Yesterday may go down in the books as the art of doing nothing.
I got up about 8 AM and went down for breakfast to the main lodge. After a relaxing breakfast of eggs homemade bread, and fruit salad, I headed back for a shower before the start of my three hour spa.
This sweet brown eyed lady who was going to guide me through my spa apparently spoke no English. And my form of Spanish didn't seem to register with her. So we spent the next three hoursgesturing and giggling as we tried to figure out what came next.
So she took me to a room with bathrobes and said to me, Todo.
This sweet brown eyed lady who was going to guide me through my spa apparently spoke no English. And my form of Spanish didn't seem to register with her. So we spent the next three hoursgesturing and giggling as we tried to figure out what came next.
So she took me to a room with bathrobes and said to me, Todo.
As I stripped down naked, I hoped that this was truly what she meant. It was.
We then began with a 45 minute facial. It was my first real facial and I really loved it. Then it was off to the steam room. It took longer than it should for me to understand that I was to go into the steam room a total of three times and each time I emerged she would hose me down with cold water. Very cold water.
We then began with a 45 minute facial. It was my first real facial and I really loved it. Then it was off to the steam room. It took longer than it should for me to understand that I was to go into the steam room a total of three times and each time I emerged she would hose me down with cold water. Very cold water.
This took almost an hour though frankly I lost track of time.
Next it was time for the sea salt scrub. I began by laying down on a massage table and had a generous quantity of some sort of Oil poured all over my body. Then I felt big globs of sea salt being placed around my body. And for the next half hour that was scrubbed all over my skin. Then she flipped me over and we did the other side. Then she motioned for me to stand up. I looked myself over and I looked like some sort of lubricated snowman.
We moved to another room with a shallow bathtub and she brought in a big ceramic pot filled with warm mud. She then motioned for me to cover myself with this mud, which I did. However she wasn't satisfied she said "mas. Todo"
I guess I didn't take it on thick enough. So I used about two more quarts of mud to cover my entire body. This seem to satisfy her and she smiled and said Bueno. Then she motioned for me to stay put for what seemed like a half an hour until the mud pretty much dried. Then she filled up the bathtub and I scrubbed the mud off. I have to admit there was a child like sense of joy of playing in this mud and rubbing it all over me. Next to the shower and my spa treatment was over. It had in fact been three hours. I marveled at how I completely lost track of time.
It was now about 1230 so I headed down to the lodge and decided to treat myself to a cheeseburger and French fries. My first American indulgence in more than two weeks here in Ecuador. It was pretty good. Next it was nap time. After about an hour I got up and came out and laid in my Hamic. Did some reading and did some writing. Went down to the lodge and completed my final travel plans to the coast. And then it was time for dinner. A wonderful Italian feast last night and some more great Argentina wine.
Conversation then for an hour with some local dudes who were spending a couple of months in south America. And then back to my room for some reading and time to call it a day.
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