US cities should be under US$750. (Though, of course, it's hard to predict future flight costs.) Please remember that your passport must be good through March 2026, in order to enter Mexico in September 2025. Visas are automatically given when you land at the airport and are free. The Faraway Nearby requires up-to-date COVID vaccinations for all participants.

Payment Schedule

If you are accepted and decide to attend, your US$500 deposit (US$150 for scholarships recipients) will be due by Saturday, March 15, 2025.

On July 15, 2025, US$425-775 is due, depending on where you are on the sliding scale. US$155 will be due from scholarship participants on this date. That is to say, all but the final US$325 of your fee will be due at this date.

Upon arrival in Oaxaca on September 19, 2025, you will pay your final US$325 fee (might be slightly different, depending on the peso-dollar exchange rate) directly to the Hotel Azucenas when you check in. You can pay via credit card.

Refund Policy


Deposit is 100% refundable until March 30, 2025.

Deposit is 50% refundable if you must cancel between April 1 and June 1, 2025. If someone from the retreat waitlist takes your place, your deposit is 90% refundable.

There is no refund of the deposit if you cancel (for any reason) after June 1, 2025, unless someone takes your place from the waiting list, in which case it is 90% refundable and will be refunded on October 1, 2025.

If you have questions about any aspect of the retreat or application process, please email us here.