SHE GETS AROUND: DR. PAULA MADRID

SHE GETS AROUND:

Dr. Paula Madrid, forensic psychologist, trauma expert, interior designer, and owner of the historical holiday home Catskill Park Manor.

Have you ever met a mom who has enough hours in the day to get everything done? No, me neither. But if you’re looking for someone who has perfected the art of maximising her time then meet Dr Paula Madrid.

A self-confessed “busy bee,

” Dr Madrid works as a forensic psychologist and trauma expert. She is also an interior designer of both commercial and residential spaces and recently appeared on HGTV's new channel, "Hogar de HGTV" in their upcoming Design Star show.

“So, on a given day, (pre-pandemic) you may find me either in my office, at a courthouse giving expert witness testimony, or figuring out flooring and furniture for a project, ” she says. “No boring days for me!”

Time off is spent in the beautiful historical home, Catskill Park Manor, that she bought with her husband in 2018. Originally purchased as a weekend retreat and holiday rental property, the house became their sanctuary when the pandemic hit.

“It was fabulous to have the chance to experience nature changing over those months, ” explains Dr Madrid. “To feel safe and protected while learning more about the trees, plants, gardening, cooking lots (something we literally avoid in NYC) and meeting others who had also moved to the area - although we only had socially distant outdoor cocktail parties!”

We sat down to find out more about Paula; her background, her love of travel, falling asleep at the airport, famous guests, and what we need to do to secure a stay at Catskill Park Manor.

Family is Love!

CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY?

I was born in Colombia and moved to the United States with my family when I was 12 years old. We now live in Brooklyn, NY, and own our holiday home Catskill Park Manor in the Catskills.

My husband, Nestor, was born in the United States but was raised in Argentina by a Croatian mother and Polish father. He returned to the United States to obtain his master’s degree and has lived here ever since then.

My daughter, Chloe is eight years old. She is quite the New Yorker, a funny, smart, active, beautiful girl who knows more about animals and plants than most people I know. She wants to be an engineer, already codes funny little videos, and is always building something with cardboard. She loves traveling and Harry Potter more than anything and has already traveled to 19 different countries.

HOW DID YOU FIND CATSKILL PARK MANOR? We searched for the right home for about two years. The criteria was simple, “we have to love it” but there was nothing we loved at first sight until we showed up at the Catskill Park Manor. We wanted a large house where we could entertain lots of friends and family, with great views from every single room, a huge library, and what we call the “wow factor” and this one met and surpassed the criteria.

I remember going the two steps down to the main room, with those amazing three French doors, beautiful windows, and vaulted ceilings and thinking, “this is it!”

We then discovered that the architect was the amazing Peter Pennoyer who had been commissioned to build the house for the New York socialite couple, Louis and Adele Auchincloss (Louis Auchincloss was an American lawyer, novelist, historian, and essayist).

After we saw Catskill Park Manor, we didn’t consider any other homes; they were either made cheaply, not large enough, needed a lot of work, or were just not special. HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND THERE? We spent some weekends in the house starting late 2018 when he first bought it. We did not want to stop traveling abroad and domestically so we decided that would be a weekend home and we would do shortterm rental when we were in other cities/countries. It worked out very well. In 2020, however during the most difficult months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the New York area, we moved to the Catskills and basically remained until early 2021. DID YOU ALWAYS PLAN TO RENT IT OUT AS A HOLIDAY HOME? We did want to rent it out as we knew that we would not use it full time or every weekend. And renting it out happened right away as we inherited our first visitors from the prior owners.

This meant that we had to set up and decorate the house with all basics, within weeks of moving in. I started ordering furniture literally five months before we closed on the house. My Brooklyn apartment’s guestroom and living room became a storage center, we planned deliveries for the closing day, and it was a 10 day process of setting up the house. We are still not done as it is a long and ongoing process.

DO YOU HAVE RETURN VISITORS? Yes, in fact, many of our visitors have reserved ahead of time to return and we are thrilled. We have even become friendly with a wonderful family who stayed there recently.

HOW HAS THIS LAST YEAR BEEN FOR YOU AS A FAMILY AND FOR THE HOUSE AS A RENTAL PROPERTY? New Yorkers were desperate to get away from the city so as soon as I opened up days, the house would get booked up. I had to turn many people away because they wanted to stay for weeks and months at the time and would offer as much as double for us to accept their booking. We made the decision that family and safety came first and so we had to decline several bookings.

We also made the decision that we would not rent one of the two master bedrooms. The house has two identical master bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and walk in closets as well as two additional bedrooms, a library, tv/playroom with a large and comfortable sofa. We decided that we would put a lock on our bedroom so that we could keep our belongings there and would rent the rest of the house.

The house has continued to rent well. We've had fascinating guests including an Oscar winning producer, renowned journalists and politicians and a painter that I had read about for years. A designer shot some photos of his new collection at the property, and we also rented to a Spanish producer to film a cooking show. Most recently Urban Outfitters rented it to do a photoshoot.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT CATSKILL PARK CAMPING?

