Mud Bath Therapy in Iguassu Falls, Brazil

Mud Bath Therapy?  I had never heard of that before!  Yes, I once had a mud bath in Calistoga, CA , where I sat in a bathtub filled with 80+ degree mud, but that is nothing like Mud Bath Therapy in Iguassu , Brazil .  So, when my cousin Lisa asked me to join her and her sister Luisa, I couldn’t resist going! It was about a 20 minute ride from the center of Iguassu to Recanto Da Paz, which is well off the beaten track, in a farming region.  As we drove we saw huge fields of soybean plants.  Sheep and chickens were running all over, and little birds were flocking everywhere, singing with their beautiful songs.  My heart was filled with joy to see such lovely and beautiful animals surrounded by all the plants and trees in this serene natural land.  When we finally arrived at the Mud Baths, I was surprised to learn that it is actually a privately owned farm, complete with an old fashion farmhouse!!  As we walked through their fenced orchards to the waterfall the staff picked, explained and gave us samples of straight from their trees:   guava, and super sweet pinha (see link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar-apple) .  Hmmm…what a treat! It was not too far before we heard the cascading of the waterfall.  The sounds of the waterfall made me feel so relaxed that I had to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.  We then settled down in a nice shaded area and the staff came by with a small tub of mud and started to put it on my cousin Luisa.  This was not at all how I imagined a mud bath, but that was how they do it here!  After we were covered in mud, we laid down for about 45 minutes to let the mud dry.  The mud on my skin was so dry that I couldn’t wait to wash it off.  Unfortunately, though, there were mosquitoes there, so the staff stayed with us, and fanned us like royalty to keep them away.  What service!  We all felt like queens!  Once the mud was dry, we jumped into the waterfall and played like little girls, splashing cold water at each other.   There were moments we were smashing and tossing mud at each other.  I can’t remember how long it’s been since I had so much fun laughing and playing like a little girl!!  The cold waterfall water was so refreshing and cool us down in the hot and humid day.  We didn’t want to leave the waterfall, but after a couple of hours, it was time to leave; but we left with super smooth skin, and wonderful memories! After we cleaned up from mud and waterfall baths, we had fish and chips; no not the ones like back at home, but Brazilian style fish and chips.  Fried local fish served with their special drink, which tasted like lime juice but with a special perfume.  It was totally refreshing and “hit the spot.” I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed going to the Mud Bath Therapy at Recanto Da Pax.  It was a totally girls-get-away, and we all had such a blast!  Between the mud bath leaving our skin so super smooth, our bodies so relaxed, and the fun of playing and laughing with my cousins in the waterfall, we were so tired and relaxed that we all slept wonderfully that night! Lin can be contacted at lin_travels@sbcglobal.net