In Costa Rica from May through November, with temperatures dropping, and afternoon and evening showers becoming more frequent, Spa Season comes into its own. Imagine lying on a massage table in the late afternoon after a long morning surf session. You are being rubbed deeply, in a garden setting under a palm thatch roof, surrounded by the sounds of nature and falling rain.
Skilled hands penetrate your weary muscles as hidden stress surfaces and evaporate into the tropical air. The silent explosion of invisible scents from a nearby Ylang Ylang tree delights your senses and captures your imagination. Drops of water roll off the edges of the rancho, as you slowly roll off of the edges of consciousness. Everything fades away; your schedule, obligations, worries, uncertainty. Everything is right in the world and it really doesn’t matter. You are now just a puddle of bliss, as you breathe to the rhythm of the rub. There is something Zen-like getting a massage with the rain falling all around you.
Skilled hands penetrate your weary muscles as hidden stress surfaces and evaporate into the tropical air. The silent explosion of invisible scents from a nearby Ylang Ylang tree delights your senses and captures your imagination. Drops of water roll off the edges of the rancho, as you slowly roll off of the edges of consciousness. Everything fades away; your schedule, obligations, worries, uncertainty. Everything is right in the world and it really doesn’t matter. You are now just a puddle of bliss, as you breathe to the rhythm of the rub. There is something Zen-like getting a massage with the rain falling all around you.
Of course, this isn’t the beginning nor the end. We’ve begun seated at a garden table sipping hot natural tea from a steaming cup. The combination of fresh ginger, roble, lime, and honey soothes your throat and warms your soul. Roble de la Sabana, aka Pink Trumpet Tree, or Pau de Arco is an excellent medicinal agent for boosting one’s immune system, a good idea in these times. You chat with friends as the rain kisses you from above. It is time.
Herbal Steam Bath
The Herbal Steam is ready. As you open the glass door, you are met with a curtain of permeating steam, laden with sweet aromas of the lemongrass sprig tied around the steam head at the bottom of the wall. You can barely see a few meters to the double row of white tiled benches that wrap the room. The two bench levels allow you to manage your heat preference.
The illuminated thermostat on the wall confirms 115 degrees. The herbal steam bath allows you to roll your wrists and flex your fingers, rub your feet and ankles. You roll your head and unleash the cracks in your neck as you deeply inhale the warm steam through your nose into your lungs, and exhale. This is an excellent venue to work the range of motion and loosen up those tired old joints. There is a spigot and hose on the inner wall that abruptly shocks of cold water while contracting your pores and accelerating your breath. After five or ten minutes in the steam room, the rain invites you to return to your tea, as you cool down in the garden.
When you need to cool down, there is the cooling igloo.
With the light rain, it starts to feel a bit chilly as the sun sets somewhere behind the clouds. It is time for the dry sauna. As you enter the similar 3m by 3m room, you are immediately greeted with the strong scent of cedar. The room is heated to160 degrees, but it is a dry heat as they say in Arizona. Pick your bench level carefully because there can be a 40-degree difference in a 5-foot vertical span. The air is hot, dry, and thin as you immediately start to sweat, eliminating built-up toxins. Outside the rain accelerates as you lay down on the wooden bench appreciating the healing juxtaposition. After five minutes, there is no fork around, but you are done, and it is time to sit under the natural rain shower. You turn your palms to the sky, roll your head back and smile at the heavens. Pura Vida.
Waterfall Plunge Pool
Then a quick rinse under the outdoor shower before you enter the waterfall plunge pool. Three steps down to the chest-deep watering hole put you in front of a perfectly crafted waterfall with two splitting tendrils that work like massage prongs on your shoulders, neck, back, lower back, or any part of your body you want to manipulate under the waterfall.
During summer/dry season the waterfall plunge pool and the cool jacuzzi igloo are the best places to beat the heat and lower your core temperature, but this is winter. Heat is welcome. It is chilly, it’s wet, it’s the rainy season, otherwise known as Spa Season.
Your masseuse is ready…
This blog is based around Sonido Del Mar, a property available in the famed Rio Claro de Pavones in the southern zone, where the Pacific meets The Golfo Dulce. This personal health retreat can be enjoyed as a private residence or can be expanded as a boutique spa, yoga / wellness center. The turnkey property enjoys facilities that don’t exist anywhere else, in a place like nowhere else. For more information. Contact our ISP Surf Estate Specialist