We were aware that we could host campers on our land and that we had more than enough space as we own 132 acres. Since we were spending so much time upstate during the pandemic, we thought it would be fun to share our land with others.

I put together a business plan, listings, and a manual within three days and by day five we had campers! Our daughter had started to bake bread and so we offered the first few set of campers’ fresh bread and coffee on the deck and they were thrilled. It helped us to feel connected with others and it was fun to see young and old enjoy the beautiful Catskill Forest. I KNOW THAT YOU LOVE TO TRAVEL AS A FAMILY, DID YOU TRAVEL AS A CHILD?

Yes! One of the most memorable trips I had as a young child was when we took a month off to drive to Ecuador, from Colombia. It was wonderful! We went to several of different cities and even small towns including one called “the Center of the world” .

As an adult traveling has been one of the most important parts of my life as it gives it balance!

WHEN DID YOU START TRAVELING WITH CHLOE?

Our first trip with Chloe was to Europe and Africa. Chloe was born in November and so the winter was long, and we spent a lot of time at home. By the time the spring came around we had cabin fever (and sleep deprivation) and decided to plan a memorable trip in September when she had just turned nine months.

We decided to check out Gibraltar but that we took a brief layover in London to see friends. We then headed to Morocco, which was amazing. We then headed to Tarifa, Spain so my husband could do extreme Kite Surfing. The rest of the trip was equally wonderful as we stopped over in Cadiz, Granada, Marbella, and a few small towns. Our daughter’s nap time was during the road trip part of the journey and so we had a chance to talk, like we hadn’t in months! It was magical.

WHERE ARE THE TOP THREE DESTINATIONS THAT YOU HAVE VISITED TOGETHER AS A FAMILY?

Oh, tough to say! We loved visiting Bosnia, Greece, Colombia. These are amongst our favourite vacations, but Austria, Chile, Morocco, Brazil, and Spain were quite special as well.

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WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT TRAVELING AS A FAMILY? We work long hours and Chloe has many activities and so the most special part about traveling as a family is that we get to spend every minute together.

We love showing special places to our daughter, telling her about the language, geography, food, and history of a city as well as just relaxing on the beach, making sandcastles, and collecting seashells.

When Chloe’s teacher was going over the geography, art, and history of Italy recently, she was able to tell her that she had been to the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition in Milan before the pandemic and that she loved running around the Duomo at night. WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THAT CHILDREN TRAVEL?

Children who travel learn to adjust to change, can deal with the unexpected, hear different sounds and languages, smell different aromas, see different architecture, are open minded and tend to be extremely curious. They are also more interested in others and listening to their viewpoints.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT TRAVELING AS A FAMILY?

There have been no real disasters, but one funny anecdote is how we missed a flight because we fell asleep at the gate. We had two-hour layover in Madrid on our way to Dubrovnik, Croatia in 2017. We were on total vacation mode from the getgo and watched three movies on the plane. By the time we made it to the gate, we decided to take a quick little while sitting down and the three of us fell asleep!

I remember hearing that it was time to board but the next thing I know, our plane was gone, and they were boarding the next flight! We scrambled and ended up doing a layover in Venice, Italy before making it to Dubrovnik on a propeller plane. Chloe had not been to Italy at that point, and so it was exciting to land in Venice!

WHERE IS ON YOUR WISHLIST NOW THAT THINGS ARE STARTING TO OPEN AGAIN?

So, the one destination that is definitely on our 2021 plans is a private island. Aerial Island in the British Virgin Islands is a magnificent destination that we heard about through our travel advisor, Ronda Sheldon. We may also visit Argentina for a bit of time with family and an escape to Mendoza for some wine and cheese. Next year is a different story, we have already decided to spend at least five weeks away. Children need to know what is happening in their lives so they can also plan!

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3. Let them know where you are going, what’s in it for them and some fun details about what to expect. This prevents meltdowns from the unknown and creates a sense of excitement. Be flexible, there’s no need to adapt to the new time zone. On our last European vacation, we went to Italy, Austria and Hungary. We loved that we never adapted! We were waking up at 11am, ordering juice, fruit, croissants for breakfast while getting ready to explore, do tours, and walk for hours. Have realistic expectations. During the first few years of vacationing with our daughter, I would take beautiful dresses with me on holidays and planned fancy dinners. While still do this a bit now, I know that after a day on the beach or exploring going out for dinner does not make sense for every night of a holiday. And you know what? That is fine!

Now we book extra special restaurants for lunch and just a few nights of “fancy” dining out and Chloe loves it all because she is quite the foodie and there is balance!

