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April 2, 2009
Detoxifying in Oaxaca
Guest blogger: Susan Schneider, Executive Editor
Was I up for an adventure? Yes! Strolling the cobblestone streets of the Mexican colonial city of Oaxaca, located in the southwestern part of the country, I noticed a sign in the window of a pretty little bed and breakfast called Las Bugambilias. On offer was a special Temazcal experience—a steam bath and massage that would, it said, use indigenous Aztec herbs and ancient rituals to purify my body, mind and spirit. As an inhabitant of dirty, noisy New York City, how could I not want to be purified?
At Bridal Guide we’re always looking for new honeymoon ideas, so I wondered if Temazcal was designed for couples visiting this architecturally fascinating city. Indeed it is: for two people, it’s just 1500 pesos, which comes to about $113 for a two-hour total immersion experience. I brought my traveling friend, Eve, with me, who also needed some serious detoxification.
Next morning, which was warm and sunny (as always), Eve and I climbed into a car provided by the B&B, and were driven up the hilly streets of the town (from nearly everywhere in Oaxaca there are views of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains) and were deposited in a quiet neighborhood, in front of a simple adobe wall. Most of the homes in Oaxaca present walled exteriors to the street, opening onto charming courtyards. Hidden behind this wall was a fairy-tale garden of herbs and flowers, wild looking and enchantingly fragrant.
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An American couple emerged from a little adobe house, almost hidden among the plants. “You are in for the treat of your life,” the woman assured us, practically swooning. She held out a tiny bouquet of herbs for us to sniff. I could already tell what she meant.
It was our turn. Eve and I were led into a changing room and our guide indicated that we should undress completely and wrap ourselves in sheets. We looked at each other. Yikes! But our pride in being adventurous won out, so off came the clothes and on went the sheets. Then our guide—the temazcalera—motioned for us to follow her into a room filled with painted wooden carvings, embroidered throw pillows and two huge inviting mattresses.
I looked longingly at the mattresses, but our temazcalera was motioning us over to a pair of little doors, about thigh-high, in the brick wall. Again, Eve and I looked at each other. Now the guide was pantomiming that we should crawl on our hands and knees through the little doors that led…somewhere? But where? Feeling like Alice in Wonderland after she got very, very tall, I crawled through the miniature doors, into the bath chamber, which was heated by rocks. Our temazcalera laid parcels of herbs on the rocks and tossed water on them—sending up billows of steam fragrant with eucalyptus and rosemary. She lit a candle to help us meditate—and then left us alone!
Eve and I sat silently, sweat and steam soaking our sheets. I tried to keep in mind that toxins were draining from my body. I tried to meditate on the candle but sweat kept dripping into my eyes. It was perfectly clear that neither of us wanted to be the one who chickened out first.
After a few moments Eve gave up. “I think I’m detoxified,” she squeaked.
“Me too,” I replied thankfully.
We crawled back out through the little doors and cooled off on the couch—thoroughly alarming our temazcalera when she returned to the room. Gently tut-tutting, she led us back into the steam room. There the three of us sat, knee to knee, as she threw more water on the rocks until there was so much steam we lost sight of each other.
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And then she did something wonderful (it won’t sound wonderful, but trust me, it was!). She brushed our heads and shoulders with the parcels of herbs and sang to us—yes, she sang. I closed my eyes and enjoyed. Next thing I knew, cool water was being poured over my head—after the heat of the steam, surely the most refreshing “bath” I’ve ever had.
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After that, it was into the massage room, where we finally got to stretch out on those wonderfully comfortable mattresses while two women, our temazclara and another woman, gave us hour-long massages using a soothing herbal lotion. Eve and I both fell asleep—that’s how relaxed (and detoxified!) we were.
So go for it, honeymooners—the couple who detoxifies together, stays together.
For more information, visit lasbugambilias.com.
Posted by Susan at 12:23 p.m.
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