Picture - Ensemble Vacations Magazine

Pampering with a
Healthy Dose of Culture
CHRIS RYALL
Add a dash of culture to your Mexican,
Caribbean and South American spa retreats.
Beads of sweat blanket my fiery hot body.
Gerardo, our gentle shaman, instructs us to
focus on reconnecting with our soul and the
universe at large. I truly want to connect with
my soul but my body feels like a human oven
desperate for a chilled Mexican beer.
Welcome to my first temazcal experience,
an ancient purification ceremony. Temazcal
is the Nahuatl word for ‘house of heat.’
Constructed of concrete, our dome-like
temazcal has a pit in the middle where large
smouldering volcanic rocks are placed. Sitting
on straw mats next to each other in a tight
circle and wearing bathing suits and bikinis,
we are slathered with Mayan marine mud to
open up our pores. Let the baking begin.
In total darkness we listen, we learn, we chant,
we dance, we hug and yes, we sweat – for
me, five pounds’ worth.
For more than 20 years I’ve satisfied my
spa passion (family and friends use a less
flattering word: addiction) visiting different
spas around the world. Whether it’s a caviar
facial, chocolate bean polish or Navajo
sweat lodge ceremony, one factor motivates
me: a soothing treatment that uses local
ingredients and incorporates some local
culture or healing technique. And for those
travelling to Mexico, the Caribbean or South
America, you will find a healthy portion
of culture on the spa menu.
Hacienda Tres Rios, a new all-inclusive ecoresort
that opened in 2008, is located about
40 kilometres south of Cancún on 325 acres
of a nature preserve. It’s hard to imagine eco
and all-inclusive in the same sentence, but
Hacienda Tres Rios incorporates Mayan
and other distinct Mexican cultures in its
activities, cuisine and practices.
In such a pristine setting it was only natural
that my first spa treatment take place next to
a cenote, a natural spring, which in Mayan
culture is believed to be the gateway to the
underworld. Milca, my massage therapist,
beckons me with her skilled hands. Only
the chirping of birds and Milca’s occasional
melodic whisper break the silence. Later
I move indoors to Ya’ax Ché Spa, which
We are slathered
with Mayan
marine mud to
open up our pores. Let
the baking begin.
translates as ‘Mayan tree of life.’ I observe
my own tree trunk-like body and it obviously
needs some purifying and shaping! Milca
continues her skilled ways with a ‘Richness
of the Earth’ treatment, utilizing local marine
mud and various tree resins to help rid my
body of its rat-race induced toxins.
The Caribbean, like Mexico, is blessed with
as many spas as there are beaches. They
range from grand 30,000-square-foot luxury
edifices to more intimate – but no less
satisfying – boutique environments.
BONNE SANTÉ