Off grid on Brazil’s Green Coast

BY CLAUDIA LAROYE • CLAUDIATRAVELS.COM

Going off the beaten the path and into the heart of Brazil’s only tropical fjord

I was having a hard time moving quickly in Paraty. The streets of the 17th-century Brazilian colonial town had been laid with uneven cobblestones that made movement slow. I was grateful for my walking shoes but it was really the white washed buildings adorned with brilliantly painted doors of turquoise and canary yellow that had slowed my gait and captured my gaze as I made my way to the city’s port area.

Paraty, (pronounced para-chee), is nestled along Brazil’s Costa Verde, or Green Coast, between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The town was once a busy colonial trading port for gold, coffee and slaves, but is now a vibrant cultural and artistic hub. After a day exploring the pedestrian-only historic city center and sipping artisanal caipirinhas, I was ready to leave Paraty behind in favour of the active adventures that awaited me in the tropical fjord beyond the town’s borders. My destination was the relatively unknown Saco do Mamanguá, Brazil’s only tropical fjord. The Mamanguá is a long, narrow inlet, surrounded by steep mountain cliffs that are covered in dense, emerald green rainforest. This fjord region is part of a protected state park, and can only be reached by boat. Its remoteness has kept the region unspoiled and off the beaten path for most travellers. It’s a rewarding off-grid destination for those seeking to discover the heart of Brazil’s Green Coast.

I boarded a small fishing boat and we slowly made our way across Paraty Bay, passing uninhabited coastal islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The waters were calm as we entered the fjord inlet, the clouds low and covering us like a blanket. The boat docked at the tiny beachfront hamlet of Cruzeiro, where we enjoyed an al fresco lunch of freshly caught fish, traditional rice and beans, and farofa, a delicious side dish of toasted manioc flour, butter and bananas. The inlet’s waters gently lapped the white sand beach as we swapped flipflops for hiking shoes and walked towards the base of the 1.4 km hike to the top of Pão De Açucar, a sugarloaf-shaped mountain that overlooks the entrance to the fjord.

The narrow path wound up the mountain through dense, protected rainforest that was alive with the songs of more than 75 species of tropical birds. Our Pure Brasil guide Clara Simoni remarked that she kept a recording of birdsong on her smartphone. “I love to bring the jungle back with me to the city. I stopped to listen to the birdsong and catch my breath in the forest’s humid air. The steep 400 m elevation gain was worth every one of my labouring steps, as the views that awaited at the top of the mountain were stunning. The waters of the fjord sparkled in a bright turquoise blue that was complemented by the deep green of the dense rainforest.

A strong wind picked up as I descended back to the beach for the short boat ride across the inlet. It began raining gently as we docked at the off-grid Refugio do Mamanguá, a small pousada inn that sits on the edge of the jungle. Here guests can relax in simple yet comfortable rooms overlooking the inlet, falling asleep to the sounds of the waves, rain and crickets chirping in the rainforest.

The Refugio was an excellent vantage point from which we could further explore the Mamanguá by boat, or as we planned to do, in a kayak or ‘Canadian’ canoe. The fjord waters and the air were calm as my partner and I settled into our canoes and paddling rhythm. My J-stroke motion kept us in line with the shore, heading towards an unmapped river mouth and the mangrove forest at the most southern end of the inlet.

The entrance to the mangrove was narrow, and I spotted large red crabs darting on the banks of the grey decomposing forest floor. After thirty minutes of slowly

paddling up the shallow river, the forest turned dense and lush. The trees were larger here, their canopies covering the narrow river as if the jungle were closing in on my canoe.

Clara tied our canoe to the shore, and we walked through the forest towards a cachoeira, a waterfall with a small pool, a perfect spot for a much-needed dip. I slipped into the cool, fresh water from the rocks, while friends made a splashy, if more bumpy, entrance via the pool’s natural waterslide of boulders. It dawned on me that we might have found the lush alien world of Avatar’s Pandora in Brazil, though I hadn’t yet seen any Na’vi. Save for my travelling companions, I felt completely alone in the middle of an unspoiled jungle paradise.

While this river had led us to the waterfall, other small rivers feeding the Mamanguá lead to remote fishing villages that can’t be found on any map, but are accessible by canoe or kayak. After our refreshing waterfall adventure, we paddled past blue arrows fixed to poles on the shoreline. The arrows guided us to a tiny village of just three or four houses with a communal kitchen, where we were welcomed by the same warm hospitality that exists everywhere in Brazil.

Village matrons served us a feast of fried fish, rice and beans, fresh salad, fruit, homemade cacao candies and coffee that could match any served in Paraty or Sao Paolo. My delight in enjoying such a delicious meal was matched by the awe of how it had been prepared in such splendid isolation. Going off grid on Brazil’s Green Coast region certainly didn’t mean going without wonderful food or warm company in surprising places.

If Brazil isn’t just a place but a feeling, then going off grid and connecting with the beauty of Mamanguá and Brazil’s Green Coast was a vibe to slowly savor, celebrate, and enjoy long after my return home.