In spite of growing up in extreme poverty and suffering severe trauma along with her six siblings, Mara knew that she was loved and made it her life’s mission to not let her circumstances define her. After having her first child at age 20, she divorced her husband and moved to the beautiful seaside town of Buzios. Barely able to afford a living and unable to afford daycare, she took a job at a local restaurant bar where she would bring her three year old daughter to work nightly until the early morning.

Buzios is the city where she experienced people from all over the world with money, success, family… everything she did not have and that should create “happiness.” Still she could see that many of the people who “had it all” were in fact, not happy. This insight stirred in her the desire to not achieve material success but to pursue her own awakening and to love others as diligently as possible.

A few years later, she traveled the world, moved to California, had two more children and became a successful personal trainer and a champion fitness model (4x IFBB Champion).  

Still, her desire to give back and pursue her own personal transformation was very strong. During a two-week shaman retreat with her new husband Chris in Peru in 2021, the idea of Maravilha (Wonderful) Retreat was realized.

And so her inner being was left with the question: Why not open a unique retreat center in the town where these first insights were born so many decades ago?

And so the mission of Maravilha was born: to provide a sanctuary where guests will feel loved from the moment they commit to coming here until well after.